Beyond the Outer Wall

Nightfall crawled over the horizon, bringing with it the biting cold of winter. Only a week remained of fall, and Reagan shivered against the icy breeze. He wrapped his coat tighter around his shoulders and flipped up his collar to guard against the worst of the wind.

Liam had spent most of the day circling the residential streets, and only occasionally had he flown off to explore the capitol building. Since Alan’s map mentioned the modern day uses of each room, it had taken several trips for Liam to find the children’s former bedroom -- now a small meeting room with two large tables, unoccupied at the time of Liam’s discovery -- and the secret passageway directly outside of it.

“The hallway’s guarded, but not constantly,” he said. “There are opportunities to leave the passageway, and I didn’t see anyone down there, so I don’t think the current guards know about it.”

For the first time that day, Reagan let himself relax.

With the majority of the population retiring indoors and most of the streetlamps as yet unlit, Reagan and Elisa left the alleyway. The pair walked briskly behind Liam, who had already scouted out a path with plenty of shadows and little lighting. Most of the tall houses looked unoccupied and, much to Reagan’s relief, they encountered nobody between the residential streets and the fountain square.

The area was completely deserted, and the lamplighter had yet to visit, so it was nearly pitch black as well. Only the constant gurgle of the spouts marked their approach.

Liam had described the square as having a fountain in the center, flanked by four lion statues, each facing a different direction. They were seated atop tall pedestals, guarding the fountain with open mouths. As they approached the fountain, Reagan could just make out a faint outline of the first lion.

“The entrance should be in the base of the east-facing statue,” Elisa said in barely more than a whisper.

“Right,” Reagan said, but he didn’t move toward any of them, much to Elisa’s amusement as she led him to the correct one.

The base of the statue came up to Reagan’s knees, and it looked like a regular stone. He knelt down before it, running his fingers along one edge. The cold numbed his fingertips within seconds, and he couldn’t find so much as a crack along the border.

“How do we get in?” Reagan asked. He scanned the square again, examining every shadow for fear that a person would appear. The other three statues stood as silent sentinels, all of them facing away from him. The sound of his heartbeat battled the babbling water.

Elisa stood on her toes, reaching for the lion’s open mouth. “There should be a release mechanism in its mouth,” she said. She had to climb on the base of the statue and put her entire arm down the lion’s throat, at which point Reagan heard a loud click.

Something shifted beneath Reagan’s fingers, and he felt a crack along the perimeter. Digging his fingernails into the gap, he pried the side of the base. Years of grime and calcium deposits had all but cemented the pieces together. Even with Elisa’s help, it took all of their strength to pull the side off, and Reagan fell back.

The stone plate clattered loudly at his feet. He flinched and held his breath, freezing. We’re gonna get caught.

Liam reacted faster, flying up. He returned within seconds to say, “There’s only the lamplighter nearby, and he isn’t coming over.”

Reagan nodded and forced himself to breathe before looking down into the passageway.

The inside was pitch black, even with the trickle of moonlight falling in from over his shoulder. He squinted, but couldn’t see anything. We don’t know what could be down there… he thought. But we also don’t have much choice.

Reagan placed a tentative hand into the black hole, expecting to feel around for a ladder, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that the ground was solid rock, and he felt the edge of a steep step. Reaching further, he confirmed the entrance of the secret passageway began as stairs. At least it’s not a massive hole, he thought.

“I’ll go first,” he said and undid the clasp on the holster for his sword. He handed it to Elisa while he crouched and took the first few steps down the stairs, then he turned to retrieve it and offer Elisa a helping hand. As soon as she had entered the passageway, he reached out for the handle on the inside of the cover and pulled it over the hole to seal off the tunnel’s exit. He listened for the click of the latch before descending the rest of the stairs.

As he reached the bottom of the steps, still in a crouched position, Reagan straightened and reached up to determine the ceiling’s height. It was only a centimeter or two taller than him, but he could walk without having to crouch. Pleased, Reagan smiled and said, “It’s safe to stand up,” as he reholstered his sword.

Elisa shifted behind him and sneezed.

The tunnel smelled of mildew and wet dirt, with a hint of rotted wood. The air had a dampness that seeped through his clothes and clung to his skin.

Reagan felt along the rugged stone walls for any light source and his hand brushed against a rusted oil lamp. He pulled it off of its hook, holding the lamp upright, and found the winding key at the bottom of the lamp. It clicked a few times, and the faint smell of rancid oil tickled his nose.

I hope there’s still enough in there to cover the wick, he thought. He turned and handed the lamp to Elisa so he could retrieve a match from his satchel. With a quick strike against the wall, the white matchhead ignited, offering the only illumination in the entire tunnel. He inserted the match into the small opening in the center of the lamp.

The flame flared for a second before puttering out. A second attempt provided the same results, and Reagan sighed. “I guess that was to be expected if the tunnel’s been out of use for over a decade,” he grumbled.

“The mage made it sound like the tunnel was easy enough to navigate, so I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Elisa said comfortingly.

“I can hear you making a sour face,” Liam said teasingly beside Reagan. Elisa giggled.

“Will you just lead the way forward already? We don’t have all night,” Reagan said. The stench in the tunnel was starting to make his throat itch, and he coughed to clear it.

“Yes, sir,” Liam said, and Reagan didn’t need to see to know Liam had given him a mock salute.

Reagan rolled his eyes but started forward anyway, running one hand along the wall to guide them.

Without any light, their progress was slow but steady. Reagan followed the wall and listened for any hint of another person in the tunnel. With each step, he dreaded the possibility of encountering someone else, and he kept a hand on his hip, prepared to unsheath his sword at a moment’s notice.

“We’re almost there,” Liam said, and the suddenness of his voice made Reagan flinch. “We’re below the capitol building right now, and if we continue forward, we’ll be below the hallway this leads to.”

“How many guards are there?” Reagan said. He was wheezing despite their slow speed. Each breath was getting harder and harder to take without coughing, and he heard Elisa struggling behind him, too. She sneezed for the fourth time since they’d started down the tunnel. There must be something in this tunnel, he thought. We can’t stay here much longer… So much for having Elisa wait here until we return.

“Only one in the hallway at the moment, but there are at least a dozen on the ground floor. I found the archives, at the end of another hallway, and while the doors are unguarded, there’s no way to get to them without being seen…”

Reagan didn’t need to see Liam’s face to read his mind. “I guess it’s time to pull out my father’s cloak,” he said, and opened his satchel. He dug out the cloak he hadn’t touched in over a decade. The feel of the fabric beneath his fingers immediately transported him back to the cramped closet, to the moment the door had opened and he’d seen the harsh, angular face staring right at him without seeing him. To the moment before he’d discovered Liam lying motionless on the playroom floor.

He shook his head, clearing the memories away, and threw the cloak over his and Elisa’s heads, rendering them invisible in an instant.

“We’ll leave on your signal,” he said to Liam. The ghost disappeared through the ceiling.