Fallen Read online

  “Is it like the labyrinth quest?” Koli’s tongue tripped over the word labyrinth, so it came out sounding slightly slurred, as it always did.

  It did not surprise Persephone that Koli had drawn that specific parallel; stories about the labyrinth were some of her favorites.

  “Yes, it is very much like the labyrinth quest,” Persephone agreed.

  “Will there be a monster at the end?”

  “No, no monster. But our purpose is still to get out of the palace without anyone catching us.”

  “Why?” Koli asked.

  Kolimpri was in a questions phase. Why this? Why that? What is that?

  “Because that is the purpose of the quest,” Persephone repeated, knowing this didn’t really answer the question, but she was reluctant to offer more of an explanation. Given Koli’s propensity for games with rules, simply reiterating, “because that is how the game is played,” was usually sufficient. “No more talking for a bit, Little Bird. Now grab my ankle and we will start.”

  “Why?”

  “What did I say?” Persephone scolded.

  “No more talking,” Koli echoed.

  “Yes, and I meant it.”

  “Why?”

  Persephone tried not to lose her patience. She knew Kolimpri just wanted to understand, and typically she was happy to take the time to answer Koli’s questions, but time was a luxury they did not have at present.

  “Being quiet will help us to stay hidden. Do you want to go on the quest or not?”

  “Yes,” Koli said quickly.

  “Then do as I say.”

  “Yes, sister.” Finally, Koli grabbed Persephone’s ankle.

  When she felt certain Koli had a firm grip, she began their trek. Persephone had memorized the passages years ago, and even as infrequently as she’d used them in recent times, she still remembered them well. Even in the dark, Persephone made her way with relative ease, though the process was much slower than she would have liked. She didn’t know how long it took them to wind their way to the ladder. Long enough for her nerves to calm and her knees to begin screaming in protest; she was sure the rough ground would leave them a bloody mess.

  The cavern was too narrow through here for her to turn around to talk, so instead she tucked her chin and spoke underneath her arm. “There is a ladder. We must go down a very long way. With the tight space, I cannot get you onto my back, and there will be no rest once we have started. Do you need a break?”

  “Is this part of the quest?” Koli asked eagerly.

  “Yes, this is part of the quest. This will be a very difficult part, though. Do you need a break?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?” Persephone pressed, feeling like Koli had answered too quickly.

  “Yes,” Koli reiterated confidently.

  Persephone’s heart swelled even as her fear gripped it. The ladder was one made of old rope, tethered only at the top, so it rocked and swayed perilously the further one moved away from its anchor. They were on the third floor of the palace. The ladder would take them to the ground level. Koli’s exuberant and seemingly bottomless energy would be to their benefit; there would be no halting or turning back once they’d started. Between the two of them, Persephone was going to have the much harder task, but she had committed to this course because it was their best chance of making it out of the palace undetected. Nothing had changed, so Persephone took a deep breath to steady herself.

  “Let go of my ankle. I will start down, but I will stay at the top long enough for you to turn and get into position. You will have to do everything by feel. Do you understand, Little Bird?”

  “Yes, sister.”

  “I am going to stay behind you the whole way to keep you safe. It is more important for you to be careful than to rush. We will go as slowly as you need.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Kolimpri hummed in agreement.

  Persephone had to practically crawl into the mouth of the drop before she could turn herself around. Carefully seeking the first rungs with her feet, she moved down just low enough that Koli’s small form would be able to get onto the ladder between her arms.

  “Alright, Little Bird. Turn around and find the ladder.”

  She heard some scuffling then as small feet felt their way blindly in front of her. Once there was no doubt Koli was securely in position, Persephone kissed the back of her head before cautiously beginning the perilous descent. Moving one rung at a time, she whispered instructions and gentle encouragement to Koli all the while. The entire way down, Persephone kept herself framed around Koli’s small form. Kolimpri did well – better than Persephone could have hoped – but moving at her pace was excruciatingly slow, causing Persephone’s arms to burn in protest at the extra exertion required to hold her own weight away from the ladder. Every time they swayed unexpectedly, Koli cried out her surprise and Persephone pushed her elbows together, squeezing and locking Koli into place.

