Chapter 455: The Tunnels and Outside the City

"It reeks down here," Luca said, covering his nose with one hand and holding the motionless Astrid in the other. Swinging his head around, James stared daggers at his helper, wishing for him to be quiet.

"We don’t know who is down here. They patrol these places even when nothing serious has happened, let alone when the city is on lockdown." Luca rolled his eyes and slowly followed behind. He couldn’t understand James’ worry. Their footsteps already echoed in the dark tunnels underneath Brookhaven; what difference did their voices make?

"Are you sure that you patrol here. I haven’t heard anything, let alone seen anything." Luca tried to open his eyes wider. The tunnels were pitch black, and although James claimed to memorise them, without a torch, Luca couldn’t be sure they didn’t work in circles. James dragged his hand across the wall, and, feeling a carving he had drawn himself, turned right at the next crossroads.

"We should be out within a half hour. Just stay on edge and listen out for anything."

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In the middle of the street, Nathan’s body lay unmoving. Blood rolled down his cheek, some of it from the torturer, some caused by the poison he had swallowed. Horace stood unmoving, analysing the corpse.

"He matches the description the shopkeeper gave me." Looking at Charles, they knew they were close. "Why did he run? Why alone?" Rubbing his chin, Horace carefully pushed aside Nathan’s hair to try and get a good look at his remaining eye. Staring at it, it was like he was trying to hear what he was thinking. "The house was empty?"

Charles nodded in reply, making Horace carefully stare. He tried to think why he would run in Nathan’s position and why he would kill himself.’He was caught, so death is the best choice. That’s easy. He entered the home and left within seconds. He didn’t know he was being followed until the suicide. He refused to say anything, so he is loyal, but he was alone... Betryal?’The pieces finally clicked.’No, he was bait.’

"Have patrols placed outside the city walls and underground if they aren’t there." Horace shot the orders out and stared at the corpse, "His comrade used him as bait. He ran because he found that out, not that he was spotted." Charles locked up and turned to the Unyielding, who were waiting for orders.

"Gather any patrols you can find and spread out outside the walls." Charles turned to Horace, "Can I leave the underground to you? My men are better in the open." Horace nodded and watched Charles run off. Pointing to a city guard, he quickly gave the order to clean up the body and ran to the nearest point of entry underground. A few of his men followed behind, into the darkness below.

"Spread out. If you hear or spot anything, do not engage, follow and stay hidden. Do not call for backup until you have left the tunnels. Is that understood?" Although it was dark, he could see them nodding, "Good. There are patrols down here. Any torchlight will likely belong to our people." Horace said nothing more and ran south, the path leading furthest from the palace. His men split up, heading in different directions. The underground tunnels were a small labyrinth. There were very few tunnels and even fewer exits. Many paths lead to dead ends, and even fewer reach outside the city.

Although the chance was slim, depending on how long the Severians had been in the empire, they could have easily worked out a path to escape. If he started from the palace, he wouldn’t have an issue, but starting in the middle of the city made him blind to the path he should take. Despite that, his face didn’t change. There were a few entrances, and the one he entered was the one closest to the escape house Nathan had used.

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James and Luca were stuck to the wall, holding their breaths. Down the corridor, they heard damp footsteps echoing as a dim light slowly got brighter. Sticking close to the wall, James crouched down and scooped up some of the mud they had walked on. Smelling it to make sure it wasn’t anything else, he rubbed it on his face to blend in with the wall around him.

Luca watched and did the same thing. Unlike James, he was less bothered by what else the mud could be. He had been on the battlefield and bathed in many mysterious liquids and filths. Looking at Astird, Luca simply turned her head around, using her hair to hide her.

James slowly reached for his knife, not daring to make a fast movement in case he alerted the guards. Putting his finger over his mouth, he signalled for silence and then signed not to move unless necessary. Luca grabbed the dagger on his belt and readied himself. Turning to face James, the man locked eyes with him and raised his free hand.

’If caught, threaten the girl’s life. Only chance to escape.’Although silent, it was a cold command, and Luca nearly scoffed at it cruelly, but he quickly understood the thinking. He didn’t need to kill Astrid, just make the enemy believe he would. Seeing Luca nod, James suppressed the sigh of relief.

The two watched as the torchlight got closer and held their breaths. Both watched as the guards’ light chattering could be heard. At the end of the tunnel, the guards paused and looked down each of the two dark halls. Even looking in their direction, the guards failed to see them at such a distance.

After a brief conversation, the guards carried on down the other path, letting the two untense. James stared at Luca and lifted his hand again.’Ten minutes roughly. Then we are out.’With a nod, they waited until the light vanished and continued moving, making sure to be extra slow, as James dragged his hand along the wall, finding the small markings he had left along them.

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Horace ran to one of the exits. After a while, he quickly realised the route he was taking and sped up, following the path to one of the few exits he knew. The wind outside could be heard, and dim light pierced through the staircase to the exit. At the end, he banged the hatch open and pushed it aside, stepping out into a nearby forest. Coming out, he was in a small cove hidden by shrubs and trees. Covering the exit once more, he looked around.

Seeing no footsteps leading out, he cleared his own steps and hid behind a nearby tree. Crouching down, he pulled his weapon.

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Luca saw the light of the exit and looked at James, who smiled. The two climbed the staircase, and just before they left, James paused.

"I don’t know if they are waiting for us. Place your knife on her neck as we leave. If anyone is, they will hesitate to act if they see the princess in that position." Luca took a deep breath and did as told. In this situation, he couldn’t risk letting his morals guide him.

Seeing him do as told, James moved up and banged the hatch, loosening it. Pushing it loose, Jame climbed out first. When he heard nothing, he looked around and. When the coast was clear, he signalled for Luca to follow behind.

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Horace watched and saw the two exit the cave, his small smile quickly vanished seeing Astrid with the knife to her throat and holding his breath, he hesitated. He wanted to run off and call for support, but doing so risked losing the kidnappers. He could try to take them out, but that risked Astrid’s life.

Horace tightened his hold on his dagger and sighed, losing it once more. At that moment, all he could do was cut all contact with his allies until it was safe to make contact. Watching Luca and James walk through the forest, he carefully followed behind, like a panther following its prey. They would rest eventually, and when they did, he would strike.

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Across the Empire in SilverHaven, a bird flew down to a small shack with a note attached to its leg. The man inside quickly grabbed the note on his leg and smiled, reading it. It was the letter sent by David, and seeing James writing he knew the invasion was to begin.

Grabbing his own piece of paper, he quickly scribbled out his own command for the next messenger in Nakhla.

’The Princess has been captured. Send word to His Majesty.’

Grabbing another messenger bird, he carefully tied his own letter to its leg and opened a window. Throwing it out, he looked at all the information he had gathered during the year in Ammar. As he started a fire, he read through it all, remembering key points and pocketing the most vital. With the rest, he threw it into the flames and watched it burn before leaving.

He didn’t dare head to Nakhala; instead, he headed into the Livonik lands, a small coastal town in mind.