Tin Thoughts (The Downfall Saga Book 2) Page 5

  The argument went on for a full minute before Tuff summoned a ball of fire into his hand and gestured aggressively at the vendor. Osmont appeared between the two of them and attempted to calm both of them down.

  “Psst, Donovan,” came a voice from behind.

  Donovan turned his head and saw Eamon standing between two buildings, about ten feet behind Donovan. He motioned for Donovan to follow him as he disappeared between the buildings. With a fleeting glance back at the square, Donovan followed after Eamon who waited at the far corner of the buildings.

  “People are watching me,” said Eamon. “We have to get inside quickly.”

  Without waiting for a response, he entered the crowd of people walking down the street. Donovan kept a few people in between them as he followed after Eamon. Eamon took a meandering path, heading in a different direction every few blocks before hurrying up to the side door of a building not far from the square. He unlocked the door and slipped inside, leaving the door open for Donovan to follow.

  Donovan was met with darkness as he entered the building. The door closed behind him and he heard the click of a lock.

  A blue light faintly illuminated the room as Eamon uncovered a glass sphere, similar to the ones Donovan had seen at Haven.

  They were standing in a short hallway. Eamon led him through the door at the end into a parlor. Eamon walked over to the mantle above the empty fireplace and lit a candle with a similar device to the one the vendor was selling in the square. He walked around the room and lit several oil lamps with the candle until the room was filled with a cheery brightness.

  The room was lavishly decorated with paintings and other artwork. The walls were covered with dark wooden panels which gave the room an intimate feeling. Donovan sunk down into a chesterfield whose cushions were covered in the hide of a black and white striped animal that Donovan had never seen before.

  Eamon left through another door and came back several minutes later with an open bottle of wine and two glasses.

  “I’m sorry,” said Eamon. “I gave the staff the night off so we could have some privacy.”

  He poured a glass of wine for each of them, which he set down on the table in front of Donovan, before walking around the table to sit on the second chesterfield so they were facing each other.

  “I ... well,” started Eamon.

  Donovan gave him a smile. “I hope I haven’t put you in danger by coming here.”

  “I fear you have, but the reward is worth the risk.” Eamon picked up his glass and took a sip of wine. “Besides, I’m the one who asked you to come see me.”

  “Why couldn’t you have stayed and talked to me when you dropped off the lute?”

  “You saw the man in the woods that night. He was ... is ... watching me. I was taking a risk just by leaving the note for you.”

  Donovan stared at his glass for a moment before picking it up and taking a small sip. The wine was cool and surprisingly sweet. “I’ll go if you want me to,” he said quietly.

  “Of course not,” said Eamon. “I’ve missed you this last year. I want to hear about everything that happened.”

  “I feel that you owe me some explanations about what happened to me before I give you a blow by blow of my first year at Haven.”

  Eamon set down his glass and got up. He checked behind both doors leading out of the room and made sure that the doors were closed before sitting down again. “Fair enough. I’ll tell you what I can, in exchange for hearing about your year.” He took several slow breaths before continuing. “It’s better for both of us if you don’t know about some things that had to happen ... but where to start? What can you remember?”

  “Nothing before the night I turned up at Haven.”

  “Your father is caught up in something dangerous and feared for your future. He made me promise to take care of you and keep you hidden until we could get you to safety. You lived with me as my son for ten years before an opportunity presented itself. I spent my life as a trader and never managed to settle down and start a family of my own. It was the greatest gift I had ever received when your father entrusted you with me.” He took a long drink of wine, and Donovan saw a single tear streak down his cheek.

  Donovan leaned back and silently stared at Eamon.

  “Those were the happiest years of my life, but your father showed up one night with a plan to get you to Haven where you could disappear for a few years.”

  “Wait. How did he know that I could use magic?”

  “I don’t know, but he seemed sure that they’d take you in,” said Eamon, shaking his head.

  Donovan traced his finger around the rim of his glass before looking up and staring into Eamon’s eyes. “How do I find him?”

  “You can’t.” Eamon stood up and walked over to examine a painting on the wall. The painting showed a young boy sleeping on a green hill with a flock of sheep in the background.

  Donovan walked over behind him and rested his hand on Eamon’s shoulder. “I need to see him. I don’t care the risk.”

  “I wouldn’t even know what direction to point you in. He’s searching for something ... he gave me a map of an island, but I couldn’t find anything about it. He stormed off, saying that I was no help.”

  Donovan turned him around and searched his face for any sign of deception. Finally satisfied, he walked back to the chesterfield and waited for Eamon to sit back down before continuing.

  “What happened that night when I was abandoned at Haven?”

  Eamon flinched when Donovan said abandoned.

  “I snuck you out of the city a couple weeks earlier and we hid out in the countryside as we travelled towards Haven. I planned to leave you there, where you’d be safe until you learnt how to protect yourself. We were a day outside of Haven when we were caught. I couldn’t resist their magic and your memories were blocked.”

  Donovan leaned towards Eamon. “Who did it to me?” he said slowly.

