silk to keep the coarse wool from touching tender skin. What she wore beneath this garment, Gord could only suppose, although he noted that she was shod in soft leather boots with stout soles. Again his eyes met hers.
“Well, soldier, are we to stand here and keep Lord Dhaelhy waiting? Or are we to get on with it?”
“This way, Your Ladyship,” Gord said with a slight wink. “We must hurry-we are late already,” he added as he pulled the door open.
The guard outside the door allowed them to pass his station, but after closing the door behind them he took a couple of tentative steps along their route as though intending to accompany them. Upon hearing the unwanted footsteps, Gord paused and looked back over his shoulder toward the guard. “Remain on duty here, Serjeant, until you are properly relieved,” he barked.
“Yessir,” the fellow answered briskly. He gave Gord a salute and returned to his post.
“Come along, Your Ladyship. The Boss does not wait well,” said Gord as he picked up speed down the stairway. Evaleigh’s feet fairly skipped to keep up, and she squeezed his arm tightly-not entirely for the purpose of keeping the pace.
“Where do we actually go?” she asked in a conspiratorial voice.
“I’m really not sure of that,” Gord replied candidly. “There was no time for me to work out a proper plan, so as soon as I managed to find a means of freeing you from your prison room, I came ahead, figuring that luck and skill would take care of the rest.”
“You dare to risk my well-being on luck?!” It was an accusation more than a question, voiced as she released her hold on his arm.
Gord took a hasty look at Evaleigh. She was definitely not pleased with him now, as was borne out all too plainly by her expression. He replied softly. “Better to have left you for sale to Plar Rookroost? Shall we turn back, then?” As he voiced the second query, Gord slowed his steps.
“Don’t be a clod! Of course we won’t return-ever! Just get me out of this prison, and see to my safety,” Evaleigh said with great feeling. Then she took his arm again and said, “Do forgive me, Gord, I am frightened and alone save for you. What will become of me if we are discovered? If you are killed? I am but a weak girl and desperate for assistance!”
Returning to a hurried pace of descent, Gord smiled at the beautiful lady holding his arm. “Evaleigh, I will see to our escape,” he said fervently, “or die in the trying!”
“Do not think of death, Gord-only freedom,” Evaleigh responded, regaining her resolve.
In their descent, Gord and Evaleigh got safely past the archway of the third floor, where the master of the palace resided. But now that they had deviated from the path that would have taken them to Boss Dhaelhy’s chambers, Gord knew he would not be able to talk himself out of any situation they might encounter on the lower floors. Gord began to move more slowly and deliberately now, looking and listening carefully for signs of activity. Suddenly, the faint sound of tramping feet coming from above caused him to stop short and turn his attention upward. The sound was getting louder by the second, and it was unmistakably being made by a squad of men-at- arms in the third-floor corridor heading for this very stair.
Gord grabbed Evaleigh’s arm and nearly threw her off balance as he resumed their downward flight. “Guards are coming this way,” he hissed. “Hurry, and be as silent as possible.”
Evaleigh made no reply, only picked up her pace to match his. She strained to land on the balls of her feet, to make her footfalls as silent as leather on stone could be. The marching sound behind continued to increase in volume. Fortunately, the pair was out of sight of anyone on the landing above, having made two full turns on this part of the stairway already. The clumping sound reached the landing and then divided into two parts. Some of the guards were moving up, but other steps were coming down the stairway in their direction.
“They’ll soon discover your absence,” Gord whispered. “We must now hope that fortune favors us, for a hue and cry will sound in minutes.”
The girl nodded, panting from the exertion of the rapid descent. They passed the main floor without discovery and continued down. The stairs at basement level were still illuminated by flaming cressets, so they had no difficulty seeing their way. Still the tramping footfalls followed them, so Gord and Evaleigh went on to the deeper level beneath the cellar. Now the steps were damp and slippery, and only one dim flambeau shed its wavering light for them. Gord again slowed to a more careful rate of descent, fearing that if he did not, Evaleigh would make a misstep and tumble headlong. They had put a good bit of distance between themselves and the approaching guards, so the more cautious pace was safe enough as far as discovery from above was concerned-at least for a short time.
