“Nanos said she is down here. He should be here in a quarter of an hour or so with the queen. We will grab the duchess, get my men, and escape north, to Jessmei. This will be easier than getting home from my favorite tavern piss ass drunk.” Greykin snorted and flexed his shoulder muscles in a show of bravado.
“You seem very confident,” I said.
“I’ve made it home from my favorite tavern piss ass drunk many a times, Skinny. Do not doubt my ability to accomplish great things.”
I nodded seriously but the duke chuckled.
After a few minutes of silence, I found myself thinking of Nadea. I hoped the young woman was safe, but I had my fears. She had been held prisoner for a month and a half here, and I was sure that the Elvens had been doing their best to break her mind and body.
There is nothing that cannot be fixed, Kaiyer. I am a perfect example.
Alexia. I remembered little of our relationship, but I knew it would come in time. Memories were slowly surfacing, as in a dream, smoke and fog solidified into concrete shapes and people.
A door to the dungeon level opened from far away. I was sure that the duke and the Old Bear couldn’t hear it, so I informed them.
“Can you hear anything else?” Beltor whispered as the tension between the three of us elevated.
“It sounds like one pair of footsteps.” I could have told him if it was Paug, Greykin, Jessmei, or Nadea, but I didn’t know the cadence of Nanos’s footsteps well enough.
We waited until the steps became loud enough for the other two men. I guessed it was Nanos because of the frantic pace, and was proven correct when he stepped into our sphere of torch light.
“Greetings,” the young man whispered.
“We’ve been waiting. Are you going to be taking us to Nadea?” The duke got straight to the point.
“Yes. She is down another level. I have guards loyal to me ready to help with the Losher men that are guarding her.”
"Where is your mother?" Nadea's father asked.
"There are men guarding your daughter. I didn't want to risk her. She will meet us at an escape route I have planned," Nanos replied.
“There are Losher men guarding her?” the duke asked with concern.
“Yes. The Ancients have been trying to speak to her.” He glanced at me and then back to Beltor. “But my cousin is very strong-willed. From what I understand, they have gotten nothing out of her.”
“How many Loshers?” Greykin asked.
“Four. I have the same amount of men, although I don’t think we need them with Kaiyer here.” He grinned slightly at me.
“We will take all the help we can get,” I said and smiled back at him. It was beginning to seem that I had been wrong about Jessmei’s brother.
“First, let's bust Nadea out of her cell. Afterward, we will go up to the castle, retrieve my men, get your mother, and then we are all getting out of here.” Greykin laid out his broad plan and Nanos nodded.
“Nadea first. Let us move,” the duke commanded.
“Follow me,” the young man said as he quickly exited the cell and walked the way he had come. After about a minute of walking through the dark cells he spoke up again softly.
“I didn’t realize you had men here, Greykin. Can they help us with this?”
“I only have a few and I didn’t know what the situation would be like down here. They are preparing our escape.” The big man huffed. “I’ve got everything under control.”
“Where are we going to go after we escape?”
“North. Kaiyer foiled the Ancient’s kidnapping attempt. Jessmei is safe in a village waiting for us to return,” Greykin said with an amount of glee I didn’t think he was capable of expressing. He was obviously happy to tell Nanos the news.
“That is great news! I feared for her every night. I know Mother had as well. She will be overjoyed to hear Jess is safe. Which village is it?”
“Are you nervous, Nanos?” I blurted, interrupting the conversation before Greykin answered.
“N-N-No,” the young man stuttered. “Why would you think that?” He stopped walking and turned to me. I saw his blue eyes flash dangerously in the torch light. I had seen that look on his face before, the day I threw him in the creek.
“Your heart is beating very quickly.” I frowned at him.
“I have a right to be nervous. We are about to engage in combat, rescue my cousin, then my mother, and then flee my castle. I might die doing this!” His voice turned into a shriek at the end that cut through the empty cells like a whip and caused a few rats to scurry away from us.