  “I’m sorry. There was nothing I could do.”

  “Who?” he barked.

  “It w—”

  He was cutoff when the door into the parlor opened, and Osmont and Tuff rushed in.

  “Get away from him,” said Osmont, crossing the room.

  “Calm down,” said Donovan. “Everything is fine.”

  “Come here.” Osmont grabbed Donovan’s arm and yanked him to his feet.

  Donovan tried to twist free but couldn’t break Osmont’s iron grip. “Relax. We’re just talking.”

  “You know nothing about this man.”

  “And you do?”

  “More than you apparently. He’s known for his dirty dealings.”

  “That’s a lie,” said Eamon, springing to his feet.

  “Sit down.”

  “All of you can take a seat,” came an authoritative voice from behind them.

  Six men in uniforms stood just inside the room. The lead man, who wore a gold sash, continued speaking. “You’re all under suspicion of smuggling prohibited goods. Carefully put your weapons on the floor and we can do this without anyone getting hurt.”

  “Not likely,” said Tuff, drawing his sword.

  “This is your one warning to stand down before we put you down, dwarf.”

  “Come over here and say that.”

  Two guards sprang at him. He dropped the first man with a punch to the chin, before disarming the second and holding his sword to the guard’s throat.

  “Let’s not make this any worse than necessary,” said Osmont. “We’ve done nothing wrong.”

  Tuff bared his teeth but didn’t lower his sword.

  “How many innocent people are you willing to kill to fight your way out of the city?” asked Osmont.

  Tuff pulled the sword away from the guard’s throat and gave him a shove.

  Osmont slowly drew his sword and set in on the ground along with his knives. Donovan followed his lead, and Tuff reluctantly followed suit.

  “Where did the other guy go?”

  Donovan turned hi
s head and saw that Eamon had disappeared.

  Two guards crossed the room and raced through the door.

  The remaining guards bound their hands in front of them with pieces of rope, before having them sit side by side on the chesterfield. Osmont and Tuff shared a look before sitting down.

  “My name is Captain Aasim. This will go much easier if you confess your wrongdoings.”

  “We arrived here mere moments before you did,” said Osmont.

  “Were you buying or selling?” Aasim sat down across from them. He picked up the bottle of wine, and swirled it around before sniffing the opening.

  “Neither.”

  He took a long drink from the bottle. “Why were you here then?”

  Donovan fought the urge to look at Osmont. The silence permeated the room until one of the guards returned with a small cask in his hands.

  He walked over to Aasim and saluted before talking. “We lost him, sir, but we found this.”

  “What do we have here?” asked Aasim, taking the cask and setting it down on the table.

  “There’s a whole room full of them. We had to break the lock to get to them.”

  “Interesting. Do any of you have something to say before I open this?”

  “We just got here, you fool,” said Tuff. “We have nothing to do with whatever is in there.”

  “You sound pretty emotional for an innocent observer.”

  He withdrew a slender knife from his boot and pried the top off the cask. He tossed the lid onto the table before looking into the cask.

  “Interesting. Last chance.” He made eye contact with each of them before scooping a green, leafy herb out of the cask with the blade of his knife. “I’m going to need all of you to come with me.”

  Chapter 5

  “The magistrate will see you now.”

  A servant in a linen tunic led them into the dimly lit room. The room was dominated by an enormously fat man sitting behind a wooden desk. Donovan, Osmont and Tuff were escorted to a stone bench by six guards who chained their hands and feet to iron rings attached to the floor.

  “More light,” snapped the magistrate.

  “You said the lamps made it too hot,” said the servant. “I wish that you’d make up your mind.”

  “Do what I say or I’ll find someone else who will.”

  The servant muttered to himself as he lit several lamps around the room. The lamps began giving off a fruity smell once they were lit.

  “What do we have here?” asked the magistrate, struggling to free himself from the chair. Sweat rolled down his face and pooled in a cleft between his chins. He waddled over to the bench. A thick, musky aroma preceded him. “My name is Magistrate Rach.”

  “These scoundrels have broken many laws,” said Aasim, who was standing by the doorway. “The dwarf stole from an honest merchant.”

  “That’s a lie!” said Tuff.

  “Hold your tongue or I’ll get one of my men to remove it. Continue, Aasim.”

  “They then caused a public disturbance before fleeing with their stolen goods to a residence where we found many illicit goods.”

  “Tsk, tsk. If you had alerted us to what you were carrying and paid the appropriate tariff, you would not have found yourself in this predicament.”

  “There’s more. The older two are wizards.”

  “Wizards!” Rach nearly fell as he hurried to back away from them. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

  “We have things well in hand. Any false moves will be their last.”

  “What do you three have to say for yourselves?” asked Rach. He pulled out a dirty handkerchief and began dabbing his sweaty face.

  “We’ve done nothing wrong,” said Osmont. “Nothing was stolen, and we arrived at that house for the first time right before your men.”

  “Who were you meeting, and what were you buying?”

  “Nothing. We thought we saw an old acquaintance enter the building, but were mistaken.”

