Heart Stone

by J. A. Culican

  At least until we went down a flight of stairs.

  The walls became a plain gray stone, without any decoration save for torch brackets on the walls every few feet. The hallway was lit with an eerie yellow glow, which did nothing to dispel the shadows pooling in the corners.

  I shivered. Even above ground with the wind, I hadn't felt cold until now. From the unfamiliar dampness I guessed we must be subterranean. I hoped we didn't have to spend long down here, as the climate didn’t feel suitable for maintaining healthy prisoners.

  "Enjoy your stay." The lead scavenger spoke for the first time.

  I waited as he unbound my wrists, bothered by the cruel smirk on his face. It was obvious he enjoyed putting people in the dungeon. Another chill crept over my back as I recognized the look in his eyes. He also looked like he would enjoy causing pain.

  I stepped back, worried he was going to strike me as the look in his eye darkened, becoming menacing. Just as I prepared to defend myself, the younger guard unlocked a large metal door and gestured for us to enter.

  Gwen and the wolves went first, and I gratefully followed, eager to escape the evil in the leader’s eyes. The guard opened the door to a cage about half the size of the room, and we walked in, followed by Will and Sel. The guard slammed the door shut, leaving without a word. The metal door shut behind him, the ominous clank of a key in the lock echoing in the silent stone chamber.

  I looked at my new home and winced. Grey stone walls, the same as the hallway, although slightly wider. The actual cage they’d placed us in was about twice times my height and at least four times as wide. We had enough space to move around, but not enough to be comfortable if we all tried to lay down at the same time.

  As I looked at the single pallet on the floor in the back corner which apparently passed for a bed, it was clear sleeping comfortably was not a requirement for prisoner safety. Exhaling, I crouched and rested my elbows on my knees as I rubbed my forehead.

  "Now what?" Gwen placed a soft hand on my shoulder.

  I looked at her, placing my hand on top, taking comfort from her strength. "I don't know. I didn’t anticipate any of this. Not the near crash-landing, the kidnapping, and definitely not being involuntary guests of a tribe of humans I've only seen referenced in a textbook."

  "Yeah, today does put a kink in our plans, doesn't it?" Will's sardonic voice came from the far corner.

  Although I was thankful my ropes had been removed before we’d been placed in the cage, I had the overwhelming urge to call the guards back and ask if they could gag him.

  I narrowed my eyes. "Yes, it does. Do you have any great ideas, oh wise one?"

  He carefully wiped the smirk from his face, shook his head and came to sit beside me, tucking his legs beneath him.

  "Look, Rhin. No one’s blaming you for what happened. Captain Baeley didn't want to land where she did. It's just how things played out. I don't think anyone could have anticipated the Oubliee coming upon us the way they did. It's always a risk in the border zones. It's a big territory. Even the path we took to get to the village didn’t appear to be traveled daily. It's completely possible they only go that way monthly. It just so happens we were there when they came by. Lucky for them, unlucky for us."

  He looked at me with a self-deprecating smile and I realized with a start he wasn’t trying to deliberately irritate me. It was just his way to lighten the mood.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before looking at him. "I'm sorry. I realize I’m taking this personally. Being a prisoner wasn’t something I factored into our quest. Death and injury, sure. In fact, I was convinced I was going to die long before we reached the Soul Goblet. But prison?" I shook my head. "Seriously, who takes people prisoner? Dag’draath’s forces generally stick to murder and pillaging. And I'm sure if the Library wanted to torture me, it wouldn't do it by locking me up."

  I looked at my friends. Will and Gwen were quiet, and their faces were contemplative. When I looked at Sel, however, I was surprised to note he wasn't even listening.

  "What are you doing?" I squinted but couldn’t see anything out of the expected for a drab cell.

  He turned, wrinkling his nose as he answered thoughtfully. "I'm just looking at the room. The metal bars don't look easy to move and they're too narrow for us to slip through. It's also not very well lit, which may be deliberate, but may also provide us with an opportunity to escape, if we can use it to our advantage."

