Latvala Royals: Darkest Hours Page 8

  “C’mon! C’mon, Leander, stay with me,” he shouted as he pumped Leander’s chest.

  After three minutes of frantic CPR, Sander paused to check for signs of life.

  Nothing.

  No pulse, no respirations.

  His closest confidant, best friend for more than half his life, was dead.

  Chapter 13

  Elias led the way through the gloomy hallways in silence. He stayed close to the walls to reduce his chances of becoming a target, moving swiftly toward the doorway that would lead them to the dungeon. His flashlight beam picked out the archway ahead only minutes later.

  “As quietly as we can,” Elias whispered to Eliana and Erick before opening the door and starting down. He’d been to the dungeons so many times that he could have navigated the landing and stairs blindfolded. Because Erick and Eliana were not so well versed in the layout, he left his flashlight on despite the risk of someone seeing the glow.

  His boots landed with eerie precision on every stone step. When he came to the second door at the bottom landing, he was glad to see it closed. That reduced the risk of anyone seeing his light too soon.

  It dawned on him that the abductors—if they were using the dungeon as their hiding place—wouldn’t know the caverns and tunnels half as well as he did and that they would be forced to have flashlights of their own. That necessity negated the need for him to proceed with his light on.

  “They’ll have lights down here. We’ll use that to guide us rather than our own flashlights,” Elias said. His beam died. Eliana and Erick’s followed. The way ahead was pitch black.

  “You have an idea what area they might be keeping her?” Erick asked.

  “I think they wouldn’t have gone farther than they needed to. Which means they’re probably in the first big cavern on the right after we go through the door,” Elias said. He put his hand on the knob.

  “And if they didn’t bring her here?” Eliana asked.

  “I think we’ll know sooner rather than later. We won’t waste time searching the entire dungeon and all the tunnels. That would take hours. If they’re not in the first sets of caverns, then we’ll retreat and head back upstairs. They’ll have her somewhere else.” Elias gave Eliana and Erick a few seconds to adjust, then opened the door.

  He cringed inwardly at the faint creak of an ancient rusty hinge. The hardware, hundreds of years old, did not discriminate between friend and foe.

  Voices floated across the cavern.

  “Did you hear something?” someone said.

  “You’ve been asking the same question for a half an hour. No one is out there,” another voice replied.

  Elias halted, refusing to move the door another inch. He made a gesture with his hand toward the right and the arched entrance to the cavern that he’d thought would be the best holding place for Emily.

  It appeared the abductors were in there after all.

  Elias brought his weapon up and waited until Erick and Eliana were similarly prepared before gliding along the curved wall toward the arch. He went as quietly as he could, using the light spilling from the cavern as a guide. Rather than wait for the right moment, he rounded into the room, gun leading.

  “Don’t move!”

  Four men in earth-colored camouflage glanced at the door, clearly startled.

  Two wore weapons in shoulder holsters.

  One reached.

  Elias said, “Don’t even think about it. I’ll blow your head off.”

  The handgun slipped out of the holster faster than Elias would have given the man credit for. All three others reached for weapons either on their person or on the table in the middle of the cavern.

  Gunfire barked from no less than three weapons. The deafening roar faded as bodies fell.

  All four men in camouflage were down.

  Elias snapped a look through the cavern, desperate to find Emily. He saw maps and plans and a staging area where the men had apparently been organizing the coup.

  Emily was nowhere to be seen.

  Chey paced the conference room with growing trepidation. Once or twice she’d heard the councilmen and advisors grow loud beyond the door. She knew several of them were challenging Kirkley for access inside.

  For access to her.

  The advisors knew something was up and only Kirkley and his team were holding them back. She couldn’t tell if the men wanted access for nefarious reasons or for reasons of concern. Perhaps it was sheer curiosity. Many believed it was their right to know everything that went on behind closed doors in Kallaster Castle and with the royal family in general. Because of the situation, Chey had to believe the insistence had more to do with sinister intent than not.

