Xichos only poked his head in once Ambrose cleared the ladder. “Two hours,” he growled at us. “Might as well enjoy them. They’re the last ones you ever will.” Pleased with his wit, he cackled and disappeared below, the trapdoor closing, the lock clicking, and a bar sliding over.
I listened for more, but it was the same every time. One lock. One bar.
“One reason to stay on Calanthe,” Sondra remarked. “I could teach them much more evil-sounding things to say to prisoners than that. Their repertoire is sadly lacking.”
“They’re very nice people here, it’s true,” Ambrose agreed. “What were you doing, Conrí?”
Nice people, but kind of pitiful that the wizard noticed what Xichos hadn’t. I dug out the tool I’d improvised by bending one of the metal plates, moved the bed away from the wall, and recommenced digging at the inlaid jewels that decorated the windowsill.
“You’re digging your way out through the wall?” the wizard asked politely.
“Making a bagiroca,” I said. When Merle made a dubious caw, I grimaced. “At least it’s not grapes wrapped in a napkin.”
“See my knife?” Sondra showed Ambrose, looking terribly pleased with herself. She’d rolled another metal platter into a tube—by getting me to stand on it for her—and had laboriously attached the biggest glass shard from the broken pitcher to one end by binding it tightly with braided silk rope she’d made from her gown. She’d had to rip the hem off for that and for cloth for my bagiroca, so the dress now revealed most of her long legs. They’d taken away our other clothes when they brought us the fancier ones, so she’d have to fight as is. When I’d pointed out that the guards were likely to get an eyeful of her lady parts when she fought, she’d only smiled thinly and commented that it would be an excellent distraction, and that her lady parts—she’d sneered at my euphemism—were her own business.
I had to grant her that, on both counts. I even nearly made the mistake of saying I wanted nothing to do with her lady parts, but thought better of it just in time. She was still angry with me, and perhaps embarrassed, that I’d said I loved her, even to a third party. Maybe particularly to a third party.
Ambrose examined her makeshift weapon, as did Merle, who landed on his shoulder to poke his beak at it. “Will the cloth hold?” Ambrose asked.
Sondra made a face and took her “knife” back. “For a few slashes, anyway. That’s all I should need to disable a guard and help myself to his weapons.” She smiled in sunny anticipation.
Ambrose nodded thoughtfully, then examined my heap of gems piled in the center of the ragged circle of pink silk I’d laid on the bed. They weren’t precious stones, but had been polished and shaped for decoration—and were the heaviest I could find in the tower. “Not your usual style,” Ambrose commented.
“If you have bigger stones, I’ll take them,” I replied shortly. Another one came loose and I tossed it on the pile. “Either way, we’re not going meekly. We’re going to fight, and we have a plan to escape.”
“Oh yes? Better go ahead and tie it up now,” Ambrose said.
“I’d like it heavier—better impact—since I have two more hours to collect stones and plenty of room in the bag. So listen, the plan is to play scared and get the guards to come after us.”
“No, no, please! Don’t make me go,” Sondra chimed in, pitching her voice high and piteous. I grinned at her.
“Once one or two guards come in to drag us out, we shut the trapdoor behind them and one of us stands on it while the other disables them. Or the other two, if you want to help.” Merle squawked and flapped his wings. “Other three then. We take their weapons and escape this palace. We can steal some of those coracles and make it out to Kara. Once we’re aboard, we’ll regroup and make a new plan.” Gather my army and go straight for Anure like I’d wanted to in the first place, and Ejarat could swallow Ambrose’s prophecy.
I glanced at Sondra, who nodded in satisfaction. The odds were against us, but at least if they killed us we’d have gone down fighting. That’s all she needed, in truth. I felt more myself for the prospect, too.
“The middle part of the plan sounds vague,” Ambrose noted.
I knew it, too, but I shrugged, chipping at the mortar. “We’ll be spontaneous and seize opportunities as they present themselves. It’s worked for us before.”
“And may Sawehl and Ejarat watch over us,” Sondra added fervently.
“Maybe you can do something to cover our tracks,” I suggested to Ambrose without much hope.
“Yeah.” Sondra perked up. “Do that invisibility thing until we’re well away and you’re safe.”
“Oh, that.” Ambrose shook his head. “Anure’s emissary, a most obnoxious Syr Leuthar, barged in while I was talking with Queen Euthalia. She wouldn’t be able to substitute someone else for me now.”
“How did he know who you were?” Sondra demanded.
Ambrose blinked at her. “I introduced myself.” He shrugged and held up his palms for the inevitability. “It was only polite.” Merle muttered an agreement.
I just shook my head, continuing to pry at a nice big stone—the center of a flower—that gleamed with opalescent shades of purple that reminded me of Lia’s gown, and the orchid on her hand. “Then you’ll have to come with us. Better that way, as we need your help.”
“To escape?” Ambrose asked.
“To take the attack directly to Anure’s citadel at Yekpehr.”
Sondra pumped a fist in the air. “Praise Ejarat—finally!”
“It’s an unassailable fortress, Conrí,” Ambrose said.
“And yet assail it we will,” I replied grimly, changing the angle of my prying. I wanted that stone. “Enough with prophecies and marriages and efforts at diplomacy. I’m going back to what I’m good at.” Utter destruction. A man should know his strengths. And his limitations.
Voices lifted in the room below, accompanied by barked orders and the sounds of deferential salutes.
Ambrose cleared his throat. “Did I mention Syr Leuthar was coming to interview you, Conrí? He wants to inspect the prisoners personally. And take us to his ship for transport immediately after.”
“What? Fuck!” The stone popped free on my curse. I added it to the bagiroca and began knotting the thing closed. It would have to do as it was. Sondra had already moved into position behind the trapdoor.
“You might’ve warned us,” I growled, swinging the bagiroca to get a feel for its heft. Not as heavy as I wanted, but it felt familiar and should be effective enough, especially with all the skill I’d acquired at slinging it with elastic force, all the weight of my body behind it. I’d gone back to those early days when we plotted to escape the mines. I only needed my rock hammer to feel like I had then. Nothing left to lose and all the vengeance in the world ahead of me. Vengeance I would take with my own two hands and the weapons that fell easily to them.
“I did warn you.” Ambrose sounded injured. “He never listens to me,” he said to Merle, who made a sympathetic series of soft caws.