Rakken met her gaze for a few seconds and then looked away. "If he knows what's good for him - " "The man is insane, Etion. Furthermore, as you just noted, he's a westerner," she added with a weak
smile. "You can't count on him to apply logic or reason to the situation. If he's decided you're no longer useful to him as a businessman or partner, then I'd say he won't hesitate to get rid of you. But first he'll kill Gryph because he knows that of all of us, Gryph poses the only real danger to him."
Something crumpled inside Rakken. His growing anxiety blossomed visibly as he surged to his feet. It was as if he had suddenly given up trying to reassure himself that he was still in command of the situation.
"I'm not so sure Chassyn is much of a danger to him," Rakken announced morosely. "You didn't see the confrontation between the two of mem that I witnessed early this rooming. Targyn did something to Chassyn with his mind. Stopped him cold. I got the impression Chassyn barely survived the encounter. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Taigyn's been bragging about how 'strong' he's gotten since he's worked with the prisma hidden here, but I hadn't realized just what he meant. Damn it to the Lightstorm, Sariana, what are we going to do?"
"We have to set Gryph free so he can deal with Targyn before the man gets any stronger!" Sariana tried to keep her tone calm and forceful. This was a time for coolheaded, businesslike reasoning and persuasion. She didn't want to panic Rakken further, but at the same time she needed to push him in the direction she wanted him to go. Time was running out.
"What good is Chassyn going to be to us without that damn weapon kit?" Rakken muttered as he downed the remainder of his wine. "Even with the kit Targyn nearly killed him using some strange mental power. For some reason Targyn doesn't seem to be able to use his mind against normal people. At least not yet."
"We don't have much choice. Targyn might not be able to use his mind against us the way you say he did with Gryph, but you've admitted yourself that he's a trained warrior. What are chances of escaping without Gryph?"
"About zero," Rakken admitted. "Especially when you consider that there are three bandits working with Targyn. Miscroft might not be much of a problem. I've been talking to him on the side and we've almost decided to make a deal. He'd probably listen to reason. But the other two are definitely Targyn's men. Any one of the three is far more skilled with a blade bow or a knife than you or I could ever hope to be."
"All the more reason to find Gryph and set him free." Sariana paused as a familiar feeling tickled her mind. It was the sort of feeling she'd had earlier just before the image of the blade knife had slipped into her consciousness. This time there was a fleeting sense of urgency, an insistent command that she find Gryph. Then the image of a corridor flickered in her head.
"Sariana?" Rakken eyed her worriedly. "What is it?"
"We have to find Gryph. Now." She turned toward the door. At the last instant she stopped, remembering Lucky. She snatched up the cloak and headed back to the door.
"Sariana, wait! We have to talk about this further." Rakken leaped after her. "There might be a way for you and me to escape if we make some plans."
"There's no time left," Sariana said as she stepped into the metal corridor. "I have to get to Gryph." "Damn that man. Sariana, you're putting far too much faith in him. He's useless to us without that
weapon kit, and I no longer have it."
She whirled on him, her voice a tight whisper. "Please be quiet, Etion. One of Targyn's men might hear us. Do you know where Gryph is being held?"
Etion paused and then nodded bleakly toward a branching corridor. "Down that hall. There's a door on the left."
"Locked?"
"Of course it's locked. Do you think Targyn would keep Chassyn in an unlocked cell?" "Let's go." Sariana hurried down the hall, scanning the blank walls for some sign of a door. Rakken,
apparently unable to think of any other course of action, followed.
"There," he muttered, pointing to an intricate locking device affixed to a western style door. There was a grill at the top of the door. "Targyn said he might need a chamber for prisoners, but he couldn't figure out how to lock and unlock the metal doors in this place. This room didn't have a door so he had his men build this one and installed it in the opening."
"Targyn's got the only key, I suppose?"
Rakken nodded wordlessly.
"Sariana." Gryph's voice was a bare thread of sound from the other side of the grill. Sariana's heart leaped. "Gryph! We're here, but the door's locked and Etion doesn't have a key."
"Then you'll just have to pick the lock, won't you?" Gryph asked mildly.
"Don't sound so damn casual," Sariana said tightly. "I have no more idea of how to pick a lock than I do of how to fly."
"No problem. I'll guide you through the whole process. All you have to do is pay attention and follow instructions. Got that cloak pin I gave you?"
Sariana blinked and glanced down. "I've got it. What about it?"
"Listen closely and do exactly as I say. I looked at the lock on the way in. It's pretty standard. Targyn probably didn't have time to have anything special made up. Take the pin and slide it along the seal that joins the two halves together."
Sariana pulled the pin from the cloak she was carrying and went to work. It was a tedious process and Gryph lost his patience more than once. He wasn't the only impatient male in the vicinity, Sariana noted. Rakken was pacing in a circle in the corridor behind her, muttering dire predictions of disaster.
"Damn it, Sariana," Gryph snapped at one point when she failed to probe the lock spring. "What's the matter with you? Can't you even follow a few simple orders?"
"Gryph, I'm trying. Explain the last sequence once more."
Rakken glanced at her, his eyes feverish with anxiety. "Hurry up, Sariana. If you can't do it, just say so and drop the whole thing. We might still be able to get out of here."
"Shut up," Sariana said absently as she frowned in concentration. "Both of you." She jiggled the cloak
pin.
Gryph ran through the description of the next step, his voice taut and controlled. Sariana tried again and failed to find the hidden spring. "Damn westerners," she mumbled under her
breath, "too clever for their own good."
Rakken walked over to breathe down her neck. "Did you get it this time?" "No, I didn't get it this time. Gryph, you'll have to describe it again. I can't find the spring." "Sariana, any child could have released that spring by now," he said roughly. "Then go find yourself a child," she retorted, losing patience. "Listen to me, both of you. In case either