Then Raphael saw the glint of metal in the rear of the waistband of Griffen’s trousers. The knife! Raphael had forgotten all about that. Had their captors been foolish enough not to check them for weapons before throwing them inside the cage?
Griffen was rubbing the rope against the edge of the blade, his actions fast but subtle enough not to draw attention. The rope frayed a little and he increased the pressure, forcing his wrists apart until the rope broke free, falling on the ground behind him. Now Griffen worked quickly to undo the ropes at his ankles, then got to work on Raphael’s wrists. It would be too obvious if he were to undo their gags.
Just as Raphael felt the pressure around his wrists release, the guards broke up their huddle to walk over to them. Griffen returned his wrists to behind his back and blinked at the men with hatred in his eyes. Raphael did the same, desperate to undo his ankle ties and release the others but knowing he must wait.
“This one’s going to be our talker,” said one of the men, pointing at Micah.
Raphael breathed a sigh, not because he was glad that Micah had been selected, but because neither he nor Griffen had been. If the men noticed they’d managed to undo the ropes on their wrists, they’d be in even more danger.
He studied the man as he opened the door of the cage. Like the other men, he was wearing black trousers with a matching long jacket and a wide-brimmed hat. His skin was fair, although not as fair as Raphael’s own, and his eyes were a pale brown. He had a beard, as did the other men and Raphael wondered if this was a fashion statement or a choice to protect their faces from the relentlessly cold breeze they’d so far experienced in Feldspar.
The man made a grab for Micah and pulled her out of the cage. Another of the men quickly closed and secured the door before either Griffen or Raphael had the chance to make a move.
Micah’s gag was removed and she stumbled to the ground, sitting there glaring at the men with her red hair like a halo of fire around her angry face.
Raphael took this moment of distraction to untie his ankles, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Griffen was working on Pip’s ropes. Once his ankles were free, he shifted behind Azrael as subtly as he could, to work on untying her wrists.
“This one’s a pretty one,” said one of the men, leering at Micah as he loomed over her. “Even if she’s dressed like a man. Can’t fool me, though. I see what she’s got under those clothes.”
Micah kicked out at him with her bound feet, knocking him to the ground. Raphael’s fingers paused on Azrael’s ropes as he winced, knowing Micah wouldn’t get away with such a bold move. Sure enough, one of the other men raised his boot into the air and landed a blow in Micah’s ribs.
She let out a loud groan and curled herself into a ball.
Raphael finished releasing Azrael’s wrists and moved in front of her with his hands held behind his back so as not to attract suspicion and to cover the men’s view of Azrael as she got to work on the rope around her ankles.
“Right. Question time,” said one of the men, squatting down just outside kicking distance from Micah. “Who are you? Where did you come from? What are you doing here? And what happened to the men whose boat you arrived in? Got it? You can start talking now.”
Micah glued her lips together and shook her head.
“Talk to us, you useless bitch!” The man stood up and raised his boot above her head. “Want another one of these, do you?”
Micah leaped to her feet in one swift action and drove her shoulder into the man’s groin, toppling him over.
He howled and cursed as he bent over, clutching his precious manhood. Micah had fallen to the ground again, and as she sat up, she glanced across to the cage, her eyes widening to see something Raphael hadn’t yet noticed. He looked across to see Griffen working on the rope that held the door closed, slicing through it with his knife.
Micah pulled herself across the dirt, positioning herself on the other side of the men to the cage, so to look at her they’d need to turn their backs to Griffen.
Raphael shook his head in awe of the most courageous woman he’d ever met. No, scratch that. She was the most courageous person he’d ever met. She didn’t need a husband or a Guardian to protect her. She was afraid of nothing and nobody. He wondered if Lily had grown up with the same courage burning inside her.
With one man nursing a severely bruised shin and another still hunched over, Micah certainly had the full attention of the four men now.
“Don’t like talking much, do you?” said the man she’d kicked first. “Maybe you can show us your appreciation for not killing you in other ways.”
The leer on his face spelled out exactly what kind of payment he had in mind and his three friends laughed.
Azrael squirmed beside Raphael, biting on her gag and darting panicked looks at Raphael. They needed to make a move and they had to be fast about it. They outnumbered these men by one, although neither she nor Pip were likely to be much use in a fight, and Micah still had her wrists and ankles bound. But they did have Griffen and he had to be the equivalent of at least three men.
Micah got to her knees, then her feet and smiled at the men, looking at them one by one as she licked her lips, the corners of her mouth an angry pink from where the gag had been. “Which one of you would like to go first?”
She had their full attention now and Raphael watched as Griffen removed the rope from the door and climbed out, holding his knife in front of him. He motioned for Pip to stay where she was, but she wasn’t having a bar of that and climbed out behind him.
Raphael was next, then Azrael.
Micah was doing a good job at distracting the men and one of them had stepped forward to make a grab for her. She allowed him to undo the top button of her shirt, then as he got to work on the second, she dipped her knees and bent forward, pushing herself up to her full height with speed and slamming her forehead into the man’s face.
The man’s nose cracked and blood fountained outwards, splattering the dirt around him.
