The last person I expected to step into the room was Sapphire. I'd been having problems with illusions but I knew the difference. They sneaked into your awareness out of the corner of your eye, and turned into something innocuous like a pen when you focused on them. I had not looked up at the sharp cries and thumps outside my door. I had not been able to muster the interest. But Sapphire was large as life and bold as brass. He had my attention just by existing. There was a vitality about him that glowed brighter than a bonfire. He moved quickly but without seeming to hurry. Wearing just a pair of trousers and holding a knife, he turned and shut the door behind him. His body was a mass of cuts and bruises, some of them days old. As he walked toward me I could see through the spattering of blood on his face that his nose had been broken recently, a day or two ago I judged. His eyes were blackened, his lip split, he had a gash on his cheek that had scabbed over, part of one ear was missing. He was smiling and I could see that a couple of teeth had been pulled.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Playing,” he said cheerfully. “If they want me they had best know what they are getting, right?”
I had no idea how to respond to that.
He crossed the room, heading for the balcony.
“Did you escape?” It was a stupid question.
“Not yet. You coming?”
I pointed to the stone in my forehead. “They can follow me.”
He nodded once, dismissing the matter of my company entirely. It was plain, like the decision was written on his face. It was the most animated I had ever seen him. He looked like he was enjoying himself, a boy playing at chase. I wondered if the world had always been mad and I had just never noticed.
“If I see anyone who needs to know I'll tell them,” he said.
I was on my feet. I'd been lying on the bed when he appeared and had stayed there but that just didn't seem right. I was dizzy and walking was hard. He was hurt yet moved like a panther on the prowl.
“What are you trying to achieve?”
“Good question,” he tossed over his shoulder as he passed out of sight. “What are you trying to achieve?”
Nothing.
I followed him, stopping short of the ward. He had not triggered it and so I had learned something. The ward was keyed to the stone in my head. Only I would trigger it.
He turned around and looked up. A shout came from the courtyard below. He'd been seen.
“How long will you stay free?”
He grinned. “We'll see.”
He started to climb the wall, moving easily.
“Good luck,” I said.
“Luck has nothing to do with it. They had better send bigger groups of men or I'll kill them all and we will take our ease for a while and then walk out of here at our leisure!”
I stood there a moment, shaking my head. He sounded like he believed it. A second later he was out of sight. I considered walking out onto the balcony. Good idea? Bad idea? It would trigger the alarm, they had already seen him, some of the soldiers would come at the alarm. It might help. With a shrug I walked through fire and out onto the balcony. I barely winced and all of a sudden I understood. The pain didn't matter. Sapphire had it. Knew it. And now I did. I smiled. It was a revelation. I was tempted to climb after him but I was still shaky. They had taken to feeding me, but not much, and my body was in rebellion for booze. I was nauseous most of the time. I forced the food down and often as not threw it back up again. I was too weak to climb. I'd fall for sure. But if it hadn't been for that I would have followed, laughing at the pain just as he was.
The guards were already in the courtyard when the alarm went off. Some were heading for the doors and hesitated, turned back and looked up. Mission accomplished, I gave them a cheery wave and went back inside. I'd thought of something else I could do.
I crossed the room fast, slipped into the hallway and glanced about. Two barbarian guards lay dead in the hall. There was some blood but I wasn't looking to see how they had died. One had a knife still in the sheath. There were the sounds of running feet and shouts coming closer. Fast as I could, I snatched the knife and slipped back into my room. They would assume Sapphire had taken the knife, I was sure.
Now, where to hide it?