  Everything felt balanced on a razor’s edge. It would only take one major move to bring the entire house of cards crashing down.

  Candlelight flickered off the walls of the room as the minutes wore on. She wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to Sander. Had the plane really crashed somewhere in Somero? The thought seemed impossible. She couldn’t wrap her head around such a disaster, or that Sander had been a part of it.

  Her heart ached. Tears stung the backs of her eyes but she refused to let even one teardrop fall. There was still hope. There was always hope.

  A knock came at the door. Kirkley entered.

  “What is it?” Chey asked. Kirkley’s dark expression did not bode well.

  “The advisors and councilmen are demanding to speak to you and Prince Elias. I’ve held them off, like you told me to, but they’re getting impatient.” He darted a look around the conference room. Surprise registered on his features.

  Chey didn’t bother to explain Elias, Eliana, and Erick’s absence. “Continue to hold them off, Commander. You’re free to tell them that I’m willing to call down their mistresses to keep them entertained if that’ll help keep them busy.”

  Kirkley’s expression shifted from surprise at finding Chey alone to shock at her suggestion. To his credit, he overcame his shock in short order. “Your Majesty.” He bowed his head and reached for the door handle.

  “Wait.”

  Kirkley turned back, one brow arched inquisitively.

  “Have you noticed anything unusual about any of the councilmen’s reactions? Have any advisors met with castle staff or guards?”

  “Risto, Henricksson, and advisor Langtry have been speaking together away from the others. Henricksson and Langtry have been the most vocal about talking with you and Prince Elias.”

  Henricksson, Langtry, and Risto. Chey discovered she wasn’t too surprised at the names. All three had caused trouble at one time or another and each was known to counter Sander’s orders at every turn.

  “I see. No one has met separately with staff or guards, though?” she pressed.

  “Not so far, Your Majesty.”

  “Thank you, Commander. Please continue guarding the door and don’t let anyone in until I or Elias say so.”

  Kirkley opened his mouth after a brief look at the room, then nodded and stepped out.

  “Don’t forget to pass on my message,” she said just before the door closed.

  Chey experienced grim satisfaction when, a few minutes later, outrage erupted in the hallway beyond.

  Chapter 14

  Sander sat back on his haunches, out of breath and shaking, and stared down at Leander. With a broken plane scattered around him, smoke billowing into the gray dawn of a new day, he cursed whoever was responsible for this travesty. His chest seized with grief and, because he was that stubborn, he leaned over Leander and began chest compressions again.

  “C’mon, don’t give up on me. Come back,” he whispered.

  A hand landed on his shoulder.

  He’d been so intent on bringing Leander back that he hadn’t heard or sensed anyone nearby. Sander recoiled sharply and wrenched a look upward.

  Mattias stood there, leaning heavily on a shard of debris that served as a crutch. Blood covered half his face and his clothing showed signs of burns
and tears. Badly injured, but alive.

  Relief flooded through Sander at a dizzying rate.

  “Thank God.” He turned back to Leander. There wasn’t time to assess any wounds on his brother or himself. Not until he’d exhausted every last attempt to bring Leander back.

  Mattias staggered around Leander’s prone body and went to his knees with a wince. Without asking, he timed respirations to Sander’s compressions.

  “He’s got to make it,” Sander said. “He can’t die like this.”

  One minute ticked by. And another.

  In between one respiration and the next, Leander’s chest expanded and he sucked in a lungful of air.

  It was the sweetest sound Sander had ever heard. “Come on, Leander. Stay with us.”

  “Burns,” Leander whispered. He barked a cough and blinked rapidly.

  “I know. The plane crashed. But we’ll get out of here alive,” Sander replied.

  “Jeremiah?” Leander asked.

  “Haven’t found him yet. Still looking,” Mattias said.

  Leander struggled to sit up. He winced and sank back, one hand flying to his ribs.