Griffen moved quickly while shock was still in the air and sliced his knife across another of the men’s throats, taking his life before he even knew what was coming.
Raphael had taken a length of rope from the cage with him and slipped it over the man with the broken nose’s neck and crossed the ends, pulling as tight as he was able. The man kicked back at him and struggled, but already weakened with pain and blinded by the gushing of blood, he was no match for Raphael and his anger. How dare he put his hands on Micah like that! To think what he would’ve done if Griffen hadn’t managed to get them out of the cage.
He pulled tighter on the rope, having no idea how long it took to kill a man, or what right he had to end a life. But it was kill or be killed. He had no choice here. If they were to get out of this alive and bring Lily home safely, then this scumbag of a man needed to draw his final breath.
The man’s kicking lost some of its force, but Raphael held on pulling even harder on the rope until his life flowed out and he crumbled to the ground, blood still running from his nose and pooling around his head.
Raphael spun around to see what needed to be done with the two remaining men, to find Griffen had one pinned to the ground, and Pip and Azrael were holding closed the door to the cage with the other man trapped inside. Micah was sitting on the ground, with her knees pulled up and her head resting on them, still bound by the ropes that had hindered her but not stopped her from protecting herself.
Quickly removing his gag, Raphael went to Micah and undid the rope that bound her wrists.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Micah looked up at him and he could see a gash across her forehead. “I’m good. Just a bit dizzy. Go and help Griffen.”
Deciding to take her at her word, he went to Griffen, helping him drag the man by the feet toward the cage. Together, they threw him inside with his friend.
The two men glared at them through the bars, but with both Pip and Azrael watching their every move, they weren’t going
to take them by surprise with any sudden moves.
“Look over there,” said one of the men, pointing.
“We’re not falling for that old trick,” said Pip, not taking her eyes off him.
“Your friend’s falling for it though,” he said. “Or falling over for it.”
The two men sniggered and Raphael looked to where they were pointing.
Micah was lying on the ground with her eyes closed, far too still for someone taking a rest.
“Micah!” he cried, rushing to her side.
They’d done the impossible and broken out of the clutches of these evil men. But what exactly had been the price of that?
“Micah!” he cried again, crouching beside her and pressing his fingers to her wrist.
But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find a pulse.
AZRAEL
THE NOW
“Don’t take your eyes off them,” Azrael said to Pip, pointing to the two men in the cage.
“I’m watching them, too,” said Griffen, taking her place.
“Go! Help Micah,” said Pip. “Hurry.”
Azrael dashed over to Micah, almost tripping on a tree root, but saving herself and remaining upright. Her wrists and ankles were still sore from that coarse rope, and her mouth dry from the gag, although these were the least of her concerns right now.
“She’s not breathing,” said Raphael.
Crouching down next to Micah, Azrael put her ear against her face.
“She is breathing,” she said, letting out a sigh as the faintest breath of air brushed against her cheek. “Can you untie her ankles while I check her heart?”
As Raphael busied himself with the rope, Azrael pressed her fingers against Micah’s bruised wrist. She had to have a pulse if she was breathing? She changed her position to Micah’s neck, finally detecting the faintest sign of a pulse. A regular if not concerningly slow heartbeat. Raphael had been too panicked and hasty to detect these signs of life, but Azrael’s trained hands knew what to do.
“Help me turn her to her back,” she said, and together she and Raphael tipped Micah over.
She held her hands over Micah’s body, scanning her as she felt for her energy centers, just like her mother had done when Toran had carried her into their healing room in the Colony.
Her hands tingled as she moved up and down Micah’s body. Her energy centers were flowing surprisingly well. She threaded her hands through them anyway, resetting her energy pattern as she pulled the strength of Micah’s field up and out.
Once she was satisfied her body was as strong as she could make it, she moved her hands to Micah’s head, touching her forehead gently. That was some headbutt she’d given that man. Thankfully she’d used the hard bone at the front of her forehead and not the soft spot on the top of her head. That could have resulted in an injury that not even Azrael was able to repair.
As it was, the trauma she’d experienced to this vital part of her body was impacting her enough, confusing Micah’s vital energy that swarmed around her brain. Azrael worked quickly and expertly to knead her hands through this compromised center. Very slowly, the knots blocking the flow began to unravel. She worked hard, pulling and separating the strands, coaxing Micah back to health.
Raphael remained beside her and although she was aware of his presence, he may as well have been a thousand miles away. Her focus was on Micah alone.
Scanning her hands back down the length of Micah’s body, she checked for any blockages that might’ve built up with the shift of energy as she’d rebalanced the center in her brain.
She paused at Micah’s core, remembering their conversation in the desert about the babies she’d lost. There was a definite weakness in this area, but now wasn’t the time to fix that. Besides, she wondered if she even needed too. Micah had Gabe now. Well, she’d had him before he’d wandered off in the dark.
She moved her hands, making some minor adjustments until she was satisfied she’d done all she could do for her friend. The rest was up to Micah, a woman who’d more than proven how strong she was.
