Escape From Riddler's Pass (12 page)

“After ripping off my ropes with brute strength, I made a dramatic escape,” Parvel continued. “In the process, I was chased by a number of the Rebellion. In my panic, I shoved the nearest pursuer, a young boy named Cotter, into a deep ravine, killing him.”

Anise gasped, and rage filled Nathan's face. “Would that be wrong?” Parvel asked coolly.

“Of course!” Anise exclaimed, glaring at him. It was the first time Jesse had seen her show any emotion. “Of course it would be!”

“And yet,” Parvel said, in that same thoughtful tone, “the same argument applies. I had to save my own life. I was trying to escape. The boy just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

None of the Nine said a word. “Never fear, Anise,” Parvel said, looking straight at her. “I agree with you—it would not be right. But your reaction proves my point: there are certain things we know should never be done.”

Then, louder, he declared to the entire hall, “Either all killing of innocents, when necessary, is acceptable, or it is not acceptable under any circumstances. There is no middle ground. Not in matters of life and death.”

“Enough,” Sonya declared, leaping to her feet. “
We
are not on trial here. Give us your answer—will you join us or not?”

Jesse could see where this was leading, and he did not like it. As soon as they answered no, they would be killed.
But we cannot say yes
. Parvel's words had made that clear.

But here in the hall, there is no chance of escape
. Although no other rebels were present, the Nine were all heavily armed. Even if the others could run back to the tunnels that led to the surface, Jesse, with his lame leg, would be caught almost immediately.

Here we have no hope. But if we can get away, even for a few minutes….

Jesse stepped forward. “I, for one, don't agree with Parvel.” Jesse could see Parvel turn to him in surprise. Jesse willed him to understand, or at least hold off his judgment until he could explain. “We have to save our own lives, just as you have to protect your families and fight for justice. I will join the Rebellion.”

“I'm with Jesse,” Rae said.

Jesse tried not to show the surprise he felt.
She's not pretending
.

“I am tired of sitting and doing nothing while the king ruins our lives,” she said heatedly. “It's time to act.”

“Action alone is not right,” Parvel argued. “It must be the right kind of action.”

“And I'm not sure the Rebellion's kind is not right,” Jesse threw in.

“Jesse, Rae, both of you are wrong,” Parvel said. “You have to let go of your hate. It cannot solve anything.”

Rae just shook her head. “You don't understand. The king and the Rebellion mean nothing to you, because you haven't been wronged by them. You don't know what it's like to experience injustice.”

Parvel looked right at Rae. “You are wrong about that,” he said quietly. “The Youth Guard took my brother five years ago. And that turned my father into a distant, angry man.”

His brother was in the Youth Guard?
Jesse had not known.

“You see?” Rae said. “The king killed Parvel's brother, like he's trying to kill us. We have to join the Rebellion.”

Silas turned to her, his gray eyes flaming with rage, like the glowing rocks of the Deep Mines. “How can you say that knowing what you know?”

Rae took a step backward, hesitation in her eyes. Then she shook her head. “No, Silas. This is our only chance.”

“They killed my father,” Silas shouted, and the accusation echoed in the cave. Now some of the Nine began to murmur.

“And the king is killing my family, my entire village,” Rae countered, her quieter voice holding every bit as much fire as Silas' roar.

A perfect, even split. Jesse could not have asked for anything better if he had planned it in advance.

“There is a better way,” Parvel insisted.

“That is what I have been told all my life, and I won't listen anymore,” Rae said.

“Are you blind? Joining them will destroy us!” Silas shouted.

“You don't understand!” Parvel answered.

Their voices rose to shouts, and Jesse gave up trying to listen, or even argue intelligently.

“I say you are willing to squander our lives for your futile ideals.”

“…don't understand what you're doing….”

“Tell the starving, the dying of my village about your better way. I will not….”

“…might be the only way to save our lives, and….”

“…become a traitor to all you swore to defend.”

“What about justice?”

“What about it? Is the king just?”