  I tilted my head, impressed. "Wow. Here I am, feeling sorry for myself and thinking there’s no way in heck we're going to get out of here. Meanwhile, you've been assessing the dungeon for signs of weakness?"

  He shrugged one shoulder modestly. "I told you before we left Cliffside, being a servant, or slave, at Cliff Castle taught me a few things about being sneaky. One of those is to remember even the most inconvenient situations can hold hidden opportunities. It's just a matter of looking." He smiled. "If you never look, you won't find anything."

  I nodded at his surprisingly mature insight. "Very true. A good thing to keep in mind. Thank you. So, assuming we’re able to escape the cage, how are we going to get out of the building? And how do we find the temple? We don't have any landmarks or a guide."

  Will bit his lip, shrugging helplessly.

  Gwen appeared similarly stymied. "Obviously, the best answer would be to find a guide for the temple," slowly adding, "assuming we can get out of course."

  "Assuming," I agreed.

  "I was thinking about that. You’ve got an almost perfect memory for details, don’t you? Or am I attributing extra skills to you?" Will wore a pensive expression over his face.

  "Yes, one of my abilities is having an almost flawless memory. It's been helpful with studying, but I’ve used it with directions as well. I rarely get lost somewhere I’ve been."

  He resumed his usual irritatingly satisfied smirk. "Great. So, worst case scenario, if we can escape our cage, you should be able to find the way back through the castle and out the way we came?"

  "Probably. But you’re forgetting all the guards we'll have to get through. It may be better to find a secondary route which is a little quieter."

  His face fell. "Right. Guards."

  We sat for moment without speaking as we tried to decide what to do next. Without a plan and without any assistance from the Oubliee, it felt impossible to get out of the cage, let alone find the temple. My mind drifted back to the two-way book I'd used in the temple on Bomrega Island. It had allowed Jarid to pass me information, but I couldn’t see a way to leverage him to our benefit under the circumstances we were currently in.

  I bit the inside of my cheek, maintaining my crouched position as I thought until my feet fell asleep. I shifted my weight just before I fell over, shaking out my legs and sitting cross-legged beside Gwen.

  After a while, Sel stopped pacing around the cage and joined us on the floor.

  The wolves were comfortable in the corner, curled up together. They appeared to be napping and were strangely content with the situation. Then again, so far, the Oubliee had been kinder to them than they had been to us.

  My suspicions they preferred the wolves to us were confirm ed a few moments later. The young guard returned and threw three chunks of quality raw meat on the floor beside the wolves, then placed four plain containers on the floor just outside the bars. Without speaking, he left again.

  Sel grabbed the first bowl.

  I knew immediately the contents weren’t going to be great when my normally starving and non-picky servant turned his nose up and put the bowl back down.

  "That bad?" Gwen winced.

  He nodded glumly, looking as depressed as I remembered seeing him.

  I wrinkled my nose. "Clearly they like the wolves more. Do you think it's poisoned?"

  He shook his head. "It’s basically gruel, so I’m not sure why they’d bother. If I prefer starving over it, no one else would touch it.”

  Despite his warning, my stomach prodded me. It felt like forever sinc
e I’d eaten, so I decided to chance it. It had the texture of a sticky, watery porridge, without as much flavor. When I didn’t immediately stop eating, Sel took his bowl back and the others braved it as well. I caught a flash of jealously cross Gwen’s face as she watched the wolves tear into the meat.

  When we were finished, at least my stomach was full, but otherwise we were in the same situation we’d been in a moment earlier. Less hungry, but just as stymied about what to do next.

  The door edged open a crack.

  We immediately stopped talking, expecting either the young guard, or worse, the leader of the scavengers with the dark and menacing eyes. To my surprise, it was the same woman who'd found us in our previous lock-up.

  She peeked around the door, surveying the room. Once she saw we were alone, she stepped in and shut it quietly behind her.

  "Wait, how did you get here?" Will stood, walking to the bars of the cage. "What about the guards?"