  What seemed like an eternity after they started, Persephone finally felt hard stone rather than coarse rope beneath her feet. Suppressing a sigh of relief so Koli wouldn’t know how concerned she’d actually been, Persephone wrapped an arm around Koli’s slight waist and pulled her from the wall. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Koli turned and hugged Persephone tightly. Wracked from exhaustion and silent sobs, her entire body shook violently. So, ignoring the fatigue tremors in her own muscles, Persephone held Koli with one arm and caressed the damp hair back from her tear-stained face with the other.

  “You did so well, my brave Little Bird.”

  She continued to shush and rock her soothingly while allowing Koli several moments to expel her silent tears. When she felt they could wait no longer, Persephone tenderly disengaged herself from Koli’s embrace. She wanted nothing more than to tell Koli that all would be well, but while Persephone didn’t typically feel guilt at bending or distorting the truth, that was a lie she couldn’t bring herself to utter. She had to be strong. They had to make it out. Otherwise the guilt and futility of leaving everyone else would crush her.

  “We have to keep moving. The cave is taller through here. We will be able to walk the rest of the way.”

  Koli sniffled, but Persephone could tell she was attempting to recompose herself.

  “What is the next part of the quest?” Koli asked with tears still clogging her voice.

  “We have to get out of the palace,” Persephone said as she grabbed Koli’s hand and started walking. With one hand braced against the wall to find their way and the other engulfing Koli’s much smaller hand, Persephone led them toward their exit.

  “How will we get out?”

  “Remember, we must still be quiet. Whisper, Little Bird.” After what she’d just put her through, Persephone couldn’t bring herself to completely quash Koli’s curiosity.

  “How will we get out?” Koli repeated more quietly, but still in a louder-than-Persephone-would-have-liked whisper.

  “This tunnel takes us to the Grand Council Chamber. Then we have to sneak to the Eastern Garden.”

  “Then what?”

  “From the Eastern Garden another tunnel will take us under the wall,” Persephone answered absently.

  “How do you know about all this?” Koli was back to being completely enthralled, undoubtedly thinking this a grand adventure just like the numerous stories Persephone told her.

  Curiosity and reckless daring, Persephone thought wryly, but instead she said, “A long time ago I went on my own quest.”

  “Tell me!” Koli squealed far too loudly.

  “Hush, Kolimpri!” Persephone scolded harshly.

  “Apologies, sister.”

  Persephone could hear the fresh tears readying themselves in Koli’s voice and she felt horrible for being so severe. “I am sorry, Little Bird. I did not mean to hurt your feelings, but we are on a very dangerous quest presently. Remember? We must not get caught.”

  “Who will catch us?” Koli asked softly.

  “Little Bird,” Persephone started, uncer
tain of what she was going to say. They were nearing the exit and there was little chance Koli would not see the blood staining Persephone’s hand. There was also a strong possibility that they would run into more of the invaders, Perdomans as far as Persephone could tell, based on the red tunics and crests on the breastplates of the two men she’d killed upstairs. This was the worst possible scenario: the Finctus had finally made its way into Galilae.

  “Sister?” Koli asked when Persephone still hadn’t said anything.

  Persephone had to tell her something, but hated all of her options. “Little Bird,” she tried again, “there is a possibility if we see anyone on the way out of the palace that I will have to fight.” Koli didn’t say anything and Persephone wondered how she was taking the news. “If this happens, it will be very scary, but it is what must happen if we are to finish our quest.”

  “Like when the hero fights the bad men in the stories?”

  “Yes,” Persephone agreed.

  “Who are the bad men?”

  “I do not know,” Persephone lied. “If we are lucky, we will not see any of them to find out.”

  “Does that mean that you are the hero?”

  She didn’t feel like a hero. She felt like a traitor leaving everyone else – her family as well as the many women and men working in the palace – to fend for themselves.

