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Authors: Cheryl Headford

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Hostage (30 page)

BOOK: Hostage
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W
HEN
R
OWAN
first opened his eyes, he was extremely confused. A stranger was bending over him and his chest felt as if someone had kicked him. He had no memory of what had happened or where he was. Groaning, he closed his eyes against the harsh glare and even harsher feeling that something was horribly wrong. He allowed himself to drift again. It was safer in the darkness.

“Rowan. Rowan, wake up. Wake up.”

The voice was familiar, and it tugged at him, pulling him out of the safety he was clinging to. He wanted to sink back into the comforting arms of oblivion, but he couldn’t because he could imagine other arms holding him. With a sigh he opened his eyes again and stared into a familiar face.

“What the hell have you done to your hair?”

Astrin laughed. Sitting up, Rowan looked around the circle of faces that hovered over him and shook his head to clear it.

“What happened?”

“Stage one of our one-stage plan has been executed almost to perfection. It’s a shame about the blasters but hey….”

“Fuck, yeah.” Memory returned, and Rowan looked around frantically, relief showing clearly on his face when he saw Kal. “You okay?”

Kal smiled with a stunned expression on his face. “You… you tried to help me.”

“Of course I did. Those guards were not being gentle, and I didn’t know what they had done to you.” He put a hand to his chest, then winced. “Seems like they did the same thing to me.”

“To almost all of us.”

Rowan looked up at Astrin with concern in his eyes. “Are you all right?”

“Better than you are.”

“What
have
you done to your hair?”

“I needed a disguise.”

“Why?”

“I sort of… I might have….” He squirmed, so Kal answered for him.

“He only shot a guard—the one who shot you. He ran at him and shot him before he was taken down by a blaster in the back.”

Now Rowan looked alarmed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure.”

“Hell, why did you do a stupid thing like that?”

“Why did you try to help Kal?”

“Because… because…. But I didn’t
shoo
t the guard.”

Astrin shrugged and grinned. “How are you feeling now?”

“Can’t say it’s the best I’ve ever been, but I’m okay.”

Astrin reached out his hand and helped Rowan climb stiffly to his feet. Rowan pressed his hand to his chest. “Shit, that hurts. He got me right in the chest. I’m lucky it didn’t stop my heart.”

Something about the silence following the statement made Rowan look up sharply. No one would meet his eyes.

“What? What’s going on? What happened?”

“It’s nothing, Rowan. It’s okay. It’s not important… you’re fine now.”

“Now? Astrin, what happened?”

“I healed you,” he said quietly.

Rowan bit his lip. “Oh. I suppose I owe you two now.”

Astrin shook his head. “I did what I had to do. I would have done it for anyone.”

Rowan held Astrin’s eyes and smiled slowly. Astrin blushed, then tossed his hair and strode away. He sat on one of the wooden benches that circled the room, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. Rowan followed and sat next to him.

“So… our great plan has succeeded. Where do we go from here?”

“Before the magistrate, I suppose.”

“Have you thought at all about what we’d do when we got here?”

“Have you?”

“Well, no.”

Astrin sighed. “Perhaps it would have been a good idea if we’d both thought about it a little more. I don’t know… I was so focused on getting this far, I… maybe I never thought we actually would… get this far.”

“But here we are, with no idea what to do next.”

“Maybe if we sit here long enough something will present itself.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-
FIVE

R
ESCUE

 

 

“C
AN
I
take it you boys didn’t make any plans after this?”

Astrin opened his eyes and frowned at Neive. “Do you make it a habit to creep up on people at significant moments?”

“I do my best,” she said, amusement momentarily lifting the serious expression on her face. “So, what do you know?”

“Know? About what?”

Neive pulled up a rickety wooden chair and sat down. “What do you know about the prison complex where your father and Rowan’s uncle might be held?”

“Um….”

“You have studied maps? Plans? Reports?”

Astrin smiled sheepishly. “Okay, we aren’t well prepared. We focused on getting here because—heaven knows why—we thought that would be the really difficult part. Neither of us thought about what would happen when we got here.”

“That wasn’t very clever. Fortunately, I have.”

“What? Why?”

“You don’t think we’re planning to sit in this cell and rot, do you?”

“I… didn’t think.”

“That seems to be your problem. Perhaps it’s a good lesson for the future rulers of our Houses to learn. Always think through a plan—to all its possible conclusions. Have fail-safes ready for all of them as far as possible. Things often don’t work out as planned, so it’s a good idea to have contingency plans.

“For now, let’s focus on today. We’re in a containment cell. Because of the nature of our ‘crimes,’ we are political prisoners, and therefore probably housed in the same sector of the prison as the king and lord regent. They will be fairly close. I believe this containment cell is the largest in this sector. It sits at the corner of an L-shaped wing. On one side are the common cells, among which they no doubt intend to distribute us once we’ve been before the magistrate, and on the other are the cells where ‘special’ prisoners are detained.”

She had their full attention now, and Astrin bent closer in anticipation.

“The cells in the special section are all dampened, and there are shields through each of the corridors. The guards all wear inhibitors and are specially trained to detect energy fluctuations. This is undoubtedly where they will be.”

“We have to get to them. How do we get out of the cell?”

“If you get out of the cell you have numerous corridors, armed guards, and force fields to transverse.”

“Great. So what do we do?”

“Perhaps we just wait.”

“Wait for what?”

Neive smiled enigmatically. “I told you… we have plans.”

“Knowing you, Neive,” Astrin said, “your plans will be flawless, but we really need to get to my father before anything bad starts happening. If there is a disturbance, you can bet that they will close down on them first.”

“You have a point. All right, what abilities do you have?”

