The Darkman 4
“So you almost got caught?” Master SoYa chuckled the next day at their morning meeting. It was a relief that he wasn’t angry about it.
“No way,” the boy argued. “I had it all under control. She didn’t tell on me, anyway.”
“Maybe she likes you,” the man teased.
“Master SoYa,” KiNa’s tone was disapproving. “I really don’t think so.”
“How do you know?”
“Trust me. She can’t stand me,” the boy told him, crossing his arms. Then, he quickly changed the topic, “Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?”
“I do, actually. And timing couldn’t be better for us,” the man nodded. “I’ve been doing some more uh…”
“Snooping?” KiNa offered.
Master SoYa just sighed and nodded, “Snooping. I’ll never get used to this…”
“And?”
“And I discovered that the guards in the back outpost are on alert to meet the Darkman tonight and exchange funds for one of the children.” Something about the way he said it was chilling, as if even he didn’t want to believe this was happening.
KiNa heard himself hiss under his breath in response. “So it’s tonight?”
The man nodded. “If the Darkman is leaving for an exchange, that means that you’ll have a chance to lead the children out of there. Do you think you can do that?”
“Sure. No problem,” the boy answered cheerfully. In his head, he was running through a million scenarios and worries. Especially how to get his hand on the keys to open the locks on the door.
Master SoYa leaned down, unrolling a map of the city on the cobble ground. “Good. Okay, here is what I want you to do…”
***
KiNa was nervous. He couldn’t help it. As excited as he was in making plans and being a super spy, the time had come to actually put the plan into action. That was a scary thing.
He had no luck in finding the Darkman’s keys that afternoon. Chances were, the Darkman probably kept the keys on hand at all times. Not that KiNa had a lot of time to really search the rooms, especially not with the bossy girl keeping an eye on his every move.
I swear it feels like she might be working for the Darkman.
KiNa felt the passing of the day pressing down on him, his gaze flashing to observe the slant of the sunlight out the windows. As the nighttime came, it was harder and harder to maintain his calm exterior. He knew that he was the central part of this plan, and if he failed, they may never get another chance to pull it off.
Master SoYa is depending on me. I have to show him I can do this. I have to show him that the resistance can work… that we can stand up to what the Manor is doing.
After the children were sent to bed, time crawled by. The boy waited, too nervous to sleep, watching for any sign of the Darkman’s stirring. Just when KiNa started to wonder if maybe Master SoYa had bogus information, a tall shadow appeared in the doorframe and made its way into the sleeping quarters.
Of all the people the Darkman could choose, his selection couldn’t be more perfect. He reached down and woke up the bossy girl. The man hissed her into silence, then abruptly shoved a gag into her mouth, warning her to keep quiet.
At least I don’t have to worry about her botching things up for me. If anyone was going to resist this, it would be her.
KiNa saw the girl’s eyes reflecting the moonlight. They were both angry and afraid as the Darkman bound her wrists and pulled her from the room.
This is where things get tricky.
KiNa slipped out of his shared bed, careful not to wake any of the other children. He threw the dark cloak that Master SoYa gave him that morning over his shoulders. The mind mage said there were illusions attached to it, illusions that helped the person wearing the cloak move unseen. Still, it was hard to trust in illusions alone, especially when in such close range with the Darkman.
Creeping as quietly as he could, KiNa watched the man unlock the door and pull the girl through with him. Rushing quickly on the Darkman’s heels, the boy managed to slip out the door as the man worked to secure the locks behind him.
The boy flattened his palm over his mouth, hoping to keep the sound of his frightened breath from giving him away. Much to his amazement, the Darkman didn’t detect him, even though the boy was hiding in the shadows next to the stairs only feet away. KiNa decided he was going to keep this cloak.
Come on… come on…
He urged the man along silently. Only when Darkman was gone, did the boy dare to creep back out of his hiding spot. Bounding up the stairs, KiNa was met with the stern and solidly closed door.
Crud.
With no keys or any other means to get the door open, he found himself at a loss. Especially since many of the locks were on the inside.
That doesn’t make much sense… unless… Darkman has another way in and out of the cellar.
Hopes rising, KiNa began to search the area around the cellar. He could feel the passing of the nighttime heavy on his shoulders. The longer he searched, the more discouraged he became. There was no sign of another entrance into the cellar, and in his lack of experience, he didn’t think to search the place for alternative means of escape.
KiNa finally came back to the door, sighing and leaning his forehead against it in frustration.
I guess this is going to be the only way inside.
He sat looking at the barrier for a long moment before an idea came to him.
Maybe I can…
The boy concentrated, placing his palm against the cold wood. Closing his eyes, he worked to visualize, just the way Master SoYa had taught him. Only, instead of creating something new in his mind, he worked to create the vision of something already in existence – the locks.
He found it surprisingly easy, far easier than visualizing something that didn’t exist. The locks, after all, were nothing more than tiny mechanical devices of moving parts. It was like a blueprint unfolding within his mind’s eye. He could see the pieces, detail each part and decipher how the lock mechanism worked.
Holding his breath KiNa focused on the internal latch. Teeth gritting, sweat on his brow, it began to move, with incredible, gut wrenching slowness. Then, there was the sound of a click. A beautiful, glorious click.
KiNa had just mind-picked the lock. The boy’s breath panted through his open mouth, his fear discarded by a sense of accomplishment.
This… changes everything.
So many things just opened up at the prospect. So many places he could sneak. Things he could snoop. No locks could hold him – house, treasure or dungeon. He was truly the master thief now.
Finally, after a round of patting himself on the back, the boy’s mind returned to the task at hand. It was increasingly easy to open the other locks as he practiced blueprinting the devices and finding the latch for each. Before long, the door swung open to his touch.
Yes!
KiNa rushed into the cellar with a shout meant to wake the others. Sleepy eyes turned to him, half looking through the boy due to the cloak’s influence. He threw back the hood and called to them.
“Come on! Come with me! We’re getting out of here!”
They stared at him without comprehension.
KiNa grabbed a hold of the nearest child, “The Darkman is gone. We can escape now.”
“Escape… escape to where?” asked one of the girls.
“I know of a safe place. You have to trust me, though, and we have to run fast,” the boy said, adding a slight touch of mind-persuasion to his words. He knew it wouldn’t take much, and it was for their own good.
Groggy looks were exchanged between children.
KiNa continued to urge them towards the door, “Get your stuff. Come on. You’re going to like this, I promise!”
Finally, they reached the persuasion threshold and began to follow him. Seeing the door wide open and no sign of the Darkman was the final encouragement. Before long, they were all filing out of the cellar, following KiNa through the dark streets towards the meeting point only a few blocks away. There, the boy handed each of them a cloak similar to his.
“These will help us move around without being seen. Like mine does,” he tried to explain.
The children seemed more excited at the prospect of a new item of clothing than the neat properties the cloaks had. They didn’t question him, they simply followed. KiNa led the children out of the Manor into the freedom of the waiting forest lands.