The Child Prince (The Artifactor) (41 page)

“Halt!” a voice thundered from above them. “Who goes there?!”

Bellomi reflexively looked up. There should be another good half hour until the next changing of the guard, and no one should have been here on this route at this time of the night! Where did this random guard come from? He stood looking over the edge of the railing from the landing above, although the dimness of the moonlight from the windows didn’t penetrate enough to give Bellomi a clear view of his face.

For a moment all three men froze, just staring at each other, and then Axelrad and Bellomi bolted up the stairs.

The guard let out a shout, calling for his fellow guardsmen, and yelling out as he took off in pursuit, “Halt, I said! In the name of the king!”

Shouldn’t that be in the name of the Council?
Bellomi couldn’t help the irreverent thought even as he kept running. “Axelrad?”

“I don’t know, Your Highness,” Axelrad responded grimly, not slacking his pace as he sprinted down the hallway. Of course, at this speed, neither man could disguise his footsteps, and it sounded raucously loud as they ran. “He shouldn’t have been there. Unless they’ve changed the patrol patterns. Again.”

Which they might have done. Bellomi strained his ears, tracking the movements of the men pursuing them, counting out footsteps and voices. “I make it nine following us, but they’re rousing their fellows, so it won’t be that for long.”

Axelrad let out a particularly vicious curse. “They’re catching up quickly as well. Your Highness, I don’t think we dare use the clock to escape from here.”

“Too close, do you think?” Bellomi had to agree. The one thing they could not endanger at this point was the secret of the grandfather clocks. Many of their plans hinged upon using them. (Not to mention Sevana would have his head if he did expose it to the whole palace guard.) “Then, do you know of another way out?”

“I do, but it’ll be risky and it will take us much longer to get back to the mountain.”

He didn’t see how they had much choice at this point. “Lead the way.”

Axelrad took an abrupt turn at the next hallway, leading them down a staircase instead of staying on the main level. Bellomi followed on his heels, his ears tracking the situation behind him, but keeping one eye on the guard captain. He didn’t feel the slightest bit winded from all of this running, but he didn’t know if Axelrad had the stamina for this anymore. The other man didn’t seem to be the least bit tired, however, and he moved at commendable speed.

They left the main level and headed directly for the south side of the palace. The building no longer seemed quiet and empty but lively as noise seemed to come from every corner, echoing and re-echoing as it travelled down the long hallways. Bellomi quickly became confused as the sounds crossed and mixed with each other, and he could not be sure that he trusted what he heard now.

Axelrad burst through a door that let them out directly onto one of the verandas that overlooked the garden. So far, no one seemed to anticipate their route, and the garden lay vacant in front of them.

“Axelrad, where are we going?” Bellomi demanded as they ran for the nearby stairs that led downward. The stables lay in the exact opposite direction, so he couldn’t be thinking of getting a pair of horses and making a run for it.

“There’s a side gate that lets out directly into the city,” the man explained quickly, his head pivoting about as he panned the area. “Few know of it or use it. I think we can get through there if we move fast enough.”

The city, eh? No one had gotten a clear view of them yet, so Axelrad might very well be right. If they could move fast enough, they’d be able to blend in with the city’s nightlife and disappear. “Then let’s move.”

The door that Axelrad mentioned sat just beyond the stairs, half-covered in hanging ivy and the branches of a willow tree. He brushed all the greenery aside and shoved at the metal gate. It had half-rusted in places, so gave quite the squeal as it swung open, resisting Axelrad’s efforts. Bellomi, feeling time ticking away relentlessly, quickly stepped forward and put his own hands against the cold metal of the door. Under their combined strength, it swung open enough for both men to slip through. Bellomi paused two seconds, just long enough to force it back into position.

He and Axelrad ran down the slight slope and into the first street near them, a wide road that served as the downtown market most days of the week. Of course, at this hour of the night, all the shops were closed and not a soul stirred. They hugged the shadows of the building as they ran, putting as much distance between them and the palace as possible until they reached a busier street. In a city of this size, it never truly became still, as merchants, businessmen, and entertainment of some sort always played out.

Axelrad slowed his pace abruptly when they reached the entertainment section of town, where all of the theaters and musical halls were, and he melted quite naturally into the flow of traffic. Bellomi fell into step with him, making his voice just loud enough to be heard over the street noise. “Where to?”

“We need to either leave the city or send a message back to Artifactor Warran.”

“A Magic Post would be best, I think,” Bellomi offered after a moment’s thought. “But they won’t be open again until the morning. I’d rather not leave the city only to ride a whole week to reach Big again.”

“Truly.” Axelrad shrugged. “I’m willing to do so, however.”

Bellomi wasn’t. They already had too much to do and not enough time to do it in. He didn’t want to waste any of that time on the road. “I know of an innkeeper nearby that’s an associate of Morgan’s and Sevana’s. Let’s see if he’ll put us up for the night and send a post in the morning.”

It took four long hours for the sun to rise and finally signal the beginning of the working day. As soon as feasible, Axelrad left the room and went straight to the nearest Magic Post to send a quick note to Sevana. He came back barely ten minutes after he left, a relaxed air about him.

Bellomi paused in the middle of putting on his second sword and asked, “What did she say?”

Axelrad recited the reply verbatim: “Head for the city manager’s office. Grandfather clock on second floor, back of building.”

Oh good. She
did
have one in the city. “Do you know where it is?”

“As it happens, I do.” Axelrad waved him to follow.

They descended to the main floor, where Bellomi paused long enough at the bar to say to the innkeep, “Thank you, sir, for putting us up.”

