Chapter 30 Miska
MISKA
Day after day, I made sure to keep to myself, and they paid me no mind.
Nismera had done exactly what she’d said.
She’d given me a place to study and provided the herbs I would need to make poisons, and I made them.
They didn’t know just how ineffective they were.
I smiled as I stashed another jar of herbs in my pack.
I had journaled every root and stem she had here, and I was carefully collecting them all.
Pretending to work within her rules, I only took what I thought they wouldn’t notice was missing.
Dianna would be so proud of me, Cameron, too.
I hoped Reggie was still making his tea.
There had been enough left over to last him a while.
I hoped Samkiel wasn’t stressing too much.
I knew that he, Dianna, and Cameron would all blame themselves because I’d been taken, and I didn’t want that.
Maybe they were out looking for me right now.
My heart ached. It had been two weeks since I had seen them, and I missed them all dearly.
A rapid tap sounded on my door, the wooden structure swinging open as the tall guard with bad breath yelled at me. “Clean up,” he demanded. “It’s time to go.”
I glanced at the window, the sun barely above the horizon. “But daybreak is just starting?”
“Do as I say, yeah?” he said. “No talking back.”
I only lowered my head in submission and began cleaning up my area. Maybe I could steal some breakfast before I—
The castle shook, and I grabbed my table to stabilize myself.
The first guard and another ran into the room.
They shoved my pack at me and hurried me from the room.
The hallway was chaotic, and I slowed, trying to see what all the commotion was about.
Guards ran about, securing their helmets and gear, shoving us left and right.
A painfully loud roar shook the stones beneath my feet, and everyone paused for a moment.
My eyes widened, and the guards looked at each other over my head before grabbing my arms and forcing me forward.
I clutched my bag tightly and scrambled to keep up as they led me down the winding stairs.
This place was so much like Jade City, with its lavish beauty and grand halls concealing nothing but monsters.
They were all monsters. I bit my lower lip, trying to still its quivering as they pushed me faster.
Dianna wouldn’t be nervous. She’d be strong, find a way out, and if she couldn’t, she’d make one, so that was what I’d do too.
The two guards with me whispered about Kaden and Isaiah returning, paying me no mind.
I was but a child to them, but I was not a child.
I hadn’t been since my first bleed, and sometimes I think longer than that.
Dianna said I was a young woman, and strong women didn’t cry or falter, not when they had to think of a solution.
I could cry later, but now I had to escape and find my way back to my family.
Their biggest mistake would be in thinking I was weak, but I had been under the care of the one being they feared the most. I slipped my hand into the hidden pocket I’d sewn into my dress, wrapping my fingers around the small blade I’d stolen from the lab.
They had all gotten lazy with my compliance and had stopped watching me as closely.
I took a deep breath and purposely stumbled, pulling out of their grasp and going to my knees.
Before they had time to process or react, I yanked the knife out and slammed the jagged steel into the first guard’s foot.
He screamed, and the other guard drew and raised his sword.
Dianna’s voice echoed in my head, listing off the most vulnerable parts of a man.
I freed the blade from the heavy boot and rose, putting as much strength as I could into driving the knife up between his legs.
His gurgled cry was high-pitched and filled with not only agony but horror.
He stumbled back and slammed against the wall, blood wetting the front of his trousers.
I scrambled to my feet and ran past them, clutching my bag against my chest. The guard I’d stabbed in the foot hopped up, chasing after me with a limp. I didn’t look back, only focusing on the door a few steps ahead.
Your fear is a tool, Miska, but only if you are able to control it. Otherwise, fear will slow you down and make you sloppy. The gentle, deep strength of Samkiel’s voice filled my mind. Just the memory of it helped to settle my panic and sharpen my focus.
The door loomed in front of me, and I smiled.
I reached out for the handle and was yanked back by my ankle.
I hit the ground so hard I cracked a tooth against the stone steps.
The pain radiated through my skull, forcing a cry from me.
The guard flipped me over, cursing as he tried to take the small dagger from my hand.
I raised a leg and tried to kick him. He laughed, but that was what I wanted.
Distraction was one of Dianna’s favorite tactics.
I aimed my dagger at another vulnerable spot, slamming it home deep in his eye.
His face stilled as I twisted it, and his grip on me went limp.
His body slumped on top of me, and I groaned beneath his weight.