“Okay,” I said with a shrug.
“Don’t worry, Nanos.” The duke stepped between us and laid a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “We will get through this. I know that the last two months have been difficult for you. I know you miss your father and your kingdom. Once we get Nadea and your mother, we will leave the castle and lick our wounds. We can do this, and you can do this with us. Your people need you to be strong. It is at times like these that kings are born, not just in name, but in action and blood. Do you understand?”
Nanos nodded and wiped the back of his gloved hand across his left eye.
“Yes Uncle. We are almost there. Then everything will begin to be made right.” His throat caught slightly on the words.
“I didn’t mean to give you a hard time.” I remembered what it had been like to lose my father and brother and felt a smidge of pity for the little bastard.
“I forgive you, Kaiyer. We’ve had our differences. Truce?” He held his hand out and I shook it.
“If you ladies are done reciting sonnets to each other, I would like to kill some Loshers.” Greykin chuckled as he laid his giant fingers on my shoulder.
“The stairs down to the next level are right over here. My men are waiting down there. Kaiyer, they won’t recognize you, so can you stay in the back?” I nodded and took the rear position behind the other three men as we formed a single file and descended the twisted stairwell. How massive was the dungeon of this castle? It seemed that the network of cells, hallways, and passages were never-ending.
“Can you hear anything?” the duke whispered.
“Not now. I will concentrate and try again though,” I said as I pushed more Earth through my body. The memory of being chased by the Elvens was fresh in my mind, so I was surprised how much easier it was for me to focus the power through me.
“Let’s keep moving!” Nanos hissed from the front of the line, and my sensitive ears rang from his voice.
“I want to know what he hears. This may be a trap. What if the Ancients guess what you have planned?” the duke whispered.
“Fuck me. This isn’t a trap. My men are waiting. There are enough horror stories about these dungeons. We can’t let Nadea stay imprisoned here much longer.” His voice was urgent and splashed around my head like a cymbal.
“I hear four heartbeats down below, and a woman screaming in pain. It echoes off the walls and it is hard to tell exactly where she is.”
“You can hear Nadea?” the duke gasped in horror. “She is screaming?”
“I’m not sure. We should make haste with Nanos,” I said as calmly as I could. My blood pulsed in my ears. I’d rip the faces off of each of the Loshers torturing Nadea. I would break each of the bones in their bodies slowly, then cut off their limbs and burn them alive. They would suffer for hurting her. They would know her pain a hundredfold.
Jessmei's brother sprinted down the rest of the stairs, but his pace was like a turtle’s, and I had no more patience. Greykin and the duke’s plan of subterfuge was too slow. Every second we wasted was another moment of agony for Nadea. It had to end now. I should have just walked into the castle, sword in hand, and killed everything in my path until I found her. It would have been faster and infinitely more satisfying.
“Let’s go!” Nanos called out to his soldiers when we reached the bottom of the stairwell. They were wearing light chain mail and had the hoods of their cloaks up over their fa
ces. One of them grunted as they flanked the sides of our band and matched our pace.
“Where is the screaming coming from?” the duke demanded.
“Over there,” I said, pointing toward the east side of the dungeon, opposite of where our stairs were. Greykin and Beltor turned in the direction I pointed, but Nanos and his guards did not.
Suddenly I realized, too late, that Nanos had been lying the whole time.
A guttural bark of rage escaped my throat just before the four Elvens drew short swords. I had been so focused on Nadea’s screams that I didn't pay attention to their heartbeats. Elven hearts were chambered slightly different than human’s and beat much slower. These Elvens must have been wearing unwashed human clothing, because I had not detected their alien scent either.
I dashed to my left and delivered a sidekick to the face of the Elven that flanked me. The blow knocked his chin up and back, but this one was a halfway decent fighter. He stepped away from me enough so that the impact and angle of my foot didn't snap his neck like a twig. His body still flew ten feet and bounced satisfyingly off of the wall of the dungeon.
