Besides, he is one of the few things that has ever loved me and survived.
He will feel groggy and ill from the overdose of sleeping draft I gave him, but it is no more than he deserves for coming to my chamber uninvited. Just the thought that I will never again have to endure his nightly scratching at my door is enough to lighten my step.
Once I have armed myself with every weapon I own—the knives, the daggers, and the garrotes—I slip from my room. Indeed, I feel like a traveling tinker with as many potions, weapons, and tools as I carry on me. I am lucky I do not clink my way down the stairs.
There are few enough options left to me, and there is no room for error. I will finally fulfill my wish to kill d’Albret—or at least, I will attempt to. If I fail—and there is a good chance I may—then it is even more important that the knight live, for he must escape the fate d’Albret has planned for him and get a warning to the duchess as soon as possible.
I am the only one in a position to stop d’Albret. And even my chances are slim, since my plan relies on a grievously injured knight and my own limited skill.
Nearly all the servants and men-at-arms in the palace are asleep as I make my way from my chamber to the courtyard. It did not come easily, and has taken every drop of poison in the pearls from the hairnet and glass beads on my crucifix chain. I slipped all of it into the men’s dinner while the stew still bubbled in the pot hanging at the fire. Such a diluted dose will put the entire garrison to sleep, but only for a few hours. When they wake, they will feel as if they have been trampled by a herd of oxen, but at least they will be alive.
I would have loved to poison them all, for if they are loyal to my father, they do not have an innocent bone in their body. But killing so many men reeks too much of one of d’Albret’s schemes. Instead, I satisfy myself with the knowledge of how much trouble they will be in when morning comes and the full impact of my night’s activities becomes clear.
Only the guards on duty at the eastern gate will present trouble, for they have not had their suppers yet. I will have to deal with them in order to get the prisoner to the waiting cart.
The cart cost me dear, as the night-soil man was loath to lose the source of his livelihood. But when presented with enough jewelry, he finally agreed to empty the cart and drive its mysterious load out the east gate. Of course, I did not pay him with my own finery but with Jamette’s. It was easy enough to slip into her room and take a handful of the baubles her betrayal of me had brought her.
As I draw closer and closer to the tower, the weight of secrets and careful movement, of illusions maintained and lies convincingly whispered, falls from my shoulders, leaving me so light I wonder that I do not float across the courtyard.
I reach the old tower and slip the key into the lock. My blood is moving so wildly through my veins that I hardly even notice the waiting spirits as they rush toward me, their chilling presence barely penetrating the heat of the moment.
At the foot of the stairs, I pause long enough to pull my hood close to shield my face from view, then nearly laugh at the gesture. After tonight, it does not matter any longer. Even so, old habits do not die easily, and I leave the hood in place.
I have thought long and hard on what to do with the jailor. I am surprisingly reluctant to kill him, for every kill I make without Mortain’s blessing is but one more step to embracing the very evil I loathe in d’Albret. But I cannot risk his ruining my plans, for if the knight is too wounded to ride to Rennes, I will have no choice but to put him out of his misery, as undoubtedly he has suffered enough.
Besides, if I fail and d’Albret lives through the night, any punishment he bestows on the jailor will make the little man wish he had died. Looking at it that way, it is clear I will be doing him a favor by killing him.
When I peer through the grille I think perhaps some god is smiling on this venture after all, for the old jailor lies on the floor, sound asleep. If I can get to him without waking him, he should be easy enough to deal with.
I step quietly into the dungeon. There is no sound from the prisoner’s cell, and the gargoyle does not stir. Perfect. I creep closer and lift my knife, ready to slit the man’s throat. But before I can strike, the little demon leaps up and swings at me with his empty tankard.
I hiss and dodge the blow. The jailor grunts and then faces me, and any chance I had for surprise is gone.
“Surrender and be done with this,” I tell him, careful to pitch my voice low. “You cannot stop me.”
I lunge for him, but he twists away—how can one so clumsy and awkward move so quickly?—and throws himself in front of the cell door.
Keeping my eyes on his contorted little face, I change my plan. “I will not kill you. Just put you to sleep for a while. Just long enough to free the prisoner. You will have a goose egg on your head and can explain to the others how you were overpowered and were helpless to prevent the escape.”
At the word escape the little man stills and cocks his head. He pauses for a long moment, then carefully steps away from the door and motions me toward it.
I frown. What trick is this?
The little man gestures at me to open the door while he nods and smiles. At least, I think it is a smile, for it is hard to tell in his creased, misshapen face. “You want me to free him?” I ask.
He nods vehemently, then takes another step back.
I cannot begin to fathom what his purpose is, but time is not standing still for me to figure it out. D’Albret will be on his way to visit Madame Dinan’s chamber, if he is not already there, and that will afford me my greatest chance of catching him unawares. “Very well, come with me.” I motion toward the cell. I will not risk his shutting me in with the prisoner, then crying for help. He nods happily but scuttles away like a spider.
Keeping one eye on him, I withdraw the key again and unlock the cell door. The ripe stench makes me blink but I ignore it and hurry over to the corner where the prisoner lies on the floor.
He is the size of a giant. Any hope I had of being able to drag him anywhere, let alone up a flight of stairs, evaporates. He does not stir at my approach, but neither did the little gargoyle, so I remain on my guard. When he still doesn’t move after a few moments, I reach out and nudge him with the toe of my boot. Nothing.
At a sound behind me, I spin around, dagger at the ready. But it is only the gargoyle standing there, watching. I narrow my eyes. “Is he dead?”
An emphatic shake of the head, then the man places his hands against his own cheek as if sleeping. Ah, I think. “Can he walk?” I ask sharply.