Pages 7 and 8
She smiled again. “I will be at your trial and I will free you, Keldf.” She kissed the palm of her right hand and placed it on his heart.
He kissed his own palm and placed it on her heart. Her garments were so smooth, they must have been silk. And an expensive kind at that.
Then they both took their hands away.
Iyana glanced to the guards. “I must leave now. Good-bye.” Then she turned and hurried away.
The talking started up again between his fellow inmates, and he listened to their conversations so that when he was free, perhaps Iyana and he could escape to some other land. That is, if she would come with him.
“I head there’s a war in the Southeastern lands.”
“Yeah. Between Solinka and Matrice, I believe.”
“I heard it was because Solinka broke a treaty with Matrice or something like that.”
“What treaty?”
“I don’t know. But it was a very important treaty. And now they’re trying to get other lands involved. The word should be here in a few days.”
“How do you know so much?”
“There’s a rathole in my cell. There’s one in everyone’s cell, I think. I heard they put them there so the King could escape if necessary. I sneaked out last night and went around town.”
This was the kind of information one did not just stumble upon. Someone must be trying to help him. Either that, or they were taunting him with information they knew he would want. “Where’d you say these holes are?” Keldf asked.
“Ah ha! Now you’re interested, I see. Well, that information is going to cost you something.” The inmate was missing three teeth in the front, scraggly brown hair, and a hunched back.
“I don’t have any money.”
“Then neither do you have information!” The man laughed. Then he wheezed and coughed.
“I can find it on my own, then!” Keldf began searching the other three walls. He couldn’t see anything, really.
“Oh, no you won’t. No one can find them, unless they know where to look. But maybe we can...negotiate on the payment.”
Keldf squinted at the man. “Negotiate? I have no money, old man. I have nothing but Iyana.”
“And she is something, isn’t she?” The man snorted. “What’s a first class noble doing with street sludge like you?”
“Payment, man. Give me the information.”
“No.”
“What?” Keldf was losing patience with this man. “You just said you would.”
“Nothing of the sort! I said I would negotiate.”
“Name your price.”
“I’m not telling you, kid. For one thing, she asked you to wait and you said you would. For another thing, I don’t feel like explaining it.” He lay down on the straw mat that everyone was given. “Is it night yet?”
The normal chatter of the prison continued and Keldf hadn’t gotten much information, nor would he for the rest of the night.