I shuffled to the side, trying to shift out from under him.
The other guard continued to scream, but he didn’t approach.
I wiggled again, the hard lines of the guard’s armor ripping at my dress and skin.
With a grunt and a final heave, I finally pushed free.
Blood pooled in my mouth from where I’d hit against the steps, but I was up and free.
I let out a jagged breath and slipped the dagger back into the slit in my dress.
I refused to look down, and I didn’t look back.
Later, I would think about what happened and what I had to do.
Right then, I had to move. They said to always keep moving.
Another shriek made me cringe and cover my ears.
I slipped through the door and crouched on the other side, waiting for the palace to stop shaking.
As soon as things felt stable again, I moved cautiously down the stairs, but there were no guards in sight.
From the sounds of it, they probably had much more important things to worry about than me.
Grateful for the reprieve, I rushed to my room.
I lifted my mattress and gathered all the herbs I had stashed in the hole I had made in the base.
I shoved them into my pack and slung it over my shoulder.
The next part of my plan was the hardest. Running to the closet, I took out my latest project.
I had tied every dress, blanket, and piece of fabric they had provided me into a long rope.
I tied one end to my bedpost before hurrying to my window.
Taking a shuddering breath, I opened it, the morning air rushing in to greet me.
My room overlooked the forest, the shrouded depths of the trees, my chance at freedom.
I tossed my makeshift rope out and watched as it dangled, its end hidden amongst the tree limbs that pressed against this part of the castle.
Steadying my nerves, I straddled the windowsill and took one last look at my prison before gripping the rope and climbing down.
I nearly cried when my feet touched the soil. Glancing up, I could see my escape route waving at me in the wind. My victory was short-lived when a guard popped his head out the window. His eyes landed on me, and he yelled, “There she is!”
I didn’t wait to see what would happen next.
I turned and raced into the trees. My feet beat against the ground as I ducked under bushes and hopped over logs.
I was so glad Dianna had taken me running with her in the mornings because my breath came steady as I ran harder, and the castle faded behind me.
It seemed as if I had been running for hours when I skidded to a stop, my feet slipping on the small rocks.
I had run out of space, and the cliff edge taunted my bravado.
I adjusted my pack on my shoulders, thinking over my next move.
Maybe I could climb down and follow the river I could see at the bottom, or—
Terror hijacked my thoughts as roars split the sky, the sound of thunder following.
I looked up, and my jaw grew slack. Ig’Morruthens blasted fire into the forest over the ridge.
The two beasts were massive, one black like Dianna and the other with red mixed with its inky dark scales.
It looked like they were chasing something, belching flames as they flew.
As I watched, the dark one faltered, his wing tipping toward the forest. I looked closer and saw the blood leaving a misty trail behind him.
My hands covered my mouth as he fell, crashing to the forest floor, and as if they were tethered together, the other dropped, as well.
My breath shuddered behind my hands. I could make my way down this ridge and follow the river toward a town or civilization, or I could walk across the fallen tree bridge and cut a path toward the two beasts I’d watched fall from the sky.
I owed them nothing. A caw came from the treeline ahead, and I saw a bird with midnight feathers perched in the branches.
It watched me as if it could read my very thoughts, its head swiveling to where the beasts had fallen, then back to me.
I could have sworn even from this distance, its eyes were as white as the clouds above.
I shook my head defiantly and looked at the river below.
The bird cawed again, and it seemed more insistent this time.
Was this the power beyond telling me what choice to make, or something else?
They hurt my family, kidnapped me, and dragged me here.
I knew Kaden was not a good man, but he had helped me when he didn’t have to.
He’d healed my broken jaw without being asked or forced.
Although he might have done it because he didn’t want to listen to me cry and whine.
With another loud caw, the bird shot up into the sky and circled above me.
“Is this a sign from you, Mom?” I said toward the sky and the midnight bird. “Something I should be doing?”
The bird swooped toward me, small talons pulling at my satchel of supplies and herbs.
I could sense the urgency in its cries, and I knew they were running out of time.
“Fine,” I said, swatting the bird away. My eyes closed tightly as morality won.
I was a healer. My job was to heal, just like my mom, and she had taught me that our responsibility was to help those injured, no matter what form they took.
I opened my eyes, adjusted my pack, and stepped onto the fallen tree bridge.