Page 50 of Their War

“Grant?” a voice sounded from the bottom of the steps. “Is that you?”

Shit. We needed to hurry. The guard I was holding finally slumped, his hands falling away from my arm. I gently set him down, grabbing my knife to help Callum.

I knocked the other guard in the temple with the hilt of my blade, effectively rendering him unconscious. He was definitely going to feel that for the next few days. I heard footsteps on the stairs, rushing to pick up my guard to drag him into the room where the others waited. As we pulled the guards inside, Baer and Loki rushed out, glamored effectively to look like our unconscious captives, shutting the door softly behind them.

“What's going on?” a voice sounded from the other side.

“It's nothing. Gentry here had a little too much to drink yesterday and is still hungover,” Baer said in his glamored form.

“Yeah. I still haven't found my balance. I knocked into the wall, not paying attention,” Loki played along. I could hear the tension in the air, praying that the other guard bought the excuse. Callum and I readied ourselves in case we needed to fight, our hands going to our swords.

“Well, get down here. Erie and I could use a drink ourselves.” The voices started to fade as the group descended the stairs. “I always hate these shifts. Nothing ever happens, and I'm always bored to tears.”

I heard soft chuckles, the other guards reporting to Loki and Baer. While they were distracted, Rhowyn and Lennox tied up our guards. It wouldn't do to have them wake while in the middle of our attempted jail break. As Lennox knotted the gags behind the guards' heads, ensuring their silence should they wake, footsteps approached again. I held up a hand signaling for him to stop. Every one of us froze as we waited for them to pass.

When I was sure they were gone, I dropped my hand and nodded for him to finish up. Standing, he brushed his hands against his pants, dusting himself off. I opened the door slowly, peering out the small crack just wide enough to allow me a view of the hall in both directions. Satisfied, I waved the others out of the room as we rushed down the stairs. When my feet landed on the stone of the small enclave, I asked, “Did you get it?”

“Aye,” Loki said, holding up the key with a smug smile. “They never suspected a thing.” Not waiting, I took the key from him, inserting it into the lock and turning it. I heard the lock click open, immediately turning the knob just as a loud siren sounded out.

Fuck! We'd set off an alarm of some kind. “Hurry!” I said, no longer concerned with remaining silent. Now, speed was going to be the determining factor in our success. “We don't have much time.”

We rushed into the dungeon, leaving the door open as we began our search. None of us, outside of Rhowyn, had been here before. As my eyes settled on the room on the other side of the door, we all froze. Shit, this dungeon was a lot bigger than I had expected. How were we going to find Master Jude now?

Chapter Twenty Eight: Rhowyn

Holy shit! This dungeon was huge! How had I not noticed this my first time coming down here? Thinking back, I realized it might have had something to do with the large and imposing guards that had dragged me down here, blocking my view of the area. Either that or the sentient castle had changed the layout.

“Split up?” I asked, knowing we couldn't stand here gawking. The reason for the size didn't matter right now.

“Callum and Baer, Lennox and I, and Rhowyn and Brannoc. We'll each take a section. Call out if you find him,” Arryn rattled off the instructions quickly. “Loki, glamor the area from out there, try to buy us some time.”

Everyone sprinted off as soon as he'd made the assignments, moving slower than before due to the dungeon blocking off our access to the magics we depended on. As Brannoc and I turned down a row of cells, I pointed to the far side. “You look on that side, and I'll look on this one.”

We continued to sprint, pausing to look through the iron bars at the occupants of each cell. Each cell I passed had someone inside it, the state of the people inside them growing worse and worse as we neared the end. Not finding Master Jude in the first row, we quickly turned down the next one, fae finally noticing our presence and calls for help now sounding out. The smell of burning flesh reached my nostrils from them pressing themselves against the iron, trying desperately to reach us.

My heart broke, but I didn't dare let any of them out. I had no idea if they were innocent or not. I knew some were imprisoned for simply speaking out, but I couldn't live with myself if I let out someone who was really dangerous. Someone who could hurt other innocents. It wasn't worth the risk, so I did my best to block out their cries as my heart continued to break at their desperation.

Row after row, we searched, the cells becoming more and more empty as we traversed the paths as quickly as we could. I slowed at one cell, noticing the bundle of clothes in the shape of a man, not moving. In the next cell, I recognized the walls I had familiarized myself with over several days. This must be the man I had spoken with during my time here. “Hey!” I hissed out, but he barely moved.

Brannoc's hand landed on my wrist. “We don't have time to help him. We need to keep moving and find Master Jude.”

A loud crash sounded out from the direction we had come from, the sound of armor clanking against stone. The guards were here. I felt a tug on the bond in my chest followed by elation. “They found Master Jude.”

“Good, let's go,” Brannoc said, grabbing my hand again.

“No. I can't leave him here,” I said, planting my feet and jerking my hand free of his to stare at the man again.

“Who is he?” Brannoc asked, puzzled by my need to free this man.

“I don't know, exactly. But he kept me company while I was down here,” I explained, turning back to try to open the cell.

“Shit, I need the key.” I tugged on the iron bars, desperate to open the cell, a faint burning sensation in my hands discouraged my attempts and resulted in failure.

With my mind whirling, I pulled on the bond with Arryn. He'd had the key last. I could sense the others heading back our direction, and I prayed they'd reach us in time.

The clanging grew louder as I tried to convey to Arryn what I needed. An answering surge flared down the line, telling me he was on his way. His relief was clear, and I knew they'd been able to get my grandfather free.

I waited, pulling on the bars despite knowing I couldn't get them open. I needed to do something; the waiting was unbearable otherwise.

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