“She’s going to be okay,” said Azrael, sitting on the ground beside her and running her hands through her dark hair. Every muscle of her body ached. Normally, after a healing like this she’d ask her mother to work on her to bring her own energy centers back in alignment.
“What about you?” asked Raphael. “Are you okay?”
She looked up into the eyes of this sweet man and smiled. “I’m fine. I just need to rest for a few moments.”
“May I?” asked Raphael, withdrawing his bottles of elixirs from a bag tucked inside his jacket. “I have an elixir that will energize you.”
“Sure,” she said, wondering why she didn’t have more faith in his elixirs. So far, from what she’d seen they were surprisingly effective.
Raphael withdrew a small green bottle and pulled out the cork, taking a deep sniff before passing it to Azrael.
“What do I do with it?” she asked.
“Put a few drops on your wrist and inhale them. Maybe put a few drops on the collar of your dress, too.”
She did as she was told and when she drew in the fresh fragrance, she concentrated on guiding it to the most depleted energy centers in her body, noticing the effect almost immediately. She sniffed again, enjoying the feeling of being revitalized.
“We should give some to Micah,” she said, passing the bottle back to him.
“What’s happening over there?” called out Pip.
“She’s okay!” said Raphael. “We just need a bit of time.”
Pip nodded. Griffen did, too, although his eyes didn’t leave his two prisoners for a moment.
Azrael watched as Raphael put several drops of his elixir onto the collar of Micah’s shirt, then shifted the fabric so it was under her nose.
She breathed it in, each breath seeming to pick up energy, until soon her eyes were blinking and open wide as if she was surprised to find herself exactly where she’d been when she’d closed them.
“It’s all right,” said Raphael. “You’re okay. Take your time waking up. You had a bump on the head, but you’re going to be fine. Azrael healed you.”
“Raphael helped, too,” she said, not wanting to take all the credit.
“Gabe?” Micah closed her eyes briefly, then opened them once more. “Where did he go? Is he safe?”
Raphael looked at Azrael. This was only a question either she or Pip could answer.
“We’re not sure,” said Azrael. “We saw a white light between the trees. Pip was holding onto him tightly but he broke away. The light vanished and it was so dark. We couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces, let alone find Gabe. Then the men grabbed us.”
“We need to find him.” Micah tried to sit up, but Raphael put a firm hand on her shoulder.
“In a moment,” he said. “Don’t sit up just yet.”
“What happened to the men?” Micah lay back down and put her hands to her temples. “I can’t remember it all.”
“Two dead. Two in the cage,” said Azrael, not sure how many facts to give her all at once.
“Did I kill one?” she asked.
“No,” said Raphael. “But the man who touched you is dead.”
“Pity.” Micah blinked away a disappointed look.
“You wanted him alive?” Azrael tilted her head, confused.
“No, I just wanted to be the one to kill him.” Micah grinned at her and Azrael sighed, relieved to see a sign of the old Micah.
“Well, if it makes you feel better, I killed him,” said Raphael. “And the only reason I succeeded was because of what you did to him first.”
“That does make me feel better.” Micah propped herself up on her elbows. “Actually, no. I feel terrible. Did someone hit me on the head with a hammer?”
“It’s better if we let you remember for yourself.” Azrael stood up and drew her jacket collar to her nose to breath in Raphael’s elixir. “You were awesome.”
“We have to
find Gabe,” said Micah. “Every minute counts. Look what happened when we didn’t find Lily straight away.”
“Then let’s get some answers.” Azrael stepped toward the caged men. “Besides, we need to get out of here in case some of their friends show up.”
Raphael’s eyebrows shot up. “Good point.”
“You okay to stand?” asked Azrael, returning to Micah and holding out her hands.
Micah raised her eyebrows, aware of Azrael’s aversion to touch, then grasped her hands and pulled herself up.
Azrael kept hold of Micah’s hands and looked her in the eye, finding that she didn’t mind this kind of contact so much. Perhaps this journey was healing for all of them in more ways than one.
“We’re going to get Gabe back,” said Azrael.
“And Lily,” added Raphael.
“And Lily,” they repeated together.
“Oh, no you don’t!” They spun around to see Griffen wrestling with one of the men through the bars of the cage.
The man was holding a knife and Griffen was grabbing his wrist, trying to shake it free.
Azrael ran for the cage with Micah and Raphael right behind her, just in time to see the second man pull out his knife and swing it into the air.
“No!” cried Pip, reaching into the deep pocket of her dress and pulling out her bag of walnuts. She swung the bag through the bars and hit the man on the top of the head. He didn’t crumble like when Micah had broken his friend’s nose, but it was enough to distract his attention long enough for Griffen to spin around and take hold of his wrist with his free hand.
As Azrael got to the cage, her jaw dropped at the sheer strength of Griffen as he held these two men by their wrists. King Tate had been right to send him with them.
Pip untied the door to the cage and Micah burst through and wrested the knife from one of the men’s hands, just as the other man dropped his, leaving Pip to dart inside and grab it.
“Okay,” said Griffen throwing the men into a corner of the cage. “Which one of you wants to be our talker.”
The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set Page 104