  “I am a guardian, Little Bird. It is my job to protect you until you are old enough and big enough to finish your own quest.”

  “That sounds like a hero.”

  Able to walk upright, they had made good time, and now they were at the dead end marking the end of the tunnel and the beginning of the Grand Council Chamber. Persephone was grateful to have an excuse to end the conversation. That Koli continued to view her as a hero when Persephone felt like a villain had a steady ache radiating through her chest.

  “We are about to leave the tunnel, Little Bird. No more talking, we must be completely silent unless I tell you it is safe to speak. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sister.” The way the volume changed as she spoke, Persephone imagined Kolimpri was nodding dramatically with her words.

  “I mean it.”

  “Yes, sister.” Koli sounded more solemn that time and, satisfied, Persephone returned to the task of identifying their exit.

  She ran her hands along the impasse in front of them. From the other side, it would look exactly like the stone surrounding it. But from inside the tunnels, the stone she sought was marked with a different texture, readily distinguishing it from its neighbors. It took all of the weight and strength she possessed, but Persephone pushed the stone outward. Protesting the movement, the stone scraped loudly. If the gods were merciful, their luck would hold a bit longer.

  She barely created enough space to squeeze herself through. The practically nonexistent light filtering into the Grand Council Chamber from outside was a beacon compared to the inky black of the cavern. Being so much smaller, Kolimpri snuck past the stone entryway far more easily than Persephone had. Pressing a finger to her own lips with her dagger hand, Persephone wordlessly reminded her of the need for quiet before moving to the door with Koli at her heels.

  Opening the large door a crack at a time to ensure the way was clear, Persephone finally led them out of the cavernous room. She did not know how long it had taken to crawl down to ground level, but the still dim light outside told her the perception was longer than the reality.

  Nonetheless, Persephone was certain the palace had been taken. They had yet to see signs of a struggle, and she took the menacing silence as confirmation that the intruders had managed to catch them unawares. If they had been thwarted, the whole place would be in chaos – people running to and fro, demanding answers to their frantic questions. Who were the intruders? What did they want? How had they managed to infiltrate the palace undetected? What were the losses? What had become of the rest of Galilae?

  Persephone would have welcomed the ensuing chaos over the ominous hush reverberating through the air.

  They were almost to the Eastern Garden when Persephone heard exotic accents. It was too late to flee without being seen. They had only empty hallway to their backs, so there was nowhere to go. The brusque voices and heavy footfalls moving this way stood between them and their only hope of escape.

  Persephone roughly pushed Kolimpri to the wall and drew her sword just as two soldiers wearing foreign armor rounded the corner. She had only a moment’s advantage before the intruders spotted her, drawing and raising their own swords. Striking at one while kicking the other back the same direction he had just come, she attacked high and slow. It was a distraction. Her target had seen her sword but not the dagger, so he expectedly blocked her high stroke. Taking advantage of the opening he left her, Persephone slammed the dagger point-first into his throat. She forced herself not to look in Kolimpri’s direction in response to the small girl’s surprised cry. Blood gushed over Persephone’s hand as she pulled the blade free and turned to block the attack of the second man.

  Avoiding the impulse to retreat, which would have taken the fight in Koli’s direction, Persephone pressed the attack forward. She couldn’t surprise him with the dagger because he had already seen it, but like his compatriot, he was impatient. He attempted to stab her torso with a bold lunge. A hard parry from her knocked him off balance, and while he stumbled past her, she spun, turning so she could slit his throat from behind.

  Persephone heard her latest attacker before she saw him. Quickly dropping into a low lunge, she barely dodged the swing of a sword that would have removed her head. From her crouched position, she slashed her dagger upward, deeply slicing the inside of her newest attacker’s thigh. Blood sprayed from the opened artery, drenching the left side of her face and chest. She grabbed his ankle as she stood and jerked his heel upward. He slammed to his back as his sword clattered to the ground. Though he attempted to stem the gushing wound, Persephone knew he would soon bleed to death.

