Since her arrival she heard a few further whispers through the cell door. From what she heard, there was some debate as to what to do with her. She prompted a modicum of fear in the ranks. The thought made her smile a little. She and her mother spent their lives fearing the Myrmidons and the idea that they were actually afraid of her gave Mia some satisfaction.
She was proud of herself, a little anyway. She had studied for years to master the technique that made her strong enough to defeat a Myrmidon. She was pleased it had worked. Her years of living under Empire rule caused her to lose any compassion for them; Myrmidon cruelty was both widespread and well known.
Even after the drug left her system she felt no shame or guilt. Deep down she knew that given the chance, the ones she had slain would have done the same to her. She had never killed a man before, but she did what she had to do without hesitation. Perhaps she was capable of more than she thought.
The night was silent. The only light came in through a small hole in the door. When the silence broke, Mia jumped. Panic set in. She spun to investigate the noise.
To her surprise the sound hadn’t come from the door but rather the wall of her cell. She turned to see one brick, then two, crumble and dissolve to dust. Bits of bricks rolled to a stop at her feet. Another brick followed, then another. One by one they crumbled and fell to the ground, leaving nothing more than dust, gravel and a knee-high hole into the next cell.
She backed against the far wall; her heart pounded. Was she hallucinating? The young woman took a step forward, bent down and peered into the dark hole. She rubbed her wrist nervously as she looked through to the other side.
Mia jumped when a man’s face peered back at her. He crawled awkwardly into her cell. As he squeezed through the hole and righted himself, Mia’s eyes widened.
“Kale?”
Kale dusted himself off. He looked up at Mia. His face blanched and his jaw dropped. Whatever he expected to find on the other side of the wall it obviously wasn’t Mia in the nude. The two stood for a moment in mutually stunned silence before he spoke.
“I’m glad to see you’re safe.” Kale removed his bloody jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. They shared a brief moment of relief and embraced.
“How did you do this? You smuggled in the drug?” Mia asked.
“We don’t have time; I have to get you out of here.”
Kale turned to the opposite wall, crouched down and put his arms out. His hands were open, palms toward the wall as they slowly moved in circles.
“How many of us are there?” he asked, waving his hands at the base of the wall.
“I don’t know for sure, but Lio is here.”
“Lio?” Kale stopped the motion and turned to look at Mia.
“Yes, and we need his help.”
“You sure?” he asked, unconvinced.
“Yes! So please hurry,” Mia urged.
“We need him?”
“Yes. Grere requested it,” Mia assured him.
Kale shook his head. “All right,” he said, scowling.
Without another word, the Trademaster went back to his task, attempting to change the bricks and punch a hole into Lio’s cell. Many minutes of silence passed as Mia stood behind the toiling man.
“I think that’s it.” He placed a foot on the bricks and kicked at them. After two or three blows, the bricks shattered and gave way. A dark hole opened up between the two cells.
“Lio?” Mia’s voice cut through the darkness.
“Yes?” came the response after a moment.
“Get in here!”
A moment later, Lio crawled through the opening with a look of utter confusion on his face. Kale snorted and went to work again. He waved his hands around the base of the outside wall just as he had done twice before.
“You did this?” Lio didn’t even attempt to veil his shock as he looked back and forth between the holes in the cell walls. “I thought you were some kind of moron. I didn’t think you could do this...”
Kale ignored him, concentrating on the wall. The trio fell silent again as the Trademaster focused on his work. Something was wrong. His hands began to move faster. After a while his movements were less controlled, more erratic. He waved frantically, trying to change the bricks. His frustration was obvious, but there was nothing the other two could do to help. After a while he sat down, folded his hands in his lap and hung his head.
“I can’t get it.” He sounded defeated. “The outside wall is different somehow. I’ve never seen an aura like this. The bricks on the inside walls of the prison have been hardened, as have these, but these ones are just…different. I can barely see the aura. I can’t make anything work.” His hands dropped to his sides.
“You took the drug?” Lio asked.
“Yes,” Kale nodded.
“Maybe it’s wearing off?” Lio suggested.
“No,” Kale assured him. “That’s not it.”
“What about the inside walls?” Lio asked in a hopeful tone. “Over there, the ones that hold the cell doors.”
“So we could break further into the prison?” Mia objected. “That is the exterior wall. The inside wall will take us further in and we won’t stand a chance.”
“I have kuval I could give you,” Kale offered.
“It wouldn’t help. My armband is back at Ipsamesh,” she explained.
“I need help,” Kale raised his voice, his words quickening. “Mia, you’re a Master, aren’t you? What options do we have?”
“I’ve never spent any time studying such things,” Mia tried to reason.
Kale turned immediately to Lio. He was desperate.
“Here.” From his shirt pocket he retrieved the remaining kuval the healer had given him. He held it out to Lio.
Lio’s eyes widened. His craving made him salivate.
“No.” He crossed his arms and backed away, but his tone wasn’t entirely convincing. He licked his lips and stared at the vial, eyes darting between Kale’s face and his outstretched arm. “I don’t know anything about bricks either.”
“Yes, you do!” Kale snarled. “I took a class from you four years ago. Drink it and help us!”
Lio didn’t make a sound. His lip quivered.
“There’s no time to argue with you,” Kale fumed. “You know this stuff inside and out. I assume that’s how you got the job teaching in the first place? Take it! Look at the wall and tell me what they did to it! Teach! Help!”
“I can’t.” Lio bit down hard on his bottom lip. “I get paranoid, don’t think straight. Things go badly,” he stammered.
“Enough!” Kale advanced on him. “Whatever this drug does to you isn’t as bad as what those guards will do if they find us in here. Take it or I’ll force it down your throat! You’re going to help. We’re getting out of here.”
There was no choice. If he was going to die in Ipswal Prison, he might as well be entranced. Lio reached out and took the vial from his former student without a word.
He looked at the vial in his palm and watched the red liquid splash around inside. With a deep sigh he removed the stopper and pipette and raised the glass tube to his mouth. In one smooth motion he ran the pipette down the middle of his tongue and closed his eyes. As he waited he returned the