  “We’ll look. You rest,” Mattias said to Leander. He rose unsteadily to his feet and reached for the piece of debris he’d been using to keep himself upright. “Stay with him, Dare. I’ll search for Jeremiah. Pilots are both dead.”

  “Wait. Finger’s dislocated. Put it back before you go.” He reached his left hand out. The pinky sat at an odd angle.

  Mattias reached with both hands, the crutch lodged beneath his armpit. He grasped Sander’s hand and pulled steadily on the pinky. Sander held his breath until the finger realigned. As far as pain went, it was a minor ripple in a sea of violent waves. Mattias released the pressure and let go altogether.

  As his brother hobbled away, Sander looked down to Leander. “Tell me what feels broken.”

  Leander whispered, “Everything.”

  “She’s not here,” Eliana said.

  Elias searched the entire cavern thoroughly, just to be sure.

  No Emily.

  Erick moved from body to body, checking the pulse on each of the four men.

  “Look for radios or other communication devices, Erick,” Elias said.

  “Nothing. No cell phones or handhelds. They’re all dead,” Erick replied a moment later.

  “It was us or them. No help for it.” Elias stepped up to a desk and glanced over the contents. “Check the other desks for maps. See if anything jumps out. Maybe they designated their work areas throughout the castle and we can pinpoint the spot they’re keeping Em.”

  “They must have set this up within the past twenty-four hours. No way would they have gotten away with this for longer than that,” Eliana said as she approached a second desk.

  “I’m going to check the other caverns, though I think if there were others down here with us they would have shown up by now after the gunshots,” Erick said.

  “Be quick,” Elias said to Erick before looking at his sister. “I agree. Some of the guards have to be in on it, too, or these guys would have never gotten past the front gate.”

  “This has all been planned for a while. Probably during winter when everyone was distracted.” Eliana leaned over the maps, one finger following markings on the paper.

  “There’s no way they could have coordinated an attack on three separate countries without a lot of planning,” Elias said.

  “Do you think it’s the Russians?”

  “I don’t know, Ellie. The men in here weren’t speaking Russian and didn’t have a Russian accent—which I realize doesn’t mean they weren’t working for them. But I have yet to see hard proof that the Russians are behind this.”

  “Who else would have the manpower and the resources, though?”

  “Someone who wants us to think the Russians are behind the attacks.” Elias searched in vain for clues to Emily’s whereabouts. There did not seem to be a designated spot on the maps where someone might have taken her. He dreaded to think they’d misjudged altogether and the perpetrators had departed the castle with her. But no. Someone would have seen. Unless more guards were in on the coup than he thought.

  A metal rack at the end of one table drew Elias’s gaze. He’d missed it during the first initial sweep. When he stepped over, he discovered a set of radios lined up along the top shelf. He picked one up and silently indicated it to Eliana before tossing it to her. After she caught it, he loaded another into his vest. If other members of the group spoke over the same channel, they might learn where the men were keeping Emily.

  “We can’t discount someone framing the Russians, I agree,” Eliana said, picking up the conversation. “But I still think we should be wary of an all-out invasion. We don’t even know yet what the troops found in Garry and Noll.”

  “Hopefully not an entire division moving across our land.” Elias stepped away from the desk as Erick entered the room.

  “They’re not down here. I checked all the main caverns and even went partway down a few of the tunnels. Emily isn’t in the dungeon,” Erick said.

  “Let’s go back up. I don’t want to leave Mom alone too long.” Elias grimly led the way through the cavern to the stairs. They’d failed to secure Emily and time was running out.

  If the abductors followed through with their threat, his sister wouldn’t survive the next few hours.

  Chapter 15

  “Just be still. We’ll get help.” Sander braced a hand on Leander’s shoulder to keep the man down. “Mattias is looking for Jeremiah and any other survivors.”

  “Can’t just lie here.” Leander grunted as he tried again to sit up. He groaned and wrapped a hand around his middle.