  Nyalla smiled, looking modestly down at the floor as she scuffed the toe of her soft leather shoe against the stone floor. "I know the guard. He allowed me in to visit for a few minutes."

  Gwen's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Rather surprising, given your reception by our other captor."

  Her face hardened and she curled her lip. "Him? Son of a pig. He is not fit to kiss the dirt at my feet." She emphasized her words by spitting on the floor. "He isn’t worth the ground my refuse is dumped on. No, it was not him. He has other, more important things to deal with than prisoners he took from the mountains. The guard I am talking about is the other one, a friend of a friend. It happens I have something he wanted. For a price, he has allowed me speak with you."

  I considered her words.

  Although she seemed to be on our side and had now shown up twice, I didn't know if we could trust her. No one else had come to aid us, or even listened, though.

  "Why are you here?" I stood up, walking the short distance to stand beside Will. "It’s a lot of effort and risk for people you don't know. Especially given how we’ve been treated by everyone else." I crossed my arms and waited for her to convince me.

  She inclined her head. "This is true. It isn’t without risk for me to be here. But I am willing to help you. For a price."

  "A price?" It was Gwen's turn to look suspicious. She leaned her shoulder onto mine, and without thinking I laced my fingers with hers.

  Nyalla smiled, like a cat who’d caught a mouse. "My price? Nothing, really. Except if I can get you out of here, you let me come."

  "Why would you want to come with us? You don't know us or where we’re going."

  She brushed my question aside. "The why isn't important. I can tell from looking at you, you’re good people. I wish to get out of this village but traveling alone isn’t safe. I can help you escape. Surely, my company isn’t too much of a price to pay for your freedom?" She raised an eyebrow, looking between us for an answer.

  I bit my lip as I considered her proposition. When Sel stepped forward eagerly, I knew what the answer would be. After glancing at the others, I gestured for Will to answer.

  "If you can get us out of here, you can come. What’s your plan?"

  "I know my way through the building, and I have allies. I can get us out of here and past the town wall. There’s a route other than the way you entered." She shook her head, her long brown hair reminding me of one of the wild horses from the Low Forest plains.

  I didn't trust her motivation. Why would she want to come with us if she could get out of town on her own? But given our lack of alternatives I was willing to accept help, even from an unlikely source. I would've been happier if it was someone I knew and trusted, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

  "Let's go." I didn’t want to wait.

  Jaydra had struck me as a stubborn and savvy woman.

  I worried she’d change her mind and call for us. I doubted she’d change her mind and aid us in finding the temple. Which left Nyalla as our best and only chance for escape.

  A triumphant smile spread over her face and she turned just as the door opened. The young guard entered, and my heart sank. To my surprise, he handed her a key, turned his back, and walked away.

  Within moments, the door to our cage was open and we were free. Even though we hadn't been locked up for long, it was enough to decide I didn’t wish to stay a minute longer. I slung my satchel over my shoulder and hurried after our mysterious savior.

  Chapter 15

  Nyalla may have known people but escaping proved more challenging than she'd made it seem. She led us in the opposite direction from which we’d entered the dungeon to another set of stairs which we ascended silently. When we reached the top, she suddenly threw an arm out, gesturing wildly for us to hide behind her.

  I looked around frantically for a place; four people and three wolves weren’t exactly easy to tuck away. Luckily, the stairs had a circular alcove hidden from the upstairs. I held my breath and tightly pressed back against my friends until she gestured for us to move.

  I peered into the hallway as a guard disappeared around the far corner and knew we’d narrowly missed running into him. From then on, I became increasingly tense. It seemed like every single corner we came to, more guards appeared.

  Through some miracle, Nyalla always seemed to know when one would appear, and each time we reached another fork in our path, she made us wait as she checked the hall first.

  I only realized we’d reached the outer wall of the castle when I saw the sun’s light filtering down from high on the wall to my right.

  A flutter of hope replaced the bitter acid of adrenaline. Just when I could almost taste freedom, a piercing alarm split the silence.

  "Ur’gel balls!" Nyalla cursed.