Astrin frowned at her and narrowed his eyes. “You seem very switched on for a small-town revolutionary. Why are you so interested in us?”

Neive looked around, then leaned in conspiratorially. “You’re clever boys. I have always known that. It’s wise to be close with your information in dangerous situations. You have been trained well. You have every right to question me, but I’m asking you to trust me when I tell you I can’t give you answers—not yet.

“You don’t know me. You know nothing about me. You are in a desperate situation, and you are alone. By every rule in the book, you should distrust me and tell me nothing, but I still ask for that trust.”

Astrin and Rowan looked at each other.

“What do you think?”

“I think we don’t have much choice.”

“She was very alert when I woke up. I don’t think she was blasted. She might be working for House Michael.”

“She was working with the revolutionaries.”

“She might have been a plant.”

“What difference would it make if we told her our abilities?”

“That would be useful knowledge for Strebo.”

“If he wanted it, he’d get it out of us one way or another.”

“Good point. Do we trust her?”

“We don’t have much choice.”

“Okay.”

“Very well,” Astrin said. “We’ll trust you with this, but if you betray us, I’ll personally ensure that we have your head.”

Neive nodded. “That’s fair.”

Astrin continued. “As you have already seen I’m a healer. I’m also a seer, although….” He paused. “It’s not as controlled and extensive as most other seers I know. I see mainly vague images and, to be honest, it’s more… feelings. I think it ties in with a general ability to manipulate minds and emotions. Oh, and I have skill with elemental control—water based.

“Rowan’s talents are based around information. He can make people speak the truth and manipulate energy, speeding it up and slowing it down so he can move quickly and pass through barriers. He has elemental control too—earth based. We haven’t really had a chance to explore the limits or subtleties of what he can do yet.”

“And you can speak to each other.” That wasn’t a question, and it caused Rowan and Astrin to exchange looks again. “Is that an ability?”

“Not as such. It’s a connection. To establish the connection, it’s necessary to have similar mental abilities, but once it is created, it does not depend on ability.”

“So, it’s essentially different?”

“I suppose.”

“Do you have the same connection with your father?”

“Yes.”

“Then you might be able to make the connection through the shields?”

Astrin sat up straighter. “Possibly.”

“Try, Astrin.”

Astrin and closed his eyes. He retreated to that place inside where all those who were most important in his life resided.

“Father?”
The connection was weak, but he felt it reach out and prayed his father was conscious and able to respond.

“Astrin? Astrin, is that you? Where are you? You feel close.”
To Astrin’s relief the connection strengthened immediately.

“I’m close. Are you all right?”

“We’re both fine. What do you mean you’re close?”

“We’re in the prison complex. We need to know where you are.”

“We?”

“Rowan and I?”

“Rowan is here with you? In the prison? Astrin, what have you done?”

“We’ve come to rescue you.”

“Astrin, you fool. Do you know what will happen if you are caught here—if Strebo has us all in his hands?”

“I’m beginning to, but it’s too late now. We’re in a cell, not too far from you, I think. Can you tell how far and in what direction?”

“Hang on a moment.”

Astrin got the impression of something going on in the background, and sensed the tension singing through his father.

“Charles says that if Rowan is within arm’s reach, slap his face and he will do it again himself when he sees him. You are both fools for having come here at this time, but… we are both very proud of you.”
Astrin smiled, inside and out.
“As far as we can tell, we are about three hundred yards away to the north.”

“Do you know what lies between?”

“No. All I can tell is there are a number of walls and a lot of open space.”

“Is there a shield around your cell?”

“Oh yes.”

“Does it stop people or only energy?”

“As far as I can tell it only stops energy. The guards seem to come and go as they please, and we don’t detect any change in the shields when they enter or leave.”

“Okay… leave it with us for a while. I’ll keep you informed.”

“Astrin… be careful. I’d be a lot happier if you got out of here as fast as you can and left us behind.”

“I know. But that isn’t going to happen, so get used to it.”

“Astrin… I think you have been in the company of the Gabriel prince for too long.”

“Perhaps, but that is something else you’re going to have to get used to. We’re friends now. Close friends”

“I’m glad to hear that, and I know Charles will be too.”

“Hold on, Father, we will be there as soon as we can.”

Quickly Astrin outlined to Rowan and Neive what his father had told them.

“That makes sense with what I know of the schematics of the prison. We know where they are, but we still don’t know how to get to them.” Thoughtfully, she looked around the room.

“Rowan, how do you use your earth manipulation?”

“I don’t. I mean I haven’t really, not yet. It’s only just come to me.”

Neive looked a little surprised but said nothing. “Try this.” She picked up a loose stone, about the size of a silver coin. “Can you make a hole in the middle of it?”

“I can try,” Rowan said, seeming somewhat surprised.

“Make sure you use the minimum energy possible.”

 

 

T
AKING
THE
stone into the palm of his hand, Rowan concentrated hard and “saw” the stone change, “saw” the molecules rearrange themselves, drawing out from the center and piling up at the sides, so the stone was the same size, the same weight, but thicker and with a neat hole through the middle. Once he had the picture clear in his mind, he let it leak out into his hand, and very slowly, the stone changed.

“Wonderful. But there’s no way you can do that on a large enough scale for what we need without expending enough energy to set off all kinds of alarms and bring the guards in here in a moment. Hmm.” She thought for a while as Astrin and Rowan regarded each other in silence.

“All right, this might work. Astrin, I know you’ve used your abilities to mask your appearance. Have you ever used them to shield yourself?”

“Sometimes.”

“What about energy masking? Have you ever tried that?”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Wait here.” She disappeared.

“This is freaky.”

“Yeah, but she seems to know what she’s doing, and since we don’t have any better plans….” Rowan sighed and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes.

BOOK: Hostage
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