Rise of the Faire-Amanti (The Ascendant Series Book 3) (29 page)

Zasha pulled away from the hug and wiped at her cheeks.
Of course, Ma’jah. Anything.

We need to find SemDane and CaelysLuja.

For the second time, Zasha’s eye flew wide.
I’ve wondered who they’ve been keeping up in the tower. I’ve seen several of Advisor Vycor’s Mynders going up and down the stairs, but everyone else is forbidden to go up there.

Ty exchanged a glance with Kyr. They had no way of knowing whether Sem and Caelys were being held in the same place, but it seemed likely that at least one of them was in the tower.

The Mynders guarding the tower must be under Vycor’s influence
, he thought, looking at his uncle.

Owyn frowned.
You’re sure you can get by them with your influence?

Yes…but there’s no
guarantee they won’t transmit something to Vycor if they realize something is wrong.

Is there another way into the tower room?
Owyn asked.

No. There aren’t even any windows. Just a single stairway up and down. It was meant for private consorts before the Sanctuary was created.

There was a pause as everyone considered what to do. They all noticed Zasha stand straighter as an idea struck.

There’s the dumbwaiter,
she suggested.

Ty frowned as he remembered the system used by the Wrym to get food and drink up and down the long path to the tower. The dumbwaiter had assured that the room’s occupants remained in absolute privacy.

There’s no way a grown male can fit in that
, he thought.

Maybe not
, Kyr responded.
But I can
.

Chapter 35

Inside the dumbwaiter, Kyr soon realized that the idea of squeezing into the thing was much simpler than the reality. She was so cramped that she could barely breathe. Every hitch in the dumbwaiter’s ascent made her fear she’d be stuck without any way out.

I’ll never let that happen, love. Stay calm.

Ty’s words did help her relax. A little.

It sure didn’t help her nerves that this was the easiest part of what she had signed on to do. She was armed only with a couple of syringes full of fast-acting sleeping serum, a skeleton key in case Sem and/or Caelys was chained, and a small dagger in case they were bound. In light of how long it had taken Zasha to collect even that much, Kyr considered herself blessed.

That still didn’t ease the hard thump of her heart as the dumbwaiter lifted higher and higher. Her breath sounded shaky as it filled the dark space. A line of sweat trailed along her spine. Between that and the briny scent of the dried sea water coating her body and clothing, she repelled even herself.

At least the sharp odor and adrenaline coursing through her served to keep her alert. Otherwise, she’d probably have collapsed from exhaustion by now. It was hours past the typical bedtime hour. She knew she had to be in top form to pull this off.

She focused on calming her breathing as the dumbwaiter hitched and lifted. Hitched and lifted. Then, at last, it lurched to a final halt.

Listen first
, Ty thought.

She already knew that, but she appreciated him walking through this with her. There was a very real possibility that she would lose her cool and totally forget the plan they had reviewed before she got into the dumbwaiter.

After a couple of minutes, including one where she held her breath, she determined that there was no noise coming from the other side of the small door containing her inside the dumbwaiter. She fumbled with the latch holding the door closed and slid it open as slowly and quietly as she could. It was quite the feat with her instincts wanting her to throw the door open and flee the tight compartment.

The room beyond the dumbwaiter was dark. With her enhanced vision, she spotted a figure lying on a bed. Judging by the steady rise and fall of the person’s chest, he or she was either asleep or sedated. She decided on sedated, since she couldn’t pick up any of the person’s thoughts.

She also noted a couple of shadows blocking part of the dim light shining in from under the room’s door. Ignoring those for the moment, she focused on getting out of the dumbwaiter without making any noise. Her fingers grasped the small lip at the top of the dumbwaiter’s encasement, aiding her in shoehorning herself free. By the time she eased first one leg and then the other to the ground, her arms shook from the effort of holding her weight for so long. Despite the circumstances, she found herself marveling over the fact that Ty had climbed a freaking cliff with both of their weights and hadn’t even broken a sweat.

That stray thought had come and gone by the time she got some feeling back in her arms. She walked on her tiptoes over to the bed. As she got closer, she identified the person as a male and realized it must be Sem.

She started to smile as she stopped beside the low bed. Then she saw the figure’s face. It wasn’t Sem.

It was her birth father, Guardian Brunyr.

Confusion and surprise held her rooted in place for a long moment. What was going on? Was her father being held prisoner because he’d done something wrong? Had he stood against Vycor?

She supposed it didn’t matter. She couldn’t leave her father like this…chained to a soiled mattress in a dark room, drugged into oblivion. With Ty’s silent agreement encouraging her, she reached into a pocket and pulled out the skeleton key. She quickly used it to unlock the chains around her father’s wrists and ankles, taking care to ease them to the floor so they didn’t rattle.

Next came the hard part.

Scooting silently over to the door, she found the closest chemical sconces and deactivated them. She sensed Ty and Owyn preparing for the next step. She and Ty figured it was inevitable that a stray thought about this rescue attempt would get through to Vycor or at least other Mynder guards, but she put up what walls she could. Now she just had to give Ty enough time to get to her.

Taking a deep breath, she eased back to the bed and lifted a chain, making it rattle. The noise jarred her even though she expected it. Her heartbeat careened into overdrive.

The shadows beneath the door moved. The sound of a key turning in the lock had Kyr rushing to position herself behind the door. It swung open as soon as she was in place.

A guard strode into the room, walking directly to the bed. His counterpart attempted to light one of the deactivated sconces. Kyr surged forward, shoving the door closed with a resounding slam. The room once again fell into darkness.

She started with the guard by the light, jamming the first syringe against his neck and depressing it. He hadn’t even hit the floor before she turned to the second guard.

“What the bloody—?” the second guard began.

