Chapter 8 #2
“Don’t struggle.” An almost charming voice laced with an unfamiliar accent whispered. “And I promise you’ll make it out of this alive.”
Before I could think of something to say, a dagger dug into my neck. Feeling cold steel, I gritted my teeth and managed a muffled, “Okay.”
Fire rushed through the hall ahead as several armed men holding torches raced down the steps. An officer barked orders from above, instructing them to fan out and find the missing prisoner.
The metallic thing my foot had struck had been a collapsed guard. My captor’s arm swam into view, a scarred wrist wrapped in a ragged bracer.
A soldier spun in our direction. He drew his spear.
“I wouldn’t do that.” My captor warned. “Harm either of us, and I’ll slit her throat. I don’t think you want to see what I could do with that.”
A second guard joined the first. I could see Percy’s dull gray eyes beneath his helm. Grabbing the other soldier, he forced the man’s spear arm down.
“Idiot.” Percy hissed in his officer voice. “You’ll get us all killed.”
“Atta boy.” My captor sounded almost friendly. Dragging me forward, his grip on the dagger never wavered. A perfectly steady hand held it a hairsbreadth from my skin.
Silence fell over the dungeons, save for the sounds of our footfalls and crackling torches. Even if the men were willing to sacrifice me, a more pressing fear prevented them from attacking.
One cut of my throat, and the chthonic would have the only weapon he needed.
More guards waited in the room above, frozen, hands clasped on their sword hilts as they watched us cross the room. Trying to breathe, I floundered to find the steps while my eyes were fixed on the knife at my throat. It felt like a lifetime passed before we crested the top of the stairs.
Kicking the door closed behind us, the chthonic spun me around, knife to the back of my neck as he encouraged me to walk ahead of him. I caught a glimpse of black hair before the cold steel encouraged me to face forward and walk.
“I am sorry about this.” He apologized.
I wanted to bitterly retort, but given the current situation, I held my tongue. Walking faster as he forced me forward, I gasped when he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to his side, dagger sliding across my jugular as we ascended another flight of stone steps.
What was he doing? If he wanted to escape, he needed to go out, not up.
Sunlight split through tall windows, illuminating a door as it flew open. A soldier in regal armor, a cape trailing behind him, flew out and froze when he saw us.
Recognition passed between them; I saw it on the knight’s face and felt it from my captor’s tensing muscles. The knight’s gaze flew to the dagger at my throat.
“How did you—” The knight began, before raising a hand. “S-stay back. There’s no reason to hurt her.”
“Oh, Acrius,” the chthonic said in a bitter, taunting voice. “I came here for you. Do you really think you can bargain for your life?”
Acrius’s hand trembled, and his eyes widened, bloodshot. Terrified.
The dagger departed my throat as the knight turned to run. An elbow struck my side, sending me stumbling into the wall. I turned to see my captor slashing the blade across his wrist.
A stream of blood erupted, shooting across the hall like seeking daggers that far outpaced their target. The crimson blades coalesced into a scarlet greatsword that plunged through the knight’s chest, rending his armor and throwing him against the wall.
I gasped as the knight hung from the stone, suspended by the magicked blade piercing his gut.
A ratty cape trailed behind my captor as he stalked toward his victim and yanked the man’s helm off.
Graying brown hair spilled out. The assassin tilted the knight’s chin up, whispering something in his ear.
I didn’t realize the horror of a dying man could deepen until I saw the effect the chthonic’s words had on Acrius; his mien raged with guilt, terror, and fury.
I’d never seen violent death before. Bile rose in my throat, and I ripped my eyes from the corpse, hand pressed to my neck. When I heard the knight’s last gasp, I looked back up, finally seeing the face of our new recruit.
Wavy black hair framed eyes rimmed by dark shadows. Rich red irises matched the blood dripping from his blade. But he did not look at me as though I were his next target.
Thundering footsteps preceded the arrival of the soldiers we’d left behind in the dungeons. Flipping his dagger, the red-eyed prisoner turned and fled.
