But then, what was he planning to do with Kaine? Was Kaine a distraction? Or was this because Crowther hoped to avoid losing Kaine prematurely?
Helena’s molars ground together.
“And how would she know that?” she asked, trying to get Soren to see how insane this all was.
Soren gave a tight smile. “Crowther uses her to keep an eye on us, but she doesn’t like it. She came clean with Luc a while back. She’s seen maps for a secret prison that can be accessed from the West Island’s waterways.”
“Soren.” Helena exhaled, closing her eyes. “Why would she have seen maps like that?”
Soren shrugged, not seeming concerned about it. “Crowther uses her for carrying messages. I guess she peeked.”
If Crowther was the mastermind behind this, Helena wanted him directly involved, giving clear instructions about how he thought it was going to work, not some shadowy an orderly saw a map sleight of hand.
She was sick of how Ilva and Crowther both defaulted to manipulation to get their “miracles” to show up. As if people couldn’t be counted on unless they were tricked.
“If that’s the case, then that means Crowther knows about this prison, and he might have a lot more information than just a map. We should talk to him.”
Soren immediately shook his head. “No. The Council is adamant that no one can take any action until they ‘know’ who has Luc. Ilva somehow thinks she’s going to negotiate a trade to get Luc back. No mention, though, of what she possibly thinks we could offer.”
Helena knew exactly what it was that Ilva probably had in mind.
“My duty is to Luc,” Soren was saying, “not the Eternal Flame. As long as Lila’s out, I’m primary. The Council doesn’t command me, my duty is to my vows and my vows are to Luc.”
She’d thought they wanted Kaine to rescue Luc—to risk his cover to spare their own troops. But if that failed, Ilva would sell him out without a second thought.
Which meant Crowther was being forced to go behind Ilva’s back. That was why he was using Sofia Purnell to pass the relevant information to Soren, the one person with the ability to act on his own.
“All right,” Helena said, nodding. “I’ll come.”
Soren looked startled, then sagged with relief. “Good. I don’t think I can do this without you.”
Helena scrutinised him. “What do you mean?”
His eyes were heavy-lidded. When he was pensive, they got soulful. Now there was just one, but she still recognised the expression.
“I need you to do anything, Hel, whatever it takes, to save him. No matter the price. Anyone in the Resistance would die for him; I need you there because it might take more than that.”
Her eyes went wide. “Do you realise what you’re asking?”
He held his head high. “My vow is to protect my Principate with my life and my death. You’re the one who said that if someone’s willing to die, why not give them a chance to keep fighting.”
Her hands had gone numb. “You can’t volunteer the others for a mission like that. Are you planning to tell them that’s why I’m here? That you chose me because you want necromancy as your backup plan?” Her voice dropped to a furious whisper as she retreated, but he caught her by the arm.
“That’s not the only reason,” he said. “You are the best. I’m not volunteering them, just me. If something goes wrong, you do anything you have to to get them out. This is me giving you permission.”
She shook her head. “I don’t even know if I can. I’ve never—”
“We both know that if someone can do vivimancy, they can do necromancy. And if there’s anyone who can figure it out on the fly, it’s you. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just—” He swallowed. “I need to know this is going to work. Hel, this has to work.”
She wavered a moment longer, but what were the alternatives? Every choice had become unbearable. And this was the price she’d already offered to pay.
“Fine.” She swallowed. “For Luc.”
“For Luc. Come on.”
Helena wanted very much to corner Purnell and interrogate her about exactly what Crowther knew, and how he expected the mission to unfold, but Purnell was constantly in motion, moving around the room, staying out of reach.
“How do you know all this?” Helena asked pointedly, after she was told about the location of the prison and how there was a floodwater cathedral that they would use to reach it.
“I know people who use them. The scouts—and others, when they need escape routes and safe places to go,” Purnell said.
“Why aren’t they more patrolled?”
Purnell shrugged. “It’s a maze. The greys can’t see in the dark, or they get lost, and the Undying don’t like crawling in sewer water.”
Helena’s own throat convulsed at the thought. “I see.”
“It won’t be bad, though. It’s flood season now,” Purnell said. “The water will mostly be mountain water. It’ll be cold, but nothing like it is in the summer.”
Small mercies. Helena was well acquainted with how cold the river snowmelt was; the mere thought of crawling through it was enough to make her bones ache. “And these tunnels are connected to where Luc is?”
Purnell was avoiding Helena’s eyes again. “A lot of old access points to the sewers were built over, but they’re easy to reopen if you have the building schematics. Someone investigated it a few months ago. It’s very high-level compared with the other prisons, but almost completely empty. Like it’s being reserved for something.”
“If Luc’s there, then this means his capture is something they’ve been working towards for a long time,” Sebastian said in a tight voice.
Fear sliced down Helena’s spine. “Why are you so sure Luc’s there?”
“If it’s a secret they have him, they’d have to put him in a secret place,” was all Purnell said.
Helena couldn’t help but feel that the girl’s involvement had already destroyed Crowther’s chance at plausible deniability. Surely he could afford to be less opaque.
“If he’s not there, no one will even know we went in,” Soren said. “We have to go tonight. Ascendance is tomorrow; the floodwaters are already high, and none of us will be clearheaded enough to go. We’d have to wait two more days, and Luc can’t afford that.”
Helena hadn’t considered that aspect. They captured Luc just before Ascendance. Why? Just to increase the complexity of the rescue efforts? Or was it a coincidence?
The plan was only the vaguest shape of a plan. Get in, find Luc, get out.
Helena’s job was to keep Purnell close and out of the way. The others would deal with any fighting. When they found Luc, she’d examine him, make sure he was still alive, and, if necessary, heal him as rapidly as possible. Then she would get him out. Purnell would help her carry him if he couldn’t walk on his own.
Helena’s job was getting him back to the East Island by any means possible. If she had to leave everyone else behind, she was to do that. Once Luc was safe, the others would scatter and regroup.
“Let’s go,” Soren said, pulling on his armour as Alister and Penny snapped to attention.
“Wait!” Helena said, fighting to keep her voice steady, overwhelmed with the feeling that the plan was wrong. “I need to get my medical kit.”
Soren’s eye narrowed with suspicion. “Don’t you just use your hands?”
She shook her head. “No. If Luc’s really hurt, there’s elixirs and salves, restoratives that will make him recover faster. Relying on vivimancy would—drain him or me. If I have my medicines, we’ll have a better chance of him making it out if he’s badly hurt.”
Soren relaxed marginally. “All right. Go fast. If you don’t come back in fifteen minutes, we’ll leave without you.”
She ran out the door, straight to Headquarters and the Alchemy Tower. The lift had never felt so slow as it cranked upwards.