  As she turned to collect Koli before more soldiers arrived, her heart stopped. A soldier crouched behind Koli with a knife pressed to her throat. With his other hand covering her mouth, he held her mute. Persephone couldn’t even remember to exhale. How long had he been there? She hadn’t heard Koli make a sound after that first exclamation, but she’d been focused on the attack, and everything had happened so fast. Fresh tears streamed down Koli’s pink cheeks. Persephone forced breath into her lungs as she ripped her gaze from Kolimpri’s distressed face to calculate her odds. Between his armor and Koli’s body shielding him, the soldier didn’t have any obvious vulnerable points exposed, so it would be risky, but she might be able to hit him if she threw her dagger.

  “Do not even consider it. If you value her life, you will sheathe your sword, place all your weapons on the ground, and step away with your hands behind your back.”

  She could hear rapid footfalls approaching from behind. No! They were so close. It couldn’t have come to this. And yet, it had. The tide had turned. If it were just her, she would die rather than surrender, but if there was still a chance to save Koli – no matter how small – she had to take it.

  With no other options in sight, Persephone held her face in a blank mask and sheathed her unsoiled sword. Unslinging the balteus from her shoulder, she lowered it almost reverently to the ground. Then, while looking the soldier in the eyes, she slowly and deliberately wiped the blood off both sides of her dagger on the hip of her briefs before laying it atop her sword. Stepping away from her weapons was like leaving a piece of herself. Her instincts screamed at her not to do it.

  Careful to avoid tripping on the men whose open eyes stared sightlessly at the scene around them, she backed away several paces. With her head high, she crossed her wrists behind her back. She didn’t fight back when rough hands grabbed to bind her.

  Chapter 2:

  Good Manners and Soft Words

  Speak softly and carry a big stick.

  – Proverb

  Augustine sat behind the king’s
desk, skimming the scrolls in front of him. Much of what he found he already knew, but the information was useful for expanding his mental image of Galilae. The finances, the ruling merchants, the Council members. The strengths and weaknesses – both of which there seemed to be many, though it was the weaknesses he’d exploited.

  The siege had gone off almost without a hitch. House Galanis had ruled in Galilae for over one thousand years. In that time, the island itself had never been successfully invaded. None had made it past the tumultuous waters of the Great Salt Sea and Galilae’s impressive navy. But arrogance had been their downfall. Just because it had never been achieved did not mean it was impossible. Augustine had just proved so. By sneaking a small battalion in slowly over time on trade ships, Augustine had amassed a force strong enough to overthrow the pathetically underprotected palace. Recruiting the cooperation of the Galanis Arms Commander had also helped. Loyalty could be a fickle beast. Contrary to popular belief, it was something that was maintained, not earned with a single act. Augustine understood and utilized this to his advantage, whereas it would seem that Acheron of House Galanis, King of Galilae, did not, assuming instead that merely his designation as king entitled him to the devotion of his subjects. He was not the first ruler to fall because of this false belief, and he would not be the last.

  Continuing to peruse the documents in front of him, Augustine waited for news of the princesses. The rest of the royal family had already been captured and sat huddled together along the wall to his right. The king, Acheron; his lovely wife, Adonia; and their son and heir to the throne, Antaios, were all present. Thus far the two princesses, Persephone and Kolimpri, were nowhere to be found.

  Two of his soldiers had been found in a pool of their own blood at the lip of the hallway leading to the girls’ rooms. The Galanises’ guards had been removed from duty in one way or another, as promised, so taking the princesses should have been simple. And yet the girls were gone. Had a guard been missed and snuck up on his men? It was possible; the palace was a fucking maze. He would know more when the two were found. Not surprisingly, the rest of the family denied any knowledge of their whereabouts. And if the girls had not been found by sunup? Well, there were a number of ways to stimulate memories. Augustine was prepared to employ these methods in order to find the two princesses if need be, though he would do so only as a last resort. If all Augustine would need from the family was their cooperation, he likely would not have found himself so patient. But for his plan to be successful, he needed their good health in addition to their compliance. As torture would have the opposite effect, for the moment, he could do nothing but wait impatiently for news.