I gasped. In my turmoil about Rowan, I’d forgotten all about Jicho hanging from the outside of the tower. I raced over to the open window, hoping that if I couldn’t help Rowan, perhaps I could at least do something for his little brother.
After all, things weren’t looking too bright for me. I knew Rowan. Right now, he was undoubtedly meeting with the palace mages, giving them instructions to do whatever they wanted, so long as they uncovered every secret in my head.
And those Thought Blade spells would indeed uncover my every memory. But they’d kill me in the process, and fast.
Chapter Ten
Rushing over to the window, I helped Jicho crawl into the room. The second his feet touched the floor, I ushered him to a spot against the wall.
“You need to stay out of sight,” I warned.
Jicho brushed some bits of stone off his black Caster leathers. Normally, the boy wore Seer robes. He seemed to be up to something.
Something more than usual, that is.
Jicho lifted his chin. “I wouldn’t have needed any help at all, but the rock out there is so old and weak. It’s like crawling up a block of cheese.” He set his fists on his hips, which was a movement I’d seen Rowan do a hundred times before. Jicho didn’t want to show any weakness.
“You did very well, considering.”
“Thank you. I climb everywhere around the castle. I’m really good at it, too.” He gave me a gap-toothed smile. “I’m here to rescue you. That’s why I’m wearing Caster leathers like Rowan.”
My heart melted at that sweet-faced boy. “You look very dashing, Jicho.” I knelt down so we could look each other in the eye. “But you can’t save me. I’ll figure out something.” I stepped back to the window and looked out. Sure enough, Kade’s many soldiers were arrayed about the tower grounds. In the moonlight, I could make out a pair of figures in hooded red robes walking toward us. I’d seen that garb before.
Palace mages.
I stepped out of the window and spoke to Jicho again. “When the mages come, tell them I cast a spell on you to get you here. Then, you must leave.”
Jicho’s grin melted into a look of terror. “But the things they’ll do to you, Elea. We can’t let that happen.”
I forced on my calmest Necromancer face. Inside, I wanted to scream and run. “You must leave, Jicho. I still need your help, and if the palace mages see you here, you know what Rowan will do. He’ll lock you up in that Seer temple.”
“No one is locking me up anywhere. Besides, I know where your friend Nan is. I’ve seen it. And I’ve had visions where we go and find her together.”
My heart leapt into my throat. “But I can’t cast anymore. We’ve no way to transport there.”
Jicho lifted his chin. “I can lead you there.”
“It’s unsafe. You can tell me what you know, and I’ll go and find Nan. My adventures tend to leave a trail of blood and bodies behind. It’s no place for a nine-year-old boy.”
Voices sounded under the tower window. The palace mages were chatting with the guard. We didn’t have much time.
Jicho lifted his chin. “You can’t argue with my visions. I’ve already told everyone that I’m meditating in the Seer temple for a few days. I do that sometimes after I’ve had a bad vision. Rowan always lets me. If I sneak off, he won’t suspect a thing.”
I frowned. “Rowan did say something about that at the festival. He gives you space when you’ve had a bad vision.”
“That’s right. Being spies runs in our blood. Plus, everyone will be so obsessed about the fact that you ran away, they won’t care about me.”
“But you’re a—”
“I’m more than a kid, I’m a powerful Seer and the only one who understands what you’re doing and can help you. You need me, Elea.”
The bottom door to the tower opened with a long creak. I couldn’t let Jicho see me get killed with a Thought Blade spell. The boy already had enough pain in his life.
“It’s too dangerous, Jicho. Promise me you’ll leave once the mages arrive.”
“No, this is too important. I’ve had visions of Viktor, too. War is coming. We need that Sword. Nothing else will work.” His large eyes glimmered with terror. “I’ve seen it over and again. Viktor will win, Elea. And he doesn’t want to just rule. He plans to kill everyone.”
My breath caught. “Are you sure?”
A tear rolled down Jicho’s cheek, leaving behind a silver trail that glinted in the moonlight. “I’m positive.” His lower lip wobbled. “And not just here. Other places, too. I saw this orange jungle get burned out…It’s terrible, Elea.”
Orange jungle. That was Mlinzi and Walinzi’s world. Did Viktor’s plan include them, too? My stomach soured at the thought. Destroying multiple worlds…I wouldn’t doubt Viktor would do that and more.
I brushed the tear from Jicho’s cheek. “All right. I accept your generous offer of help.” I scanned the cell. “In that case, we now have to get out of here.”
Jicho immediately brightened. It was just like a child to forget one terror with a new diversion. How I envied him that ability. “No problem,” Jicho announced. “I can climb down and cause a diversion.”
The footsteps in the corkscrew stairs grew louder.
“But I thought you were in meditation.”
“Oh, yes.” Jicho sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t have a vision for how we’d get out of this. I only saw that we’d eventually escape.”
I paced the floor, trying to force my mind to concentrate. Sure, I didn’t have my magick, but wasn’t Amelia always saying that magick was overrated? There had to be another way to escape. With every step, the floorboards creaked ominously beneath my slippers. I froze midstep.
Suddenly, I knew exactly how we’d get out of this tower. I could only hope I had enough time left to enact my plan. Because unless I got past these mages and found the Sword of Theodora? There would be no stopping Viktor.
Chapter Eleven
Jicho and I simply had to escape this tower. In my opinion, the only way we could to do it was to pretend we’d already gone.
Fortunately, Rowan had trapped me in a tower that had been built more for storage than prisoners…And where things could be stored, they could also be hidden.
Falling onto my knees, I hooked my fingers around the edges of the nearest floorboard. It pulled up with ease. Sure enough, there was enough room in the sub floors for Jicho and I to hide, so long as we laid silently on our backs. Dust and old moldy oats lined the space. Someone had definitely used this for storage.
The footsteps in the tower staircase grew louder. The palace mages would be here any second. There wasn’t time.
“We need to pull up the floorboards and hide underneath,” I whispered to Jicho.
“Won’t they know we’re hiding?”
“Everyone thinks I can still cast magick. They’ll assume I transported away.”
“But what if they cast a tracking spell to find out where you went?” asked Jicho. “They’ll know you’re here.”
“I don’t think they will.”