Blood Red Road

us.
    You couldn’t of done nuthin without me. I glare at her. I could of killed Epona, you know.
    The Hawks help you, she says, you help the Hawks. Then yer free to go after yer brother. That’s the deal you made with Maev.
    She yanks harder on my arm. I cry out. You don’t need me, I says. There’s enough of you.
    So you’ll leave all them fighters, she says, the ones stole by slavers jest like you an yer sister was, you’ll leave ’em in this place. That’s the kinda person you are. Somebody who don’t keep their word. Somebody who lets people down.
    No, I says. No, I ain’t like that.
    She waits.
    All right, I says. All right, I’ll keep my word. I promise I will.
    She lets me go. I straighten up, easin my sore arm. I’m sorry, I says.
    We look at each other a moment. Then she smiles. Her eyes don’t look so hard after all. She lifts the wooden hatch. After you, she says.
    I swing myself down into the hole, set my feet on a rickety ladder I find there an start down it. Ash follows me an closes the hatch behind her.
    It’s black. I cain’t see a thing. The cool earth smell of bein unnerground fills my nose. I feel my way to the bottom, ten rungs. Ash jumps down beside me an lights a torch.
    Where’re we goin? I says.
    You’ll see, she says. This way.
    We crouch over an head down a low tunnel. Pretty soon, we reach the end. The tunnel ends in a brick wall. There’s weapons piled up along with a crowbar an some glass bottles filled with what looks like water an rags stuffed in their tops.
    Hold this. Ash hands me the lit torch. Keep it well away from them bottles. She picks up the crowbar, sticks it in between the bricks an starts workin one free.
    What is this? I says. Are we breakin in somewhere?
    I sure hope so, she says. Otherwise we’ve jest spent the last three days clearin out this tunnel for no good reason. We’re talkin in whispers. The first brick’s free. Take it, will you?
    While I pull the brick free an put it on the ground, she starts on the next one. So this was already here, I says. How did you know about it? Where does it lead to? The second brick’s loose. I take it away.
    There was a big escape from this place about ten year ago, she says. The fighters dug theirselves out. One tunnel from the men’s cellblock an one tunnel from the women’s cellblock. They filled in the tunnels afterwards. If they’d bin smart, they would of collapsed ’em.
    Third brick done. So we’re breakin into the cellblock, I says. My cellblock?
    That’s the idea, she says.
    An yer gonna tell me that there’s a good reason why we ain’t jest takin out the guards an cuttin through the fence to let ’em out? I says.
    There’s a full guard shift on duty, she says. They must of bin nervous that the fighters ’ud try somethin unner cover of all the activity in town. You should always have a Plan B.
    I’ll remember that, I says.
    Shhh, says Ash as I take away the fourth brick. She blows out the torch. She nods at the hole an we look through.
    We’re lookin straight into the female fighters’ cellblock. In fact, we’re lookin down into my cell.

    My cot’s directly below us. My cell door stands open. The girls in the big main cell’s all mainly sittin or lyin down on the floor. They ain’t got no cots, not even blankets. At the far end on eether side of the main door, there’s two cellblock guards sittin on chairs.
    We can work the last few bricks free with our hands. We’re silent, quick about it. When we got a hole big enough fer us to slip through, she takes a blowpipe outta her belt an slides a dart into it.
    Jest then, one of the girls in the main cell sees us. Her eyes go wide. I shake my head. She gives a little nod.
    Ash lifts the pipe to her lips. Takes in a big breath. Blows.
    It’s a hit. The guard to the left of the door cries out. He slaps a hand to his neck an falls offa his chair. Th’other guard jumps to his feet, but Ash sends another dart flyin. He don’t make a sound. Jest crumples to the ground.
    Very neat, I says.
    Let’s go, she says.
    She slides through the hole an jumps down. While she gits the key ring from the guard’s belt an unlocks the main cell to let the girls out, I toss the weapons down onto my cot. Bows, quivers full of arrows, slingshots, bolt shooters.
    Help yerself to weapons, girls! Ash says. Then wait fer us by the door. They come runnin into my cell an in a minute or two they’ve scooped up all the ammo.
    Now, says Ash. We’re gonna take four of