Benefits of secret passages

"Hey, are you okay?" the prince's voice brought me back to reality. "You've gone pale."

I glanced at the gray valley and sighed.

"I'm fine now. Let's go."

"You know, Archie," Alex continued, "the Edge is an incredibly dangerous place. There are a lot of anomalies and various traps. Even I haven't learned all of them, although I've lived near this place all my life. An untrained person won't last long here."

"I haven't seen anything suspicious," I admitted.

"You haven't strayed from the path that leads to the Hero’s Rock. It's safe."

"So anyone could come and take what they wanted?"

Alex chuckled again.

"You're right. Anyone could come and try. Except that the thieves would get their punishment right at the rock. Have you seen those flying balls in there?"

I nodded.

"They are all those who tried to steal the sword. They are neither dead nor alive, and they will fly around until the second coming of the Great Master."

"Maybe the third one?" I asked, remembering another legend.

"Which one?" Alex wondered. "Oh, yes! I've just forgotten the Oeldivian version of the legend, which is better known in the Lace. Actually, I don't expect the Master to come back in our lifetime, so it doesn't matter.  Still, I wouldn't want to be in those thieves' shoes," he added.

I hummed, only now realizing what fate I had miraculously avoided. Did Norn know about the balls? Something told me he did.

Two huge stones appeared on the horizon: the Black Gate of the Edge.

"I wonder – what awaits me in Irrat?" I murmured, but Alex heard my words.

"Nothing special," he assured me. "For the beginning, you will meet my grandfather... the King Mabert. I think he'll want to talk to you privately. There are many things you need to know. Have you been knighted?"

"No."

"So you will be. Then you will meet Merlin, the Keeper of Knowledge, and Lady Victoria of Oeldiv, devoted to the Light."

"Lady of Oeldiv?" I was surprised. "In Irrat?"

"Lady Victoria is my wife," the prince explained.

**

We left the Edge, jumped through the Lace and entered the reality of the world called Irrat. When the fireworks after the transition were over, I found us standing on the long and wide staircase with flowering bushes along it. I raised my eyes and saw a fantastic fire-yellow moon with three rings around it.

"Wow!" I exclaimed in amazement.

"This is Kainos," Alex said. "It's not dangerous now. But when the Great Full Moon comes, strange things happen."

"The Great Full Moon?" I looked at the moon, which was full at that time. "What kind of full moon do we have now?"

"Just a full moon. The Great One comes every five and a half years and coincides with the Full Circle of the Lace."

Alex glanced at the closed door of the palace where there was no sign of life.

"They’re in no hurry to meet us. That's strange," he said.

"It's night. Perhaps they are asleep," I guessed. Yet I felt the wind of death blowing along my spine and I didn't like it.

Alex raised his head and looked at the sky.

"It's not too late," he said.

At that moment, we heard the footsteps of many people, shouts and the clanking of weapons.

My reaction was instinctive: I pushed Alex into the nearest bush and fell down beside him.

"What are you doing?" he mumbled, trying to get up.

"Shut up!" I whispered.

A dozen armed men appeared on the stairs.

"Where are they?" one of them shouted.

" Damn it! We missed them!" another cursed.

Alex found a small stone and threw it somewhere in the direction of the palace.

There was a sound of breaking glass and people ran away.

"They’re not from the Royal Guard," Alex muttered.

"I guessed as much. Judging by their clothing, they belong to the same gang that attacked me in the Twilight Zone."

Alex wrinkled his forehead.

"It looks like you're right. I don't think it was a coincidence."

I agreed.

"I don't like it," the prince sighed.

He was right. Something was very wrong.

"Okay," I stood up. "Let's go and find out what is going on here. I hope there are hidden passageways in the palace, right?"

We moved on, hiding in the shadows of the wall and behind the bushes. Fortunately, the prince was able to move completely silently. After ten minutes we reached the door hidden by the ivy. Alex opened it and waved his hand, inviting me inside.

Inside it was as dark as in the dragon's belly. Suddenly, the blue glowing ball lit up right in front of us. I grabbed my sword.

"It's okay," Alex whispered. "I’ve conjured this."

We kept walking. The corridor was low and narrow. The walls were made of stone blocks and covered with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. It seemed as if no visitors had been here for centuries.

"Only family members know about this secret passage," Alex explained. "I’ve only learned this information a few years ago. My grandfather showed it to me when I was initiated as a Keeper of the Shield."

The corridor twisted several times and then began to rise noticeably. It would be better if they had built a staircase here!

"There are some hidden peepholes up there," the prince said, "in the important places."

"That's good," I nodded. "And where is the exit?"

"Farther away," Alex replied.

The first of the hidden peepholes showed us an empty library with no one in it. But Alex was worried.

"I don't see Merlin," he said.

I shrugged.

"The man could have gone out for water," I said.

"He's not a man, he's a raven. And as far as I can recall, he has never left the library before."

"Poor guy," I said sympathetically. "It must be boring to be locked up all your life."

We walked on. Sometimes we heard voices and screams behind the wall. Alex became more and more somber.

"This is the throne room," he announced as we reached another window.

Voices came from there too.

"Let me see," I pushed the prince aside and peered through the peephole.

