by Shay Laurent
‘What?’ I whispered. ‘If they get spotted, we’re done for. They’ll swarm the place trying to find us. At least from here we could have just fought our way out and escaped.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, please, like you’re gonna leave your mum here. Let’s just go.’
I looked at Dom who was waiting patiently for us to finish our conversation. Once he realised we were, he gestured to the passage. ‘Ready?’
I nodded sharply and Alessia did the same. He turned and started leading the way. The passage seemed to go on forever. The sound of the waterfall was muted through the thick stone walls of the Keep. I cringed at every small drip of condensation that hit the rocky ground. The air was so moist and dark that I could barely see. I shivered as I trailed my hand along the icy wall to keep on track.
Without warning, Dom stopped in front of us. I peered around him and discovered we’d reached a set of stairs. They were made of rock too and looked shiny with frost. Towards the top of the stairs I could see a soft glow of light.
‘Come on, go.’ Alessia urged.
Dom nodded, then started to climb the stairs. ‘Careful, they’re slippery.’
There was no rail to hold on to, so I kept a hand on the wall, this time for support on the slick, smooth steps.
As we neared the top, the rhythmic beat of boots on the stone announced more company. If anyone looked down here now, they’d see us. I ducked down with the others, into a low crouching position, close to the side of the wall that was darkened with shadows.
The footsteps came closer, then passed and moved in another direction. I sagged in relief and tried to calm my racing heart. We still had a while to go before we’d reach the prisoner section.
We waited another minute or two before moving. Dom continued to the top of the staircase and carefully peered around the corners. I waited anxiously. I knew there shouldn’t be anyone there, because I couldn’t hear them, but we were in a place of magic, so the feeling of apprehension stuck with me.
After a moment, he slipped out of the passage and moved to the left. I was ready to push Alessia up when she didn’t immediately follow him.
I rounded the corner and saw the new passage for myself. It was wider and better lit from torches mounted on the walls. To the right, where the footsteps had come from, was a pair of passages that led in different directions. To the left was just one passage and a doorway.
When we heard someone coming from the corridor to the right, Dom led us towards the left side. He darted across the hall and opened the door, beckoning us in. With no time to spare, we followed behind him. I shut the door as softly as I could, muting the footfalls from outside.
My heart rate spiked as whoever it was came closer. I turned to look at the others, panicked.
I briefly looked around and realised we were in a meeting room. It was filled with wooden chairs and a stone slab table. Not many places to hide, but it would be enough if needed since the table was widest facing the door.
I ran, my feet touching the ground as lightly as I could, and joined the others sitting behind the table on the floor. Right after I crouched down, the door opened.
Silence.
My heart raced. It seemed so loud in my own ears that I was sure the Sorceress at the door would hear it.
The sound of someone else approaching the doorway sent the heat of panic flushing through my body despite the chill of the room, but then it was pulled shut.
A voice outside the door called out, ‘All clear in this room. You come up with anything?’
‘No,’ another voice grumbled. ‘Everywhere is empty. I’m sure if someone was coming in here, we’d have found them by now. I’m hungry and tired. Let’s go and eat so I can sleep. This shift has been long enough already.’
I slid down from my crouch and sat on the floor, leaning heavily against the table.
‘Well, that was a close call,’ Dom said.
Alessia snorted. ‘You reckon? We’re lucky they don’t have Shifter senses or we’d have been fighting our way out of that.’
I pulled my knees closer to my chest. ‘That’s true. Do you guys think we should wait here for a while? Until we’re sure they’re finished searching? Or you know, until we think they have.’
‘I think so,’ said Dom. ‘Alessia?’
‘Yep. Let’s hang tight for a little while at least. We really can’t risk waiting too long. I think most of them will be in bed or heading there soon. There are only a couple of hours until the sun comes up.’
I nodded and relaxed further against the cold, stone table. Waiting.
As each minute passed, I felt as though I was getting less and less oxygen. I needed to move.
‘Okay, I can’t wait any longer.’ I jumped up. ‘Let’s go.’
Dom huffed out a breath. ‘Awesome. That was killing me!’
Alessia shook her head and tutted at us as she stood up. Dom led the way to the door. I felt bad making him go first, but he knew the internal drawings better than Alessia and I did.
He put his ear to the tall, wooden door. Alessia scoffed and quickly turned it into a cough when Dom glared at her. I thought it was overkill too, but I was firmly on the side of better safe than sorry. Dom listened at the door for a moment longer, then cracked it open and peered through the gap.
He pushed the door wide and moved to the right, Alessia right behind him. We were back on track.
I followed them through the passages until we reached one with two doors on opposite sides. We needed to take the one on the left. Dom turned the handle. It wouldn’t budge. As he shoved into it, I looked around frantically, shivering in the icy air and hoping no one was going to appear.
‘What’s wrong with the door?’ Alessia hissed.
‘It won’t open, it feels blocked,’ Dom said, his voice as strained as I felt.
‘We’re just going to have to go through the right one. I’m sure I saw they joined up somewhere, right?’
‘Yep,’ said Dom. ‘But it will take us through the kitchens and eating quarters.’
