After several minutes, they ventured out of their hiding place, creeping along the wall to the corner of the building, peeking out into the street.
“Follow me,” Wren whispered, then dashed across the street into the opposite alley. Once safely within the shadows between the two buildings, she looked up and down the street again before motioning for Lacy to cross.
When they finally reached the dark undisturbed subterranean room, Lacy felt a great sense of relief. But as evening slipped into the darkness of night, the number of soldiers searching for them seemed to grow rapidly.
“I was hoping Isabel would be here already,” Wren whispered on her way to the cabinet containing her supplies. “We should probably get ready so we can leave as soon as she gets here.”
She frowned when she opened the cabinet door and saw a note resting atop her supplies. She picked it up and read it.
Dear Wren,
I can’t come with you. Take Lacy and flee the city. I’ve drawn a map of the sewers showing the way out. Also, there’s a witch down there-I’ve marked her last known location on the map as well. Avoid her at all costs. Once you’re out of the city, find someone from the House of Karth and tell them to take you to Princess Ayela. Tell her everything. She’ll help you.
I’m going to miss you.
Love,
Isabel
Tears rolled down Wren’s cheeks as she read the words.
“What’s wrong?” Lacy asked, a hint of alarm in her voice.
“Isabel isn’t coming,” she said, handing her the letter.
Lacy read it, shaking her head. “I don’t understand. Why can’t she come with us?”
“Phane,” Wren said, sniffing back her tears. “I’ll explain it as best I can later. Right now, we have to go.” She started preparing her pack.
Lacy wrinkled her nose when Wren opened the hatch to the sewers, but she didn’t say anything, smiling to herself as she descended the ladder after Wren. Not long ago, the mere idea of venturing into a sewer would have made her nauseous. She’d come a long way in a short period of time, and yet she still had so far to go.
She took a moment at the bottom of the ladder to let her eyes adjust and to master her queasy stomach. The stench was almost unbearable, but she endured it better than she thought she would.
Wren opened the shutter on the lantern just enough to let a sliver of light out, then handed Lacy the map. Together they oriented themselves to the sewer canals and made a mental image of the way out. Wren led the way, silent as a mouse, the sliver of light shining backward toward Lacy while Wren used the wall as her guide.
The sporadic drip, drip, drip was unnerving, especially since Lacy knew there was a witch somewhere in the darkness, but after several minutes, it faded into the background and she began to worry instead about the jungle beyond the walls.
When they reached the end of the canal, Wren stopped at the corner, quickly shuttering the lantern. Through the gentle rustling of the foul water sliding past and the incessant dripping of condensation from the ceilings, she could hear voices in the distance. She and Lacy both froze in place, straining to hear, but the voices were too far away.
“We should just go,” Wren said.
“But what if they have the box?”
“What if they do? What can we do about it?”
Lacy shook her head in frustration, her eyes burning from the tears that were about to come anew. “My father entrusted me with that box. I have to do something.”
“If we confront them, they’ll kill us.”
“Then we’ll follow them.”
“Isabel said to find the House of Karth. We should do that first, then go after the box.”
“By then it might be too late. I have to do this, Wren. And I really need your help.”
Wren nodded in the darkness. “All right, but we have to be quiet and we can’t use any light.”
“Agreed.”
Wren led the way down the corridor running along the down-water edge of the city. The voices grew louder as they drew closer. Dim light filtered into the tunnel from the distance. Two figures were standing on the bridge spanning the canal just before the second outflow grate that Isabel had cut a hole through. Wren slowed, placing each step with care. Lacy crept along behind trying not to breathe too loudly and feeling slightly deprived of air for her efforts.
Wren stopped. Lacy knelt down and took several slow deep breaths before focusing her attention on the two figures standing not a hundred feet away. A thrill of fear jolted her when she saw Druja for the first time. In that single glance, she understood the malice bound up within the Sin’Rath. Sudden fear for her brother nearly made her cry out.
“Your next task is the death of the Reishi witch,” Druja said, clearing her throat noisily, then spitting into the canal.
“Yes, My Lady,” Rankosi said, looking just like Wizard Enu.
“Once she’s dead, you’ll travel north to Stobi, where I will await you. Phane will send soldiers to pursue me. Kill them along your way.” Her words trailed off into a wheeze followed by a hacking cough that reverberated in the sewer tunnels.
“Understood.”
Light erupted from the canal, followed by a gout of fire. Rankosi turned toward the fire with contempt, while Druja transformed into a cloud of black smoke just a moment before the flames engulfed them. The roar and the heat and the light assaulted Lacy and Wren as they huddled together along the wall, well out of reach of the flames.
When the fire subsided, Druja was gone, but Rankosi was still there, unscathed.
“Hello, Tasia,” he said. “You’re too late. But more than that, you’re just not relevant.” He smiled maliciously before transforming into a large snake, then he slithered into the sewer canals and vanishing under the sludge.
“Blast! I thought I had her.”
“I’m just glad the shade didn’t breathe fire back at us. I wasn’t looking forward to taking a swim.”
Two other people, a woman and a man who was dressed in the uniform of Phane’s soldiers, walked out onto the bridge. The woman was holding her palm up and a lick of flame was floating just above it, illuminating the nearby area.
“Who are they?” Lacy whispered.
The woman’s head snapped around, and she peered into the darkness, looking straight at them.
“Wait, I know him,” Wren said, standing up.
Lacy grabbed her arm. “He’s been chasing me.”
“Show yourselves or I’ll light you on fire,” the woman said.
“What is it?” the man asked, unslinging his bow and nocking an arrow.
“We’re being watched.”
“We have to run,” Lacy said.
“No. That’s Captain Wyatt,” Wren said. “He’ll help us.”
The woman sent a ball of brightly burning orange fire down the center of the tunnel, illuminating them as it passed.
“You can’t escape me,” she called out. “Stand forth or burn.”
Wren opened the shutter on her lantern and held it up. “Please don’t hurt us.”
“Wren? Is that you?”
“Yes, Captain Wyatt,” she said as she walked toward them, leaving Lacy standing in the dark, torn and afraid.
“You, as well, come forward,” the woman said.
Lacy hesitated a moment more before deciding to trust Wren. When she stepped into the light, the man in armor frowned for a moment, then smiled broadly.
“Tasia, may I present Princess Lacy Fellenden and Wren, a friend of Lady Reishi’s.”
“How do you know my name?” Lacy asked, anxiety flooding into her stomach.
“There’s no need for alarm, Princess. We’re here to help you. I’m Captain Wyatt of the Ruathan Rangers and this is Tasia. I was charged by Lady Abigail Ruatha with finding you and bringing both you and the box you carry back to Fellenden.”