The frogs continued to croak, but a few jumped into the water as he waded into the shallows of the river. Keeping his feet planted firmly on the river bottom, he moved unerringly through the cool water as it reached his waist. The men followed behind him, what little sounds they made Braith was certain could be passed off as fish and frogs.
There was a dip in the river that most wouldn’t have noticed but Braith took it as a sign to climb back out. He didn’t require his eyes to know they had reached the mountain the palace had been carved into a hundred years before the war even started. Though it had been risky to undertake such a huge project, his father had refused to be swayed from his decision to create a home fit for a king, even if he hadn’t been one at the time. Braith realized belatedly that his father had built it in order to have more security for the war.
He climbed over three rocks before arriving at a large boulder set against the side of the mountain. Grasping hold of the side of the boulder, his shoulders bunched and heaved as he started to lift the ten foot tall and six foot wide rock out of the way. It creaked and groaned as it slid to the side, revealing the small tunnel he had carved into the mountainside. He hadn’t created the tunnel because he’d thought that he would one day be attempting to take down the king, but because he’d expected the king to try and kill him after he had been blinded. Just to be on the safe side, Braith had spent almost two months carving this tunnel from his apartment to the river that flowed from the palace’s interior. He was certain the other tunnels within the palace would be guarded or blocked now, but he didn’t think this one would have been detected.
He wiped the sweat from his brow as he set the boulder back down and took a step back. William let out a low whistle. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
“You already have a time or two.”
William quirked an eyebrow as he chuckled. “Runs in the family I’m told.”
“That it does,” Braith agreed.
His eyes began to pick up details of the tunnel from the little bit of light that filtered in behind him as the soldiers followed him into the dark and dank cavern. He turned sideways through the twists and turns created within the areas that had been easier for him to carve through. At seventy two paces he knew it was time to start crawling. He pulled his glasses off and tossed them aside, they would only get in his way from here on out. Keegan went in front of him as he eased onto his knees and worked his way into the confining tunnel.
Using his fingers and toes, he pulled himself up through the rock tunnel as he pushed Keegan before him. The faint drip of water reached him; the cool walls dampened his thin clothing and caused it to cling to his skin. The passageway became more difficult to navigate as it became steadily steeper in its upward slope. Stones that were knocked lose clattered against the tunnel sides as they fell away. The men behind him were not as quiet as they had been in the river, but he hadn’t expected them to be, not in here. Thankfully though, their grunts and scrapes were muffled by the rock of the mountain.
At the count of three hundred and two, he knew that the tunnel was going to give way. He placed his hands on each side of the opening and pulled himself into the wider space. The air flow was better here, and a slight breeze cooled his sweat slicked body. His body began to pulse with the anticipation of seeing her as he moved quickly down the passageway.
After another sixty seven steps he arrived at the wall. Taking a moment to steady himself, he gathered full control of his senses as he tried to rein in the excitement tearing through him. He placed his hands against the wall and pressed an ear to it. Most of the other tunnels had small eyeholes to look out of, but there had been no reason to create one here.
He strained to hear, strained to sense if there was anything out there. His body stilled, for a moment there was nothing around him as he opened himself to the world beyond and tried to absorb the details of it. There was no way to know for sure, but he didn’t pick up the presence of anything other than the bodies surrounding him.
Stepping back, he pulled down the lever he had created. The back of the bookcase gave way with a small groan that set his teeth on edge. He was prepared for a fight as he stepped into the ruined library that used to be his. His vision flooded back to him, nearly as acute as if she were beside him again.
***
“How far can you shoot that thing?” Jack inquired.
David’s smile was grim but his green eyes sparkled. “How far do you need me to shoot it?”
“Over the top of that wall.” Jack lit the rag tied around the tip of the arrow and took a step back.
“I didn’t know you planned to burn the palace down.”
“I don’t, but I do intend for them to open those gates and smoking them out seems like a good way to start that process. Fire when ready.”
David leaned back on his heel, raised the bow and fired the arrow. It soared high into the air and hovered for a moment before falling into the abyss beyond. “Another!” Jack called loudly as exhilaration filled him. More cloth was brought forth to wrap the tips of the arrows in. Jack eagerly lit them as David and five of his followers began to fire them rapidly over the wall.
The flames spit and sparked as the arrows became a dazzling source of illumination against the dark night sky. For a disconcerting moment the sparks reminded him of the flickering glow of fireflies on a hot summer day. The association seemed completely out of place amidst the death and mayhem surrounding them, but he couldn’t shake the hope it brought with it.
Shouts rang out from inside the palace walls; more soldiers disappeared from the walls to handle the spreading fires that now leapt up the other side of the wall. Ten vampires ran past him, the trunk of one of the large trees they had chopped down was hefted between them. They were at full speed when they smashed into the solid gates of the palace with the tree.
They fell back beneath the force of the blow and another group raced past to batter the entrance with another massive tree. More yells rang out from within the fortress and the mass outside was forced to fall back from the onslaught of deadly arrows that rained down from the sky. They’d tried to gather as much armor as they could before attacking, but metal was scarce, most vampires were bare and the humans weren’t in much better shape. Cries erupted from the group as humans and vampires were brought down by the projectiles. The copper tang of blood mixed heavily with the smoke and ash swirling about them.
Behind him the flames of the town caused sweat to bead along his neck and wet his shirt. People raced about, screaming and shouting as they tried to make sense of the chaos engulfing their town. The soldiers that had been guarding the town were beginning to regroup as they prepared to launch an attack from the back, but the fire had cut off any chance the soldier’s would have of escaping or trying to lay a trap for them if they were forced to retreat.