I saw a huge hall lit by many beautiful wall lamps. And on the floor, there were a dozen corpses covered with blood. Most of them were guardians, still clutching their armor, and also a pair of men in cassocks – probably priests, a black-haired woman in pink, three men dressed in the same style as Alex, and a white-haired old man with a golden headband on his head.

A few well-armed soldiers walked around the bodies. The peephole was behind the throne, so I couldn't see the man on it, just the edge of the gold-embroidered sleeve and the long thin fingers with the familiar ring on one of them: the golden spider with the ruby back.

Just as I was about to let Alex look in, another person entered the room. He came in through the side door and walked toward the throne. He didn't look like an assassin, more like a local noble: he was young, handsome, and dressed in unspeakably chic clothes. He crossed the room and bent down to take a sword from the old man's hand. Then he approached the throne and handed it to the one sitting on it.

"Thank you, Valent," the man on the throne said in a very familiar voice, reassuring me of my assumption.

Alex pushed me away from the peephole. Anyway, I had seen enough and I could still hear everything that was said behind the wall.

"Esterlior, the Sword of Irr," the same voice continued. "How long have I waited for this moment! Has Dregg come back?" he asked in a different tone.

"Not yet, Sire."

"He's late!" I could hear the annoyance in the man’s voice. "No one can be trusted!"

Alex slowly sank to the floor.

"Valent! The damned traitor!"

I looked into the peephole again.

"Is everything all right?" the man on the throne asked.

"Of course! Everything is under control. "

"Good to hear."

The long fingers stroked the bright blade carefully, and clenched the hilt with the large diamonds in it.

"Now I have the one sword, and soon I will have the other. Two keys in one day!"

"You were wrong about the other one!" I thought angrily: I understood that he meant Helyswort.

"Sire, are you sure about your man?" Valent asked.

"This is your man."

"I'm not talking about Dregg. I mean the other one. I don't believe him."

"You don't know him. This man is quite reliable. If only the Formless told me the truth."

"Anyway, we'll never see him again," Valent chuckled. "Dregg never misses."

"Who knows, who knows..."

So my murderer’s name was Dregg. At least I knew that now.

I closed the peephole and crouched down in front of Alex.

"Let's go," I said. "There’s nothing more we can do here."

"But first I will kill the traitor and get my grandfather's sword back!" the prince protested, and I saw a dangerous flame in his eyes.

"Great! How are you going to do that?"

"I’ll just enter there," he stood up and stepped forward.

I grabbed him and tried to push him against the wall, but I couldn't hold him.

"Let me go!" Alex yelled as he broke free of my grip. "It's a matter of honor!"

"Oh, yes," I said with a snort, stroking my wrist. "To die like a hero is definitely a great deed! But what next?"

He grasped the handle of the hidden door to open it. I slipped between him and the door.

"You're an idiot!" I cried out. "Who would be better if you died?"

He didn't answer, just tried to push me away.

"If you go in there right now, they will kill you!" I continued. "Even if you are fast enough to take one or two of them with you, nothing will change!" I spoke quickly, trying to push Alex away from the door at the same time. "Then he - whoever he is - will win. And there will be no one left to take revenge. What keys was he talking about? Who is the Formless? Answer me!"

Instead of answering, Alex punched me in the jaw. I saw fireworks in front of my eyes and my ears were ringing, but I stayed on my feet and at  once I punched him back in the chest. That was the cruel blow - right under his heart. The heir of Irrat fell to the ground. Oh, I knew that this blow was extremely painful.

"I'm sorry, brother. But I'll never let you in," I said.

"Haighwerg killed my whole family," Alex said, breathing heavily. "But you are right. I will come back. Later. When I am ready."

At that moment, the door began to open. We didn’t touch it, so obviously someone had heard the noise we were making and decided to check what was going on.

I helped Alex get up and we hurried away.

"You said no one knows about the path, didn’t you?" I asked, trying not to fall behind my long-legged friend.

"Shut up!"

I heard the sound of the chase behind us.

"How far is the exit?" I asked.

"Right here!"

The corridor reached the dead end, but Alex turned another handle and the wall began to rotate. I slipped through the gap and Alex followed. The passage closed.

"What now?" I asked, looking around the room full of unfamiliar equipment.

"Just wait," Alex said, pushing aside the picture on the wall.

Behind it was a hole filled with many ropes. The prince grabbed them all and cut them with a few flicks of his dagger. Then he put the painting back on its place.

"That’s a pity," he said. "That was the perfect hidden path!"

In response to his words came the rumble of a cave-in and the screams of the people.

We left the lab, crossed the empty corridor, walked up the stairs, and passed another corridor. I tried to figure out where we were going, but Alex didn't answer me and kept walking forward. I held my sword at the ready, just in case, but no one attacked us on the way.

Finally we reached the door, which was torn off its hinges. Beside it, we found the traces of a fierce battle. Inside were a few bodies of our enemies.

"Vic!" the prince shouted. "Victoria!"

No one answered him.

We searched the rooms, but no one was there. Only in the bedroom did we find another body.

Alex absentmindedly put the overturned chair back on its feet, adjusted the pillow on the ruined bed. Then he picked up the thin scarf from the floor and hid it near his heart. I was silent. Words couldn't help anyway.

"I'll be back," Prince of Irrat promised.