The young Shar's gaze was arrested by the body of the third guard, whose neck had been crushed by Ravi's powerful jaws. "Did you kill him with your magic?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "I suppose there was an element of magic involved."

Adesina glanced at Ravi, who inclined his head to show that he was willing to reveal himself. Kendan gasped at the appearance of the giant feline.

"What is it?"

"He is a Rashad. He began following me when we left the fortress to go to the High City."

It took a brief moment for Kendan to recall her strange comments about the animal following them as they rode north.

"And he has been with you ever since?"

She nodded. "He is my guardian."

L'iam cleared his throat gently. "Adesina, we have to hurry."

She started as if she had been in a daze. "Of course. I am sorry."

He gave a sad smile and shook his head, indicating that her apology was unnecessary.

Adesina brought up her Blood Sword, pointing it at Kendan's neck. "Where are the L'avan prisoners?"

He raised his hands slightly, in a defensive gesture. "Adesina, I am on your side."

Her eyes narrowed. "You were willing to kill four men in order to protect your standing as a Shimat. You are not on my side, you are on your own side."

He started to speak, but she cut him off. "Where are the L'avan prisoners? I will not ask you again."

Kendan looked into her pitiless eyes and was saddened by what he saw. "Most of them are one level down, in the laboratories, but your father is being kept in the dungeon."

Adesina tried to keep her expression harsh, even though her heart began to beat faster. "What makes you think I am related to any of them?"

"He told me," Kendan said quietly.

She shook her head, not wanting to believe him, but he persisted. "Ask him. Ask him if he knows me."

Taking a quick step forward, she hit him across the face as hard as she could with the hilt of her sword. He dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Adesina could feel herself shaking as she stood over the man she had once loved. She tried to tell herself that she didn't love him anymore, but the tears that she fought back would prove otherwise.

She struggled to control her voice as she began to issue orders. "Ravi, go find E'nes and Sa'jan. Tell them to get all the prisoners from the laboratories and then meet us at the stables. We are going to get my father."

Chapter Forty-six: The Cliffs.

E'nes sat on his horse, studying the face of the cliffs under the light of the moon. He and Sa'jan rode slowly, trying to find the cave that would lead them up into the fortress.

The young L'avan was growing nervous, and glanced at the sky for what must have been the thousandth time. Midnight was fast approaching, and they still did not know how they were going to get into the Shimat stronghold. What if they did not find the entrance fast enough to be of any a.s.sistance to Adesina and the others? What if they met their deaths because he and Sa'jan were not there to prevent it?

He glanced over at his companion, but Sa'jan's craggy features showed no signs of the anxiety that E'nes felt. There was nothing but focus on his aged face as his sharp eyes scanned the surface of the rocks.

He abruptly brought his horse to a stop, and E'nes quickly did the same. Sa'jan pointed a few feet ahead of them, where a shadow darker than the rest was tucked back in a crevice.

E'nes wasn't as certain of his eyes as Sa'jan was, so he connected to his vyala. His vision took on a dark green tint, and the cave stood out clearly from the rest of the cliffs. He nodded to Sa'jan with a relieved smile on his face.

They dismounted their horses silently and approached the cave as quietly as they could. E'nes could not help but think to himself that his sister was much better at stuff like this.

Sa'jan brought forth his own vyala, and his eyes glowed a light green. He scanned the cave for a moment and then held up two fingers to his companion.

There were two Shimat guarding the cave.

He dropped his hand to the belt that Adesina had given him and pulled out two of the darts. Sa'jan moved to the side, allowing him to pa.s.s.

E'nes did not have the kind of training that Adesina had. Even though he had known about his vyala much longer, he did not know how to translate it into action as effortlessly as she had shown in the northern forests. He could tell the general location of the two guards, but he knew that his aim would not be nearly as precise as his sister's would have been.

The Shimat were on opposite sides of the cave, meaning that E'nes would have to move quickly if he was going to render both unconscious.