“…only care about yourself….”

“Quiet!” Jesse shouted. His outburst shocked them enough to listen, and he turned to the Nine. “We must all give the same answer,” he said. “I think we all agree on that. But we should not disturb the Council with our discussion. If you will provide an escort back to the pits, we'll decide among ourselves and leave you to discuss our fate among yourselves.”

“Wise advice,” Gregor, the old man in the center, said. He looked around at his fellow Council members. “The others of the Rebellion are not permitted to enter the hall while the Council is meeting. Which of you will take them away?”

No one volunteered. Finally, Roland stood and Jesse again noticed his hulking frame and the large, rough sword at his side. “I will go,” he said, walking to the four. “And believe me,” he said in a low voice, “if you give me any excuse to run you through, I'll gladly take it.”

 

All the way back to the pits, Roland grumbled about the king, the Youth Guard, the blabbermouths in the Council who forgot they were warriors and not lawyers, and anything else he could think of.

Instead of listening, Jesse tried frantically to think of a plan.
If he puts us back in the pit, we'll be just where we started
. There was no chance of overpowering Roland. They were unarmed, weak, and tired. Besides, Roland kept his hand on his sword at all times, ready to whip it out at the slightest challenge.

Jesse only saw Roland show one weakness, one small act of overconfidence: when they reached the pits he turned away from them to put his torch in one of the holders along the cave wall. It only took a second, but the fact that Roland was foolish enough to turn his back on his enemy gave Jesse a little hope.

He stared at the gaping mouth of the pit. Six spans down, Nathan had said.
Maybe, just maybe….

Roland took the ladder and shoved it into the pit. “You two first,” he said, pointing to Parvel and Silas.

“Not at the same time, I hope,” Parvel said. “That ladder ought to be used for firewood. It won't support the weight of two of us.”

“You'll go down together if I tell you to,” Roland said, glaring at him.

“And I suppose you'll explain our bruises to the Council after the ladder breaks and we fall.”

“Who's the one giving orders here? Maybe the king is right to kill off you Youth Guard brats….”

Jesse was glad for the distraction. While Roland and Parvel argued, he leaned over to Rae and whispered a few words of his plan in her ear. A slight nod was the only recognition he got in response.

When Parvel and Silas were down in the pit, Roland nodded at Jesse. “Now you.”

Jesse almost laughed.
Apparently he thinks even a cripple is more dangerous than a girl
. He would soon learn otherwise.

“I can't reach the first rung,” Jesse said, backing away from the edge of the pit.

Silas and Parvel knew he had been able to climb down the first time. They would know something was coming. Jesse was counting on it.

“It's too far. With my crippled leg and all.” Jesse hoped he sounded whiny enough, and that Roland wouldn't decide to heave him into the pit.

Instead, just like Jesse had hoped he would, Roland turned away from him and stooped over the pit. Rae was already edging forward. “Stupid cripple. You're….”

He never got to finish his sentence, because Jesse and Rae shoved him into the pit. With a startled shout, he toppled into the darkness.

Now Jesse heard other voices—Silas' and Parvel's—mixed with the sounds of struggle. Jesse knelt down by the edge, but he could see nothing but darkness.

One last shout. Then silence. Jesse could hardly breathe.

“Well,” Parvel's voice said from the pit, “I don't think they'll let us join the Rebellion now.”

Jesse wanted to jump up and down, something he hadn't been able to do since the accident. “Hurry,” he said. “Someone might have heard the shouts.”

Silas was the first to emerge from the pit. He wiped at a thin cut on his cheek, smearing blood across the back of his hand. “That was dangerous, Jesse. What if Parvel hadn't gotten Roland's sword away from him before he could use it?”

“It was the only thing I could think of,” Jesse protested. “Would you rather join the Rebellion or die here?” Silas didn't argue with that.

Parvel came out next, setting Roland's sword on the stone before crawling out of the pit. “Poor fellow is going to have a nasty headache when he wakes up,” he said cheerfully. “And a black eye. Maybe two.”