  “A likely story. Do you deny being wizards?”

  “No.”

  “Did you notify the city officials to your abnormality? Of course you didn’t, or I would have been informed.” He slowly made his way back to his desk and eased his bulk onto the chair. The chair let out an ominous creak. “I’ve heard enough. Put them in the cells until you’re done gathering evidence.”

  “What?” said Donovan. He tried to get to his feet, but the chains prevented it. “We’ve done nothing wrong. You have to let us go. How can we prove our innocence?”

  “I don’t have to do anything,” said Rach, writing something on a piece of paper on the desk. “Normally you could prove your innocence in the fighting pits, but we don’t take kindly to wizards, and won’t let them ruin the spirit of competition in the pits. Take them away.”

  Without warning a wet cloth was pressed firmly over Donovan’s mouth and nose. He tried to struggle, but the hands were strong and he was chained. He tried to twist his face away from the cloth, but the hand holding it was relentless. The cloth smelled strange; sweet yet somehow thick. He began to feel dizzy and spots swam before his eyes. His struggles grew weaker. He made one final effort to escape before he sank down into unconsciousness.

  Donovan awoke in a long, dark hallway. A rough, stone floor flashed by below him. Someone was carrying a torch behind him and he watched their long shadows dance along the floor. Two men were carrying him, each holding one of his arms, his feet dragging on the floor. His head bobbed and swung uncomfortably. His mouth was dry, his tongue felt thick, and the smell from the cloth still lingered on his face. He hung there limply, and pretended to still be unconscious.

  “How far are we going?” asked the man holding his right arm.

  “All the way down,” said the other man.

  “Why can’t we just slit their throats and be done with them. It’s not like they’ll ever see the light of day again.”

  “Shut your mouth and do what you’re told.”

  As they continued down the hallway, Donovan began to pick out sounds from behind. He couldn’t tell how many people there were, but he assumed that Osmont and Tuff found themselves in a similar position. He wished that he had a way to signal to them so they could coordinate an escape. He let his head loll to the side, but couldn’t see past his own body.

  The hallway opened into a circular room. Thick stone doors, with narrow slits for windows, surrounded the room. They carried him towards one of the doors. He risked taking a look at his companions. They both hung limply from their captors’ arms. He waited for them to make a move before springing into action, but their limp bodies were dumped into separate cells and the opportunity slipped away. He was roughly dumped on the floor. They unfettered his arms and legs before retreating from the room, locking the door behind them. He waited until he couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore before standing up and pressing his face to the slit in the door. The central room was dimly lit by two torches which were filling the air with smoke.

  “Hey, you guys awake?” he called, with no response.

  Donovan frowned. Had they given him a smaller dose of whatever had knocked him out or had his magic helped to fight it off. It wouldn’t be the first time that his body had healed itself at an unnatural rate. He’d been horribly burned in an accident with another student the previous year. Many of the professors had tried to heal him with no success, before he’d lain outside during a Downfall, a magical storm which periodically appeared, and his injuries had healed overnight.

  He spent several minutes exploring the sparse interior of the cell. It was roughly wedged shaped, with the rear wall wider than the front. He could nearly touch both walls if he stretched his arms out to the side.

  He fell into a Vanora while he waited for the others to wake. The precise movements helped limber his body, while clearing his mind. He had so many unanswered questions which he wanted to ask Eamon, instead he found himself stuck in this cell.

  He cupped his right hand and swept it in front of him and up towards
his left shoulder while slowing his breathing. Returning to a neutral position, he clenched his fists at his sides.

  “Oy, anybody out there?” came Tuff’s voice.

  “Yeah,” said Donovan. “Nice of you to wake from your nap.”

  “I’ll box your ears when I get out of here. I’ve yet to see a cell which I couldn’t get out of.”

  “They know you two are wizards, so they clearly have something planned in case you try to break out. Let’s wait for Osmont so we don’t need to repeat ourselves.”

  “You’re recommending caution?” asked Tuff in an incredulous tone.

  “I plan to succeed and then execute the plan successfully, except when I fail, of course.”

  Tuff let out a nervous laugh before falling into silence as they waited for Osmont to wake.

  By Donovan’s best guess it was at least ten minutes later before they heard Osmont’s croaking voice.

  “Donovan? Tuff? You guys there?”

  “We’re here,” said Tuff.

  “Anyone get a look at our surroundings?”

  “We’re stuck in a bloody cell. Where do you think we are?”

  “Circular room,” started Donovan. “Seven cells. Long hallway through the door halfway between Osmont’s and my cell.”

  “Right,” said Tuff. “Now that everybody’s awake, let’s get out of here.”

  “Hold on,” said Osmont. “They brought us here for a reason, and are probably listening to us right now. They’ll bring the ceiling down on top of us or spring some other trap if they even get the hint that we are trying to escape.”

  “So we’ll have to make it quick.”

  “I’m not willing to bet all of our lives on our ability to escape before they spring a trap on us. They want something from us, otherwise we would already have been sentenced and executed. We need to be patient and wait to find out what it is.”