I heard more footsteps coming from the direction of the screams. But I also heard the air part from the side of me where the other Elven was probably swinging his sword. I didn’t have time to look, so I dove to the ground with a backward roll. The man snarled as his blade passed through the air and not my body.
I continued my dodge into a handspring that landed me at the foot of the stairs we had earlier descended. This gave me some space between my attackers and a split second to survey the situation.
It didn't look good.
Beltor was face down on the ground with an Elven kneeling on top of him. The pointy-eared fucker had his knee into the older man's back and was twisting his arm over his head. The duke wouldn't be able to get out of the hold without breaking his shoulder.
Greykin was wrestling one of the other Elvens, both of them seeking control over the Elven's short sword. Fortunately, the Old Bear had the better position and was leveraging the blade down with all his weight, toward the throat of the struggling Elven.
Unfortunately, there were four more Elvens running at us from the opposite sides of the stairs.
Nanos pulled his weapon out but it was a long decorated blade that would not help him in the close quarters of the dungeon hallway. He looked indecisively between me, the Elven I had dodged, the one I had knocked back into the wall, the duke, and Greykin.
Fire and Wind flowed through me and I held my hand out toward the Elven that was moving in my direction. His eyes grew wide at the last second when my power climaxed and released. Fire, pain, force, and death pulled from my body and shot out of my palm, a blast of hate and malice. It leapt upon the man like a thousand hungry, orange wolves. The magic pushed him back through the air, as if gravity had been reversed, then ripped the life from him.
It was beautiful.
His flaming carcass collided with Nanos as he was about to strike Greykin and knocked the young man to the ground in a surprised yelp. Ashes, bones, and bits of flame scattered everywhere, making it seem as if the sun had erupted and been swallowed in an instant. The Elvens running toward us shouted in alarm and skidded to a halt, afraid that the attack was aimed at them. I noticed that two of the Elvens carried small bows and arrows in their hands.
This would not get any easier.
But at least the magic hadn't drained me as much as I thought it would have. The food and rest from earlier in the day must have rejuvenated me. The power of the Elements whipped back into my body and hungered to be released again.
It isn't alive, but your subconscious directs it like you direct your own emotions.
Greykin was blinded by the blast and the Elven he had been about to kill used the opportunity to shift his weight and bucked the big man off of him. I jumped across the span between us and planted my knee down firmly into the monster's face. The blow smashed his nose, skull, and brain onto the thick stone tile of the dungeon.
"Hold O'Baarni, or your duke will perish!" a voice called out from the group of Elvens in front of me. I glanced up at them and made eye contact with their leader, the one who had spoken to Nanos a few hours ago by the garden. He pointed next to me, where the Nadea's father had been sacked by the Elven. The serpent held a long dagger to Beltor's neck.
"If you surrender, we will not harm the duke, or your friend. We do not actually wish you any harm," the man said with a smile.
"I find that hard to believe." I stood up from the corpse of the Elven I had killed. My knee was soaked with his blood, skull fragments, and brain matter. His body twitched as the spinal column tried to send its last few signals to his legs.
"Our empress wishes to speak with you. She has invited you to be our guest for a few weeks until she arrives from the North."
"Ah, that sounds pleasant. I would be delighted to stay," I said through clenched teeth. The Elven I had kicked into the wall moaned and began to stir.
"You would be?" The silver-haired Elven seemed surprised.
Their duke must live Kaiyer!
The voice echoed across my brain. My stomach spun when I realized whose voice it was. She sounded as if she were screaming at me from an impossible distance. It bounced off of the still pools of my memory and awoke flashes of recollection like ripples. The scent of her hair and skin mixed with the more present smell of weapon oil and blood.
She was dead.
The absolute certainty of her demise punched me through the chest like a spear. I remembered her screaming my name in pain. I remembered her asking me a question. What had she asked me?
How was Iolarathe in my head?
