Cynthia asked, "Can you and Tory read each other's thoughts?"

"Not thoughts, but we can sense each other's emotions," Allarde explained. "When Tory and the others are in place, she'll send a feeling of readiness. Completion."

"Amazing." Cynthia wondered what it would be like to have that connection with J ... with a male. "Are you two back together? You seem to be."

Allarde gave her a freezing look that made it clear the subject was not open for discussion. Turning his gaze back to the compound, he said, "They're almost in place. Loose your winds, Jack!"

Like Cynthia, Jack had been working hard to control the storm so it would worsen at exactly the right time. Now she felt his exhilaration as he slammed together the powerful winds he'd been holding separate.

Within moments, hurricane-strength winds roared between the escarpment and the hill behind them. Cynthia was almost knocked from her feet and a tree crashed behind them with no help from Allarde.

Allarde was too busy concentrating to notice. A vehicle that had been parked on the other side of the fence flipped over with a crash and continued rolling with the sounds of crunching metal until it smashed both fences flat. He turned left, his concentration palpable. A huge tree crashed with a boom audible over the storm.

"Now, Cynthia!" Jack's grip numbed her hand.

She gazed at the roof of the generator shed. Coordinating lightning wasn't easy, but she almost had it. Almost ...

Blinding white light illuminated the sky as an annihilating bolt slashed downward. The shed exploded and sparks blazed halfway up the escarpment. Every light in the camp vanished, plunging the compound into suffocating darkness. Yes! She felt exultant. A pity the camp was too wet to burn.

"Now!" Allarde ordered. "We need to cross the gap in the fence and get inside the laboratory while they're still shouting and running into each other."

Allarde focused a barely visible mage light at the ground in front of him and sprinted toward the flattened fence. Jack and Cynthia followed a little more slowly over the sodden ground, still holding hands.

She was glad she'd decided to go to the laboratory with her companions rather than stay alone outside. Underneath her excitement she was tired-herding lightning was hard work-but everything was falling into place just as they'd planned. Now she understood how sharing danger strengthened bonds between comrades.

They jumped over the barbed wire flattened by the weight of the truck, crossed the ground between fences and leaped over that as well. It took less than two minutes to reach the entrance to the laboratory. Shouts and curses came from the direction of the generator shed, but there didn't seem to be any Germans near the laboratory.

Allarde opened the door so smoothly that she barely saw how he unlocked it. Then they were inside dripping on the tiled floor and listening hard. There were no sounds of life in the building.

When Allarde judged they were safe, he strengthened the mage light a little and headed down the corridor. Double doors, more corridor, a turn before he stopped in front of a door. Once more he unlocked it and motioned Cynthia and Jack inside.

When the door was closed behind them, he brightened the light. "Dr. Weiss, we've returned," he said quietly. "Are you ready to escape?"

The lean, dark man on the narrow cot awakened immediately and swung his feet to the floor. He'd been sleeping in wrinkled trousers and shirt and socks, Cynthia noted. "Have you freed my wife and children?" he asked urgently in French-accented English. He frowned. "Where is the other boy, the one who made all the promises?"

"Nick is even now leading a team to the castle to rescue your wife and children," Allarde replied. "His ability to find people was needed there, which is why I've come here with two other friends."

"It is truly possible to free them from that place?" the scientist said with narrowed eyes. "You aren't merely saying that to placate me so I'll come with you?"

"We located an ancient tunnel that runs up through the rock from the base of the escarpment to the castle cellar," Allarde explained. "Nick and the others will be rescuing your family within minutes. Now it's time for us to go."

Dr. Weiss shoved his feet into shoes that had been tucked under his cot. After dragging on his coat and hat, he slung an improvised knapsack over his shoulders. "I'm ready. But I have one more plea to make." His dark gaze moved from one face to another. "There are others imprisoned in this building who also need to be rescued."

Cynthia's stomach clenched. Just like that, their neat plan had splintered out of control.

CHAPTER 29.

Nick was taut as strung wire when Tory led the way down to the field opposite the church. Even Elspeth, usually the calm, still center of any group of Irregulars, was tense.

Having been raised in the country, Tory was pained to see the ripe stalks of wheat being flattened by the fierce rain. France would be a hungry country come winter.

When they were in position, Elspeth removed her shapeless hat and shook water from it. Like Tory, she'd braided her hair to keep it out of the way, and the braids were now saturated. "Weather mages are wonderful for covering our nefarious activities, but the results do make secret missions uncomfortable."

Tory chuckled. "I suppose we should be grateful snow wasn't required."

She scanned the area around the church, which seemed deserted. No sign of a patroller. The elm tree Allarde had tentatively selected to flatten the fence looked like the best choice for what they needed. "Are you both ready?"

After they murmured agreement, she said, "I'll let Allarde know it's time."

She concentrated on sending him a sense of preparedness. This was one time the connection between them was useful rather than a source of worry.

The rainstorm transformed into a violent tempest. She kept her attention on the tree. Since they were pooling their talents, her concentration should help him bring the tree down in the right place.

As the spotlight swung in their direction, the sky exploded with eye-searing white light. They all ducked instinctively as thunder rattled their bones.

Cynthia's lightning triggered an explosion as the generator shed disintegrated. All the lights in the compound vanished, leaving blackness and pouring rain and screaming winds.

Tory heard a metallic rumble and crunch to her right and guessed that Allarde had rolled a large motor vehicle to take out the fence near the laboratory. She felt him gather his power again. When he was ready, they channeled their combined magic into the towering elm in front of her.

The tree made an eerie groaning sound as its roots were wrenched from the earth. It toppled straight at Tory, smashing into the ground with shattering branches and fence-flattening force.

She sent a silent apology to the tree, destroyed for the purposes of humans who lived only short years in comparison. But it was needful. "Time to go!"

With a tiny mage light in hand, she raced for the fence, Elspeth and Nick behind her. A long swath of fencing was down, but the wire was still barbed. She scanned the fallen section and saw that on the left side of the downed tree, the strands had snapped and were curling up. That left a narrow passage where she could walk without the risk of stepping on barbs.

As Nick moved through, he ordered, "Wait!" Bending, he pulled the broken wires back to create a wider path.

When he was finished, he straightened and Tory resumed her run to the buttress. Memory of having been caught by the patroller before made her skin crawl as she darted toward the church and the concealed tunnel.

By the time Elspeth and Nick caught up with her, she had the hidden door open. It moved much more easily this time. "Careful," she said softly as they passed her. "There are steps going down."

Elspeth entered without hesitation, followed by Nick. After Tory closed the door, she demonstrated how to open the door from this side. Then she led the way downward. "Watch your step. The footing can be treacherous."

"At least we're out of the rain here," Nick said philosophically. "How long a hike do we have?"

"I'm not sure," Tory replied. "But think how high the castle is."

Nick shuddered dramatically. "I hope Mrs. Weiss and the children are in good condition for the hike out!"

"They might not be," Elspeth said. "Which is why I thought I should come."

Tory hoped her friend's healing skills wouldn't be required. But Elspeth, like most magelings, has some intuition about future events. If she felt her talents would be needed, she was very likely right.

Mostly they climbed in silence, though once Nick said, "Is it my imagination, or is the ceiling of this tunnel leaking?"

They stopped, taking the opportunity to catch their breath. Drops of moisture were coalescing on the pale stone above, then falling. "Definitely leaky," Tory said. "They just don't make tunnels the way they used to."

"This escarpment is made out of limestone, which is porous, if I remember my science classes correctly. Water like that created the natural cave that was the beginning of this tunnel." Nick turned sideways to edge through a particularly narrow section. "I hope none of the Weisses are claustrophobic."

"What is claustrophobic?" Elspeth asked.

"Someone who is terrified of tight spaces," Nick explained. "I'm not fond of them myself, so I'm not enjoying this tunnel. If I were a true claustrophobe, I would have sent the two of you in without me."

"And I'd have dragged you along because we need your finder skill," Tory said with a glint of amusement. "Time to get moving again. Allarde and the others probably already have Dr. Weiss safely away."

It was a relief to finally reach the landing outside the door that led into the castle cellars. Tory leaned against the wall, panting. Her companions were in no better shape.

"I tell myself it will be easier going down," Elspeth said as she gulped down air.

"Heroism is a lot of work," Tory remarked. "Nick, are the Weisses nearby?"

He closed his eyes and concentrated. "They're very close. On this level, I think."

"Good. The less we have to move about the castle, the better chance we have to get out without being noticed," Tory said. "Let's hope any Germans quartered here will have returned to sleep after the fireworks below."

Nick pulled a handgun from a holster under his coat. Tory hadn't even known it was there.

"This is my father's service revolver," he explained as he checked it. "A Webley Mark IV thirty-eight caliber. I can fire six bullets in a row without having to stop and reload after every shot like the pistols in your time."

Tory stared at the lethally efficient weapon. "I'm not sure if I find that reassuring or terrifying."

"Both," Elspeth said succinctly. "I hope you don't have to use it."

"So do I. But since we may run into armed men, I feel better for being prepared." He lowered the revolver at his side, relaxed but ready. "I'm glad I decided to bring it through the mirror with me. Intuition, I suppose. Any special tricks to this door, Tory?"

"Push this lever, but first lights off. The door opens to a storage room and it's probably empty, but we can't count on that."

After the mage lights were all doused, she opened the door, keeping it just slightly ajar while she listened. Darkness and silence on the other side. Opening the door wider, she lit another mage light and slipped through, followed by the others.

In a voice less than a whisper, Nick said, "Elspeth, I'm the finder and Tory unlocks doors, but I think you should stay here. Our reserve if something goes wrong."

"I can just see myself rescuing you from a platoon of Nazis," she said dryly. "But you're right. There's no need for me to go with you. I'm here if healing is needed."

Mentally girding herself, Tory dimmed her light and adjusted it so it pointed only downward. She had been skulking around so much lately that she'd become really good at calibrating lights that were the next thing to nonexistent.

They reached the door to the corridor. "Lead on, Nicholas," she said softly.

He stepped into the corridor, Tory right behind him. Quiet and confident, he led the way along one corridor, through a door that Tory unlocked, down another passage. She guessed they were traversing the full width of the castle. The cellars were shabby, but in regular use for storage. And if Nick was right, for prisoners.

Once they heard heavy footsteps directly overhead. They froze and Tory turned off her light until the steps moved unhurriedly away.

She told her pulse to slow down, created another light, and they continued on to another locked door. As Tory opened it, she sensed Nick's excitement. They must be getting close.

Her nostrils flared when they moved into the next passage. There was a sour smell of people crowded too close together. Nick stopped in front of a massive door with a small barred slit toward the top. His gesture said, This is it!

The old door had a new and challenging lock. Tory closed her eyes and concentrated on shifting the tumblers to the open position. Ah, there!

She opened the door and Nick stepped inside, Tory right behind. She was startled by the number of people crowded into a small space. Ten or twelve, all women and children, all staring fearfully at the newcomers.

"Mrs. Weiss?" Nick asked uncertainly.

Several people caught their breaths anxiously. Then a thin, dark-haired woman with resignation in her eyes stepped forward into the light. "I'm Dr. Sarah Weiss," she said in French. "Have you come to take me to my execution?"

CHAPTER 30.

Cynthia cringed internally when Dr. Weiss said there were others in the building who needed rescuing, but Allarde merely said, "I knew there would be unexpected events tonight. How many and where are they?"

"My two colleagues are here," Dr. Weiss explained. "We worked in the same research laboratory before the war and were arrested at the same time. They are also Jewish. I fear for their safety. Can you rescue them also?"

Allarde glanced at Jack and Cynthia. She gave a small nod while Jack said, "I don't see why not. It will be more complicated, but not impossible."

"Then let us find them and release them quickly," Allarde said.

Dr. Weiss adjusted his improvised knapsack, which looked heavy. "I have my research notes and materials here." He hesitated. "Their families were imprisoned with mine. Will your colleagues bring out everyone as you are doing?"

"If they can, yes." Allarde headed to the door. "But I can make no promises. Are any guards stationed in this building? If so, how likely are they to wake up? The more of us who are moving around, the more likely we are to be noticed."

"Only one man sleeps here," Dr. Weiss replied. "A sergeant whose hearing was damaged by shell fire. He has a room by the front door, but does not wake easily."

"I hope you're right. Lead us to your colleagues."

"I'll use some illusion magic to age us," Cynthia offered. "It will save having to explain how young we are."

Jack grinned. "A good idea. There will be time enough for them to be disbelieving about that later."

Cynthia laid a hand on Jack's arm and channeled the magic to add eight or ten years. She was unsettled to realize that he'd look even better in the future than now. Turning, she did the same for Allarde and then herself while Dr. Weiss watched in amazement.

Nerves twanging with tension, she followed the others from the cell and down the corridor opposite to free the other two scientists. Mr. Stein was a young assistant, Dr. Heller older, with salt-and-pepper hair. Allarde didn't attempt to explain that they were being rescued by mages. That could also wait until later, when there was more time.

For now, Dr. Weiss explained to his colleagues that these were British agents come to free them. With luck, their families would be freed at the same time. That assurance meant both men were more than willing to leave.

The handful of minutes the researchers took to collect the few items they could carry with them seemed to take forever. How long would the power be out? Now that she'd seen the camp, Cynthia was painfully aware of how visible they would be if they didn't have darkness to cover their escape.

Six people made noise when they were walking, even though they were all trying to be silent. Cynthia gave a sigh of relief when they reached the front door. Allarde was opening it when a yawning soldier swung open a door on the left. He was half dressed, but carried an electric torch in his left hand and a pistol by his side.

The beam of light swept over the magelings and escaping prisoners. After a moment of shocked disbelief, the sergeant swung his weapon up and barked, "Achtung! Halt!"