The War of Six Crowns: The Vanished Knight

Near Miss

Callan waited deep into the night. The walls were so thick, no sounds penetrated the room.

She ventured to the door, using the nearly full moon's light to guide her. Part of her felt stupid for doing this, but Callan knelt by the lock. She pulled the two long pins from her hair, letting her long black tresses fall free about her shoulders.

Darrion would be furious if he found out about this, but she had to try something. There might never be another chance to find something about her family's past. Hopefully, the castle kept records of its citizens. Hopefully, one of those records held a clue about her parents.

She inserted the pins into the lock and started fidgeting around its innards. Felt funny to work the lock since she'd never done one like this before. It was complicated, but bulky. And something about it felt like danger.

Click.

A tiny sound, but so ominous. A dead bolt.

Callan held her breath and drove the pin under it just in time so it wouldn't close.

She must have triggered it while exploring the lock.

What sort of people booby-trapped locks?

Callan sat back and clutched her hair behind her head. Maybe this was a bad idea. Her plan had been to sneak out and in with no one realizing, but now...

She needed the pins for any other doors she might find, but the moment she pulled the one out, the dead bolt would drop and she'd be screwed. The door wouldn't be able to close again.

Rakaln.

Chewing the inside of her cheek, she crept back to the lock and tried to lift the bolt. No luck. If anything, it threatened to bend or break the pin. Lovely.

And now her little talent had been given away. She could have used it for weeks with no one the wiser. Not anymore. Even if she stayed in her room, they'd know she'd tampered with the lock.

What the hell. She'd live with the repercussions later. Right now, she needed to get out and see what she could find. She knew about the bolts now, so she should be able to avoid triggering the next ones. The whole castle would be hers to explore.

Taking a deep breath, Callan started working the lock again, triply careful in case the locksmith had been paranoid enough to add more traps.

What next? Spurting acid into her eye?

She grimaced and worked the lock back, struggling a lot more with only one hairpin. The bolt prevented it from moving all the way back, but she'd be able to shove the door open. Hopefully.

So she did, creating an awful racket. Wincing, she shoved again. The lock groaned against the doorjamb, but the door gave way. Releasing a tiny cry of elation, she shoved again and the door swung open. Freedom! She pulled the pins out and hurried down the corridor. Now she just had to figure out where to go. A daunting thought, given the size of the place. The corridor met another crosswise.

Left? Or right? She slowed, approaching the intersection. Gawain had led her here from the left, coming up a staircase, but would the records be...

Movement to the side caught her attention. She gasped and faced the intruder. Darrion narrowed his eyes and stalked toward her.

Shit! If he caught her now, she'd be dead. She sprinted in the other direction. Please God let there be somewhere to hide. His footsteps echoed off the hard stone floors behind her, but he didn't catch up.

Relieved laughter bubbled out of her. She'd at least be able to escape him long enough for there to be witnesses next time they met. She glanced back over her shoulder before running down the steps.