Tomas closed his eyes as he slid, the shaft changing angles as he descended but doing little to slow him down.
Consumed by black, his shoulders grinded against the rocky sides of the shaft. He held his breath and maintained any hope he had left that the nightmare would soon end.
It felt like everything was constricting around him.
Onwards he fell, down into the earth beneath the Grand Repository. Tomas clutched the key around his neck tighter than he ever had before.
Get me out. Get me out.
Chapter 41 - Chains
Katryna Bower watched the rushing flow of water between the stone walls of the city’s canals, up from the outer steps of the Castle Bower keep.
She imagined floating on her back in the water of the canal, the sun bearing down on her skin and letting the current take over all movement. Relinquishing all control.
She could feel it. The power. The freedom.
And the uncertainty.
Katryna rubbed her hand firmly across her forehead, trying to rid herself of the painful tension headache that had struck her earlier in the day.
It had been a day and a night since she, Finn, and Ser Arthus Medonia had confronted Trish and Edrick over their family’s murders, though in Katryna’s mind it felt like an eternity.
She had not gone to see Finn since his horrific injury. The royal physician, Jerrem Denar, informed her that he gave him gloom orchid extract to put him in a deep, painless sleep to heal… though he also warned that Finn had sustained a very severe wound and could possibly die from it.
It was the last thing Katryna wanted to hear. She could not bear to see another family member lose their life. Not again, not so soon, not after all that had happened.
So Katryna rested on the steps leading up to her family’s castle in a dress from the day before with unbrushed hair.
She felt out of options. Trish, locked in the castle’s dungeon, had refused to tell anyone where the stable boy’s kidnapped mother was being held. Finn was fighting for his life. What was she to do?
She looked out over the sun-swept city, bustling with life and colour.
Now may be the right time for me to leave, Katryna considered, constricted with anguish and despair.
Townspeople shopped, traded, and worked, and a flock of grey gulls graced the sky with their presence. Guards and nobles went about their business, walking past her as if she weren’t even there, going to and from the castle.
Life went on.
What was left for Katryna in Ravenrock?
Two servant girls shuffled past, deep in conversation.
“You didn’t see the orange lights in the sky last night?” one asked.
“No? But I had some guards talking about it. Wish I had’ve seen it, it sounded beautiful,” the other replied.
“More terrifying than beautiful.”
Hm, strange, Katryna thought, having overheard them. But she considered nothing more of it.
“Princess,” a man with a rough voice said from behind, pulling her out of the prison in her mind.
Katryna remained seated but turned to see Ser Arthus Medonia, the High Sword, approaching with Jerrem Denar and two other figures behind.
Arthus stepped out in front of Katryna to meet her eyes. He bowed, his armour having been freshly cleaned and his bark-coloured hair washed.
Jerrem Denar, the old royal physician, steadily shuffled to her side, swamped as always by his large robes. He too bowed to her, as best he could.
The gestures were still unfamiliar to Katryna.
She was taken aback by the pair who had arrived with Arthus and Jerrem. Uncle Hectar and Aunt Ellene, the middle-aged brother and sister of her late mother.
As soon as Katryna recognised them, she averted her gaze, still feeling some shame for having them locked away over their outbursts in court.
“Your uncle and aunt wanted to say something, my lady,” Arthus Medonia said.
“Hello, Katryna,” Ellene said in a sombre tone, Hectar by her side. The crone of a woman took her niece’s hand, much to Katryna’s surprise. “We just wanted to let you know that we will be returning home to Taloncrest this afternoon.”
Ellene patted Katryna’s hand softly. She was perplexed by the shrew-faced woman.
“And,” Hectar said, clearing his throat, “we also wanted to apologise.”
Katryna was caught off-guard. For once, her uncle appeared genuine and did not instil a sense of fear in Katryna.
“We should never have spoken to you the way we did, least of all in front of so many people in court. You were dealing with things the way you saw fit, and you managed to capture those responsible for murdering our sister. For that, we are ever so thankful,” Ellene said.
Katryna remembered the insults they hurled at her as they were dragged away from the throne. “Usurper.” “No kin of ours.”
“You gave your mother, father and aunt peace in the æther, and in doing so you have now given us some peace as well,” Ellene added.
“We loved our sister more than anything. But the woman was… troubled. No one will deny that,” Hectar huffed with a shake of his head. “We have been suffering with her death as much as you have with your father and aunt’s deaths.”
Katryna felt tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she looked to her aunt and uncle, realising that they were right. No one had been spared in the horrific crimes that had been committed in Castle Bower.
Katryna recalled the final conversation she had had with her father. He had told her how everyone reacted differently to grief when speaking of Willem’s tragic death. Perhaps, Hectar and Ellene had succumb to their anger in the face of pain, much as Katryna had done too.
Katryna nodded, taking her uncle’s hand, and standing up to give them a brief albeit warm embrace. She could not remember a kind word ever coming from their mouths about her. It truly was a special moment that warmed her.
“Thank you. I wanted to say that I am sorry as well, for ordering-”
“My dear,” Ellene interrupted. “You have nothing to apologise for.”
“All is forgiven,” Hectar added.