Iron boots pounded past me as the guards gave chase. Percy ran to my side and helped me up, dragging me behind him as he raced after our target.
The red-eyed man glanced behind him and shot us a devilish smile before throwing himself out the window. I gasped, slamming into the windowsill and looking down the multiple-story drop.
Bloody knives manifested mid-air, impaling the stone walls of the dungeon. The red-eyed man landed on one, caught his balance, and jumped down the rest, as though they were a set of bladed stairs.
Percy sighed with relief when he saw our quarry hit the ground safely. He stiffened, looking behind him as the soldiers scrambled to sound the alarm and give chase.
“Shit.” Percy cursed, eyes flashing with color. A horrible wail, like an out-of-tune flute, reverberated through the hall, and deep purple mist sprang from the walls, clouding my eyes as I choked on a sudden surge of unrelenting fear.
Percy reached through the haze and grabbed my wrist. The moment he touched me, the effects of his magic fled, and my senses returned. All around us, guards writhed in a mix of pain and fear, swatting at nothing.
“Time to go,” Percy announced, pushing through the dazed men.
“Percy.” I hissed, chasing after him. “You blew our cover.”
“The plan fell apart a while ago, lest you didn’t notice.”
Gritting my teeth, I tried not to look at the corpse pinned to the wall. The scarlet greatsword lost its shape, dropping the broken knight to the floor in a heap.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“I have a guess,” Percy called over his shoulder. “Later.”
The alarm bells surged in intensity as we dashed down the stairs and fled toward the eastern exit we’d been directed to leave through. A knight sprinted toward us, yanking off his helm to reveal sage-green eyes and soft brown hair.
“This way.” Eleos panted, turning around the moment he saw us.
We burst into the courtyard but found no carriage awaiting us. Guards stationed on the walls turned in our direction, leveling bows at our heads.
Eleos tackled me, throwing us behind a pillar. I heard several arrows crash into the stone and slam into the ground.
“Why are they shooting at us?” I hissed.
“You’ll see.” Eleos breathed, eyes darting around.
Percy took cover behind the next pillar, hands held over his head, flinching with every impact.
“Go.” Eleos pushed me, and I obeyed.
Running as fast as my skirt would allow, I stared ahead to avoid looking toward certain death. Flinching as an arrow whizzed past my ear, I looked up to see a carriage riddled with arrows waiting for us, Seraphim sitting in the driver’s seat, frantically waving for us to board.
Eleos threw me in first before diving after me. Percy joined Seraphim at the front, flailing panickedly to climb onto the seat. A whip cracked, and the carriage rolled forward.
I stumbled into a man already sitting in the back. The man who’d held me at knife point.
I froze, eyes widening. He returned my shock with a sly grin.
“What—” I managed before the carriage violently rocked.
Seraphim whipped the horses into a frenzy, driving them into a gallop. Through the windows, I saw a stream of men burst through the doors, and more arriving from ahead, blocking our path.
A javelin thudded into the door, the metal point mere inches from my face. Gasping, I scrambled back, slamming into Eleos. He grabbed me, and craned his neck toward the driver’s seat window.
“Seraphim!” He shouted.
I saw her arm extend, blood coating her gauntlet. Heat crackled through the air as fire erupted from her grasp. Two wings of flame tore ahead of us, cleaving through the guards blocking our path.
Our carriage screamed through fire. Hot flames crawled up the wheels and licked at the horses’ hooves. Soldiers leaped out of the way of the spreading flames and careening carriage as it tore through the courtyard.
The carriage nearly tipped as the horses sprinted through the gates and turned down a sharp bend in the road before fleeing into the surrounding woodlands.
I lost balance and fell face-first to the carriage floor, covering my head as I waited for the violent rocking to finally stop. Gasping, I raised my head, noticing first the murderer we’d come here to save, then Seraphim peering through the carriage window to grin at us.
“I think that went well!”