The Unwritten King

14. Louder

Nicholas wished he could say he was surprised, but he had pretty much lived in worst case scenarios for the last two weeks. At least he was prepared for this one.

He lunged forward toward Malik before Ali could even state the cause for arrest. All he needed was one touch to unravel the magic-nullifying cero charm laced in the metal of the handcuffs. Apparently, his bad luck had yet to run out, because Nicholas did not get his one touch. The shurta who had been guarding the room a moment before yanked his arms behind him. A second set of shackles locked around his wrists.

Malik threw his weight. It should have been futile against the brick wall that was Ali, but Ali lurched like a young oak in a heavy wind, and Malik twisted away to face Nicholas. He threw his arms over Nicholas' shoulders and wiggled his hands beneath the scarf; at the first cool touch against Nicholas' neck, Malik transfigured the metal, and the cuffs clattered away.

Malik brought down the hanging lamp mounted above Nicholas' head, pulling Nicholas forward by the arm as the guard jumped back with a shout. Ali bouldered into their path as they ran to the door. Or, he would have, but the tile floor had folded over his feet. He overbalanced, toppling in place. It bought them enough time to make it out.

Malik touched the torch next to the door. Its glass bulb shuddered, jostling the flame within, as he said, "Morra."

As if the room inside had been plunged underwater, the shouting and footsteps went silent. The door did not open behind them.

The rest was a race against time. They unfortunately had to speed-walk it, as it was also a race against sound. They had little direction to guide them; only the awareness that they were on the castle's third floor, and a series of panels in the journal that showed Rayan on the fifth, fighting from a balcony that overshadowed the entrance hall. Malik studied those drawings intently as they hurried, only belatedly reaching back to free Nicholas' hands. He moved with the confidence of someone who had spent a lifetime relying on mental maps.

"What was that?" Nicholas asked on the stairs to the fourth floor. With every story, the halls seemed narrower and shorter, as if shrinking to a sharp peak.

"Dungeon charm." Malik was panting, face shiny with sweat. "It won't hold long. The talisman was shit." He held his hand to his face and muttered into his middle finger, "Sino. Adrian? Adrian, can you hear me?"

The Faisan ring, on the other hand, made a perfect talisman, even for a complicated bell charm that had been cast two hours before. Adrian's voice rang clear, a grave whisper of, What's wrong?

"I'm...under arrest," said Malik, so worn out he stumbled at the next staircase. Caught up in finding his way, he didn't seem to notice that he had flipped past those very words a few pages ago, where they were shown coming through the enchanted golden cuff wrapped around the shell of Adrian's ear.

Nicholas began to have a bad feeling.

"Don't do anything idioti-" Malik was saying when a crash sounded somewhere far off. Shouting followed. "You idiot!"

He moved faster. They breached stairs to the topmost floor in time to see a figure in black burst from a room down the hall, closely followed by a warning yell from a female voice.

"Wait!" Malik called to the back of a dark-cherry head. Yasmin's stance was instantly defensive when she faced them. By the time her charge had followed suit, Nicholas and Malik had dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.

"Your Majesty," Malik spoke, probably out of turn, before there was time to act. "I believe you know who I am. Despite how it may seem-" he winced as more shouting sounded from below. "I haven't come to you seeking trouble. The direct opposite, I-"