“We trust that you will help look after your brother when he wakes up,” Ellene said.
“He loves you, you know? And he trusts you. That is all the faith I need.”
“I will do my best,” Katryna lied. While she welcomed their kind words, she was not so sure about her future in Camridia anymore. “I wish you a pleasant journey home.”
Uncle Hectar and Aunt Ellene both bowed to Katryna, who in return bowed back in a gesture of farewell before stepping away to finish packing their belongings.
Katryna welcomed Jerrem Denar. “How is Finn?”
“The prince is stable for now,” Jerrem Denar said. “However, we won’t be certain of his condition until he wakes up.”
“If he wakes up, you mean?”
Jerrem Denar scrunched his wrinkled face up before nodding. “The most dangerous time for him has passed, but he is not out of the woods yet.”
Katryna rubbed her temples, trying to relieve the pressure in her forehead.
“We are doing all we can,” the old man assured her.
Katryna nodded. “I know you are, Jerrem. And I thank you for it. I trust him with no one else more than I do with you.”
Jerrem Denar smiled through his wrinkles, accepting the genuine compliment warmly.
“Any word on Rowan yet?” Katryna asked, facing the High Sword.
“Our scouts have had no luck,” Arthus replied.
Katryna felt overburdened with all that had happened. So many mistakes, so many hardships. Her family’s deaths, imprisoning her aunt and uncle, insulting the Emberian diplomats, losing her best friend, and her brother’s horrific injury.
Yet the one thing she did not understand was Rowan.
Why did he run if he was innocent in all of this? And why hasn’t he returned yet?
Despite having no relationship to speak of with her brother, he was to be next in
line for the throne upon their father’s death. Why did he and his wife leave Ravenrock the night Giliam had been murdered? It still did not sit well with her.
Katryna looked to the two councilmen of House Bower, the two men who had helped her during the difficult endeavours they had faced over the last week.
She felt that this was the right time to be open and honest with them.
“I think it is time I left Ravenrock,” Katryna announced.
Arthus Medonia and Jerrem Denar’s mouths fell open, looking to each other, confused.
“My lady-”
“I feel it is the only right thing left for me to do, after all the damage I have caused House Bower and our
kingdom. I assume that is why you have both come to talk to me?” Katryna was hurt to say the words, yet a small part of her was proud for being able to reflect and accept the consequences of her mistakes.
“My lady,” Arthus Medonia said, “we wanted to thank you for all you have done for House Bower.”
Katryna had to clamp her jaw shut to prevent it from falling open with surprise.
“You successfully took down the assailants, my princess,” Jerrem Denar said, almost proudly. “You brought justice to the king and queen, and to Camridia.”
“You led us during a very dark chapter. Mistakes or not, you were the tip of the spear which brought us together.” Arthus Medonia stood tall like a statue before the princess with an expression of gratitude upon his face.
“I… I…” Katryna stuttered, completely speechless.
“We wanted to ask you to stay,” Arthus said.
“With Rowan having fled, your brother is going to need you when he awakens. We will need you.”
It was like a piece of Katryna’s heart suddenly fell back into place as the words entered her ears. The sense of belonging she had always longed for, ever since she was a child, was somehow bursting into existence before her.
The moment was broken by the sound of a galloping horse, its hooves clattering against the stone steps from behind.
Katryna and the others turned to see a Ravenrock guard atop a cream-coloured horse racing towards them, red-faced and sweating.
“Princess! My lords!” the guard shouted. They approached the mounted guard as he slowed to a stop, huffing to catch his breath. “I rode as fast as I could!”
“Take a breath, my boy,” Jerrem Denar said.
“What’s going on?” the High Sword asked.
Katryna immediately recognised the look in the guard’s wide eyes. It was fear.
“Stonesilt Harbour…” the guard stammered. “Something… is wrong… something… in the water.”
Without a second thought, Katryna took off rushing down the stairs towards the bailey with Arthus Medonia by her side.
“Stay with my brother,” Katryna called to Jerrem Denar.
She bolted out of the castle bailey, holding her dress up by the sides as she ran. The armour-clad Arthus huffed and puffed to keep his breath with the surprisingly fast Katryna.
As they raced down through Ravenrock, Katryna and Arthus began to hear growing commotion. Some townspeople anxiously murmured to each other. Others were running from the direction of the bay with expressions of horror upon their faces.
Arthus drew his sword. “Stay with me, princess. This isn’t right, at all.”
Katryna had a million thoughts race through her mind. What could it be? Was Ember attacking? Was it Rowan? Or was it something else? She fought down the dark pit of anxiety welling in her stomach as she ran, determined to figure it out.
The closer the pair got to Stonesilt Harbour, the louder the screams became. They pushed through the open portcullis that acted as the main thoroughfare between the city and the harbour, as well as being the only opening in the city wall to the area.
The area of town was normally quite lively- a hub of stevedores hauling goods on and off the variety of trade vessels at the docks, busy markets, taverns, and even a few brothels.
However, all Katryna and Arthus saw was turmoil as people darted in all directions through the red stone streets. Many wanted to see what was happening and chose to race for the water, their curiosity outweighing their fear. Some had the opposite reaction- wracked with concern and choosing to flee for higher ground.