In spite of himself, Jesse felt a rush of relief. “So you didn't kill him.”

Silas laughed, but it was a hard, harsh laugh. “Look who got the sword, Jesse. If it had been me instead of Parvel, we wouldn't have to worry about Roland anymore.” Before Parvel could reach for it, Silas picked up the sword and held it stiffly at his side.

“That's all then,” Parvel said, pulling up the ladder and setting it carefully against the wall in its proper place. Silas slammed the heavy gate over the pit and locked it.

“Shh!” Jesse hissed. “Do you want to bring the whole Council running?”

“They might be doing that already,” Rae snapped, “which is why we need to get out of here!” She turned and dashed toward the archway in the back of the cavern.

Silas joined her at once, and Parvel took the torch from its holder and followed. As far as Jesse could see, there was only one other way out of the cave besides the entrance that led to the assembly hall of the Nine.

“But we don't know where we're going,” Jesse protested, limping as quickly as he could to catch up.

Rae slowed down but didn't stop. “So tell Silas to get out his little map. But I'm not staying around for conversation when dozens of angry rebels could come after us at any second.”

They followed her past the archway and into another set of tunnels. Silas pulled the Rebellion stone from his pocket, adding its light to the glow of the torch.

These tunnels seemed to contain caves used as storerooms. Jesse paused for a second in front of one of them and saw food and weapons stacked on wooden shelves on the wall.
They could last weeks in some kind of a siege
, Jesse realized.

Silas fell back to walk beside Jesse. “So your speech to the Rebellion, about wanting to join them,” Silas said. “That was just a ploy to get them to send us back here?”

“I was stalling for time,” Jesse admitted. He was already starting to breathe harder. “I didn't have much of a plan. I just knew we had to get out of there.”

“So you didn't mean anything you said?” Silas pressed.

“No.” Jesse didn't bother to explain that Rae was serious the whole time. That conversation would have to wait for later. Now they needed to find a way out of Riddler's Pass.

They reached a split in the tunnel and stopped. Silas set Roland's sword on the ground and pulled out Noa's map from inside his shirt. He held the map close to the stone, trying to read Noa's small print. “It's a long way to the exit,” he said. “Many of the tunnels are unmarked on the map.”

That was not good news, especially for Jesse. “I can't run much farther,” he said, his face turning red as he admitted it. For a minute, no one said anything.

Silas was the first to speak up. “You go ahead,” he said to Rae and Parvel. “I'll stay with Jesse.”

“But…” Parvel protested.

“There's no time to argue,” Silas said impatiently. “I have a light and the sword.” He handed the paper to Parvel. “You can have the map. I memorized the route.”

“Are you sure?” Parvel asked, staring at Silas.

“I know every detail of it,” Silas said, never looking away. “I knew I would have to, in case it was lost or confiscated. You and Rae find the exit and leave this place. Jesse and I will hide until they go past, then join you once they are gone.”

Jesse felt like he should protest and say he would stay alone. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.
I'm afraid
, he admitted to himself, hating the thought, but knowing it was true.
I don't want to be here, in the dark, alone
.

“All right,” Parvel said, after a second of hesitation. He glanced at Rae, who looked ready to bolt. “I do not like it, but we appear to have little choice.”

“You should take the torch,” Rae suggested. “It will provide more light.”

Silas looked at her like she was crazy. “And how would we hide the glow when the Rebellion passed by?” He shook his head and clenched the stone tighter. “No. This is all the light we need.” He turned to Jesse. “Come on. We must find some place to hide.”

Jesse started to follow, but he felt a firm hand on his shoulder holding him back. It was Parvel, and even in the dim light, Jesse could see a worried frown on his face. “Jesse…be careful.”

“Silas will be with me,” Jesse said, backing toward the tunnel Silas had turned down.

“I know.” A pause, then Parvel said quietly, “That's why I'm worried.”

