Veridian Shores

Chapter 33 - One For the Road

Capper had no intention of staying locked in his room. Consequences be damned, and damn the Elders along with them. If they wouldn't do what needed to be done, he would do it himself. While the Elders regarded him as a loose cannon, he doubted even they suspected he would be capable of defiance quite this direct. Brooke had done her best to calm him down, reiterating what the Elders had told him, though tactfully refraining from gloating over how correct she had been about their new arrival.

Shoving that unpleasant thought to one side, he started assessing the room. The window was his only realistic option – he knew that much. Two guards had been stationed outside his quarters. Completely unaware of the full ramifications of what was happening, the pair had been apologetic, but firm in the performance of their duty.

He couldn't really fault them for that, he supposed. But it still meant he needed to improvise a new escape route. Getting out of the room and down to the grounds would only be the first part of it. Fortunately, his time spent among the guards had ensured he knew their patrol routes and rotations inside and out.

Throwing open his wardrobe, he dug out a long leather bag from the bottom corner and tossed it onto the bed. He didn't bother with armour, but from the wall he gently removed the ceremonial axe from its hooks, wrapped it in a spare sheet and placed it into the holdall. The thing wasn't balanced as well as the war axe he normally used, but right now he didn't have a whole lot of options.

Before he left the estate, however, there was one thing he would need more than any weapon. If he wanted to find Gliss in Iron Hollow, he would need a map.

Wishing he'd paid more attention to his tutors, he belaboured his brains to figure out a way into the archive without being seen. Beyond the window he could make his way round the walls of the main building. There was a tiny side entrance he and Beel had used more than once that led into the thrall's wing. Seldom actually guarded, it was little more than a servants exit should the guards doing the patrols require any supplies, or run messages from their Elder-Blood charges.

Then he had an idea. It was left field, but that little door might just offer him a lifeline.

With the bag containing his axe securely slung across his back, he padded over to the window. It was seldom opened, but he knew that Lilly kept the hinges oiled and the glass crystal-clear, for want of any other tasks that he supplied her with. Gently, he undid the locks and eased one side of the window just enough for him to slip out onto the ledge. The night air slithered in over him, a bracing chill that woke up his senses. He could feel the guard patrols flowing through the grounds, and that the main patrol would be past his ledge in a matter of minutes.

So he waited. Seconds boomed by in his head as the Aspects of the guards drifted below, like breaths of shadow. Then moved on. He had a small window to make his move.

In a single smooth motion, Capper swung himself out over the ledge, hanging down with just his fingertips with the toes of his boots pressing against the grit of the mansion's outer walls. Taking a breath, he pushed off and dropped the forty-five feet to the grounds.

The fall would have done serious damage to a normal human, but Capper's reinforced muscle structure and strengthened bones allowed him to withstand the impact with a muffled grunt and a roll. He stopped, balanced on all fours and flashing his eyes around to make sure he hadn't been observed, then set off, scuttling spider-like across the grounds in the direction of the thrall's wing entrance. Above them the sky was a grey-black smear, stars blotted out by clouds, smog and the searing light pollution of the city below.

Staying close to the shadow of the wall he moved as quickly as he could, trying not to think too hard about everything he had set in motion. He knew if he stopped to let it all through into the forefront of his mind he might freeze up and bottle the whole venture. On he moved, keeping his emotions bottled back in the deepest recesses of his mind to keep his Aspect as unobtrusive as possible. An unexpected flash of emotion could give him away as easily as if he'd fired a flare into the sky.