obstructions, and counted lit windows to try to find the right building. “Here, let’s go in,” Alec whispered, placing his hand on the building’s door. It opened, and they entered a hallway that felt comparatively balmy. A set of narrow stairs in the back of the building was available for servants to use unseen by the owners of the place, giving Alec and Kage an inconspicuous way to climb up to the fourth floor, where the office for Kage’s meeting waited.
“ Alec, this is the wrong building!” Kage exclaimed as he looked at the door he was supposed to knock on. “This isn’t the office. We made a mistake.”
Alec slapped his forehead in exasperation. “Let’s go up to the roof,” he suggested after a moment of consideration. “Maybe from up there we’ll be able to see better; maybe the buildings are connected up there.”
They climbed to the roof, and found that the adjoining rooftops abutted, allowing an easy entry to the correct building, and soon Kage was knocking on the correct door. The door swung timidly open just an inch, paused for several ticks, then opened to admit Kage and Alec.
“ What are those uniforms? Have you turned informer?” a voice asked as Alec blinked at the bright light inside the warm room. As his vision returned he saw that there were four other men already in the room, all looking gray and haggard.
“ Who’s your companion?” a stout man asked, looking at Alec closely. Only Kage and Alec were armed with swords, Alec realized.
“ This is the man who saved me when the Conglomerate goons came to arrest me,” Kage answered. “He helped Elena and I get away. The uniforms are a disguise. How did each of you escape arrest? Are we the only ones free? Where is the princess?”
“ We heard you got away. You’re the only report I’ve heard of someone fighting their way to freedom,” the stout man replied. “The three of us weren’t at our homes when the guards came, and we’ve been hiding ever since.”
“ I heard they have the Princess in prison along with everyone else they caught,” answered the oldest man in the room, a man who sat in a straight-backed chair, his posture just as stiff as the furniture he occupied. “There were Conglomerate guards at the palace before they went anywhere else. I saw them there, and that’s how I knew not to go back home.”
The four men began talking rapidly among themselves about who they knew that might also show up, and Alec turned away from them to study the room they occupied. It had several desks along one wall, and a large meeting table. One wall was interrupted by three doors, and along another wall were a series of windows, that he walked over to look through.
The room felt melancholy and hopeless, a reflection of the souls of the men in the room, Alec thought; it showed no life or color. He looked out the window onto the street in front of the building, seeing the corner where he and Kage had stood. There was a small band of soldiers there now, he saw in the dim light, and they were taking someone away, he realized. He looked closely at the scene below, and realized there were now men standing in the dark shadows of several doorways. The meeting site was under surveillance!
Alec turned and walked back to Kage. “We need to leave,” he said urgently, placing his hand on Kage’s shoulder.
The melancholy atmosphere in the room was cut by confusion, and by one strand of triumph. He didn’t know how he knew, but Alec realized that there was a traitor in the room, someone who had given the secret of the meeting away. They were in a trap, and with every second they were closer to being caught.
“ There are soldiers outside,” Alec said. “They’re going to take us into captivity if we don’t get out of here.” The men in the room rushed to the windows to look outside, while Alec went to the door to the hallway. He placed his ear against the wood, and heard the tramping sound of feet on the stairs. It was too late
“ Alec, this is the wrong building!” Kage exclaimed as he looked at the door he was supposed to knock on. “This isn’t the office. We made a mistake.”
Alec slapped his forehead in exasperation. “Let’s go up to the roof,” he suggested after a moment of consideration. “Maybe from up there we’ll be able to see better; maybe the buildings are connected up there.”
They climbed to the roof, and found that the adjoining rooftops abutted, allowing an easy entry to the correct building, and soon Kage was knocking on the correct door. The door swung timidly open just an inch, paused for several ticks, then opened to admit Kage and Alec.
“ What are those uniforms? Have you turned informer?” a voice asked as Alec blinked at the bright light inside the warm room. As his vision returned he saw that there were four other men already in the room, all looking gray and haggard.
“ Who’s your companion?” a stout man asked, looking at Alec closely. Only Kage and Alec were armed with swords, Alec realized.
“ This is the man who saved me when the Conglomerate goons came to arrest me,” Kage answered. “He helped Elena and I get away. The uniforms are a disguise. How did each of you escape arrest? Are we the only ones free? Where is the princess?”
“ We heard you got away. You’re the only report I’ve heard of someone fighting their way to freedom,” the stout man replied. “The three of us weren’t at our homes when the guards came, and we’ve been hiding ever since.”
“ I heard they have the Princess in prison along with everyone else they caught,” answered the oldest man in the room, a man who sat in a straight-backed chair, his posture just as stiff as the furniture he occupied. “There were Conglomerate guards at the palace before they went anywhere else. I saw them there, and that’s how I knew not to go back home.”
The four men began talking rapidly among themselves about who they knew that might also show up, and Alec turned away from them to study the room they occupied. It had several desks along one wall, and a large meeting table. One wall was interrupted by three doors, and along another wall were a series of windows, that he walked over to look through.
The room felt melancholy and hopeless, a reflection of the souls of the men in the room, Alec thought; it showed no life or color. He looked out the window onto the street in front of the building, seeing the corner where he and Kage had stood. There was a small band of soldiers there now, he saw in the dim light, and they were taking someone away, he realized. He looked closely at the scene below, and realized there were now men standing in the dark shadows of several doorways. The meeting site was under surveillance!
Alec turned and walked back to Kage. “We need to leave,” he said urgently, placing his hand on Kage’s shoulder.
The melancholy atmosphere in the room was cut by confusion, and by one strand of triumph. He didn’t know how he knew, but Alec realized that there was a traitor in the room, someone who had given the secret of the meeting away. They were in a trap, and with every second they were closer to being caught.
“ There are soldiers outside,” Alec said. “They’re going to take us into captivity if we don’t get out of here.” The men in the room rushed to the windows to look outside, while Alec went to the door to the hallway. He placed his ear against the wood, and heard the tramping sound of feet on the stairs. It was too late
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