Jesse didn't have time to wonder what Parvel meant, because Silas was already too far ahead. His lame leg punished him for the quick steps it took to catch up.
I can't lose him in here, or I'll never find him again.

At first, they passed caves the rebels clearly used, ones with crates of supplies or blanket rolls for sleeping, as well as glowing stones mounted every few feet to give the caverns a dim glow. But, once they left the main tunnel, the maze that was the Deep Mines took over.
Nothing here but rocks and…more rocks.

“Why aren't we hiding in one of the storerooms?” Jesse asked. “We could empty a barrel or find a root cellar, or….”

“It's the first place they'd look,” Silas interrupted. “We have a better chance in the small tunnels. Look for a small, dark crevice, something easily overlooked and out of the way of the main path.”

That didn't sound like a place Jesse would want to hide, but he knew Silas was right. With every step he took, Jesse strained to listen for voices following them. A few times, he thought he heard some, but he wasn't sure if it was real or merely his imagination inventing pursuers.

Once, the path began to narrow. “Careful,” Silas warned, pointing to the side with the Rebellion stone. A sudden drop-off was revealed as the glowing stone jutted into the darkness.

Jesse stopped to peer into the canyon. He could see no bottom.
I suppose we won't be hiding there
.

He took a few steps away from the edge and bumped into Silas, who had stopped in front of a small cavern cut into the rock. He had to duck to fit inside. “Here,” he called, waving Jesse over.

Jesse limped to the cavern and peered inside. “It's a dead end,” he said, seeing the back of the cave even in the dim glow of Silas' Rebellion stone.

“Exactly,” Silas said. “If the rebels know the layout of these tunnels—and they must—they will assume we would never run into a cave that leads nowhere. They will search the tunnels leading to the surface.”

The logic was good, Jesse knew, but he still didn't like being trapped. “Come on,” Silas said, stepping in further. “Behind that boulder. We can both fit.”

The boulder was actually a rock formation that seemed to grow like a bulky plant in the very corner of the cave. Jesse went in first, sliding into the narrow space between the formation and the back of the cavern. Silas shoved the Rebellion stone into his pocket and followed, grunting as he tried to wedge his larger frame into the gap.

Jesse tried to calm his breathing, still a bit winded from running. Soon, his heart returned to its normal rate. Still, it sounded like the pounding of a drum in the silence. Jesse hoped no Rebellion members would come near the cave, because if they did, he was sure they would be able to hear the beating of his heart.

Keeping track of time in the dark was impossible. Every time Jesse tried to count the passing seconds, he was distracted by his worries or an imagined sound. Just when he was sure it had been hours and the Rebellion searchers must have given up long ago, he heard voices shouting.

Beside him, Silas stiffened, and Jesse knew that this time, it was not his imagination. The shouting grew louder with every beat of Jesse's heart. They were not close enough for him to discern what they were saying.
But one of them sounds like Roland
.

To take his mind off of the rebels searching for them, Jesse counted his breaths, trying to keep them slow and even.
If they discover us, it will be my fault
, he knew.
Silas could have gotten away if he hadn't waited for me.

That thought did nothing to calm Jesse.
Stop. You'll only make yourself nervous
. He leaned his head against the rock in front of him.
We'll be fine
.

Though the distant voices got slightly louder, Jesse heard many footsteps run past the tunnel leading to their hiding place.
Going, like Silas said all along, to deeper parts of the cave, where there are more tunnels.

Another set of footsteps, slower than the others. Jesse caught his breath.
Someone's coming!
If he was hearing correctly, the steps were not distant, like the others. They came from the tunnel.

A dim light eased into Jesse's vision, and he looked down. Silas had taken the Rebellion stone out of his pocket again. He was clutching the stone in one hand, and the white glow surrounding it gave Jesse enough light to see the sword he clutched in the other. His breathing was heavy and his eyes fixed straight ahead.

He wouldn't….
Another glance told Jesse the truth.
He would
. “No,” Jesse whispered. “Silas, don't. You'll give us away.”