Chapter 42 #3
Upon further inspection of the cages during our last visit here, Salem figured out that each lock has a different key.
Given that he doesn’t have enough magic to Snare each Sol out of their cage, our options were to either delay the rescue and try to hunt down each key, or force the locks open with—
Salem brings his crowbar down on the first lock he sees. He pulls, leveraging his weight, and the chain snaps a heartbeat later. He moves on to the next.
I’m a little peeved at how easy he made it look, but at least I know it’s possible.
The sound of hushed pleas pulls my attention, the anticipation of the room heightening, and I glance to Grey’s cell, deciding he’ll have to go last as I turn with my crowbar raised and order those in the cage beside me to stand back.
It takes more strength than I had originally expected, but the chain eventually snaps, and the hinges on the cage door creak as it opens. About fifteen sets of blinking eyes stare back at me.
“Go. Start a line,” I tell them, moving to the next cage. “By the door.”
Across from me, Salem is ordering his side to do the same, and Sol after Sol pile out into the aisle, forming a line by the entrance to the dungeons.
My shoulder begins to ache around the fifth cage, but neither of us slows, the sound of Salem’s crowbar connecting with metal in tandem with my own. Freeing the last cage on my side, I help a few stragglers out into the center aisle, then I turn towards Grey’s cell.
Salem is already assessing it, having finished with his side long before me.
“The lock on mine is a bit different,” Callan’s father tells the Hound before lifting his head in my direction. His attention narrows on my hands. “You’re bleeding.”
Salem whips his head in my direction.
I hold up my hands, showing him the shallow cuts in my fingers. “I’m fine.”
The Hound decides I’m telling the truth and returns his focus to the task at hand. A few minutes pass as he silently inspects the padlock, and I’m beginning to lose hope when he drops the lock and looks up at Grey.
“Step back,” he tells him, and the former Captain skeptically obliges, taking a few long steps towards the back of his cell.
My eyes widen as Salem ignores the lock altogether and slides the end of his crowbar through one of the metal bars instead.
Grey shakes his head. “The bars have been reinforced with—”
My jaw slackens, and the words die on his tongue when Salem grips the crowbar with two hands and wrenches it all the way back.
Metal groans, and Grey and I watch in disbelief as the bar begins to bend. Salem puts all his weight into it, the veins in his neck bulging as he pulls.
It’s an immortal’s strength—something I failed to consider—but he’d told me he was operating with only a fraction of his power… Is this a fraction of his strength as well?
He warps the metal as far back as he can with the crowbar, then abandons it altogether. It clatters to the floor as he wraps both hands around the bent pole and hauls it back further.
I’ll rip them open if I have to.
I should really start taking his promises at face value.
When the space between bars is wide enough for a person to fit through, the Hound straightens, letting his arms fall to his sides.
Grey and I watch silently as he takes in a few heaving breaths. Neither of us has anything to say. I’m somewhere between completely dumbfounded and wildly amazed.
“Can you fit through that?” Salem asks, nodding to the gap.
The former Captain blinks, eyes locked on the Hound as he shifts his body sideways, maneuvering his limbs through one at a time. It’s a tight fit, and if he wasn’t so lean, I doubt it would have worked, but Grey manages to slide through the bars, planting both feet on the other side.
He stills for a moment, taking in a deep breath, and then he turns, gathering me in a hug I wasn’t expecting.
Long arms wrap around my shoulders, and my eyes widen for a moment. I’m unsure of what to do with my hands, and over his shoulder, I see a smirk on Salem’s face.
My shock sharpens into a glare, and he holds his hands up in defense, then stalks off towards the line of Sol.
“Thank you,” Grey exhales, his breath warm against the top of my head. He keeps his hands on my shoulders as he pulls away. “Holding faith as long as we did isn’t easy, but I never lost faith in you. Not once.”
I smile weakly up at him. “Well, we aren’t out of the woods yet.”
“But we’re the closest we’ve ever been.” A spark of life skitters through his gaze as he squeezes my shoulders once, then turns.
The Sol who are crammed into the end of the line watch Grey approach, silently moving aside to let him through—their coveted leader.
Assuming he stuck to the plan, the Hound is already exiting the dungeons, doing a sweep of the path we will take through to the servant tunnels. With this many Sol about to move through the Estate, we need him to eliminate any threat and make sure it remains clear.
My job is to follow the end of the line, ensure that every last one makes it out, and cross my fingers that when they get to Callan…there won’t be a ward blocking them in.