  I blinked. Until now, we’d remained completely silent. Apparently now the alarm had been raised, Nyalla no longer felt it was important to be quiet.

  Nyalla looked at the wolves, narrowing her eyes. "We need to leave the wolves behind. We’ll be too obvious outside with them."

  Gwen's expression instantly flashed from disbelief to anger. "Absolutely not. The wolves come with me at all times."

  My breath puffed out, knowing we were about to waste time we didn’t have. "Look, we appreciate your help, but there's no point arguing. The wolves come with us. Let's get out of here. We can figure the rest out once we're outside."

  Nyalla gritted her teeth but nodded. "Fine. The exit is just around this corner. Once you get outside, there’s a courtyard. We'll need to scale the wall to get out, but there’s a tree with branches. They should reach low enough for you to climb over. Anyone who can’t make it won’t get out.”

  Without delay, we followed her around the corner. Standing at the exit was another guard. With the alarm still blaring, he raised his weapon the second he saw us.

  He opened his mouth, but Nyalla raised a hand, shushing him before he could speak. "Braydin, stand down."

  Nyalla approached him, holding out a hand. Braydin blinked and lowered his sword, his expression turning dreamy when he recognized her.

  "Nyalla."

  I wasn't sure what their relationship was but based on his expression he wouldn't do anything to stop us long as Nyalla was there. Without waiting to test my theory, I bolted for the door, the footsteps of my friends close behind.

  Once in the courtyard, I looked around. It was larger than expected, but empty except on tree at the far end. It appeared to have grown sideways at one point, and a large branch draped down into the courtyard. I made a beeline for it, glancing back long enough to make sure my friends were still there.

  When I saw them close behind, I ran as fast as I could. If I could just climb over, I had no doubt the others would make it as well.

  Breathing hard with exertion and fear, I climbed a tree for the first time in my life.

  The last branch was about four feet away from the wall, so I paused, taking one more deep breath, and leapt. Landing awkwardly on the edge of the wall, I windmilled my arms to regain my balance, then dropp
ed almost the height of one of the small buildings beside me to the ground below.

  One by one, the others joined me. The wolves jumped over, making it look effortless. I wished I had half their grace. The final person over was Nyalla, who seemed remarkably unruffled under the circumstances.

  She smiled at Gwen’s suspicious glare and immediately turned her attention to the wolves. "If you're not willing to leave them behind, we can't walk around with them looking like that." She gestured to the wolves.

  Instantly, I knew what she was talking about. Throughout our travels, they had maintained a striking nobility and cleanliness. Although their fur was varying shades of white, gray, and black, it was so shiny they demonstrated little resemblance to the canine cousins I'd seen on our way through the village. Those had mostly been mutts, and were a dirty brown, either genetically or from the incessant desert winds and sand.

  Nyalla pointed out a bucket of water underneath an abandoned clothesline next to the wall. "Make them look dirtier. And quickly. We need to get out of here. Now the alarm has sounded, every guard in the village will be looking for you."

  Gwen looked down at the wolves, doubt on her face. They appeared unperturbed though, and after staring at Swift for a moment, she sighed and dumped the bucket on the ground, stirring the water into the dirt until she’d made a muddy paste.

  If I’d ever doubted her connection with her wolves, what happened next would have convinced me they really could speak to each other. First Swift, then Kiya and Damio. One by one, the wolves rolled on the spot the water had been dumped, moving over to allow the next to take their turn. Within seconds, three muddy wolves stood in front of us.

  Gwen sighed as she knelt and began to rub the mud into Swift’s fur, a pained look on her face as she glanced at me. "Rhin? If you work on Kiya, I think Damio will let Sel fix his mud job. We need to make sure they are evenly covered."

  I nodded and knelt beside Kiya, following her lead. I marveled at how patiently the wolves allowed the three of us to complete their disguise. It wasn't perfect, and if anyone looked closely they would be able to tell they weren’t ordinary mutts, but already it was far less apparent they were the same animals who'd entered the sovran’s castle with the prisoners only hours earlier.