Chapter 13
Tynan revealed himself between the archways just long enough to catch Radek’s scream of triumph.
Whatever sympathy he’d had for the brother of Blackworm’s unwilling consort had faded at the threat to Lishelle. As for leading invading mercs into the castle… The boy had lost any right to his moral high ground.
And now Tynan would be consigning them to the lowest pits of the ruins.With a bit of luck and a lot of water.
And Lishelle.
He didn’t know if the sluices would function. When they’d surveyed the bathing rooms, it’d been obvious the smaller gates within the castle proper had rusted and rotted over the centuries. The larger port might still be operational, especially with the full force of the cistern-stored flood behind it. Regardless, Lishelle was safely away fromthe mercs, and whatever happened to him, she could console herself that she had fought this time. His heart seized tighter than any flood gates at the memory of turning and seeing her behind him in the throne room, ready to do battle at his side.
He’d never forget it. And he hoped she too would remember her bravery in the midst of this chaos. No matter what happened.
A few spatters of yellowstun energy chased him through the archways, and he was glad the mercs at least wanted to take him alive for their payback. Larfing Blackworm.
When he figured he had the stream of a dozen mercs close behind him, he wrenched open an access door to the main channel and ducked inside. He had to leave it open so the larfers would know which way he went, and some of the flow would be lost.
But there’dbe enough. There had to be.
The downside of the stone and steelcrete tunnel was that it was perfectly smooth, no place to hide unless he exited at another access, which would defeat the purpose of leading them here. But it was utterly dark, and since he knew it was smooth and straight, he could just keep running with only the faintest ray of his dat-pad to guide him, while his followers bumbledmore slowly behind, untrusting of their path. Unfortunately, the echo of their chasing boots and complaints made it hard to listen for the oncoming rush of water.
He refused to think beyond—
A beam of yellow plasma ricocheted down the tunnel, and despite his best intentions, he yelped at the proximity. He needed to keep them close, but if they caught him and left the tunnels before the flood,they might try to go back for Lishelle.
If he’d kept the blaster, he could’ve kept them more respectful, but he’d needed to know she had some way to defend herself. What else…
His hand brushed the empty holster at his thigh and found only a few hard nuggets… The data cubes. He’d taken some of the recorded messages that had touched him most deeply, wanting to reflect on them when things weremore peaceful. Well, things weren’t going to be peaceful.
He thumbed the trigger on one cube and tossed it toward one of the recessed access points. In the darkness, the ghostly glow of the holo-vid began to talk about his hopes for true love.
The mercs or Radek, whoever was firing, lobbed a few volleys at the holo-vid, which of course ignored the shots and kept wishing to be noticed by oneparticularly stunning farm boy in the next valley over.
Tynan kept running, hoping the lovers had found each other.
The mercs had obviously found the holo-vid. The glow cut out.
But Tynan left two more data cubes in doorways that they had to slow to check out, and he gained a little precious distance.
And enough silence to hear—no,feelthe distant rumble in the pipe around him.
She’d doneit!
Ah, by the many hells, she’d done it. He was larfed.
Scrambling back a few paces, he found the nearest small hatch. If he recalled correctly, this conduit led toward the herb garden that supplied the kitchens. After so long, it was probably all jungle now…
They’d chased him so far, they’d descended almost all the way from the high point where the mountain cisterns entered the castle. Thewater would be moving at an unstoppable rate. From here, the main pipe would hit the incinerated and composted septic reservoir before descending to the canyon far below.
A faint hint of cool air teased him, a warning that if he didn’t get clear, he’d be swept away with them.
In the blackness, he traced his fingers along the seam of the hatch until he found the release, small and set flush soas not to restrict the fast flow of water. He choked out a harsh breath of relief, twisted the release ring outward, and shoved.
The ring broke off in his hand.
The rumble in the pipe had become a cavernous roar, like the howl of defiance in his head. He stared down at the crimp of metal in disbelief. To come this far… Letting out a wordless yell, he aimed a vicious kick at the hatch.
Fromfarther up the pipe, over the thunder of the water, came a scream, swiftly punctuated by more shrieks.