Alessia’s head whipped around. ‘Shit. You’re kidding me?’
Dom shook his head. ‘But it’s either that or we’ll need to go back out to where the boats are and enter from the other way. We took this path because it avoided the main areas and we should have been able to make it without running into anyone.’
‘Shit,’ she repeated. ‘Let’s just do it. But keep the noise right down.’
I gave her a “duh” look, and then nodded to Dom. He took a deep breath and put his ear to the door. He gave Alessia a narrow look, but this time she didn’t protest at all. He shook his head, then cracked the door open. He gestured that it was clear, then walked inside.
I followed closely behind him. I tried to leave enough distance between us to not crowd him, but not so much that it left us vulnerable. I felt Alessia close on my heels.
I was in unfamiliar territory. While I knew the places lined up, I didn’t know the specifics of this area well enough and prayed to Salvatore that Dom did. He led us straight along the dreary, poorly lit passage. There weren’t many sounds but the smell of magic was strong here.
Ahead of us I could see doors on both sides of the room and then a dead end. My chest tightened. I had no clue which way to go, but I assumed one was the kitchen and the other was the eating area.
As we neared the doors, we all stopped. The sound of voices travelled from the door on the right. We all moved to the wall, and put our backs against it. Waiting.
The voices didn’t get louder, or quieter. They remained the same.
I waved to get Dom and Alessia’s attention and pointed to the door on the left. We were running out of options. They both nodded. We continued along the corridor slowly, listening for any changes in the room.
As we neared the doors, the voices paused mid-conversation. For what seemed like the hundredth time since I’d found out about my mum, my chest constricted.
Will I ever get to see her?
T
hen, a new voice came from inside, questioning the others in an authoritative tone about why they were still up. After some continued grumbling, I heard chairs scrape back and suddenly they were coming in our direction.
My eyes widened and I shoved Dom, then ran across to the other door. I opened it quickly, putting pressure on the hinges to make sure it didn’t creak. They both ran past me into the room. I pulled it shut.
We were in the kitchen. There were old iron pots hanging over fire pits that were blackened from use. Stone benches lined the room with piles of dirty dishes stacked on top. I scanned the room until I found what I really needed. Another door.
There!
I ran over but skidded to a halt as I saw Dom waving frantically at me.
‘Stop! Wait!’ Dom hissed quietly. ‘We should take that one.’
He pointed to a door on the other side of the room. Panic-stricken at the choice, but fraught with the fear of getting caught I nodded and ran over to him and Alessia. We went through and found ourselves in another corridor. This one was dank and faded into darkness in both directions, though a set of stairs was just visible to the right.
‘Which way?’ Alessia whispered.
Dom was quiet for a moment, then pointed to the right. ‘Up those stairs.’
‘Okay. Let’s go, before they come this way.’
We hurried to the end of the corridor. My pulse throbbing in my temple from all the near misses was making it harder to focus on the sounds around me. I hoped that Alessia and Dom were more together than I was.
The idea of being so close to my mum but never getting to see her was too much.
Dom tugged on my arm. I realised I’d stopped.
He smiled reassuringly at me. ‘Come on. We’re almost there. We can do this.’
He’s right. We can totally do this.
‘Thanks, Dom.’
‘Anytime.’
The corridor ended in a set of stairs to the left. When we reached the top and made it onto the landing, I looked around. We had entered a large hall of some kind. This place looked a lot like the sketches of the landing area outside the prisoner holding cells.
I was sure one of these doors would lead to my mum, but which one? The whole area reeked of magic and we could hear muted voices from a few of the rooms. Determined to get to my mum now, I signalled to Dom and gestured across the room. ‘Which way?’ He pointed to the left.
‘Which door?’ I whispered, hopeful that he’d know the answer.
He gave me a tight smile but shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Just that it’s through a door on the left. I think this is the area they have their offices and meeting rooms.’
I sighed. This was going to be tough.
‘It doesn’t matter.’ Alessia muttered. ‘Just means we’ll need to try a few. I vote we split up, and each listen in at a door, since there are three at that end, then meet back here and pick.’
It was the best option we had. ‘Okay. Let’s do it. Dom, the right. Alessia, the left. I’ll take the one in the middle.’
I immediately turned and sprinted across the hall to my door and put my ear on it. An unnatural silence greeted me. I could see Dom doing the same. I heard a gasp at the same time as the sound of a door opening. I whipped my head to Alessia. It was her door.
She’d hesitated. No time to turn and run. Dom and I headed for her as the door opened wide. The features of the young, golden-haired Sorceress were full of shock when she saw Alessia in front of her. She opened her mouth, ready to cast or call for help, then hesitated as she noticed Dom and I running towards her. Alessia took her chance and punched the Sorceress straight in the face.
She fell like a ton of rocks. Alessia managed to catch her before she hit the ground. ‘Grab her feet.’
Dom shot forward and grabbed them. They carried her back into the room she’d come from. I quickly followed behind and shut the door.
The room appeared to be an office. I raced around the desk to pull out a chair. They dumped her in it, taking little care with the action, her head snapping back, then forwards with the momentum.
