Evelyne stopped, the door cracked open. 'You mean other than to get out?' She thought for a moment. 'I guess that's it really. Just get out. And as long as we're day-dreaming, I don't ever want to get sent back here. Never ever.'
'How did you get put here? The king doesn't hand out sentences to the Cellar lightly.'
Evelyne shifted her weight. 'That's no business of yours. Let's just say I deserved it.'
'How long have you been here?'
'A year,' she said. 'Give or take a few months. It's hard to tell time in a place like this.' 'That's a long time.'
'I'm a patient woman,' she said. She pulled the door open wide. 'I'll be seeing you.'
'What if I told you I could get you out of here?' Evelyne stopped. 'I'm listening.'
'What if I could not only get you out of here, but I could also get you a full pardon-get you cleared completely. That you could go back to your old life, no longer a criminal.'
'You could do that?'
'Only if you help me.'
She rubbed her chin, considering his offer. 'What is it you're searching for anyway?'
'The woman I love,' said the Claw. -
Evelyne shook her head. 'You came down here to find your woman.' She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, still thinking. Then she threw her hands in the air. 'Hells, what else have I got to do? Very well. You've got a deal. Escape from this place and a full pardon.' She put her hand out. 'Shake on it.'
The Claw put out his hand, but Evelyne pulled away.
'On second thought,' she said, looking at his bladed gauntlets, 'maybe it's safer to make this a verbal agreement.'
'That'll teach you.'
Mariko looked out through blurry eyes. She blinked. 'Where am I?'
'You're in the Cellar, and you're lucky to be alive.'
The princess shook her head. It felt thick, full of liquid, and there was a dull throbbing in her temple. 'The Cellar?' It was hard to think with all the cobwebs in her brain.
A sudden chill ran down her spine. It was starting to all come back. 'The spiders?'
'They would have eaten you, had we not arrived when we did.'
Mariko sat up on the hard stone. Her head spun, and her stomach lurched. Before she could do anything about it, her innards revolted, and she vomited all over the ground.
'You might want to try moving a little slower. You got a pretty big dose of venom from that spider.'
Mariko laid herself back down on the cold stone and closed her eyes. The violent revolt inside her body slowly subsided, but the throbbing in her head was now worse, and she did still feel a little queasy.
'What happened?' she asked.
'You don't remember?'
She tried to think back on the last thing she remembered. She could hear the clicking noises, and see the spider clinging to the pillar. After that it was hazy.
'Not… not really.'
'It'll come to you.'
The princess felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. 'You need to drink this.' The hand gently rolled her to her side, and she felt the edge of a vial touch her lips.
Opening her eyes again, she looked down on the milky liquid. 'What is it?'
'It's more anti-venom. You've been drinking it in small doses for almost a full day now.'
The princess nodded and took the vial, drinking the potion inside. When she finished, she wiped her dry lips on the back of her hand and looked up at her caregiver. As her vision came into focus, Jallal Tasca's distorted face came into view.
'I never thought I'd see you trying to keep me alive.'
Jallal chuckled. 'Let's just say you are more valuable to us alive as a bargaining chip than as a dead adversary.' He stood up from where he was crouching beside Mariko. 'But don't let it go to your head, Princess. You're still going to die. Just not yet.'
Jallal turned and walked away, his hoofed feet clicking on the stone floor. 'Come get me when she can stand without vomiting,' he said to the two nearby guards. 'And keep your eyes open for any unwanted guests. Who knows what could be wandering these halls?'
Chapter Twenty-one
In the dying rays of the sun's light, a burly half-ore lifted a crate of Elixir and carried it to the end of the dock. He handed it to a dark-skinned human.
'Start a new row,' growled the half-ore.
The dark-skinned man grunted as he took the heavy crate and placed it on the floor of the boat, next to another stack of crates. 'How many more are there?'
The half-ore turned around and knelt on the dock, taking a breather to count the remaining crates. 'A lot,' he said.
' A lot' doesn't tell me very much, Kleegor.'
The half-ore wiped the sweat off of his face with his hairy forearm. 'It's more than we've loaded already, Talish.'
'That is a lot,' replied the dark-skinned man.
Kleegor got back to his feet and retrieved another crate. Then he returned to hand it to Talish. 'Did you get one of those letters?'
'You mean the ones from the king? Yeah, I got one.'
'What did you do with it?' asked Kleegor.
'What do you think I did with it?' said Talish, straining to talk as he put the crate in its place. 'I made a show of tearing it up in front of the messenger, then I took it to the Matron. How 'bout you? You get one?'
'Yep.'
'Did you read it first?'
'Yep.'
'Yeah,' said Talish, 'so did I.'
'What do you think? You think he'll really turn over the Claw?'
Talish shrugged. 'Dunno.'
Kleegor grabbed another crate then came back. 'What if he doesn't? Or what if the Magistrates don't find him?'
'I dunno. What if? So we don't have the Claw, so what?'
'So, will the Matron turn over the princess to Xeries? Even if she doesn't have the Claw?'
Talish looked up at the sky. 'It's getting pretty late, huh?'
'That's what I mean,' said the half-ore. 'Those… things… those black beasts have been waiting under the Obsidian Ridge all day.'
'And?'
'And,' said the half-ore, a little perturbed, 'they have pretty big teeth.' 'I noticed.'
'And what if the Matron does get the Claw before moonrise?'
Talish rolled his eyes. 'I dunno. What if?'
'Well,' said Kleegor, 'will the king sacrifice his only daughter?'
'I sure wouldn't,' replied Talish. 'Not for this place.' The half-ore made another run down the dock, hurrying back. 'So what if we were to go ahead with our original plan?' 'What plan?'
'You know, to assassinate the king.'
Talish put the crate down and turned back to Kleegor. 'What good would that do?'
