Steal Away

[Komi Banton]

As the big rat disappeared from view, Komi thought about following Thrayjen?s directions and getting to the bowyery. A place to hide, for Minerva and Fable at least. She shook her head after a moment though. No, it would be better to stick with the original plan Kentrith had given her.

Komi shouldered the sack that held her drum. She had picked up the second guard?s spear outside the Inquisition Chamber. Minerva had the spear she?d used to kill Hargorn. Though she?d eyed a fallen crossbow, she?d left it behind.

?This way,? Komi said. ?Kentrith told me to meet him at the kitchen door after releasing the boars. I don?t know if they?re still waiting for us there, but that?s where we should try to go. We?d best try to avoid the Fell Wing and the area around the boar stables.? The otters followed her through the tunnels. 

At the first intersection of tunnels, Komi turned her head quickly when she though saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She saw nothing now, but the back of her neck prickled. She picked an opposite direction and hurried on.

?Do ye know where yer going, Komi?? Minerva whispered when Komi stopped at the third intersection, looking one way then the other.

?I?m guessing,? she replied, equally quietly so as not to worry Fable. ?I know the scorpions are down this way. And there?s a section of storage tunnels that flooded. I had to help bail them last night.? She shuddered briefly, but continued. ?But maybe the pumps are working now, or we can take another branch out.?

They walked for a little longer, Komi checking behind closed doors to see if they led anywhere other than to storerooms. None did.

Komi had the feeling that they were going ever downward. Their footpaws splashed in shallow pools of seeping rainwater. Small streams of it trickled on in front of them. They rounded a corner and the sloping tunnel before them vanished into smooth rippling water. It had completely flooded.

Komi swore, and got an elbow to the ribs from Minerva, followed by a pointed look at wide-eyed Fable. Komi raised an eyebrow.

?What??

?Watch yer language.?

Komi rolled her eyes. ?Woodlanders.? She turned back towards the way they?d come. ?This way is blocked. We?ll have to try another way.?

?I don?t think so,? Minerva said. ?Fable, stay here with Komi.?

?Min, wait!? Komi said, but the otter waded quickly in and swam out down the length of the tunnel. When the level of the water was almost equal with the ceiling, Minerva dove and vanished.

Before Komi could decide what to do, Minerva resurfaced, treading water. ?It?s not completely flooded. It?s just this low spot in the tunnel. We can swim under and t? the other side.?

?No, we can?t,? Komi snapped.

Minerva blinked water from her eyes. ?Fable can swim it, if that?s what yer worried about.?

Komi?s ears went hot. ?We can?t go that way.?

?It isn?t far??

?Min.?

?And what if this is the only way out??

?Because I can?t swim!?

The otter stared at her. ?Ye can?t??

Komi cleared her throat, looking fixedly at the damp stone. ?No.?

?It ain?t that hard.?

?For an otter,? Komi remarked.

Fable tugged on the edge of Komi?s tunic. ?I kin hold yer paw an? help ye. Mummy did that for me when I was learnin?.?

Komi snorted and gave Fable?s shoulder a gentle squeeze. ?Thanks, but I?m a bit big for even you to handle.?

?Not for me,? Minerva said. ?I can help ye get through easily enough. Ye won?t be wet for but a moment. Ye trust me, don?t ye, Komi??

Komi shifted from paw to paw. ?I? I do? but? I? I don?t want my drum to get wet? It?ll ruin it for sure.?

?What?s worth more, stoat? The drum or yer life?? Then, Minerva grinned. ?Come on, Coward.?

When Komi still hesitated, Minerva beckoned to Fable. ?Come on, Fable. Show ?er there?s nothin? t? fear. Fable gleefully bounded past Komi and splashed in. She paddled to her mother.

Komi took a step towards the water and slipped on the smooth stone. In the space of a heartbeat, she heard the ?kachunk? of a crossbow being fired and something glanced across her armored shoulder and splashed into the water near Minerva and Fable.

Komi whirled around, dropping her sack and raising her spear. 

Jossia stood where the tunnel had curved away. She started loading another bolt in the crossbow. ?Fancy meeting you here, Coward. On the run again??

?Komi! Come on!? Minerva urged.

She stood firm, her eyes narrowing at the beast responsible for Alder?s death. If she tried to run, Jossia would just shoot her in the back. Besides, Komi wasn?t going to ever give Jossia a reason to call her a Coward again.

?Go, Minerva. Take Fable and get out of here!?

?Komi!?

Komi eyed the distance between her and Jossia. While she could throw the spear, Jossia would have ample time to dodge away. Then she?d have naught but a dagger.

?You killed Aldridge,? Komi snarled, advancing on Jossia.

Jossia raised an eyebrow, as well as the crossbow. ?I?d heard someone killed him. Wasn?t me, Coward, though I would have loved to see your face as he lay dying.? She fired.

Komi sidestepped, and heard the bolt strike rock. She couldn?t wait to be sure if Minerva and Fable were all right. She charged at Jossia, paws slapping down the damp tunnel as she ran.

Jossia struggled to load the crossbow before Komi reached her, then dropped the weapon. She drew a sword from her belt. Steel met spear in the tunnel with a crash. Back and forth they traded blows. Komi fell back panting, her leg aching where the tip of the toad?s trident had dug in earlier that day. She was so tired, and Jossia looked fresh.

?How did you even get in here?? Komi panted, backing towards the water. ?Nire threw you out.?

