Ice Bound: King's Convicts II by Gail Z. Martin

Author:Gail Z. Martin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Epic, A Blaine McFadden Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Publisher: DreamSpinner Communications
Published: 2015-12-04T00:00:00+00:00

That night, Blaine was on kitchen crew, washing out the tin cups and plates afforded to the prisoners. Each one had to be accounted for every night, lest someone steal one and fashion it into a weapon. The three-person group to which he was linked in the mines was the unit to which he was assigned elsewhere in the camp, at least for now. Piran cleaned up garbage, while Ernest brought new plates for Blaine to wash, then carried away (and counted) the clean plates.

A scratching at the door made Blaine glance in that direction. “Did anyone else hear that?” he asked.

Piran and Ernest nodded. Carefully, Piran headed toward the door. He grabbed a cord of wood and held it like a bludgeon as Ernest swung the door open wide.

Kestel Falke dodged inside in a swirl of black cloth and red hair. She moved in a blur that put Piran on his back, still clutching his cord of wood, and sent Ernest across the room. “I came to warn you,” she said.

Blaine glanced over his shoulder toward the common room. Piran got to his feet and went to stand guard by the door, while Ernest immediately began shuffling tin dishes around to make the maximum noise possible to hide their conversation.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Blaine said.

“Well, I’m here,” Kestel replied, hands on hips as if she was daring him to make something of it. After seeing her put Piran on his back with apparent effortlessness and send Ernest reeling, Blaine had no desire to pick a fight.

“What’s going on?’

“Pig-face is out for you,” she said. Considering the severity of the punishment if she were to be caught with them—for all of them—she looked cool and unruffled. Maybe the rumors about her being a spy and assassin are really true, Blaine thought. “I overheard two of the guards talking. He wants an excuse to either kill you or send you Below.”

“Why?” Blaine asked.

Kestel gave him a scathing look. “I don’t know. Probably your natural charm.” She pushed a bit of torn fabric with markings on it into his hand. “I’ve got to get back. But you did me a good turn. We’re even.”

“Thanks,” Blaine said, but she was already out the door before he spoke.

“Well, damn,” Piran said.

Ernest looked a little dazed from the surprise visit. “What’s on the rag she gave you?”

Blaine looked down at the scrap of fabric and frowned. “It looks like a map,” he said. “But it doesn’t look like the mine tunnels we use.”

Piran came over for a look while Ernest watched the door. “Those don’t look like just mine tunnels. I think it’s showing the caves.”

“Caves.” Blaine echoed.

Piran nodded. “Yeah. Guess those rumors are true.” He stared at the map. “So she came here to warn us, and gives us this, knowing what we already have.”

“No real surprise, but nice to get a warning,” Blaine observed. “Pig-face has been out to get us for a while.”

“Then we’re going to have to do something about Pig-face,” Piran said in a low voice, “before he does something about us.

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