Rebellion: Tainted Realm: Book 2 Read Online Free

to stop us following him.”
    “What’s alkoyl?”
    “An alchymical fluid, the most dangerous in the world. Dissolves anything. Even stone, even metal – even the flesh of a ten-year-old boy.” Rix took Benn’s free hand and helped him through.
    “We’ll need a lantern,” said Glynnie.
    “No, they’d track us by its smell,” said Rix.
    He handed the boy a glowstone disc, though its light was so feeble it barely illuminated his arm. Tobry, an accomplished magian, could have coaxed more light from it, but… Rix avoided the rest of the thought.
    “We’ll need more light than that,” said Glynnie.
    She bundled some pieces of wood together from a broken chair, tied them together with strips of fabric, tied on more fabric at one end and shoved it in her pack.
    They went through, holding their breath. The crack snaked ever down, shortly intersecting a network of other cracks that appeared to have freshly opened – and might close again just as suddenly.
    “If they shut, they’ll squeeze the juice out of us like a turnip,” whispered Glynnie.
    Rix stopped, frowning. “Can you smell alkoyl?”
    “No,” she said softly, “but I
can
smell stink-damp.”
    “That’s bad.”
    Stink-damp smelled like rotten eggs. The deadly vapour seeped up from deep underground and collected in caverns, from where it was piped to the street lamps of Caulderon and the great houses such as Palace Ricinus. Stink-damp was heavier than air, however. It settled in sumps, basements and other low places, and sometimes exploded.
    “
I
can smell alkoyl,” said Benn.
    “Good man,” said Rix. “Can you follow it?”
    “I think so.”
    Benn sniffed the air and moved down the crack.
    “Why are we following alkoyl?” said Glynnie.
    “Wil was carrying a tube of it,” said Rix. “He also stole Lyf’s iron book, and if anyone can find a safe way out of here, Wil the Sump can, the little weasel.”
    “Isn’t he dangerous?”
    “Not as dangerous as I am.”
    The boast was hollow. Down here, Rix’s size put him at a disadvantage, whereas Wil could hide in any crevice and reach out to a naked throat with those powerful strangler’s hands.
    They squeezed down cracks so narrow that Rix could not take a full breath, under a tilted slab of stone that quivered at the touch, then through an oval stonework pipe coated with feathery mould. Dust tickled the back of his throat; he suppressed a sneeze.
    After half an hour, Benn could no longer smell alkoyl.
    “Have we gone the wrong way?” said Rix. “Or is Wil in hiding, waiting to strike?”
    Neither Glynnie nor Benn answered. They were at the intersection of two low passages that burrowed like rat holes through native rock. Many tunnels were known to run under the palace and the ancient city of Caulderon, some dating back thousands of years to when it had been the enemy’s royal city, Lucidand; others had been forgotten long ago. Rix’s wrist, which had struck many obstacles in the dark, was oozing blood and throbbing mercilessly.
    “Lord?” said Glynnie.
    “Yes?”
    “I don’t think anyone’s following. Let me bandage your wrist.”
    “It hardly matters,” he said carelessly. “Someone is bound to kill me before an infection could.”
    “Sit down!” she snapped. “Hold out your arm.”
    An angry retort sprang to his lips, but he did not utter it. He had been about to scathe Glynnie the way his late mother, Lady Ricinus, would have done. But Glynnie had never done other than to serve as best she could. She was the worthy one; he should be serving her.
    “Not here. They can come at us four ways. We need a hiding place with an escape route.”
    It took another half hour of creeping and crawling before they found somewhere safe, a vault excavated from the bedrock. It must have dated back to ancient times, judging by the stonework and the crumbling wall carvings. A second stone door stood half open on the other side, its hinges frozen with rust. To the left, water seeped from a