Kyr depressed the second syringe against his neck before he finished. He collapsed, nearly taking her down with him. She barely stepped out of the way in time.

Less than a minute later, Ty shoved his way into the door. He grabbed her father and lifted him as though he weighed nothing.

Stick close
, he sent out.

She charged down the stairs after him. They spiraled down for so long that she started to feel woozy. Finally, Ty came to a stop. They were still around the bend from the exit out of the tower.

A shout followed by running footsteps told Kyr that their next part of the plan had succeeded. Owyn had pretended to emerge from the stairway with a dagger in his hand, drawing the attention of the Mynder guards who were coming to check on the two guards manning the tower door. One lone Mynder was cautious enough to continue up the stairs. Ty kicked him in the face the moment he came into sight, sending him careening into the wall and falling back down the stairs.

Kyr and Ty threw up their mental defenses as they left the tower. She followed at a run as Ty led them down the route they had planned in advance, the one along the private hallway leading to her bedchamber.

She was mildly surprised to find that the secret door leading into her closet had been repaired from when she kicked it in after escaping from the death box. That repair didn’t last long. Ty had to kick the door in again since neither of them had the key. Kyr winced at the noise that boomed through the hallway. Hopefully no one was anywhere near them.

Ty entered first, but Kyr scurried in after him. She closed the door and walked from the small room just inside the door out into the depths of her closet, hoping to find something with which to brace the door.

The closet was in a shambles. She took a second to process that. Ty joined her after leaving her father on the floor of the empty room.

What the hell happened here?
he wondered.

She looked over and saw his dark frown.
I don’t know, and right now, I don’t care. Please find something to brace the door. We have to get my father conscious.

He nodded. She felt what he didn’t express, and tried not to let panic take over.

They had no idea what was going on with her father and whether he would be on their side. They still had no idea where Sem or Caelys were being held.

And they had no idea whether or not Vycor knew they were there.

Chapter 36

Ty left Kyr with Brunyr in the small room behind the closet while he secured the rest of her chambers. It was the safest place for them right now because it had the separate door if they needed a quick escape. Of course, he couldn’t help but think that escape of any kind would be much harder with an unconscious male on their hands.

His search of Kyr’s bedchambers, lounging area, and bathing chamber was done methodically. He made sure it was quick, silent, and done in the dark to avoid alerting anyone of their presence.

Through their connection, Kyr saw everything he did…all of the things that once belonged to her now lying in ruins. Even the mirror in the bathing chamber had been shattered. Pieces of the glass crunched under his feet as he made his way through the room.

Surprisingly, he was more upset by the mistreatment of her things than she was. He knew it had been Vycor or Shaya personally who had done this, probably once they learned Kyr was still alive.

His thoughts narrowed it down to just Shaya as he returned to the closet and once again saw all of the beautiful clothes lying in tatters. It had been a petty, jealous, and—as much as he hated to think it—
female
thing to do. It had the Guardian’s mark all over it. Vycor would show his anger in other, less obvious ways.

Since he half-expected Kyr to argue about the whole female thing, he was surprised by her silence. Or he was until he reached the small room and spotted her. She was sitting beside her father with his hand in hers, sound asleep.

He couldn’t bear to wake her, despite his driving need to keep looking for Sem. They had been up for nearly a full day, and it had been a physically taxing one. She needed rest.

For a moment, he considered trying to breech Brunyr’s thoughts. A subtle scan revealed nothing. It was likely that the Guardian was under the influence of the V’larian drug. Since Ty had no idea how that might impact his own mind, he decided not to test things until Kyr was awake to help.

Instead, he reached out to Owyn.
Status?

Clear. Zasha came through.

Great. Did she retire for the night?

Yes. No one should suspect anything. I can lay low here until you and Kyr give me the go-ahead
.

Ty nodded, relieved. One less person they needed to worry about for the moment. He gave his uncle a quick update on where they were and who they had recovered.

Why the hell was Guardian Brunyr up in the tower?
Owyn puzzled.
That news never reached the Dane megai.

I don’t think many people know. Kyr and I will ask him the moment he’s awake.

All right. Keep me posted.

I will. Get some sleep.

Yeah. You, too.

Ty doubted either of them would get much sleep without knowing Sem’s fate, though. He tried not to let his uncle’s disappointment bring him down. He was feeling badly enough as it was.

To distract himself and because it was past time he did so, he reached out to Gren.

It’s about damn time
, Gren thought in a gruff tone that reminded Ty of Owyn.

I’m sorry. We’ve been traveling. I never want to go near the Savyaan Sea again. We’re inside the palace.

He quickly brought Gren up to speed on their situation. Gren was glad to hear that they had confirmed Sem was alive, and was just as baffled by the imprisonment of Brunyr as everyone else. Unable to be much help, Gren presented his update.

The V’larians have arrived and they’ve made themselves known. From what I can tell, they’re gathering out here in the Dark Lands to keep the rest of Alametria unaware of their arrival.

Ty frowned. There was no way V’larian ships should have been able to get inside their planet’s orbit without setting off their security beacons. Of course, Vycor could have either influenced someone to disengage the beacons or ignore them if the V’larians set them off.

The V’larians are using mind control,
Gren continued.
I’ve heard stories of the drug you mentioned. Between both of these things, they’re overtaking Outcasts left and right. Malak and his Marauders are aiding them. Scarlyt and the Peace Keepers are doing their best to hide people away because they’re not trained to fight, but with the V’larians able to read most of their minds…

Most of?

So far, it seems those of us that you and Kyr protected before you left are immune to their mind control.

That’s something,
Ty thought.

Yeah, but unfortunately not enough. Ty, we’re facing insurmountable odds out here. It’s bad.

For Gren to admit as much, it had to be beyond bad. Ty’s concern for his friend multiplied.