He aimed as carefully as he could before stepping into the cave and letting the first dart fly.

It hit the Shimat in the thigh, which wasn't quite where he had been aiming, but it would do. E'nes hurried to throw the second dart, but the remaining Shimat was already moving. Her small, feminine form ducked behind the large rocks of the cave, using the shadows to hide her movements.

"Sa'jan!" he whispered in alarm.

The other L'avan was instantly at his side, just in time to cry out in warning. A small throwing knife shot out from the cave's shadows, and E'nes dove to one side. He was just slow enough that the blade grazed his arm as he leapt, but he was grateful that it had been no worse.

He scrambled to his feet, using his green tinged vision to watch the catlike movements of their opponent. She was silently creeping closer, waiting for them to take a false step. She drew two short swords and climbed up behind a larger rock, preparing to attack from above.

E'nes waited, switching his vyala and praying that his reflexes would not fail him. When she sprang down upon them, he used his power to throw her back with as much force as he could muster. The backlash of her sword as she flew away caught E'nes across the chest, slicing the skin painfully.

He ignored his own wounds and dashed across the cave, drawing his sword in preparation of a fight.

It was unnecessary, however, because the Shimat had landed on one of her own swords. Her eyes were wide with shock and agony as her fingers felt the blade that pierced her body. She struggled for a moment before falling back and becoming still.

E'nes felt sick at the sight. He had never killed anyone before, on purpose or by accident. The glory of battle that he had expected as a boy was not here to bear him up. He only felt a slight nausea spreading through him.

He heard Sa'jan come up behind him and place a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

E'nes couldn't find his voice. He merely shook his head and turned away from the body.

"The first is the hardest," Sa'jan said softly, leading the young man back to the mouth of the cave.

He sat him down on a smooth rock to take a look at his wounds. E'nes stared at the moonlit waves lapping at the rocky sh.o.r.e.

"Does it get easier?"

Sa'jan shook his head sadly. "No, but the shock begins to fade."

He turned his attention back to E'nes's injuries. He walked out to gather the horses and bring them into the cave, then he got his medical pack out of his saddlebag.

"This is a fine way to begin," he said grimly, as he bandaged his young companion. "We have not even entered the Shimat fortress, and you are already bleeding."

E'nes grimaced apologetically. "I am sorry."

A brief smile crossed the older L'avan's face. "Do not be sorry, be faster on your feet."

He chuckled and nodded his agreement. Then he glanced once more at the sky, gauging the position of the moon. "It is midnight," he informed his friend in a voice tight with tension.

Sa'jan nodded. "Let us go, then."

They each wrapped themselves in their long cloaks, bring up the cowls to hide their faces. Then they mounted their horses and began riding through the tunnel found at the far side of the cave.

The silence was suffocating as they rode, filled with the anxiety of expectation and the fear of failure. They did not speak, and there was little else to break the silence. The sound of the horses' hooves was muted by dirt that had been packed down on the tunnel's floor, and even the usual jingling of the bridle seemed absent. Torches were few and far between, giving only the minimum of necessary light.

The path inclined upward, winding here and there, and frequently splitting into different directions. E'nes ran over Adesina's instructions in his mind: left, left, right, left, right, straight, straight, straight, left, left, left, left, right, left, left.

Far ahead they could see the lights of the stables. E'nes fingered the darts on his belt, waiting for Sa'jan to tell him how many Shimat were standing guard.

A thoughtful frown creased his brow, and he pulled his cowl forward even more. E'nes did the same without question, lowering his head as well.

A small servant boy dressed in brown robes hurried forward to take their horses. Sa'jan gestured imperiously, as Adesina had instructed him, sending the boy away without a word.

The two L'avan dismounted their horses and tied the reigns to a standing pole near the tunnel they had just ridden through. The servant boy was still peeking at them from around the corner. The expression on his face was curious, as if he wasn't sure what they were doing.

