39. Alaric
Chapter thirty-nine
This mission went to shit from the moment we got here. Why didn't we take the Raskin into account? Fuck . One step forward and two steps back… I was forced to sit back and watch as the regime of guards came barreling out of the castle and the Raskin either blew away on gold-tinged wind or hauled ass into the trees, as Kait, Cano, and Flynn were all taken prisoner.
I’m resourceful though, and I refuse to retreat. I’m getting into this fucking castle. Flynn and Cano made sure we all knew of the passages that were all around the grounds that lead inside. When all the noise settles, I watch as the snow drifts begin to form around the edges of the castle, and the churning clouds lay thick and low over the grounds, painting the land in a foreboding ambiance. Only the whistle of the wind pierces my ears. I hop from the tree I’ve been perched in and slowly make my way toward one of the caves. The one we are closest to happens to be the one that leads to the dungeon and the perfect position to find my friends.
My time sneaking around serves me well as I creep along the brush and find my way to the cave. It doesn’t take me long to find its darkened entrance, and I hurry into its shadows. My chest thrums with magic over my bond mark with Raelle, causing me to pause. I open my mind, thinking of my sister. Hoping that she will hear my call, but I don’t get a response. Clenching my jaw, I round one of the twisting tunnels and come face to face with a shocked guard.
We both stand there frozen for a moment, but I am quicker to regain my composure. I let my wrist fall, allowing the blade kept there to fall from its sheath and into my hand. By the time the guard notices my trajectory, it’s embedded under his chin. His eyes fly wide as they lock with mine, and his life force showers down his chest.
Another guard steps from a doorway as I make my way toward it. His eyes drop to the fallen man behind me and the blood that now drips from my leathers.
“Shit.” He curses, spinning around and moving to close the door between us. Again, I am faster.
“Not today, asshole.” I stop the door from shutting with my hand and bring my foot up to kick it open. Nausea hits me the moment I step into the dank dungeon, though. The sight and smell takes my breath away and shocks me so much. I don’t even realize another guard has come up behind me until he has barreled into my body and wrapped his bear-like arms around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides.
“Fucking touch her again and I’ll fucking fry your brain like a godsdamned egg!” I scream in protest. Another man comes walking in behind me and stops just in front of my face, smiling mockingly. Rearing back, I slam my face into his, making us both bleed from the force. He curses, grabbing at his nose. The guard stumbles backward and clears my view of the bastard holding Kait with her arms behind her back. I spit in his face, and my blood-soaked smile widens impossibly. Fucking bastard . He grunts, trying to push his shoulder up to wipe his eye.
“Hold the bitch,” he says, shoving Kait into the arms of another man I hadn’t noticed. They shove me to my knees, cuffs slapping onto my wrists and clamping tightly shut.
“Let me out of these chains, asshole!” I bellow. Spit and blood flying from my mouth with the fury I spit the words. I refuse to be kept prisoner in these dungeons while we are so close. I just need skin-on-skin contact for more than a second to break into their mind. Fucking fate, just be on my side for a damn minute!
Letting my breath even, I fall silent as I take the room in. If one of them would just get close enough for me to get the key… The guard holding Kait’s unconscious body grumbles about having to keep holding her up and tells the others to hurry up—something about wanting to lay her out and have his way with her. I lose my shit.
“You get your fucking hands off her! Fight me. Take me!” I thrash in my binds, causing dust to fly from the wall I am now shackled to. My breath heaves out of me as I stare down at the taught chain, and an idea begins to form. I step backward as one of the guards approaches me.
“Shut your fucking mouth, scum!” The burly guard with red hair and a pot belly growls as he keeps walking toward me. What he doesn’t realize, though, is that I’ve crept slowly into the shadowed wall. The chain they have me bound with has just enough slack; the dumb fucker smiles as he continues to approach me. I tilt my head like the hunter I am, the motion drawing his attention to my hands, which hold the end of his life. Like a rabbit caught in a snare, it’s too late when he finally realizes his mistake. He’s too close.
“How about I shut yours, motherfucker!” I exclaim as I sling the chain around his head. He desperately scrambles to get distance between us, but I’ve looped it around his neck. I spin him around, and he faces his wide-eyed partner. Reaching up, I wrap my fingers around his throat and push my magic into him. It takes nearly all the energy I have on a good day to do this kind of magic. The magic of breaking someone’s will. It’s not something simple like taking memories or making someone fall asleep. It leaves me more drained than usual, but it’s the better option than frying his brain. That—would take it all.
The guard I’m holding stops fighting. His muscles hold him steady, and I loosen my grip on him just slightly so I don’t kill the fucker before he serves his purpose. I’ve been waiting for this dumb, hot-headed asshole. His hand reaches down, unsheathing his knife slowly. His hands tremble, and sweat breaks out on his forehead, causing his hair to stick to it in places.
“Easy does it,” I whisper in his ear. “You meet your mark—I may let you live.”
The blade flies. My bloody smile returns as the guard holding Kait goes cross-eyed looking at the blade that is now jutting from his skull between them.
The fool I’m holding starts blubbering out apologies, and the scent of piss reaches my nose, making my lip curl in disgust. Right before his partner drops to the ground, I pull the other blade from his waistband and thrust the cold metal into his overindulgent gut. Ripping it through his flesh, his bowels spill from him before he drops to his knees.