“What is going on?” Katryna muttered. Her eyes zipped from person to person as she pushed her way through a growing crowd towards the waterside.
Nervous onlookers gathered along the waterside stone wharf of the harbour. Waves was sloshing against the docks as if a summer storm were raging. Yet the sky was clear. Large, uneven waves rippled out from a steaming, bubbling area of seawater a hundred feet out in the bay.
Katryna stood on her toes to see over the heads and shoulders of spectators curiously observing the strange water.
“Step aside, out of the way,” Arthus demanded politely, brushing his hands against them to make way. Guards were forming up around the harbour.
Katryna followed in his shadow, feeling a measure of security from being behind the burly soldier.
The boiling water sizzled and swelled and began to change colour. Rings of waves spread out from its centre.
“What is that?” Katryna gasped, having never seen anything like it.
The water grew darker from the epicentre before turning as black as night. Veins of darkness snaked beneath the surface of the water like eels, growing closer and closer to the seawall.
“Get back!” Arthus suddenly shouted, pushing the princess away. Onlookers shuffled back from the edge.
The submerged, eel-like bodies of darkness burst from the water, sending up columns of spray. A dozen black tentacles rose from the depths, snaking metres into the air. Their tips were armed with menacing barbs and hooks, their skin slimy and smooth.
The crowd screamed and backed away, stunned by the enormous tentacles rising before them. People tripped and fell over each other as they tried to escape. The tentacles appeared to randomly twitch with each loud noise and shuffle of movement, as if reacting to them.
Arthus held Katryna back behind him, raising his sword high, ready to strike if anything were to happen. The guards around the harbour had their weapons drawn as well, carefully approaching the hideous things. More rushed in from the nearby gate.
“Stay back!” Arthus taunted, his unblinking eyes focused on the spasmic, eel-like bodies.
Katryna glanced at all the people still around them, now potentially in danger. “Go! Leave, at once! Through the gate, back into the city!”
The tentacles launched into a frenzy.
Each flew in a different direction, striking randomly at fleeing townspeople and armoured guards alike. They struck men and flung them through the air with great power. Some tentacles caught people with their hooked tips before wrapping their snake-like bodies around them and dragging them back into the watery depths.
They struck so fast that it was hard to even register what was happening for Katryna. She ducked behind Arthus as the man swung his sword at an incoming tentacle.
Like a knife through butter, the sword cut the tentacle clean in two. Black blood spilled onto the stones as the severed limb wriggled about.
Katryna heard a shrill cry as a man to her left with a long beard and shoulder-length hair was being dragged across the ground towards the water, a tentacle constricted tightly around his leg. His hair became dishevelled as he struggled to cling on to something, anything.
Katryna did not even hesitate, after seeing how fast the things were moving. She took a dagger from Arthus’s belt, sprinting over to the flailing man as he was dragged. The man’s nails ripped from his fingertips as he tried to stop himself from being pulled towards the water.
Katryna gripped the handle as tight as she could, slashing at the tentacle. She carved a messy gash into its flesh, but the thing had to be as thick as a stocky man’s thigh. It did not relent.
“Please! Help me!” he cried.
It hadn’t worked. The tentacle retracte
d back into the water faster after having been cut; the helpless man was tugged under Katryna’s feet, causing her to lose balance.
She tumbled to the ground with a thud, the dagger clanging on the stone. Katryna looked on in horror as the man was slammed into an iron bollard before being pulled over the edge into the silent abyss.
“My lady!” Arthus called, rushing over to help her.
The tentacles continued latching on to fleeing people and dragging them to the water. The guards struggled to fight them off, though the ground was fast becoming a slimy mess of severed tentacle tips and black blood. Each time a tentacle was severed, another appeared from somewhere else.
Then, a monstrous roar emanated from the water’s edge. A bellow, like an angry bull.
Katryna saw an enormous hand rise from the sea, slamming down onto the edge of the dock wall. Grey, rotten fingers, each the size of her own arm, gripped the dock’s surface. Another hand rose up and clutched at one of the bollards.
Something was pulling itself from the water.
“Arthus…” Katryna gasped, feeling her chest tighten as she shuffled on her hands and knees. “Arthus!”
The High Sword was in the process of striking another attacking tentacle and saving an injured woman from being pulled away, when he heard the princess shout.
He followed her horrified gaze before being shocked himself by the sight before them.
An enormous creature lifted itself up onto the wharf from the steaming water. The thing was a disgusting, albeit astounding sight. Water sizzled and dripped from its five-metre-tall form as it stood up on two legs as a man would.
Yet nothing about it appeared human.
The tentacles reeled in towards their origin, the giant creature, snaking into its hunchback until they disappeared. They had come from within its body, like huge parasites.
Arthus made his way over to the princess. The guards pouring in towards the harbour formed a perimeter around the stationary monster. Spears jutted up into the air like a protective wall, the guards ready to defend their city and their people at all costs.
Those left in the city street running perpendicular to the harbour were frozen in shock. No one uttered a word, only those who were injured and still screaming.
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