  Sander worried Leander suffered from internal injuries, among other things. He applied more pressure so Leander would be encouraged to lie still. “Hey, hey. Don’t try to get up. You’ll make it worse. I might not be able to revive you next time.”

  “I have to find Jer,” Leander said.

  Sander understood Leander’s panic. He would be feeling the exact same way under the circumstances if any of his kids had been on the plane. Nothing would have stopped him from staggering through the debris, calling their names. Leander, however, was worse off than him or Mattias; thus, he attempted to keep Leander on the ground.

  “Let Mattias look for a minute. If he doesn’t find him soon, we’ll go help,” Sander said. It was a little white lie, but Leander didn’t have to know that.

  Leander lifted a hand toward his head.

  “No, don’t touch that. You’re missing part of your scalp.” He gently deflected Leander’s hand.

  “What?”

  “A piece of shrapnel must have sliced your scalp.”

  “How bad?”

  “Bad enough. Don’t touch it. We’ll try and find something to wrap your head with.”

  “So much smoke,” Leander said as he stared into the sky.

  “Too much smoke. Like a beacon.” Sander wasn’t happy about that, either, but there was nothing they could do. The fire would rage until it burned itself out.

  Despite the obliterating smoke, Sander realized that the sky wasn’t lightening the way it should with the onset of daybreak. He glanced to the west, past the billowing white-black smoke, and saw gathering clouds. The dark thunderheads heralded a coming storm.

  Sander muttered a curse. Like they didn’t have enough of a challenge finding survivors and caring for the wounded.

  He looked down at Leander, then around at all the debris, searching for something, anything, with which to wrap his head. Everything was too bulky or inappropriate or on fire.

  The wind shifted. Smoke blew their way, forcing Sander to tuck his nose and mouth into the material of the shirt beneath his vest. He reached down to help Leander get his face partially covered as well.

  “Going to have to drag you out of here if the wind doesn’t change direction,” Sander shouted.

  Mattias appeared through the haze, one arm slung around Jeremi
ah. “He’s alive. Banged up pretty bad, has a broken arm and has something impaled in his thigh, but breathing.”

  Leander lifted his head off the ground. “Jer!”

  “We need to move them out of the smoke,” Sander called before Mattias could settle Jeremiah near Leander.

  Mattias veered Jeremiah away. The smoke blanketed Mattias and Jeremiah immediately.

  “Hold on, Leander.” Sander pulled the man to his feet. He grunted at the pain exploding through his torso as he helped Leander limp along in Mattias’s wake.

  It took far too long to clear the column of smoke. Sander coughed. His eyes stung. Beside him, Leander wheezed. Ahead, he heard Mattias and Jeremiah both hacking and gasping for air. As suddenly as the wind had shifted, it shifted again, this time blowing the smoke the other way.

  Thunder growled in the distance. Soon, very soon, the skies would open up and unleash a torrent of rain.

  “Here!” Mattias called. He led the way to a bare spot of ground free of debris and burning bits of fuselage.

  Sander followed and helped Leander to the ground once they were clear of the wreckage. Leander and Jeremiah hugged, obviously relieved and happy to see each other alive.

  “We need to find a radio and call for help,” Sander said to Mattias.

  “I checked. All radio communication is dead. So are our cell phones,” Mattias said through a coughing fit. He leaned heavily on the modified crutch.

  “What about the guards? I found one dead. Couldn’t get him out of the tail end because of the fire.”

  “I found two, also perished. There are still two missing.”

  Sander surveyed the wreckage. There was so much damage he wasn’t sure where to start the search for survivors.

  Lightning flickered through the iron sky, followed by another round of thunder. The day grew gloomier, darker.

  “At least the rain might help put out the fire,” Mattias said with a wary look at the oncoming storm.

  “I’m going to search for the last two men.” Sander coughed once more to clear his lungs.