Chapter 18

The cellar door slammed shut and Lily heard the rattle of the keys in the lock. There was silence in the cellar for a few minutes as she listened to the sound of Alice Brewer's footsteps retreating.

"Are ye hurt?" Magnus asked. "We heard shouting and a scuffle."

Lily was not all right, not really. Her spine was screaming at her and every muscle in her body was aching, but she wasn't about to let that scupper her plans.

"I'm fine," she lied. "It just proved a little harder to get hold of than I'd planned. I ended up having a tussle with Alice."

"But ye did get it?" Magnus asked.

Lily nodded. "I got it."

Raising her shackled hands, she opened her palm to reveal a small silver brooch in the shape of a burning torch. It had several sharp prongs and a pin on the other side.

"Will this do the trick?"

The two men peered at it.

"Only one way to find out," Emeric replied. "Give it here."

The archer had recovered somewhat over the last few hours and seemed much more alert. He took the brooch from Lily's outstretched hand. His fingers nimble and practiced, he inserted the pin into the lock of Lily's manacles. She watched as he carefully worked the pin, Eberwyn's words echoing in her head.

Oskar works for us now.

No. She would not believe it.

The sound of movement upstairs echoed through the dim cellar, the tramp of boots and raised voices.

"That's it," Emeric said. "The guards changing shifts. Right on time."

It had turned out that Magnus and Emeric had not been idle during their incarceration. They had been watching the guards closely and carefully measuring when they changed shifts and the time-lapse between them.

It was this information that had led to their plan. Over the hours that they'd been shut down here, they'd gone through various ideas of how to escape. The first thing was getting out of these shackles and as they had no key, the only way to do that was to pick the lock, and for that they needed something sharp and metal—just like the brooch they had seen pinned to Alice's tunic each time she'd come down to taunt them. They'd had no chance to swipe it though—until now. Lily had seized her chance when they'd taken her upstairs to treat Alfred and she was only grateful that she'd managed to steal it without being caught.

Right. Step one of their plan was complete. On to step two.

"We need to be quick," Magnus said, watching with a furrowed brow, his gaze darting between Emeric and the lock. As the pin finally clicked and the manacles fell open, Lily, felt a brief moment of triumph. It had worked!

Then footsteps thudded upstairs.

"Quickly!" Emeric hissed urgently. "Get to the door!"

"But what about you? I can't leave you here!"

"Aye, ye can, lass," Magnus said. "We agreed, remember? We only have a few minutes while the guards change. Ye must do this. Get to the guild house and bring help."

Lily nodded, took the brooch, and crept up the steps to the door. It was locked as she knew it would be.

"Like we practiced," Emeric said. "Put the pin into the lock and feel around for the tumblers."

She nodded and inserted the pin. Emeric had made her practice this for hours on her manacles with a sliver of wood he'd found in the corner of the cellar. The splinter hadn't been strong enough to open the manacles of course, and had snapped eventually, but it had given her the feel of how a lock worked and ways to manipulate it.

Her fingers slick with sweat, she shifted the pin around as Emeric had taught her, feeling the mechanism inside the lock. Finally, there was a click and the door swung slowly open.

Heart hammering, Lily peered through. There were no guards outside the door. She had maybe a minute before the next shift came to check on the prisoners. She glanced back at Magnus and Emeric who gave her a reassuring nod, then she darted out.

She found herself in a narrow passage with several doors leading off, all thankfully shut. She heard voices from behind several of them. Biting her lip to try and calm her thundering heart, she moved as quickly as she could along the passage towards the heavy front door.

"Stop idling and get to yer post!" Alice's voice came through the wall. "And check on the prisoners!"

Lily's heart jumped into her mouth. She reached the door and threw the heavy bolt just as one of the doors in the corridor creaked open behind her. Lily let out a gasp of fear. Without looking back, she jumped down the three steps into the street and ran.

"EVERYONE IN PLACE?"Oskar said, his voice low.

Bryn nodded. Then he grinned suddenly. "This is just like old times isnae it?"

Oskar just scowled at that. He peered around the corner of the building. Ahead, across a patch of open ground, reared the high walls of the gaol. The gates were closed and two torches burned on the walls, casting it in an eerie glow. He guessed it was somewhere past midnight and the streets of the city were quiet but for the odd cutpurse or drunk.

Oskar swallowed, Lily's face materializing in his mind.

I have to do this, he told himself. I have to.

He cupped his fingers to his lips and let out three shrill whistles. At his signal, members of Bryn's crew materialized out of the darkness at the base of the gaol's high wall.

One by one, the men unstrapped grappling hooks from their backs and began to throw them at the wall, the hooks biting deep into the stony surface. With practiced ease, two of them scaled the wall, disappearing over the top. A second later, Oskar heard a brief scuffle, a couple of thuds, and then the gates were swinging open.

