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.They are not permitted tosubmit honor payments, either; I want them locked up until Ihave the time to address them."The captain bowed low."Yes, your grace."Krasny swept the group a half bow."Gentlemen, pleaseenjoy your stay at the royal palace.""Thanks for the invitation," Isidor drawled and would havesaid more but for the kick Ivan landed on his ankle."Yourgrace," he belatedly muttered.Looking amused, Krasny turned and walked off, up the stepsand into the palace, leaving them alone with the Captain of theGuard and six guards."Behave," Ivan admonished his men.Theywere all silent as they were led across the fancy courtyard andthrough a wrought-iron gate, down an uneven stone path, anddown a flight of cracked, damp stairs.They went down a shortwalkway, stone walls high on either side, and then through adoor made of iron bars and requiring a key on the captain's belt.Inside what was obviously the palace prison they wereescorted down damp, dark, musty-smelling corridors until theyreached a set of cells that were only barely lit by four dulltorches set in sconces on two of the four walls.There were sixcells total, and the guards scattered them amongst them all.Only when they were locked up and the guards well gonedid Ivan said, "What happened, and why do I sense it hadsomething to do with those sea-bitches? The only other reasonthey wouldn't be here was if they were dead, and I'd bet mysword they're not."104 | Megan Derr – Burning Bright"No, they turned us in," Luka spat, all of his anger finallypouring out."The minute you were out of sight, they turned onus.I don't know why they waited this scorching long, but it wasclear that right from the start they intended to hand Pechalover.They beat the fire right out of us, boss.Snuffed us likecandles! Fire and ash!" He slammed his fist into a nearby wall,only grimacing slightly at the resultant pain.Ivan wanted to hit something himself.He had thought theywere at least on Raz's side, the stupid sea-bitches.He would gutthem himself for betraying someone they had claimed to carefor and who had obviously trusted them.Of course, Raz had trusted him too, and now Pechal was atbest hours from dying, and it was probably more like minutes.Ivan sat down on the creaking bench in his cell, suddenly feelingmuch, much older than his thirty-five years.He was just a stupidmerc, destined to die in a pub brawl or backstabbed by a clientor a noose around his neck.If he was lucky, someone mightremember him after he died.His next life would not be a goodone.Useless men like him did not get mixed up with things likeVessel hunts."What a mess," Maksim muttered from the cell next toIvan's."This is not our type of problem, boss.""It seems it is now," Ivan said."We made Raz a promise andwe broke it.I don't have much decency going for me, but I havethat much.If we can't save Pechal, we can save Raz.First weneed to get out of here.Any thoughts?"Isidor laughed from his cell where he had been lounginglazily on his own bench."These locks are easy to pick; I usedthem for practice back in the days before I started running withyou sorry lot.Say the word and we're free.""Shouldn't be hard to go back the way we came," Ivan saidthoughtfully."The only obstacle will be scaling the palace wall,but that's hardly a real challenge for us.We'll wait a bit.If we gonow, we'll just get caught again.But it won't be long beforethey ring the bells to signal." He trailed off, that sadnesswashing over him again.105 | Megan Derr – Burning BrightAcross from him Ferapont let his head fall to knock againstthe bars of his cell, hands wrapped around the bars."It seemsdepressing to me, Pechal carted off that way to be thrown intoa fire.I just don't believe all that holy stuff, boss.""Nothing we can do about it now," Ivan said."Nothingexcept get to Raz.If we can save him, then we'll have saved oneVessel from dying forever.""Boss, you keep saying that," Luka said."You really think Razis the next Vessel?""I know it," Ivan said."The way he was acting when I spoketo him in the forest.The way Shio and Shinju were acting inretrospect.I don't know why they scorching care about theVessels, but they do, and I'd be willing to bet their plan is tohand over Raz the same way they handed over Pechal."Gleb kicked at his cell bars."Fire and ash, what's all the fussabout?"Ivan shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I'm morethan happy to ruin everyone's fun by taking the last Vessel awayfrom them.We wait until dark, and then we."He trailed off when they heard footsteps approaching andbit back a curse when he saw Krasny stride into the cell.Krasnysmirked at them as he went down on one knee, splaying hishand on the floor.He spoke several words of Ancient, and darkorange light seemed to shoot from his hand, radiating out in acircle than ran over everything.Gleb and Ferapont yelped, jumping back from the iron barsthey'd been holding."Fire and ash!" Ferapont swore."What wasthat?""You'll stay put until I say otherwise," Krasny said and pulledback on the leather gloves he must have removed beforereaching them."I told you that I knew of the Wolves.Yoursentencing sheets are an amusing read.Keep your lock pickingequipment in your pocket.Even if you possessed magic youwould not have enough of it to break my spell.Enjoy yourevening, gentlemen."He turned and left, and Ivan slammed his fist down on thebench."Fire and ash."106 | Megan Derr – Burning Bright"Agreed," Luka said with a sigh."So what do we do now?"Ivan shrugged."We wait.Eventually we'll get a chance.Wejust have to hope that chance comes sooner rather than later.""If it doesn't?""Then I guess we find out what happens when you kill a godonce and for all," Ivan said flatly, grateful when his men tookthat as their cue to stop talking.107 | Megan Derr – Burning BrightChapter Ten: SacrificeDym carried Pechal into the Cathedral through the main halland into the maze of rooms behind it to a private suite reservedfor the Vessels.He settled Pechal on a sofa beneath a windowstreaming sunlight and gently brushed aside the hair that hadfallen in his face.He hated it most when they were found young [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]