“Think nothing of it, young master,” he responded with small chuckle. “I’m used to Sevana’s erratic comings and goings. I expect midnight calls from her friends.”

Wise man. With a rueful shake of the head, he bid a final farewell and caught up with Axelrad at the front door.

The city manager’s office proved to be very close by, almost providentially so. They barely had to walk two city blocks before reaching it. It also (fortunately) had its doors open for business but did not have many people around yet. Then again, at this hour of the morning, that was hardly surprising. He and Axelrad walked in unchallenged through the main door and straight up to the second level. They didn’t see a soul or hear a peep as they walked down a narrow, carpeted hallway, heading for the back of the building as instructed.

The grandfather clock sat at a junction of two hallways, its back toward the outer wall, and could not be mistaken for any other ordinary clock. It looked exactly like the rest of Sevana’s clocks, beautifully detailed with ornate scrollwork that he now recognized as magical symbols. The clock on this side ticked with mechanical precision, counting down the time, but Bellomi knew better than to think that the clock’s twin had also been set into motion. He wouldn’t step foot inside of that clock until he
knew
it was connected to the other one.

“Ah, did Sevana mention an exact time it would be safe to step through?”

Axelrad blinked at him. “I didn’t know that would be necessary.”

“Oh yes. She doesn’t leave all of the clocks connected at all times,” Bellomi explained. “Rather a waste of energy, you see, if she did that. She connects them when she needs to. And it’s rather dangerous to step through when they’re
not
connected.”

Well, this left them in something of a pickle. Hmmm. Well, just standing here wouldn’t answer the question. He stepped forward and undid the side latch on the front casing before pulling it open and calling in a low voice, “Is it safe to step through?”

“It is,” Sevana’s bodiless voice responded. “And don’t dawdle.”

Right. Obviously waking her up at this hour of the morning had not endeared him to her. Knowing he’d probably pay for this birds’ hour rescue later, he nevertheless stepped through the clock and into the clock room of Big.

Sevana of course stood nearby, boot tapping out an irritated rhythm on the floor, arms crossed over her chest. He offered her a smile. “My thanks for the rescue, lady Artifactor.”

“You,” she groused, “are more trouble than you are worth. Do this again and you can
ride
home.”

She really didn’t respond well to early risings, did she? He gave her a bow. “Duly noted.”

Axelrad stepped through in time to hear this last exchange. Sevana turned on him and said crossly, “And I expected better of you. Bel aside, how did you get into trouble so quickly?”

Ignoring Bellomi’s squawk of protest (what did she mean, him aside?!) the guard captain responded calmly, “They changed the time and positioning of the guards since the last time were there.”

Sevana frowned, eyebrows beetling together. “How much of a change?”

“A good half hour’s difference. We should have had plenty of time to leave before running the risk of being caught.”

She rubbed at her jaw thoughtfully. “Not good. That means we’ll need to get the new schedule to do any more reconnoitering. We might need to stay home tonight until we can get our hands on it.”

Did that mean he was largely forgiven for last night’s fiasco? No, judging from that expression on her face, probably not.

Aren chose that moment to enter the clock room, expression like a dark thundercloud. “Just what is going on here? What’s this I hear about you infiltrating the palace last night?”

“Why are you acting as if this is unheard of?” Bellomi responded wearily. After running around most of the night, his body felt heavy with fatigue and he wanted nothing more than a long nap. “We went last night to investigate a few things.”

“And got caught!” Aren snapped out, waspish and out of sorts.

“They changed the guards’ schedule,” Bellomi shrugged. He didn’t understand why his father was so livid with him. Things like this happened, and you just did your best to get out of it unscathed, and learned from it. Besides, after dealing with an irate mother dragon, nothing else could really scare him.

Aren took in a long breath and let it out again. It didn’t appreciably sweeten his temper. “Bellomi,” he gritted out, “I think you are missing my point. You should not be venturing into the palace like this. It is far too dangerous.”

“You cannot hold me to a different standard than you obey, Father.” Bellomi couldn’t let this go. He stepped forward, meeting his father eye to eye. “I realize that to you, no time has really passed. You cannot help but think of me as your little boy. But I have felt every
second
of those ten years pass and I have grown because of them. I will go where I need to go, do as I please, and do whatever is necessary to regain my home. Am I clear on this?”

“You are reckless!” Aren thundered back. “If you fall into the hands of the council, then all that we have done will be for naught!”

“I’m doing
exactly
what you have been doing!” Bellomi snarled back. “You cannot expect me to sit here idly while you face all the danger yourself!”

Aren instinctively flinched at this roar before he rallied and tried again. “Bellomi—”

He lost all hold on his temper, and rode over his father before he could say anything more. “I spent
ten years
obediently sitting in one place awaiting a rescue. You want me to do so again? To just sit, and wait, and trust everyone else to do the dangerous work for me? That obedient attitude nearly killed you and robbed me of my sanity!”

This time Aren reeled a step back as if Bellomi had actually struck him physically.

Bellomi took in a breath and forced himself to say more evenly, “I cannot be that obedient little prince you want me to be. The price for that is too high and I cannot pay it. I will act rather than wait. I will
always
choose to act over waiting on someone else to provide the solution. You’re going to have to find a way to live with that.”

“That rash way of thinking will get you and the people around you killed,” Aren rebuked. His voice shook slightly as he spoke. “Do you not understand that?”

Bellomi tried a smile but it felt stiff and wooden. “I told you, Father. The only thing that terrifies me is being locked back into that room.”

The King of Windamere had no response to that. He looked at his only child, lost for words.

Silently, Bellomi turned for the door and walked away.