The room was lined with shelves that held files and books, ranging from small volumes to large tomes. I briefly wondered if there was magic in them that I could learn. The thought didn’t last long. The Sorceress was stirring.
I looked at Alessia and Dom and wondered what we should do. If she shouted, we were in trouble. Alessia pulled out one of the potions she had. She grabbed a cloth from her belt and tipped a little of the potion onto it, then held it over the Sorceress’s mouth.
Her head immediately flopped down against her chest when Alessia released it. Dom kept hold of her while Alessia and I looked around for something to tie her up with. Nothing.
‘We don’t have any more time. Let’s just lay her behind the desk and hope no one comes looking for her. Dom, help me move her.’
They picked up her limp form and laid her on the ground. Alessia made sure to tuck up her knees and asked me to stand near the door to check if I could see her. I shook my head.
‘Good. Turn off the light.’
I walked over to the little light that sat in the corner and turned the small valve off. The flame went out immediately and we were left in the dark. I heard the others move back to the door at the same time as I did.
We listened and when a minute of nothing passed, I spoke. ‘Dom, what did you hear at your door?’
‘It just sounded like someone was writing with a quill. I heard a faint scratching sound. Easier to tell in class with lots of them going, but I think it’s the same sound. You?’
‘Dead silence. Like, not natural, if you know what I mean?’
‘Well, that sounds like our room,’ said Alessia. ‘Now, we just need to know if it’s locked. I’m assuming, since you couldn’t hear a thing that there’s a silence charm on the room. If we can get inside and shut the door no one will hear anything that goes on in there. I’m sure there will be at least one Sorceress guarding the prisoners.’
‘Do you think there’ll be more than one person being held captive? Do we let them go as well?’ I asked
She tossed up her hands. ‘How would I bloody know? Let’s just get your mum and go. If she says one of them needs saving, we’ll worry about it then.’
Seems practical.
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Dom said.
I put my ear to the door and, hearing nothing, opened it. I looked around, relieved my senses were working well. No one was in the hall. The others followed me out and over to what we hoped were the prisoner holding cells.
I looked at both of them in turn; this was it. At their nods I turned back to the door.
I took a deep, steadying breath, exhaled and opened the door.
Chapter 22
I rushed inside. There was a small desk just inside the door to the left. A Sorceress sat there. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she spotted me and jumped from her chair. I vaguely noticed it fall to the ground in her haste, the iron arms clanging loudly.
So much for stealth.
I ran straight for her. Concerned about drawing more attention, I kept my sword sheathed and decided to use my bare hands. She pulled a knife from her belt and brought it down in an arc, aiming for my neck. I dodged to my right and immediately threw a punch, feeling satisfied as it connected to the left side of her face with a crunch. She staggered back. She was no experienced fighter, as each advance she made was foreshadowed by obvious movements; eyes looking, knees bending, the direction of her feet.
Before the Sorceress had a chance to come at me again, Alessia threw a vial at her feet. She dropped to the stone floor with a dull thud and didn’t so much as twitch. I turned to Alessia, eyebrows raised.
‘Is she dead?’
‘No,’ came a warm voice from one of the cells. ‘Just unconscious. I’d know that aroma anywhere; essence of mandragora mixed with hemlock root.’
My head whipped around. There were three cells lining the walls. The bars along the front shim
mered with tones of white and crimson.
My gaze darted to Dom, as hope flared in my chest.
Mum?
I walked along the cells, looking in each until I got to the end. Inside was the woman I’d seen at the Academy. She was sitting on the ground, with her legs crossed beneath a worn dress. Her light hair was pulled back by a thin, ragged cord. Her amber eyes locked with mine, a smile lighting her face.
‘Elita?’ Her voice was hopeful.
‘Mum?’
My knees crashed into the floor and I sat back on my heels. My vision blurred from the tears that sprang up in my eyes. I couldn’t believe it.
I hastily wiped them away, wanting to look at her properly now that I had the chance. She was standing on the other side of the bars, smiling at me.
‘It’s me.’ Her lips curved up gently.
‘Sorry to cut into the reunion,’ said Alessia, although she sounded anything but. ‘We need to get a move on if we’re going to make it out of here without too much trouble.’
My mum turned to Alessia, and I caught an odd look flicker through her eyes for a split second. But when she spoke, she simply agreed. She looked back at me with a soft gaze. ‘You really shouldn’t have come, Elita. It means the world to me that you are here. I thought I would never see you again. But you shouldn’t have risked yourself.’ She looked at my friends. ‘None of you should have. You should all leave now. There is no way to open the cells without the Crones finding out.’
‘We’re not leaving you!’
‘Not a chance,’ said Dom, speaking for the first time. ‘We travelled a long way and had too many close calls.’ He looked at me and smiled grimly before turning back to my mum. ‘We’ve made too many hard decisions to leave without you.’
‘The prophecy?’ my mum whispered, her voice cracking.
I stood up straighter, determined to show her my strength. ‘Yeah, the prophecy. I met The Seer on the way here.’
She nodded, crestfallen. ‘I tried so hard to keep it from you. But we can talk later. If you won’t leave without me, we need to get moving now. Better to alert them between watches, rather than at the end of one when another is already coming. That will be soon.