chapter 10

Scott peaked out the door. There was the faint sound of yelling from somewhere.

"Let's go."

Somehow they had gotten a few weapons. Daniel and Scott both had clubs. Simon had gotten his hands on a sword. I wanted to ask if it was the fat guards. That would've made me happy.

We moved a lot slower, listening as we went along. Betty and Scott were in the front. Scott seemed to know the way to the exit and Betty would stop us if she heard something. We finally got to a corner and stopped there after Scott looked around the edge.

"That's the exit. But there are 2 guards. They have swords, but it would be worse if they called for help. We don't know if there are more just up the stairs."

"I... I can deal with them. Silently and without giving them a chance to call for help." It was Anna.

"Yeah, Anna's a mage. She can do it." Daniel backed her up.

"You know a spell that can kill quickly and silently? Most offensive magic I've seen is one or the other at best." Simon said skeptically.

"It's... my own making. It's the reason I'm down here. I can do it, but none of you can be near me when I do it. Go back down the hall. I'll call you when it's done."

"Geez, even now you're worried about keeping secrets? We don't have time to spare. The guards could return any second. Why are all fae obsessed with being mysterious." Scott complained.

"I'm not doing it to keep a secret. It's dangerous!" Anna said.

Simon interrupted them.

"Let's just trust her. We don't have time to argue, right?"

"Fine" Scott said defeated.

Anna thanked us, and we turned back the way we came and took cover around the corner, probably 50 feet away.

I thought I would take this opportunity to ask some questions.

"So, what's the plan? Where are we going? And what was that shaking earlier?"

Scott responded dismissively, "I don't know what your plan is or where you're going, but Daniel and I are going into the mountains north. You're not welcome."

Daniel followed up, "Sorry about him. He's not good with making new friends. I'm his only one. That's why he came to rescue me. And you are welcome to come with us."

"I have a ton of friends, and you're quickly losing your spot among them. Also, I didn't come here for you, I came her for your sister. She was going to try and break you out alone if we didn't help her, and The Embers can't afford to lose any mages. Especially one as strong as her."

I looked to Daniel. "Your sister's a mage? Can you do magic too?"

"Nah. Magics something you're either born with or you're not. Sadly, she kept all that talent for herself. Good news is I got all the good looks and brains."

Scott joined in. "Sounds like you got all the humor too. When we get out of here, she's gonna kill you for getting caught."

He didn't say anything to that.

Simon picked up the conversation with me, "His sister caused a landslide or earthquake on the mountainside near the prison. The idea was to lure out the guards and have them deal with the damages while we escaped. The plan is to avoid them while going around and up the mountainside, where well join with some of The Embers rebels and lose the guards up there."

"It's done!" Anna called from down the hall.

We returned to Anna to see her breathing heavily with veins showing on her face.

"Are you ok? Does the spell take a lot of mana or something?" I asked her as we ran up.

Simon answered before her.

"That's not from expending too much mana. It wouldn't exhaust someone like that. What kind of spell did you use?"

"Doesn't matter. They're both down. Let's go!" Scott said while running around the corner followed by Betty.

The rest of us followed. Anna trailed a bit behind, struggling to catch her breath and coughing. When we got to the guards, they looked like they were sleeping, but weren't breathing. Their lips were slightly blue, but that was it. They just collapsed where they were standing. They had spears though. Scott dropped his club and grabbed one. Simon grabbed the other and look at the rest of us.

I wanted it, but hesitated to say something. Maybe it was better if someone more reliable had it. As much as I wanted to get back at these bastards, I would probably just mess it up.

He held the spear out to me.

"Me?"

"Take it. You seem like you're always doubting yourself. I think you just need some motivation. Use this to help everyone here escape, or we'll all die."

I looked at him.

"Wow... No pressure or anything."

"No, there's a ton of pressure. Do everything you can, or well all be recaptured or killed. That's the reality of the situation. Now take the spear."

I took it. I had held one plenty of times before in training, but for some reason, this one felt a lot heavier...

Anna snapped me out of it. "Don't worry. We're sneaking away anyway. He's probably just trying to scare you to keep your senses up."

I wanted to believe her, but if we did end up fighting, I really didn't want to let him down. He believed in me. Has anyone believed in my before? I don't even believe in me.

