against an oil lamp set into the wall, creating pockets of light behind us.
'For our return journey' he said.
How did he keep such courage and spirit? I raised my eyes to the vivid ceiling. Above us was an army, headed by a ruthless general intent on claiming the throne and supported by a madman with the power of an Ascendant dragon. What could wc do against them? Images of Lord Tyron's body and I lollin's slack face made my throat burn with a sudden rise of bile. Were all the Dragoneyes and their apprentices now dead? There was perhaps one who had survived: Dillon. And, ol course, me.
Poor Dillon. Could his survival wreck Ido's plans for the String of Pearls? Did not all those connected to a dragon have to die before it could be created? I sighed. My problem was, as it had always been, lack of knowledge. I just did not know enough about the power of the Dragoneyes. I patted the red folio, reassuring myself that it was still held tight against my arm. Hopefully, Lady Dela would soon find the most important piece of knowledge in it. If we found Lady Dela.
Suddenly the earth shivered under my feet. A rumbling boom resonated through the tunnel as though the earth itself was moaning in pain. I ducked as dust spun into the air, catching in my throat.
'What in Shola's name was that?' Ryko said, his sword half drawn.
I coughed, trying to clear the dust. An earthshake?'
He peered back the way we had come. 'Maybe. Come on, I will feel better when we are out of the ground.'
We moved on. Finally, Ryko raised his candle and pointed upwards. A thick gold band curved across the ceiling and down each wall. It reminded me of the Imperial audience line in the ceremonial courtyard.
'This marks the harem wall,' he said. 'We are almost there.'
We passed under the gold boundary without another word. Ryko quickened his pace and I dug into deep reserves of energy to break into an awkward trot behind him. My sword seemed to weigh as much as a man. Ryko lengthened his stride and I pushed myself into a run. The muffled sound of our feet and my rasping pants were the only sound in the passage. And then Ryko stopped, making me swerve around him to slow down. The carpet had abruptly given way again to rough stone.
I bent double over the sword and sucked in deep wheezing breathis.
'Maybe it would be best for you to stay here while I find Lady Dela,' Ryko said, watching my struggle.
I shook my head. 'I will not stay' I managed between gasps.
'I could make you stay'
I straightened, my breathing easier. 'I will keep up. Have I not so far?'
'You have,' he conceded. 'But I have a feeling that something has gone very wrong up there.'
He cast a worried glance upwards. 'We'll come up in a service alley on the outer edge. Keep hidden until I make sure it is clear.'
He lit a lamp in the wall beside him then blew out his candle, tucking it back into the pouch under the armour. He took my candle and gave one quick nod.
After we had turned two sharp corners, Ryko took my hand and placed it on his shoulder, then blew out my candle too. I stumbled behind him in the near pitch black, trying to match my small uneven steps to his long strides. We made another turn and I saw dull grey light, a sliced circle high in the darkness. For a few steps, I could not work out what it was, and then the slices made sense. Bars. It was another grate. Beneath it, the planes and shadows of a steep staircase. And then the distant sounds of screams and wails penetrated the silence.
Were we too late?
Ryko lunged forwards and climbed the steps using hands and feet. He crouched at the top, peering through the grate and blocking most of the dim light in the passage. Feeling my way along the wall, I found the first step and crawled up beside him.
Beyond the bars, the alley was stacked with trader chests and hessian-covered bales that blocked the view of the square. There was no way of knowing what lay ahead, but at least we would have some cover when we emerged. Ryko gripped two parallel bars and slowly shifted the grate out of its niche. It hit the stone
paving of the alley with a dull chink and thudded against the outside wall. We both froze, waiting loi shouts of disovery.
After a few breathless moments, Ryko eased out into the open. I handed my sword through, then followed. We were in a dead end, the Concubines' Gate set low into the stone wall of an official-looking building. As Ryko fitted the grate back into place, I crept to the edge of the nearest bale stack and watched the mouth of the alley The high-pitched screaming was much closer than I'd thought; the stone walls of the passage had muffled the terrible sound. Then something moved between the next two stacks. A man's hand, the dull brown of quilted armour and a flash of sword steel. I pulled back, flattening against the bale. Ryko grabbed my arm and swung me behind him.
He glared down at me. 'Where? How many?' he mouthed.
I pointed to the stack and held up one finger then shrugged; I had only seen one, but perhaps there were more. He pulled out a knife and jerked his head at the grate, pushing me towards it.
Then he edged into the alley.
I waited a beat before creeping back to the corner of the bale. Ryko was crouched a few lengths ahead on the near side of the second stack, his head cocked, listening. I held my breath, straining to hear too.
Something stirred. Ryko was moving before I even recognised it as steel scraping stone. He slammed his shoulder into the top bale, sending it plummeting between the stacks. It landed with a thud, mingled with a stifled yelp. The cry propelled Ryko over the remaining bales, his knife angled for a deadly down thrust. The stack rocked. Gasps of hard struggle made me step forwards. The bales shivered again and then the clanging ring of a dropped sword. Was it done? But there was still scuffling. And then a fierce, pained whisper.
'Ryko!'
A sudden tense silence and then I heard a moan. I ran across the small space, my sword raised.
Ryko was kneeling beside the body of a soldier, pressing the heel of his hand into the man's shoulder, blood welling up between his fingers. The man's chest rose and fell in short rasping pants. Then I saw the swarthy, angular face under the helmet and my breath stopped.
Lady Dela.
Ryko looked up at me, his eyes hollow. The dark stain under his hand was spreading into the quilted armour. 'We've got to stop the bleeding.'
I dropped to my knees, pushing my sword aside. 'Ryko, what have you done?'
'He stabbed me,' Lady Dela said, opening clouded eyes. 'Idiot.'
'You look like one of Sethon's men,' Ryko said through his teeth.
'So do you,' she said drily.
'Stay still.' He lifted the armour and sliced into it with his knife, cutting through the heavily quilted vest.
Her shoulders jerked, either from pain or the sharp laugh that resonated through her body.
'He's not providing his men with very good armour.'
'You stole skirmish,' Ryko said, working the knife carefully through the soggy material. 'You should have gone for a swordsman, like I did. They get iron and leather.' He pulled apart the thick padding to show a nasty wound under the round of her shoulder joint.
'I'll remember that next time,' Lady Dela said faintly. 'Did you see they've broken through? It was Ido, I'm sure of it. I'm sure he used his power. It was like part of the wall just disintegrated. Like an earth anger.'
I glanced at Ryko. 'That must have been the rumbling we heard.'
He nodded. 'Check the alley,' he said. 'Make sure we are still alone.'
I crawled to the end of the bales. The alley was empty, but beyond it a group of dark figures crossed the other side of the
square: four soldiers dragging two women between them. They seemed to be heading towards the next section of the harem, in the direction of the screaming and wailing. A soft glow brightened the sky above it. A fire, or the light of many, many torches.
I pulled back. Ryko shot me a questioning look.
'Four soldiers with prisoners, but on the other side of the square. They're heading further into the harem.'
'There are so many soldiers,' Lady Dela said. 'No one would listen to me and I couldn't find Lady Jila.' She