They passed several doors as they continued downward to a depth that surprised Gord. The foundation of the great tower must have been dug down to a depth of more than sixty feet! At last they came to a place where the steps ended, and they stood before the entrance to a large chamber. Columns and arches were dimly visible in the light of the cresset at the end of the subterranean stairway. Here was a dark expanse containing who knew what. It offered temporary shelter, however, for the pillars of this vault formed a veritable maze.
“Take my hand,” Gord commanded as he extended his left arm toward Evaleigh. She did so, and then he led her cautiously into the darkness between a pair of nearby columns. There was no sound of pursuit from above, and Gord paused so that Evaleigh could regain her breath.
“What now?” she asked. “Is there a way out?”
“Other than the way we came, I know not,” Gord answered, meanwhile digging under his surcoat. “Blast this rag!” he said, pulling the garment off and stuffing it into a space between stones nearby.
“That’s better,” he muttered, and he opened the pouch at his waist and drew out a tinderbox and a small candle. In a moment he had the candle wick aflame. He instructed Evaleigh to remain concealed near the stairway and he began to move slowly about the chamber. After a few minutes of careful exploring, Gord learned that the vault they were in covered more area than the tower they had just left. This sub-basement extended elsewhere under the palace itself and off at an angle that seemed to run east.
Just as Evaleigh’s soft cry to Gord reached his ears, he too heard the sound that caused her alarm. What had begun as a faint clamor from above was rapidly growing in volume and intensity. In a scant few seconds, as he moved to where Evaleigh could see him, Gord sized up the situation: It was most probable that the loss of the Boss’ prize captive had been discovered, and now the hunt was on.
“Come here quickly!” barked the young man. As soon as Evaleigh reached him, Gord led her into the passage that angled away from the building complex, hoping that they would find some means of egress along the route.
Evaleigh shuddered and pressed close to him, for there were cobwebs, bugs, spiders, and rats aplenty in the dank corridor. That there was occasional traffic here seemed evident, however, by the lack of webs obstructing the center. That meant that it was unlikely they would encounter anything really formidable inside the passage-and besides, at the moment, Gord feared no creatures other than pursuing men-at-arms.
The candle flickered uncertainly in the breeze caused by their movement, and its illumination was feeble at best. Despite this, they traversed several hundred feet of the passageway without mishap before being brought up short before a rusty, iron door. Recalling the layout of the palace, Gord guessed that they were at the base of the middle tower of the wall that formed the compound of the fortress.
The door was meant to be barred on this side, but the iron rod was simply leaning against the wall of the corridor. Gord tried to pull open the small portal with as much effort as he could muster, but it would not budge; it was certainly held fast by a bar on its other side. Shrugging, Gord picked up the unused rod and rammed it in place.
“That should prevent unwanted visitors from this end,” he said with forced cheerfulness. “Now we had better backtrack and look for a door we can get through.”
Evaleigh’s grim expression melted into a thin smile for a moment as they began retracing their steps. After they had gone only a few dozen paces, they heard from ahead the clang of bare steel on stone, followed almost instantly by a great hammering at the iron door behind them. There were guards coming toward them, and soldiers from the tower beyond assaulting the barred portal-they were trapped!
“Lie flat on the stone beside me-now!” Gord said as he blew out the candle. A glow was visible ahead-the light of several approaching torches and lanterns. The girl complied with his order instantly. Men could be seen with the lights now, just entering the long passage.
“What are we to do?” Evaleigh wailed in a faint whispering voice.
“Take my hand, and crawl,” Gord told her. “Use your elbows and knees. Keep your body down.” Gord headed