"Of course, I have a few conditions." I forced myself to smile and relax my body. A cold sweat formed on my brow and along my spine. The idea of surrendering to them made me want to vomit until my throat turned inside out.
I thought again about killing the duke myself, then destroying the rest of the Elvens and killing everyone else in this castle who was my enemy. Iolarathe's voice didn't condemn the action, but a vision of Nadea's face stayed the Fire in me that threatened to fill the corridor with a quick and satisfying end to all of our lives.
"I am sure we can come to some agreement. What would your conditions be?" he asked. The two Elvens next to him carrying the bows were women; I recognized one from earlier, she had cut down the guard who accompanied Nanos. She raised her bow, but the man with the silver hair waved his hand and she lowered the weapon. "The duke, Greykin, Nadea, the queen, and Nanos are given safe passage out of Nia." The other Elvens looked shocked at my request, but their leader didn't flinch. "That is an interesting condition. What are your others?"
"I'll have your answer before I continue." I glanced down at the Elven that had the dagger to the duke's throat. He scowled at me and then licked his lips.
"I'm afraid I can't let Nanos or Nadea go. The others may leave." He gazed thoughtfully at the crusty ceiling of the dungeon with a delicate pointer finger on his angular chin. His companions fidgeted when I said nothing.
"What are your others?" he finally asked
"I want to see Nadea." The duke grunted from the floor in agreement.
"I am afraid that is impossible as well." He frowned.
"You aren't giving me much reason to surrender," I hissed as I felt the Earth course through me faster. The Elven women next to the silver-haired man raised their bows up as I spoke. Their movements were in slow motion and I saw the fear plain on their faces. They didn't think that their arrows would stop me. They were right.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" the silver-haired Elven shouted and moved his arms out to prevent his guards from releasing their arrows. "Please understand that I cannot give up my only source of leverage. Surely the safety of your friends is important to you, yes?"
I nodded and felt the walls start to breathe and shudder with me.
“We let them go, unharmed. Nadea and Nanos remain here, protected, to guarantee the safety of my people while
you await my empress.”
"I don't give a shit about Nanos. I want to see Nadea." My voice was a long growl.
Beltor gasped suddenly, pulling my attention away from the Elven leader. The dagger at his throat had started to draw blood. His face was pained as his captor yanked his head back.
"O'Baarni, the voice you heard screaming was some other human we tortured to distract you. If you wish, we can walk you over so that you can see for yourself. Nadea is in another part of the dungeon and we will not show her to you. I can promise that your friends will leave this castle alive and unharmed. Do we have a deal?"
The duke was unable to move his head, his already clenched eyes tightened. I looked over to Greykin and the big man gave me a look of defeat.
"I know what you are thinking, O'Baarni. You are debating if you will be fast enough to kill my brother with the dagger to your duke's throat. Then you are thinking you might be able to dodge the arrows, and then you might even think that you can kill the rest of us."
I couldn't hide my smile; I had been pondering those exact scenarios. My show of teeth made one of the females grin like a cat. I focused on her for a second and saw that what I had first mistaken for fear was actually excitement.
“You might be able to kill us; you might even survive. But there is still one reason you should consider surrendering before you throw away the duke’s life.” The Elven raised a slender finger and smiled slyly. I wanted to break his hand and punch his face in until it dyed the stone floor of this dungeon crimson.
"Oh? Do tell." I still remembered Iolarathe's words; I wouldn't do anything to risk Beltor.
“If we do not report back with your surrender in the next ten minutes, the women guarding Nadea will kill her.” The duke and Greykin let out heavy breaths at the same time. The silver-haired Elven paused to gauge my reaction. I didn't give him one, so he continued. "I imagine that your mission here was to rescue Nadea, Nanos, and the queen. I'll give you the queen and guarantee that, as long as you wait here for my empress peacefully, no harm will come to Nadea."
“What happens after I speak to your empress?”
The Destroyer Book 2 Page 25