?You think his guards check every single beast who pays to get in for his little games? I paid my way, hoping to see you die on the sand. You always were such a disappointment.?

?Could say the same of you.?

Jossia charged with a scream. Komi fought, using everything she had left just to stay alive. Jossia drove her back. Her footpaws touched water. She slipped and nearly lost her head, barely ducking in time. She saw somebeast running down the tunnel behind Jossia.

Her paws hit a low spot and she went down. Water closed in, filling her eyes, her nose, her mouth. Panic filled her. She flailed, losing her grip on her spear.

Something tight closed around her chest, and suddenly her head was above water again as she coughed and sputtered. She struck something on her backswing, but splashed helplessly, looking for something to hold onto. She heard a muffled clash of steel on steel.

?Will ye quit movin?,? Minerva snapped in her ear. ?Hit me again and I?ll dunk ye!?

Komi coughed up more water, but relaxed a little. Minerva pushed her forward. Her footpaws touched the sloping tunnel floor beneath her and she was able to stand. She looked to where Jossia and the newcomer, a young male stoat, fought. He had a sword as well, but Jossia?s experience drove him back.

?You?re dead, Jossia!? Komi shrieked and charged splashing out of the water, drawing her dagger from her vanbrace.

Jossia knocked her opponent down, but when she saw the murder in Komi?s eyes, she hesitated. Then terror contorted her face and she turned tail and ran back up the way she?d come.

Komi?s arm went back, then forward, and her dagger left her paw. It sailed the length of the tunnel, and thudded into Jossia?s retreating back. She dropped heavily.

Komi sprinted up the tunnel. Without batting an eye, she yanked her dagger free, then drove it in again, right at the point where spine met skull. Jossia?s body convulsed hideously. Komi yanked her dagger free and stepped back, watching with grim satisfaction until the twitching stopped. Jossia lay still for good.

She took several slow, deep breaths, then turned towards the others. Minerva emerged dripping from the water, spear in paw, watching the newcomer. The top of Fable?s head and her wide round eyes peeped out from the surface of the water.

The young stoat stared at her. He looked either like he was about to be sick, or cry.

?Mum?? he asked.

Komi?s heart leaped to her throat as she knew for certain that Kentrith had not lied to her. ?Tavin!? she shrieked and slid pell mell down the tunnel. He met her halfway and they both nearly fell over as the embraced. ?My son. My son.? Komi?s voice caught between a sob and a laugh. She ran her paws across his face, staring into eyes she knew, yet that looked so much older than she?d last seen. ?You?re alive. You?re really alive!?

He buried his face in her neck, his breathing rough and warm against her fur. ?I found you,? he said. ?Happy said you were here and he was right and I found you.?

Komi held him tightly, hardly believing it. Surely this was a dream. Maybe she?d drown, and this was the Dark Forest, and her son had been waiting here all this time.

But she hurt too badly to be dead. This was real, and alive, and here.

Minerva caught her gaze. ?Ye said yer son was dead.?

?I thought he was.? She pulled back from Tavin, a little surprised to see that he stood eye to eye, perhaps even a bit taller now. ?How did you survive??

Tavin stepped back and pulled down the neck of his tunic. A jagged scar marred his fur at the base of his neck. ??By a claw?s breadth?, the Redwall healers said. Another little bit to the side, and nothing would have saved me.?

Komi closed her eyes. ?If only I?d known...?

?It?s not your fault,? Tavin said carefully. ?I thought you?d died in the assault, too. By the time I was well enough to get up, the bodies had all been buried. It wasn?t until Kentrith sent me a letter some weeks ago that I even dared to hope for more.? Then suddenly, he grinned and Komi saw the shadow of the kit she remembered him being. ?And really, Mum? ?The Coward?. What idiot decided on that name for you??

Komi laughed. She threw her head back and really laughed. ?Wasn?t my first choice,? she said. ?But we?ll talk about that later, if you want. For now, we need to go. We were thinking of swimming.?

?Why?? said a new voice behind them. ?We can just go back the way we came down.?

Komi reached for her dagger, which she surprisingly didn?t have. Minerva raised her spear. All heads whipped towards the young shrew, bloody rapier in her paw, walking towards them.

?This is Nerra,? Tavin said quickly. ?She?s with me.?

?Aye, with ya, ?cept ya run off without me, again!? the shrew scowled. ?Gloomy Guts is going to have a fit when he knows we?re gone.?

?Gloomy Guts?? Minerva and Komi said together.

?Kentrith Hapley?? Tavin said in response. ?We were with him.?

Nerra snorted, ?Aye, ?til Vinny here up and ran off without us.?

?I saw her,? Tavin pointed to Jossia?s body. ?Mum, that is Lady Jossia, isn?t it??

Komi nodded. She noticed her dagger laying on the stone next to Jossia?s body and realized she must have dropped it when she ran to Tavin.

?Nerra?s right, though,? Tavin said, as he picked up the sword he had dropped much the same way she?d dropped her dagger. It looked like an old weapon, though masterfully made, with a black leather hilt and a blood-red pommel stone. He slid it into a scabbard slung across his back. ?We can go back the way we came and catch up with Kentrith.?

Komi looked at Minerva, who had beckoned Fable out of the water. ?Does that sound good to you? I?d rather not swim.?

The otter nodded.

Komi grabbed her sack with her drum, and picked up her dagger and tucked it back up her vanbrace. Minerva handed her the spear she?d dropped when she fell in the water.

?Let?s go.?