He lets go of me, but he is lost in the dark and he cannot stand without support. "Where is my brace?" he asks. "Will it still work?"
"Your brace is here and it is undamaged, as I promised." I slide his stump back into it but cringe at the smell of his burnt flesh. Taking his wounded left hand, I study the sores.L andulf took his cauterization too far; he burned into the healthy tissue beneath Dante's wounds. Later, I swear to myself, when we have time, I must sprinkle a few drops of my blood on the sores to ease his agony.
"It is best you don't touch me, my lady" Dante says in shame.
I squeeze his arm. "You are my hero. Of course I will touch you."
He is happy, for the moment, but he is also close to death.
"My lady," he gasps as he continues to struggle for air, despite his release from the bonds. "I know a secret the duke might not even know." He taps the wall behind his head. "There is a passageway back here, if we can get to it. The way leads under the farthest wall and out into the woods."
"Can we reach this passageway from the tunnel beyond this cell door?"
"Yes, my lady. But how are we going to get through the door?"
Good question. After studying the door, I see that it is made of the same alloy as the locks and chains. I cannot break through it. But I have come to this dilemma before. My awareness of the future is still present, but still somewhat cloudy. For several seconds I cannot remember precisely what I did next. Then the water dripping from the wall against which we were imprisoned catches my attention. The mortar between the stones must be weak, I reason, to allow so much moisture to seep through it and into the cell.
"Dante," I say. "Is this secret passageway of yours flooded?"
"Sometimes, my lady. At certain times of the year."
"Is this a certain time of the year?"
He hesitates. "There should be some water in the passage, yes. But I do not think it will be flooded. I hope it is not."
"Does the water run out into the forest?"
"The passageway leads in two directions. The water runs out to the cliff, in the direction of the sea."
"Stand away from this wall, by the door. I am going to work on these stones."
"Yes, my lady. Where is the door?"
I have to lead him to it. He slides down, weakly, with his back to the exit. He cannot stop moving his left hand, and I can only imagine the pain it must be causing him.
Landulf has removed my shoes, but this does not stop me from leaping in the air and kicking at one of the stones with my right heel. It cracks with a single hard blow, and a series of kicks crush it. I pull out the chunks of stone and mortar with my hands, and soon I have a small river running through my fingers and over my lap. Yet I see the passageway is slightly above us, and that there is not more than a foot of water passing through it. Dante shivers and cries out as the cold water touches him and I have to talk to reassure him. My hands are frantically busy, pulling out pieces of stone. My strength level has gone up another notch. We were both so close to death, everything was hopeless, and now we stand on freedom's door.
Soon there is a hole large enough for us to crawl through. I help Dante into the passageway, and then I follow him. Soon I am standing beside him, steadying him with my hand. The water current is feeble; even Dante is able to stand against it. He grabs my arm and points upstream.
"This way is the woods, my lady," he says. "Soon we will be free of this unholy place."
I stop him. "I can't go with you, Dante, not yet."
His exhilaration turns to distress."Mylady? Why not?"
"I cannot go from here and leave Landulf alive."
Dante is devastated. "But if you go after him you will die! He is too strong!"
"I am strong, Dante. You have seen that. But I need your help to find him. Where does he spend most of his time in the castle?"
Dante is animated. "No, my lady. I don't know. He is like most people and moves around from place to place. You will not find him before his knights find you. Please, we must escape now while we have a chance."
I clasp his shoulders. "But I have to try to find him, Dante. Landulf may have taken something from me, something very precious, and I cannot leave this castle without knowing that he has been destroyed."
Dante is confused. "What did he take from you that is so precious?"
"I cannot explain that to you. I just need you to trust me that I speak the truth. Come, you spent many years with him. Where is the most likely place he will be right now?"