I kept expecting the women to murmur with impatience and questions. Maybe because I had to bite my lip to keep from asking Odd what the heck we were—

The rasp of metal and a loud clang sounded. The doors opened and three priests entered with two guards right behind them.

“I assure you, Brothers. We’ve been holding penitents for fifty years. No one has ever escaped,” the priest in the middle said.

Odd and Fydelia jumped them, disarmed the guards, and pinned the priests to the wall with swords pointed at their chests.

“You were saying, Brother Keidan?” Quain asked, holding his hands up.

“I...” Brother Keidan stared at Fydelia in utter shock.

“Well, there’s a miracle,” Quain said. “First time Brother Wind Bag has been speechless.”

“Avry, are you going to introduce us to your friends?” Loren asked.

Fydelia glanced at me. “Avry?”

“I’ll explain later. Those two are part of my rescue team.” I introduced them to her.

The women let the monkeys free.

Loren reached under his robe and pulled out a set of my throwing knives bundled together. “Thought you might want these.” He tossed it.

I caught it in midair. “Ah, Loren, you really know how to spoil a girl.”

“I aim to please.”

“Real touching,” Odd said drily. “But we need to stay focused. And we’ll need Keidan’s robe.”

“Strip,” Fydelia ordered, poking the priest with her sword’s tip, drawing blood.

He scrambled to comply.

Odd hooked a thumb at the guards. “Avry, could you?”

I zapped them, and after Keidan stripped, I knocked him out, too. Odd handed the red robe to his man that hadn’t gotten cut. He donned it.

“You said there were more weapons?” Fydelia asked.

“Right this way.” Odd led.

We all followed him into the next hallway. Two barriers down, six more to go. They collected another dozen swords and with the three “priests” in the front, they tricked another set of doors open. A fight ensued, but I waited to use my knives. After subduing the guards, we picked up more swords. And my pack. The monkeys had stashed it with the weapons.

“It was in the crypt,” Loren said, gesturing. “We just managed to get it here after you pulled your little surprise on us.”

“You’re the best.” I blew him a kiss.

“Hey, what about me?” Quain asked.

“You’re second best, as always,” Loren said.

Quain drew breath to argue.

“Not the time for this, gentlemen,” Odd said.

Managing to get past two more barriers, we ran into bigger trouble at the sixth set of locked doors. We no longer had the element of surprise. No one answered our knocks. Shouts and screams echoed as guards arrived from other entrances, pinning us in.