“Got him,” he said.
I dispersed the mist and looked about. We had six unconscious or incapacitated guards in the hallway that gave away our presence. We needed to do something with them.
“Can’t have them following us,” Vesma said. “We can lock them in the cellar. Kegohr, can you help me with this?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Kegohr caught the armor of two of the guards in a single hand and dragged them over the tiles, back along our path. ”
“What if they wake?” Labu asked.
“We’ll tie them up in the cellar,” Vesma snapped.
Labu watched me with the same wary respect I was now granting him as my friends dragged the unconscious guards down the stairs. Kegohr did most of the heavy lifting. I had no doubt that my friends could handle themselves, but Labu was the new guy in this equation. We’d worked well together in the fight and, loath as I was to admit it, he could be quick-witted as well as quick-fisted.
“We’ll press on without you,” I called to Vesma and Kegohr.
“Sure,” Kegohr said. “Just leave us a trail so that we can find you.”
“Wet footprints, perhaps.” Vesma winked as she tucked two spears under her arm.
“I think I can manage that,” I said. “If you don’t catch up with us, we’ll find you here on the way out.”
I headed up through the guild house and followed Labu’s lead. The prince’s caution apparently overcame his sense of urgency, and we slowed our pace. We still weren’t in the heavily used areas toward the front of the building. This part seemed to be older, the architecture mismatched and primitive, like old buildings had melted together to form something new. Some of the rooms clearly served specialized purposes, including an alchemical lab and a documentary archive. Others were store rooms or small, dusty corners that had fallen out of use. The prince grew more tense in his stride the further we moved through the guild house.
Labu led me down stairs again, past a row of storerooms.
“The secured quarters are down this way,” he whispered. “Not many people have a reason to come here, but those who do are either guards or important, so be wary.”
We crept along the corridor lit once again by flaming brands in sconces along the walls. It was like walking into the dungeon from a Hollywood movie. A dark, cold space with uneven flagstones underfoot and wooden doors bound in iron greeted us as we descended further. Water dripped from the ceiling and left small pale stalactites behind. There were very few signs of life, and none of the light and style of finesse that marked the other parts of the guild. A rat-like creature took off at a run as soon as it saw us, taking its prized meal with it.
“Why do they need all these cells?” I asked after we passed at least a dozen of them. “Surely, the guild doesn’t have this much of a discipline problem.”
“There was a castle here before the guild house,” Labu replied. “Home to a clan family, long before the days of the empire. The histories say that they wouldn’t bend the knee to the first emperor, and the first Qihin king won favor by bringing them down.”
“Sounds like things have always been tense here.”
“The Diamond Coast is full of Vigor as well as stopping ports on the trade lane from Azachan to High Sparus. It’s worth fighting for. And when we don’t stand united, that’s when outsiders come in to take our wealth and our land.”
“Is that why you’re so keen for the guild and your clan to work together?”
“My motives are none of your business,” Labu hissed.
“No need to be a prick about it.”
“And there was no need for you to come to our land, stirring up trouble for everyone, but still you came.”
We reached a T junction with each arm holding the doors to three cells. These cells were different, and all but one of them had a kind of silk rope hanging on a hook beside them.
“This is where they’d keep a prisoner who can Augment,” he said. “She’ll be in one of them, if she’s here at all. I don’t know what game Cadrin is playing, but. . .”
I left him to talk to himself as I moved along the row and peered through the barred windows of the cells. The first two were empty, and I approached the third. It was the only cell without silk ropes hanging beside it. Inside, sat a familiar figure.
Kumi was tied to a chair by silk ropes and with a strip of cloth across her mouth. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she moaned something, her gag making her words unintelligible.
I stepped back to look at the door. It was solidly built, with an iron lock and a heavy wooden bar. I slid the bar out of the way and pressed my hand against the lock. It was old, rusted, and moist from the air. I focused and fired off a tiny, powerful blast of Untamed Torch. The intense heat found the water inside the mechanism and boiled it instantly. One sharp hiss and a searing crack later, and the lock exploded inside its wooden housing.
I reared back and kicked the lock as hard as I could. The charred wood and damaged door around it gave way. It fell to the floor in ashen, smoldering lumps. Whatever was left of the lock hit the flagstones and skittered into a corner.
“Come on,” I said to Labu.
I strode into the cell, went over to Kumi, and unfastened the gag from around her mouth.
“It’s so good to see you both,” she said with a relieved smile. “Much gratitude for coming for me.”
“We were hardly going to leave you here,” I said. “Right, Labu?”
The prince stood at the entrance of the cell as his gaze flitted from us to the corridor outside and back to me again.
“Is someone coming?” I asked.
“No,” Labu replied. “You’re fine.”
But
