“It should be issued right now,” answered Lady Mystic with a hint of mischievousness in her voice, “but I wonder. Sounding the alarm now would merely transfer their capture to the streets instead of the temple. If we wait a short while, the kruls will get into the act. Have you ever seen what a krul does when it captures an escapee?”
“No,” smiled Aakuta. “I have never had that pleasure. What do they do?”
“Well,” Lady Mystic said excitedly, “if it is a single krul, the elves will be eaten alive, but if there is more than one krul, they will fight over them. Sometimes the prisoners are literally torn apart. It would be interesting to show you such a demonstration.”
“How long do we wait before issuing the alarm?” asked Aakuta.
“We don’t issue one,” smiled Lady Mystic. “There is no chance of them getting off the island. We will let the soldiers discover the missing elf. Whenever they finally notice, we will learn of it. Then we must wait until the kruls have picked up the scent. You will enjoy this, Aakuta.”
Chapter 19
Rebellion
MistyTrail raced along the corridor to the still-open door of the library. She ran across the room and opened the shutters to the balcony. The door creaked loudly when Eltor hit it as he carried Caldal into the room. Mistake followed and noisily closed the door and locked it. MistyTrail gazed down at the city streets before tossing the rope over the railing of the balcony. Once again the moon was hidden behind the clouds. She grabbed the rope with both hands and stepped over the railing.
“When I get down,” MistyTrail instructed Eltor, “pull the rope up, and tie it around Caldal. Lower him to me and then you two can join us.”
Eltor nodded to MistyTrail as she lowered herself.
“I wonder why the alarm has not sounded yet,” Eltor said to Mistake as she arrived on the balcony. “I am sure that they saw us.”
“I don’t know,” frowned Mistake. “I agree that they saw us. In fact, the man is someone I recognize from Khadora. His name is Aakuta. Seeing him here makes me wonder how many of Vand’s people have already infiltrated Khadora and Fakara.”
“Pull up the rope,” Eltor instructed Mistake when he saw MistyTrail hit the ground. “Do you think he recognized you?” he asked as Mistake started pulling up the rope.
“I do not know,” Mistake answered, “but it would not matter if he did. He does not know who I am. In fact, he mistook me for someone else the first time I met him. I must alert Emperor Marak when we get back.”
“Get back?” echoed Eltor. “Do you really think we can get off this island? Caldal and I ended up where we did because we got caught trying to escape. We were very fortunate to get caught by humans instead of kruls. I have heard nasty stories about what happens to those caught by the kruls.”
“We will get off this island,” Mistake declared adamantly as she tied the rope around Caldal. “I will not spend the rest of my life here. I would rather be dead.”
“You may get that wish,” frowned Eltor as he helped Mistake lower Caldal’s body. “Besides, if we do get off this island, we will be returning to Elvangar. We have no idea where your homeland is located. At least we know where the land of the elves is located from here.”
“I don’t care where we go,” admitted Mistake, “as long as it is far away from here. We will argue about it later.”
“There is nothing to argue about,” retorted Eltor as MistyTrail caught Caldal’s body and untied the rope. “You can go next. What will we do with the rope?”
“You go down next,” Mistake said. “I know a trick that will let us take the rope with us. To leave it here would be an error. We made need it again.”
Eltor nodded and climbed over the railing. He soon disappeared below the balcony. Mistake leaned over the railing and watched his progress. As soon as he reached the ground, Mistake untied the rope from the railing. She climbed over the railing and held on with one hand while she wrapped the rope around a pillar of the railing. She let her legs dangle and snared the rope between her feet. She positioned the rope so that the tension on it was the only thing stopping it from unraveling. As she allowed her feet to slowly slide down the rope, her hands moved down the pillars of the railing until she could let go and grab the rope.
Mistake moved slowly down the rope knowing that as soon as the tension was lessened the rope would unwind from the pillar and fall to the ground. She was careful not to cause any sudden movements. When she reached the ground, she grabbed the rope and swayed it side to side. She grinned as she dashed out of the way of the falling rope.
MistyTrail had already carried Caldal across the open area and was waiting next to a building. Mistake motioned for Eltor to leave while she coiled the rope. When she had it coiled, she threw it over her head and worked her arm through the loop. By the time Mistake managed to get across the open area, Eltor had taken Caldal’s body and carried it over his shoulder. MistyTrail had already raced to the next intersection. She waved to her friends and urged them to hurry.
MistyTrail continued to lead the group through the city. She retraced their path of entry without running into the roving patrol. Together they dashed across the open area that separated the city from the forest. As soon as they entered the trees, the moon shone down brightly.
“Praise Kaltara!” MistyTrail said as she gazed up through the trees at the sky. “He must be watching over us.”
“Kaltara should destroy this evil island,” replied Eltor.
“Should we stop and tend to Caldal?” asked Mistake.
“Not here,” Eltor shook his head. “We must head back up the mountain. The kruls will be out in this forest in force as soon as the alarm is sounded. Even on the mountain they may find us.”
“Then we should return to the cave we found,” declared Mistake. “Caldal is in no condition to escape. Can you heal him, MistyTrail?”
“I will try,” promised the Sakovan, “but what will we do for food? There is nothing to eat on the mountain.”
“I have plenty of food,” grinned Mistake. “Let’s move while it is still night.”
* * *
The Star of Sakova walked into the schoolhouse in Alamar. The students in the common room all nodded in reverence as she entered. She smiled briefly at them and strode through the corridor to the dining room. Temiker, Ukaro, and LifeTender were just finishing up a meal. She nodded politely and sat down. Temiker immediately rose and went to the kitchen. He returned with a cup of tea and a bowl of stew.
“How did your trip go?” asked Temiker.
“It went very well,” answered Lyra as she sipped the hot tea. “Duran and Zaramilden are now part of the Sakova.”
“Wonderful,” gasped LifeTender. “How did you do it?”
“It was surprisingly easy,” shrugged Lyra. “They were forgotten parts of Omunga. There will not be any other easy portions of Omunga to switch sides. We are going to have to fight for the rest of the country. Did you pass on my instructions to StarCity?”
“I did,” nodded LifeTender. “The Sakovans are now prepared to attack the Omungan invaders. I suspect that HawkShadow already is. He never cared much for the policy of scaring people. He would prefer to kill any trespassers.”
“He will now get his chance,” frowned Lyra. “I fear that many good people are going to die before all of this is over.”
“Kill only those who threaten you,” advised Ukaro. “The Omungan soldiers will be needed for what is to come.”
“I understand,” Lyra replied as she sampled the stew. “We will use whatever reason we can to get Omungans to switch sides. Any word from StarWind?” she asked LifeTender.
“None,” answered the Sakovan healing mage. “She should be in Campanil by now. She left Alamar at the same time that you did.”
The room lapsed into silence as Lyra ate her stew. Ukaro rose and walked into Temiker’s office. He returned a moment later with a golden stalk of watula. He slid it across the table to Lyra.