“Or… I may not.” I quirk an eyebrow as I tilt my head, looking at the mess I’ve made. Kait’s groan pulls me from the grim scene. “Hold on, little creature; I’ll be right there.” Pulling the key from the guard’s belt, I uncuff myself. Rubbing my sore wrists as I make my way over to Kait.
I remove the metal from her wrists before flinging her arm over my shoulders and helping her to her feet. I have to crouch to be on her level. “I know I’m no knight in shining armor, but I’m going to need you to not protest this.” I reach down, sweeping her feet from the ground, and her head falls to the crook of my neck.
“I don’t need a knight in shining armor,” Kait coughs, her fist balling into the fabric of my shirt as I look down at her. “Thank you,” she whispers, and her eyes roll back as she loses consciousness.
“I know you don’t, little creature.” Swallowing hard, I take us from the dungeon they’ve been keeping us in and run without looking back. Another good thing about being a dead man for the last few years is that I know how to slip away without anyone knowing where I’ve gone. Getting from this place will be more difficult with Kait, but not impossible.
“Wait. Alaric!” Just before I step through the door, I hear a cracked voice call out and turn in search of the source. Clenching my teeth together when I see Flynn in a heap in the corner of the room. Blood stains his leathers, coats his face, and pain paints his face.
“Fuck. Are you locked up?” I ask him. His response is only a clang of chains. “Can you make it out if I unchain you?” The real question I’m asking left unsaid. Are you dying?
“I can walk. Kick the keys to me. I’ll follow behind you.” He says, and I nod, doing as he asked. The keys I discarded slide through the dirt and muck that coats the dungeon ground, and he swiftly plucks him up. When he lets the chain drop and he gets to his feet, he stomps over to one of the dead bodies, slamming his foot into his side before reaching down and taking a weapon.
“Dick. Serves you right.” He says before leveling his eyes on me. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Where the fuck is Cano?” I ask, still cradling Kait’s head to my chest. Flynn shakes his head, swallowing hard.
“The guards took him elsewhere. Soren was with them.” He says.
“Ok, try to be as quiet as you can. You haven’t been captured for long. They could be down here still. Don’t engage unless you know you can win.” He gives me a quick dip of his chin, sheathing the blade he took from the guard at his hip.
My booted feet are nearly silent as I make my way through the dark tunnels under the castle. Kait groans in my arms, and my focus sharpens. I need to get us far from here. Corner after corner, these tunnels are like a labyrinth, and as I turn the sixth corner, I curse under my breath as it brings us to an opening where a guard sleeps on a stool. Judging by the ale, or lack thereof, in the tankard hanging from his grip, he will likely be out for a little while. This brings a smile to my face. Flynn reaches my flank and leans in close.
“I remember him. He will be an easy one to get past.” He whispers, and I nod.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” I say under my breath before adjusting Kait by throwing her over my shoulder. She protests weakly, but I have to get a better angle on getting this fuckers keys if I’m to get us through the door he’s supposed to be watching, and I sure as hell won’t be putting her down. The way that Flynn has been shuffling behind me, I know he won’t be up for the task.
Leaning in my nose wrinkles at the stench of the bastard. I’ve been a prisoner for weeks before without a bath, and I’m sure that this motherfucker has to be the smelliest I’ve ever encountered. The keys let out a slight jingle when I pull them from his belt, and he stirs from the noise, making me freeze with them in my fist as I hover above him with teeth gritted. Praying to the gods that Kait doesn’t make any sounds.
When the oaf starts snoring, I let out my held breath and begin backing away from him and to the door. Turning the key, the heavy lock clicks loudly, causing me to pause again. But when he doesn’t react, I pull the door open, allowing Flynn to leave and slip Kait and I through. My heart pounds furiously in my chest as I struggle to stay on my feet.
My power continues to wane from the way I had to use it earlier, sapping what little energy I had out of me, but I refuse to give up. I refuse to let Kait endure any more pain than she already has. Nothing will get in my way of saving her from this torture.
The door takes us to a long, narrow hall that is lit dimly by fire magic sconces burning and placed scarcely on either side. I don’t see any other doors other than the one we came from. This could be a mistake, but I’m following my instinct and taking the path anyway. Just as I get to what seems like the middle of the corridor, the fire magic goes out, and we are thrust into pure darkness.
I freeze for a moment, but when nothing else happens, I keep my feet moving. The stone path becomes softer just as warmth washes over me. The air changes and a salty heaviness fills my lungs as relief washes over me. It has to mean we are close to the end. Just as the thought enters my mind though, the ground shakes, and sunshine blasts into what I realize is an enormous space I’m standing in the middle of. Only a breath later to be blocked out entirely as a sulfuric wind—which I realize quickly is not wind at all, but the breath of a dragon. As it blows my disheveled hair away from my face, I hear Flynn curse at my side.
“Kait, baby?” I tap my hand on the back of her leg frantically, trying to get her to wake up but she doesn’t move. My wings burst from my back as fear for not just my own life, but for the female slumped over my shoulder as well. Grinding my teeth, I launch us into the air, aiming straight for the gap beyond the enormous dragon that just landed, blocking out the only path I see that can lead us to freedom.