Fire Angels

Chapter 15 Part 3 A Prison Break

One night I was awoken shortly after midnight by a messenger from Silva. Soldiers had come to the house and arrested Hamel's wife Radiance. Shad and I dressed immediately and hurried out.

We found the shop on the ground floor of Silva's house open. Clothes and silks were strewn all over the floor and Silva, Ren Mara and his apprentice were slowly tidying them up. Tears were streaming down Silva's face.

"They took little Shine," she raged. "And him but two years old. They said he was demon spawn. He's just a little boy. How can he be demons spawn? I tried to take him back and the swine hit me. By God I wish I could have hit him, but they had a mage with them. If I ever find out who turned us in..."

The solider must have had a fighting gauntlet on, because Silva's face was badly bruised and she had a mild concussion. Amazingly enough nothing was broken. She was not much help when it came to healing her. She preferred striding round the kitchen cursing to sitting still being tended and her resistance to magic worked against my best efforts at calming her.

The children were huddled in the arms of the cook in a corner of the kitchen. All of them including the cook were red eyed from weeping and pale faced with fear; except for Dally whose dark eyes were dry but full of silent fury. I tried tentatively to speak with her but she just scowled and ran out of the room.

When I came back into the shop, Karac had arrived and he and Shad told me they had decided to go to the jail to see what news they could get of Radiance and Shine. The soldiers had not been informed about Radiance's mother, Jeanne, and Silva had managed to hide her in the roof, where they had missed her.

"I'll come with you," I said.

"I was hoping you'd say that. The Demonslayer of Gallia's being there will surely help us," said Karac. I was startled to realize that the usually snide Karac was for once not being mocking.

"We have sent for both Tomas and Hamel but it'll be a while before they get here," said Ren Mara. "If you can at least get the boy out of prison, Tomas can hide him."

The Lammerquais prison was down by the docks, in the very worst part of town. Luckily no one was stupid enough to bother two mages and an armed man, for I was seething with anger and Karac looked fit to murder someone. How could they take a small child to prison like that?

The prison stank. We could smell it well before it came into view. We suffered a check at the prison gates however. The guards refused to let us in saying firstly, that no visitors were allowed and secondly, that we would have to come back when the governor was awake. Not even my pleadings or Karac threats would persuade them to open the gate for us.

Suddenly Shad who had been silent all this time, grabbed the guard by the throat. The other guard made to stab him in the back with his spear and I, in fright, thrust him backwards a little harder then I should have and he hit the wall with a bang and was knocked out. Faintly glowing runes appeared on the wall of the prison.

"Now listen you," shouted Shad at the other guard. "This is Enna Dion Holyhands, the Demonslayer of Gallia and a friend of the Duke. She doesn't like being kept waiting especially by scum like you. You've seen what she can do when she's a bit angry. We can try for really angry if you like."

"Fine, fine," babbled the nervous guard. "I'll get the duty Sergeant."

He hauled on the bell rope and the gate was opened immediately. Shad gave the guard a mighty heave from behind so that he went sprawling through the gate and then jammed himself into the open gateway

"Come on, you two," he shouted. Karac and I dived in after him. The gates swung shut behind us.

I felt about for the magic guarding this place. All over the walls pale blue runes were shining, but I did not think the magic itself was very strong. They probably had only one resident mage and if I was not mistaken, he was one of the men hurrying across the slimy courtyard to us now.