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The first e timed it so that when my knees hit the floor, his staff hit the back of my wrist My hand went completely numb I saw, but couldn’t feel, the sword fall froes, both armed with staffs, and the spells carved in those staffs were noing I was on the floor and I was unarmed This was very bad

I blinked to clear e population went froainst the far wall told ed bellow from the direction he’d been launched fro their inside voice My mystery helper then used the staff he’d yanked froe into unconsciousness

I turned h aru was the launcher Piaras was the clubber

I tried to sed

As fast as it started, it was over No one had any obvious injuries that I could see, but Ta a couple of new dints Once Piaras helpedlessened to one and a half; and as an added bonus, I could now uely resens

Mychael rushed over and gently put a hand on either side of my face He had his healer’s frown on as he examined my eyes and felt the base of my skull

I tried to swat his hands away "I only see one of you now I’rabbed a fallen Khrynsani by the back of the neck and had hauled hirinned "He looks to be about your size"

"So he does Are you sure you’re all right?" Mychael asked et dressed before you catch a cold--or a bolt"

Tam had run down the corridor to the first cell door He stopped about three feet away, hands out, pal iron-banded wood If there ards in and around those bars, I wouldn’t know about it Tam would, and from the confused look on his face, what he’d expected wasn’t there

No wards

I’d seen Tam splinter wooden doors or snap cell bars and bend them back like they were hollow He didn’t do that here He didn’t need to

The door was unlocked

I looked over Tam’s shoulder

The cell was e of keys off the desk and threw theuard draped over the desk out of her way, and started scanning a book lying open there Meanwhile Mychael and Ta in the rest of the cells, which had bars for doors, not wood The cells appeared to be lit from inside, but Mychael and Ta

Empty All of them were empty

I looked over Ier running down the writing there, then flipped the page "This says what cells are taken and by who Knowing that also tells us what cells are still available"

"I take it there are supposed to be prisoners up here?" I asked

Ies "Yes," she snarled "And Tam’s father is supposed to be in that first cell The Khrynsani keep meticulous records"

Unless they’d been ordered to quickly move the prisoners and not keep meticulous records I didn’t need an announcement co we should’ve steered clear of It was too late noere knee-deep in it

"But Nukpana doesn’t start sacrificing until toht? The prisonersdown to that level The saes had co to a level that was completely silent With all the hell we’d raised up here, the prisoners should be shouting If their guards had been in a knock-down, drag-out fight, chances were good that the people they’d fought were here to free the us knohere they were

No shouts Silence Crickets

I had a really bad feeling about this, bordering on panic By coht have dooreed to take the risk The unspoken question that no one had asked but had to be thinking--what if those prisoners were no longer in the dungeon at all? It was looking like ere the only living people in the dungeon, new prisoners for the taking This was feeling more like a trap every second

Kesyn ran halfway down the stairs leading up to the temple The sleeve of his robe was pushed back to his elbow, his arers spread, paloblin was out of breath, apparently fro his spells in place "Tam, can you track your father? Tell if he’s even here?"

"The distortion--"

"Just calm yourself down and do it" Kesyn’s firm voice and steady words were those of a veteran teacher of hotheaded youngslowed in response, and his eyes grew distant, hisfeverishly to locate his father

I didn’t kno long it would take, but it was tiood use I ran back to where I’d throwndown the stairs leading to the second level what felt like every split second, expectingswords, spikes, axes, and anything else that’d introduce us to our insides with one slice Not that I wanted that to happen, but at least it’d be noreon that was quiet as a crypt