E'nes had to remind himself not to stare at the boy in shock. The lad could not have been more than seven years old. What was he doing in a place such as this?

There were two exits from the stable, and Adesina had not mentioned which one they should take. Sa'jan only hesitated a moment before walking towards the one on the left. It was larger, and seemed more frequented than the other.

They moved quickly and quietly, searching for stairs that would take them down to the lower levels. The path that Adesina had described to them appeared to be outdated, so they were on their own in their search efforts.

They stayed to the shadows as much as possible, but the halls were too well lit. E'nes's heart almost stopped when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

The two of them moved to one side, like Adesina had instructed them, and leaned their heads together as if in whispered conversation.

The Shimat walking past glanced at them suspiciously, but said nothing.

The young L'avan exhaled in relief. "We need to get off of this floor. There are too many people around!"

Sa'jan nodded his agreement. He connected to his vyala and walked over to the nearest door, reaching out to sense how many people were beyond it. After a moment he shook his head and moved on to the next door.

E'nes followed him, glancing down the hallway nervously. Occasionally, if the room was empty of Shimat, the older L'avan would nod to him and he would use his own vyala to sense what the room held.

"Storage," E'nes would whisper. "Restroom. Bedroom. Study. Study. Some kind of servants' quarters."

Far down one of the branching corridors, the sound of multiple footsteps could be heard. The two L'avan glanced at each other in alarm and hurried to find someplace to hide.

Sa'jan nodded to the nearest door, but E'nes shook his head. "Council room," he mouthed. They couldn't hide in a room where the group of Shimat might enter.

They moved on to the next door. "Study."

The footsteps were drawing closer.

Sa'jan pa.s.sed several doors that held occupants, then peeked around the corner to make sure the next corridor was empty. No one was patrolling that hall, so they hurried to turn the corner. The footsteps were still coming toward them, so they went on with their frantic search of the rooms. Most of the rooms in this corridor were filled with Shimat.

Sa'jan moved from door to door, shaking his head and glancing behind them as the footsteps grew closer and closer.

"Psst!"

They both whipped around in surprise, searching for the source of the noise. Far down the hall they spotted Ravi's feline face in a doorway. He urgently inclined his head to the side, beckoning for them to join him.

The L'avan ran as silently as they could, ducking in the room just in time to avoid being seen by the Shimat patrol.

E'nes saw that they were in the stairway for which they had been searching, but his relief was only briefly felt. He turned to the Rashad and whispered, "What are you doing here? Where are Adesina and L'iam?"

"You actually pa.s.sed them," he replied. "They are in a study down the corridor."

Sa'jan frowned. "What are they doing down here? They are supposed to be searching the upper levels."

Ravi hurried to explain so he could get back to Adesina, where he belonged. "We were brought down here by the Shimat guards. They took us to the person in charge while the Sharifal is away, and he ended up being Adesina's former teacher."

"Are they being held prisoner?" E'nes asked anxiously.

He shook his head. "No, her teacher offered to help. He told us where all of the L'avan prisoners are being kept."

"What does she want us to do?" was the immediate response from Sa'jan.

"The two of you are to go one level down, where the laboratories are located. That is where most of the L'avan prisoners are being held. Adesina wants to take our group to the dungeon, where Me'shan is imprisoned."

Sa'jan gave a curt nod. "Are we still meeting up at the stables?"

Ravi's reply was cut off by the piercing ring of bells sounding an alarm. The three looked at each other in horror.

The Rashad sprang out the door from whence they had entered the stairway, shouting over his shoulder as he ran.

"Hurry! We are out of time!"

Adesina watched as Ravi slipped out the door of Kendan's study. She felt uncomfortable and vulnerable without her guardian at her side, but she shoved such feelings to the back of her mind. She paced back and forth for a couple of minutes, trying to decide the best course of action. It was only when L'iam took her hand that she realized that she was shaking.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently.