by LJ Rivers
“How far away should we go?” I asked and handed Charlie the string ends.
She furrowed her brows. “I’m not sure, to be honest.” She reached out and took the ends from Morgana, too. “Far, I guess.”
We backed up as Charlie tightened the strings. We only made it twenty yards away from the entrance.
“This will have to do,” Morgana’s new demolition expert said. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and looked around. “You think I should wait until they’ve all left?”
Morgana shook her head. “The slaves might be scared, but the griffins won’t be, and that’s all that matters now. We can’t risk waiting any longer, in case the guards’ griffins come. I expect this to make enough noise to alarm them.” She asked just as much as she stated.
“So do I,” Charlie said. “Cover your ears.”
We did, and Charlie pulled the strings.
Nothing happened.
“Did it—?” Morgana asked.
The response came in the form of three explosions in rapid succession. The ground trembled under our feet, and several of the slaves screamed in fear.
“No!” someone shouted. “What are you doing?”
One of the griffins was flapping its wings and had kicked off from the ground. On its back, the young Goblin from earlier was waving his arms in desperation.
“Stop!” He slid off the griffin’s back. It must have been at least a ten-foot drop, but he managed to land on his feet and threw himself into a forward roll. Seemingly unharmed, he dashed towards us. “Please! You can’t! You’re killing them!”
“Who?” Morgana asked.
“I never thought you were going to—” he shouted, panic painted across his face. “There are more slaves in the dungeon. Beneath the mine!”
Chapter Sixteen
I stared at the crumbling stone entrance. Flames spouted from the mouth of the tunnel, but it didn’t look like all the vials had gone off, as the entrance was still more or less intact. I shared a look with Morgana as the young Goblin scurried back inside. With no time to debate, we hurled ourselves after him.
Charlie sprinted next to me. “There were only three explosions,” she said in quick gasps. “But the others might still go off.”
“Be ready to blow the rest when we get back,” I yelled. “In the meantime, hide.” I pointed at a spot behind a boulder near the entrance, though not so near I thought she was in any danger.
She nodded and veered off to where I had indicated.
“You,” Morgana ordered, gesturing for Brendan and Cynthia in passing. “Come with us.”
The two of them spun round and fell into step.
Inside, the fires roared from all around us, licking along the stone walls. Debris rained down from the roof, and parts of the walls cracked, slowly breaking away. I glanced at some of the vials that hadn’t exploded and froze for a second. If they got smashed under the debris, they could still go off.
“Watch out!” Morgana yelled, shoving me forward just as a boulder dropped to the ground right behind us.
My knees crashed into the hard floor, and I grimaced at the shooting pain. Panting, I looked behind me to the immense boulder that had been inches away from smothering me. With a shuddering breath, I regained my footing, imagining myself pancaked underneath. “Thanks.” My trousers were torn and my knees scraped, but I couldn’t worry about that now. With a sigh of relief, I glimpsed Brendan, then Cynthia, sneaking forward along the walls. Brendan held a shield over both of their heads, protective as always. Why wasn’t he doing that with me?
I mentally slapped myself. I had force fields and tons of mojo while he was only human. Sure, she had force fields, too, but—
“We need to stay alert. And hurry!” Morgana called. “This tunnel is breaking apart.”
Ahead, the silhouette of the Goblin zigzagged through the clouds of dust. He paused, waving his arm. “Down here.” The darkness swallowed him as he seemed to sink into the ground.
Morgana and I picked up the pace and reached the spot where he had disappeared, Brendan and Cynthia on our heels. A narrow opening descended into the ground, and a treacherous staircase led the way into more darkness. Nodding at Morgana, I took the first step, a fireball in my hand. The earth shook, and I stumbled again, catching myself on the walls on either side of me. With both arms outstretched, I kept my palms firmly against the stone as I kept going.
Smoke billowed into the small shaft from below, particles of dust and rocks crawling up my nostrils. Coughing, my feet touched the ground, and I moved away from the staircase, reigniting my fireball. My heart sank as I stared into yet another tunnel.
The rest of our small group exited the shaft, all of them coughing and shielding their mouths.
“Took you long enough.” The Goblin had his hands on his hips, his nose turned down at us, even though he was nearly half my height. “Come on. We don’t have much time.”
We followed him further into the darkness, accompanied by the moaning sounds of the mountain. Another noise caught my attention—screams and sharp voices begging for help. My energy ebbed, and my fireball fizzled out. I tried to summon my power back, but to no avail. Dread prickled down my spine as the voices grew louder when we entered a room bathed in blue hues. A faint electric crackle hissed around us, where a throng of mydredd snakes slithered on the dirt walls.
I cupped my elbows, my throat constricting as I took in the sight of the prisoners. Most of them were Goblins, but I spotted a couple of Fae and what I gathered had to be Shifters or some other Magicals. Every last one of them was chained to the wall by their necks.
They screamed louder as they saw us, arms stretching out for help. I glanced at Morgana, looking to her to decide our next move.
“Keys are over there.” The Goblin pointed to a hook on the wall, set too high for any of us to reach it. At least those of us who couldn’t fly.
Morgana unfolded her wings and flitted up to the keys, unhooking them before alighting again. She gave them to Brendan, who methodically began freeing the prisoners from their chains. There had to be at least twenty of them in here. And we would have killed them all, thinking we had got everyone outside. We still might, taking ourselves along with them.
A chunk of the ceiling came down in the centre of the room. I jumped back against the wall, and a jolt of electricity surged through me, forcing me to my knees once more. From the pile of debris, a multitude of mydredds slithered out, sending their electric shocks at anyone and everyone in their path.
“We need to get them out of here,” I yelled.
“Start sending them through the tunnel one by one as we release them,” Morgana shouted from across the room.
I carefully stepped around the debris and the snakes to where the first prisoners sat while Brendan continued to move down the row of people with Cynthia by his side.
She looked at me, and I waved my hands frantically.
“Grab whoever you can and bring them to the tunnel, then come back until the room is empty.”
She inclined her head, folding one arm around a Goblin woman, and another around a man with fox-like features.
I crouched beside the prisoner closest to me, a tiny girl. Anger bubbled up inside, but I put a lid on it. I could curse my father and his slavemaster later. “Go to the queen,” I said. “She will show you the way out.”
The girl looked up at me with beady, grey eyes, her large ears flapping gently. She had a deep gash on the one on the left, which had nearly cut her ear in half. “The queen?” Her voice was thin and hoarse.
“Queen Morgana. We have come to rescue you.” I offered her my hand, and she took it.
“I’m Himmini. And I will remember this.” She staggered away from me into the Goblin rescuer’s open arms, and I moved on to the next prisoner.
One by one, the prisoners began filing out of the room, some with greater difficulty than others. Brendan and Cynthia helped the weakest in the group, while Morgana supported a couple of people who seemed to
be struggling to stand. I would have healed them all if I could, but the amount of mydredd snakes had immobilised my powers. It would have to wait until we were safe from the mines.
“Is that everyone?” I called.
The Goblin who had shown us to the dungeon turned to me as another chunk of the ceiling came loose. I lunged for him, catching him in my arms. Together, we rolled into the tunnel just as the entire ceiling caved in, blocking the entrance.
“I thank you for saving my life,” the Goblin croaked, “but it would be for nought if you proceed to crush me to death.”
I stared down at the Goblin, who was pinned underneath me. “Oh, sorry.” Sliding off him, I came back to my feet and helped him stand. “We need to run.”
Shadows stirred at the end of the tunnel where the last of the prisoners had started to move up the staircase.
“Come on,” Morgana shouted as the earth trembled around us.
I clasped the Goblin’s hand and tugged him with me in a sprint, partly lifting him into the air with every other stride. He wasn’t as fast as me.
Once the Goblin and I were in the shaft, Morgana followed with two people leaning on her. The five of us entered the above tunnel where the slaves stood huddled together as if scared to move. Brendan was trying to coax them into following him, but they seemed to be frozen in fear.
I coughed against the cloud of dust filling the tunnel and went closer to the slaves. “Don’t stop,” I cried. “There are no guards left. You’re free.” That was unless we all got killed inside this mine. I didn’t say that last part aloud, afraid I might scare them further, even though the devastation was obvious.
Himmini broke away from the cluster. She bowed to me, then sprinted towards the entrance of the mine, faster than I would have thought her small legs able to. The others gazed after her, then one by one, they followed, with Brendan and Cynthia helping them along. The Goblin rescuer tilted his head at me, then went to help the others.
I put my arms around one of the two prisoners left, an older Fae man who appeared to be limping. Meanwhile, Morgana grabbed the other, a woman who looked like she hadn’t eaten a scrap of food for months.
“I’ve got you,” I told the Fae. His wings were shredded and limp on his back, and my heart ached for him. Reaching for my powers, I found them kindling inside, my strength growing again. As we stumbled across the debris, I called on my healing magic. It poured through me like honey, finally seeping out in a ripple of light. With my hand on the man’s back, I sent the magic into him as we went. His stride quickened, and he turned his head to me. Through the dirt and blood smeared on his skin, his face lit up with joy. His grip fastened around me, and my feet lost touch with the ground. The mountain groaned and stones sprang from the walls. I gritted my teeth as the grains scraped across my skin while the Fae by my side flitted this way and that to avoid the frightful showers of stone, and the flames grabbing at our feet.
With a surge of energy, we burst out of the tunnel’s mouth, and the man set me gently on the ground again. His smile faded as he looked behind me.
I turned. Morgana had the last prisoner and the Goblin rescuer in her arms, flying full speed towards us. The mountain shook as more rocks came loose inside. The bang of an explosion made my knees buckle, sending me to my butt. Behind Morgana, the entrance filled with angry flames. She let out a gut-wrenching scream, then spun through the air from a current of wind at her back.
The three of them rolled across the ground as the entrance collapsed in on itself. I exhaled with relief when all three of them came to a sitting position. Bruised, but alive.
I put a hand on the Fae’s shoulder, who was now sitting next to me. “You all right?” I asked in a shaky breath.
He smiled. “I am now. Thank you, whoever you are.”
“Princess Ruby of Avalon.” I held my hand out to him.
His eyes widened, and he scooted away from me, head bowed. “Princess. I did not know.”
“And your name?”
“Samil of Vivenne.” He met my gaze. “Though I have not been anywhere but the Dewmas mines since I was a young man. I’ve heard whispers in the mines about a new princess, but I never imagined I would live to look upon your face.”
Morgana dusted herself off and approached us. Her skin was covered in dust and scrapes, much like I imagined mine was. “Are you good?” she asked me.
I nodded.
“Well, then. We need to get these people away from here.” She gestured at the group of former prisoners behind us. Brendan stood among them, along with Cynthia.
Morgana put two fingers to her mouth and made a sharp whistle.
In seconds, the familiar flapping of wings filled the air. I looked up to see four griffins banking around the mountainside, Taryn riding Hondo in front. The griffins came to perch on a mound of rubble, and Taryn inclined his head at his queen.
“Swordmaster,” Morgana called.
“My Queen,” Brendan replied.
“Take them out of here.”
His eyes shifted to mine for a moment, as if checking how I was. “Yes, My Queen.”
The Junipers proceeded to round everyone up, ushering them onto the griffins’ backs.
“Go on, Samil. They will take you to safety,” I said.
“Your kindness will not be forgotten, Princess.” Samil held his hand to his heart. “I have not had the use of my wings for a long time, and it has been one of my greatest sorrows. I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to use them anymore, but it came back to me as soon as you healed them.”
“Like riding a bike,” I mumbled.
He looked at me quizzically.
“Never mind.” I chuckled. “Go on, now. I hope we’ll meet again soon.”
He gave me a sweeping bow and retreated to the griffin, where Brendan helped him onto its back.
“My Queen.” Taryn reached out for her.
“There are too many people on Hondo, my friend, and he has already carried his weight. We’ll be fine. We’ll start down the path on foot and you can send Hondo back to find us once the slaves are all safe.”
“As Your Majesty commands.” Like the good soldier he was, he did as asked, though I could tell he was reluctant.
The four griffins took off, along with the Junipers and my boyfriend, the Swordmaster, leaving Morgana, me, and the rescuer Goblin behind.
I frowned and stepped up to him. “Why didn’t you leave with the others?” I asked the Goblin.
He folded his arms over his chest. “I am not one for flying, Princess. Don’t know what came over me when I climbed onto one of those beasts earlier. Having My Queen fly me out of that tunnel is about as much of that as I can take. No, these feet—” he wiggled his toes “—were made to be connected to the earth.”
“That was a heroic act you just performed,” Morgana said. “You could have left the others in the dungeon and saved yourself.”
He huffed. “And what honour would there be in that? What would my father, the cropkeeper, say if he learned his son had abandoned people to die?”
My eyes widened. “Excuse me? Did you say cropkeeper? As in Halwyn of Crochan?”
“You know him?” the Goblin asked.
“You’re Wadyan.” I grinned. “Are you not? Your father is my friend.”
His arms fell to his sides. “How is he?”
Morgana patted down her hair, plucking wild strands away from her face. “Worried about you, but well. In fact, it was his resilience that convinced me I had to come here.”
Wadyan’s chest puffed out, his chin held high. “Sounds like him.”
“What now?” I asked Morgana, looking around. It was only the three of us that I could see, still standing out in the open.
“We won’t have much time before Auberon’s griffins arrive, and we do not want to be here when he sends his forces our way.”
“Charlie?” My adrenaline spiked at the thought of her. Had she got away? Surely she would have run. I went to where I had told Charlie to hide when
we entered the mine again.
A figure stirred in the shadows behind the boulder. Big and menacing. I took a step back, the hairs on my arms standing on end. That wasn’t Charlie!
The clop of hoofs against stones made my blood run cold. Out of the darkness, the figure emerged. And he wasn’t alone.
Chapter Seventeen
Bellion drew a sheepish smile, his red eyes glowing with fury. In his hand was a spear with a curved edge. A shiver ran through me. I recognised it from the assassination attack. This wasn’t just any spear, this had a Nadredd sting for a spearhead. Next to him was the same boy who had been with him at the peace talks, the one I had seen in Willow’s story. In his grasp, however, was my friend, my angel—Charlie.
“Hold on to her, Puck,” Bellion growled.
Puck tightened his grip on Charlie, one hand holding her arm to her back, the other resting a knife below her ribcage. My stomach twisted into a ball. Charlie’s eyes were wide with fear, tears brimming in them.
“Let’s strike a deal, shall we, Morgana of Fay.” Bellion gave a mock bow to Morgana, who in turn scowled back at him.
She stepped up next to me. “Let the Don Hekal go. This has nothing to do with her.”
“Has it not?” He held up one of the vials of liquid fire with a fuse attached. “I caught her with this. She incinerated the entire mines of Dewmas. Do you know how many years it’s taken us to dig deep enough to find the Enchantium veins? Punishment is in order.” Reaching out, he slipped the vial into Puck’s pocket, then tugged at Charlie’s hair. “However, I can be merciful, wouldn’t you agree, Puck?”
The boy bobbed his head in response.
“Yes, indeed. Seeing as how this Don Hekal managed to tear down an entire mountain, I’m betting she’ll be a rather fine addition to my subjugates.”
“You mean slaves,” Morgana said through gritted teeth.
Bellion tutted, twirling the spear in his hand. “I could be willing to make a trade. One royal body for one valuable Don Hekal. Seems fair, doesn’t it, Puck?”