Cage of Deceit(68)

After a good twenty minutes, they climbed a flight of stairs. A door clicked open, and the assassin led her a couple of paces forward. The door shut behind them, and her blindfold was quickly removed. In the middle of the small, dimly lit, empty room, Grevik sat tied to a chair.

Running over, she dropped to her knees before him. “Are you all right?”

He slowly lifted his head, looking at her. She gasped. Grevik’s face was covered with bruises, his right eye was swollen shut, and his breathing was labored, indicating he had a damaged lung.

“What did you do to him?” she demanded, swinging around to face the assassin.

“I asked him a few questions,” he said.

Rage and hatred consumed her—she wanted to kill the assassin for hurting her friend. However, she couldn’t attack him until Jarvik and his men arrived—if they came at all. They were probably still back at the inn, having no idea she’d left with the assassin. Still, she decided to give them a few minutes before she tried to render the assassin unconscious long enough to free Grevik.

“I’m so sorry,” she said to her friend.

“This isn’t your fault.”

Knowing he’d been interrogated, she wondered if the assassin knew her true identity. Perhaps this had been an elaborate plot to isolate her. She shivered and mouthed, “Does he know?”

Grevik muttered, “No.”

If Jarvik and his men had followed her, they would be in here by now. Help wasn’t coming.

“Don’t worry about me,” Grevik said. “Take care of yourself.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Grevik silenced her with his stare. “Leave,” he said. “Before this sadistic madman hurts you.”

Tears formed in her eyes. She couldn’t leave him there—she had to try to fight the assassin. Putting her hands on either side of Grevik’s dear face, she whispered, “I’ll find a way to rescue you. I promise.” Allyssa stood and kissed the top of his head.

“This reminds me of that time we caught those snake dealers,” Grevik said, his head hanging.

They never caught any snake dealers. It had to be some sort of clue. “Yes, it does,” she said, forcing a laugh.

“Time to go,” the assassin said. Holding the blindfold, he moved closer to her to put it on.

When he was directly behind her, she spun around and kneed him in the groin. At the same time, she swung her hand toward his head. The assassin caught her wrist midair, squeezing it tight.

“That was a very foolish thing to do,” he chided her, not even winded from her hit.

Allyssa went to kick him again. He blocked her leg and backhanded her across the face hard enough to hurt, but not to leave a mark. The assassin whipped out a dagger and pointed it at Grevik.

“Please no,” she said, shaking her head.

“Touch me again, and I’ll kill him.”

Grevik was struggling against his binds, trying to wiggle free, his eyes wide with horror.

“Stand still.” The assassin once again came up behind her. He quickly tied the blindfold around her head, and then he grabbed her arm. He led her back down the stairs, and they began the trek through the city.

Now that she’d seen Grevik and the condition he was in, she knew the assassin would never let him go—especially if Grevik had seen the man’s face while being tortured. Most likely, the assassin would kill her as well to ensure no one could tie him to the crime he planned to commit.

“Meet me tomorrow. Same time, same place,” he said, close to her ear. “I want to know if the emperor will be going to the shelter with his wife and daughter.”

Tomorrow was the ball. Getting out of the castle unnoticed would be infinitely more difficult. “I’m working,” she said. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave.”

The assassin stilled. “Will you be attending the royal ball tomorrow evening?”

“How do you know about that?”

“It’s not hard to figure out when deliveries are being made and people all over town are talking about it.” He started walking again, keeping her at his side.

It would be the perfect time for him to gain entrance into the castle when all the guests arrived. She hated being blindfolded and not having any idea what was going on around her. They walked in silence for several moments.

“If the royal family is still alive in two days, you are to meet me at the inn with information about the emperor.” He untied her blindfold.

Allyssa ripped the material off her face and found herself standing all alone in the alleyway next to the inn, the assassin nowhere in sight.

She glanced up at the building, looking for the ladder that led to the door she must have exited from, but she didn’t see anything. She shivered and went to the street in front of the inn, hoping Jarvik and his men saw her. Since the assassin could be watching, she kept walking, heading back to the castle alone, instead of waiting for the squire to show himself.