He waved a hand and darted from his hiding place, Bryn and the rest of his crew following behind. Torches flickered as he entered the yard and spotted the gate-guards unconscious and tied to a post. So far, so good.

Oskar glanced around at his men, a group of seasoned fighters with not an ounce of fear in their faces. He made a series of gestures, indicating for them to spread out and take out any more guards that they found. Then he turned left, sprinted along the inside of the wall with Bryn and a group of hand-picked men behind him, and approached the low stone building that housed the prisoners.

The entrance to the cell block was guarded by a lone sentry, but he didn't have time to cry out before Oskar's fist crashed into his face, laying him out cold. Oskar took the guard's keys, opened the door, and led the way inside.

The cells were illuminated faintly by weak moonlight filtering in through high, narrow windows, casting long, distorted shadows across the roughly hewn walls. The stench of sweat and urine was overpowering and the second Oskar and his men entered, the inmates came rushing to the bars, stretching out grasping arms and bellowing to be let out.

Damn it! They were making enough noise to bring the city guard running.

Oskar and his men hurried down the cellblock, struggling to find their quarry in the chaos of desperate prisoners.

He approached the final cell. It was smaller than the others, with bars that had been reinforced with iron bands. Inside, a single man sat hunched in the corner, his face obscured by shadows.

"Ah, Oskar," said Alfred Brewer, lifting his head. "So good of ye to come visit me."

"Shut up," Oskar snarled.

He unlocked the door with the keys he'd taken from the guard, grabbed Alfred Brewer by the elbow, and dragged him out of the cell. The man gasped in pain and Oskar saw that he had a fresh splint and bandage on his broken leg. He recognized it as Lily's handiwork.

He detailed two men to carry Alfred, then led the way back into the yard outside. The men stumbled out of the gaolhouse, Alfred clinging to the two who were carrying him, grunting in pain with each unsteady step.

Oskar could hear the distant sound of boots pounding against the ground, and the clanging of the alarm bell. The city guard was coming. They didn't have long.

He glanced at Alfred. "Keep yer head down and stay quiet," he ordered. "Come on."

Oskar sprinted across the yard, his boots scraping against the rough stones. The wind whipped at his hair and his tunic did little to shield him from the biting cold of the night air. Alfred, clinging to his two bearers, was almost a dead weight, causing them to stumble and slowing their pace.

"Hurry, damn ye!" Oskar hissed at the man. "Do ye want to get caught and end up back in that cell?"

In truth, that would suit Oskar just fine, but if that happened there was no telling what Eberwyn would do to Lily and the others.

With a snarl of impatience, Oskar waved away Alfred's two helpers and pulled the man's arm across his own shoulder, taking most of his weight. All but carrying him, he hurried towards the gates whilst Bryn and his crew guarded their backs.

They'd almost made it and Oskar could almost smell freedom, when a group of armed men came spilling through the gate ahead of him.

They skidded to a halt, weapons drawn. "Stop right there!" shouted a voice he recognized. There was a gasp of surprise. "Oskar? What in God's name are ye doing?"

Oskar's heart leapt into his throat as he found himself face to face with Kai and Conall. Both men wore shocked expressions and looked around as though trying to figure out exactly what they were seeing.

"Oskar?" Kai said again. "Tell me this isnae what it looks like."

Oskar opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Around him, the clamor of the escape seemed to fade until himself and his sword-brothers were the only people in the world.

"I...I..." Oskar stammered. What could he say? How could he explain this? He didn't have the words.

"I...I'm sorry," he said.

Kai's eyes widened and Conall's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.

"No," Conall said, his voice hoarse. "This canna be. What, by all that's holy, is going on?"

Before Oskar could answer, the sound of footsteps drummed behind the two men and the town guard came flooding through the gates.

"Stop them!" shouted a voice. "Dinna let them get away!"

Lord Eberwyn.

What the hell? What was he doing here?

Eberwyn ran to Kai's side, sword drawn, and his eyes widened as they settled on Oskar. "So it's true!" he cried. "I didnae believe the reports but..." He turned to the guardsmen behind him. "Guards! Arrest this man! He's helping a prisoner to escape!"

The guardsmen swarmed towards Oskar. He pushed Alfred behind him and drew his sword.

Bryn charged forward with his men, their swords flashing in the moonlight. The clashing of steel against steel echoed through the night as they fought to get free of the yard.

"Arrest Oskar Galbraith!" Eberwyn cried above the tumult.

Fury twisted in Oskar's gut at the sight of the traitor. Why had he ever trusted him? He should have known the bastard never had any intention of letting him get out of this alive. After all, he knew too much, didn't he? And what of Lily, Magnus and Emeric? Had he ever had any intention of letting them go?