Betty picked up the club that Scott dropped, and we ascended the stairs into a stone building. We could see the guards running around outside through the open door. A familiar voice that made me shiver echoed from somewhere outside.

"GET THAT ARMORY UNCOVERED AND ARM YOURSELVES! THEY MIGHT ATTACK SOON! YOU LOT! STAY ON LOOKOUT! YOU! GATHER 10 MEN! WE'RE GOING UP THERE!" Lawrence shouted.

I could see Simon tighten the grip on his sword and tense up. Did he know Lawrence?

Scott waved us over away from the door.

"There's a back door. We'll go around and give as much space as we can. Dammit. If we had gotten up here sooner, they would've been way less organized. They can't wait for us forever, you know."

I felt bad. If something happened, It would be my fault since they waited for me.

"It's not your fault. We made the choice to look for you. If something happens, we're all responsible for our own actions. We will deal with it as it happens." Anna said, as if she read my mind.

"Just saying, I really didn't have much of a choice in this, but sure. Whatever." Scott complained.

It was reassuring, but in the end I couldn't help but feel guilty. I just hoped nothing did end up happening.

We followed Scott to the back of the building. Guards came in and grabbed some stuff but didn't notice us. After they left, we moved next to the door.

Scott peeked out.

"Ok. Here we go. Follow me."

He ran out the door, keeping his head low. Following the right side of the building away from the mountains and guards, then turned to the back of the building and began running down the hill toward the city walls. Betty followed, then Simon, me, Daniel, and Anna. The outside world opened up. It was afternoon, but the sun was still high. It felt so bright after being down there for so long. My heart was pounding in my chest. Scott ran down the hill away from the building, aiming for a ditch on the opposite side of the road from where the landslide had been. It looked like half the mountain had collapsed and covered everything with rock and rubble. It even surrounded the building we came from. If it hadn't been built on top of a hill, it surely would've been wiped away and trapped us underground. I didn't have time to dwell on that thought. One look at our surroundings made it clear just how much of a desperate situation we were in. Dozens of guards worked through the rubble helping those trapped under it while another couple of dozen dug out the ruins of a building. Lawrence stood next to the building we had exited, shouting orders with his back to us.

Between the prison and the city was a deep ditch next to a road that ran from the prison's front doors parallel with the wall until it branched off. One road toward the city side gates, the other continuing down the hill to the woods north-east of the city. The entire city itself was built high up on a hill with mountains on either side, and the palace being the furthest back. It probably made attacking it really difficult, but it made running away really easy as it was all downhill.

Once we got to the trench, we didn't stop to check if we were spotted. Scott kept going, so we followed. Betty's ears were changing direction and flicking, but she didn't make any motions like we had been caught. We made it to the section of the road that branched off towards the city. It was a decent distance away from the prison, but still within sight. We had to cross it somehow without being seen.

Scott spoke out of breath and sounded panicked. "OK, we'll go 1 by 1. If they spot us, everyone just runs for the mountain. Try and follow me."

The others nodded, and so did I. I was squeezing the spear shaft so hard that my knuckles were white. No matter what, I was not going back there. I'd rip my body apart if I had to before I let that happen.

Scott peeked up for a second, looked around and ran with his head low before diving back into the trench on the other side. Betty went next. She was silent, fast, and graceful. It must've been her feline beastkin nature or something. Simon was next in line. He peaked up, ran, stumbled, and used the stumble to roll and dive into the other side. I was up next. I peeked up and looked towards the guards. None of them seemed to be looking this way. I started to climb up when a loud noise sounded from towards the castle walls. The giant doors were starting to open. I ran across the road with so much urgency that I almost didn't leap far enough. My chest and stomach scraped the road as I slid down the bank with the others. I held my breath waiting to find out if I was seen.

A guard shouted from the prison ruins, "Reinforcements!"

Lawrence could be heard next, "Good! You! Take a dozen men and go back down to the prison! Make sure they aren't getting their hopes up for a rescue!"

"YES, SIR!"

I wasn't seen, but this was bad. The sound of a carriage and soldiers was coming from the castle gates; they would pass right next to us.

Scott was freaking out next to me, and even Betty seemed nervous.

"Shit! They're gonna see the bodies at the bottom of the stairs!" Scott was freaking out.

"Should we run now or wait for them to go past us?" Simon asked him.