"I'll kill ye, ye lying bastard!" Oskar bellowed.

He threw himself at Eberwyn but was blocked by several guardsmen. He swung at them, batting away their clumsy blows with his sword and shouldering them aside. His vision narrowed to only Eberwyn in his sights. He would make the traitor pay for this.

"Oskar!" he heard Kai shout. "Stand down! That's an order!"

He ignored his commander. Oskar's breathing was ragged, his heart pounding in his chest as he fought his way through the guardsmen. Their swords clashed against his, each hit jolting his arms and shoulders, but he pushed on, desperate to reach Eberwyn. The sheer number of soldiers seemed endless, a tide of steel and rage.

There were too many. Something caught his blade, ripping it from his hand. A kick took him in the midriff, doubling him over, and then he was being shoved to the ground face down, someone kneeling on his back and twisting his arm behind him to keep him there.

He turned his head, not easy with his cheek being pressed against the cobbles, and saw Eberwyn approaching. Kai and Connall were by his side, both with expressions of confusion on their faces.

"Ye are under arrest!" Eberwyn cried in a strident voice. "For treason against His Majesty the King!"

"Ye!" Oskar bellowed, struggling against his captors. "Ye set me up! This was a trap all along!"

Eberwyn knelt beside Oskar. "Ye put me in a difficult situation," he said, his voice loud enough to carry to Kai and Conall. "It gives me no pleasure but I have no choice but to take ye into custody."

He reached down and slipped his hand into the pocket sewn into the inside of Oskar's cloak. His hand came out clutching a folded piece of parchment.

"What's this?" he said.

"That's yers!" Oskar shouted. "Ye had it in yer hand all along!"

Eberwyn ignored him. Straightening, he unfolded the document and read it. His eyes widened as he scanned the contents and then he turned to Kai and Conall, his expression stricken.

"I dinna believe this," he said in a pained voice. "Ye are all in on it!"

"What are ye talking about, man?" Kai snapped. "This is all some kind of misunderstanding. If ye really think Oskar is capable of—"

"Not just Oskar!" Eberwyn said, holding up the parchment. "All of ye!" The parchment was filled with small, neat writing and sealed at the bottom with the sign of a spread-winged bird of prey.

"These are orders," Eberwyn continued. "Written in yer hand, Kai, ordering Oskar to break into this gaol and free an enemy of Alba. It bears the seal of the Order of the Osprey! That makes if official. The Order are behind this gaolbreak!"

"Have ye lost yer mind?" Kai yelled. "Of course we aren't!"

"Guards!" Eberwyn shouted to the guardsmen, men that Oskar now recognized as Eberwyn's personal guard. "Arrest these men for treason!"

Oskar's stomach twisted with impotent rage. "No!" he bellowed, fighting to get free. "Ye know they had naught to do with it! It's ye! It's all ye! Ye are the traitor!"

The guardsmen snapped into action, surrounding his sword-brothers and brandishing their swords. Kai and Conall exchanged wide-eyed glances, their faces pale with shock.

"Eberwyn, ye must see that this doesnae make sense! We have always been loyal to Alba! This is madness!" Kai shouted.

Eberwyn shook his head. "I can no longer trust anyone, Kai. The Order of the Osprey has ordered Oskar to free a traitor. I must act in the best interests of Alba."

Conall's face contorted with anger. "Ye are accusing us of treason? After everything we've done for this land?"

"I wish I didnae have to do this, but for the safety of Alba, I must," Eberwyn said. "Ye two will have to come with me."

"It's him!" Oskar screamed. "It's Eberwyn who is the traitor! He's got Lil—" Eberwyn smacked the hilt of his sword against Oskar's temple, making light dance before his eyes and sending his vision blurry.

When it cleared he saw Kai and Conall being led away, their hands bound.

"On yer feet," one of the guardsmen barked at him. They hauled Oskar up. He didn't fight. He let them think he was beaten.

Gripping Oskar's arms tightly, they began escorting him across the yard after Kai and Conall. He looked around desperately, trying to figure a way out of this, and spotted furtive movement in the shadows by the gate. As he watched, Alfred Brewer, accompanied by two of Eberwyn's men posing as guardsmen, flitted through the gates and disappeared into the city.

Bastards. He would catch them before they could make their escape to one of Eberwyn's safe houses, make Brewer admit the truth of what had happened here tonight.

With a burst of adrenaline, Oskar suddenly lunged forward, momentarily surprising his guards and breaking their grip on him. He grabbed a fallen spear, feeling the splintered surface bite into his skin. He swung it with all his might, catching one of his guards squarely in the face with the blunt end. The guard staggered back, reeling from the force of the blow, and Oskar hammered the butt end of the spear into the second man's temple, laying him out cold.

Oskar seized his chance. He turned and ran through the gates and out into the darkened city.