Page 68 of Celestial Bodies

“What’s the plan?” Klorin asked.

“Well, we just found our way into Vinculux. You two will put on guardianuniforms. I’ll take the lady’s prisoner’s garb.”

Souzie then spoke to the prisoners. “Can you three help us undress two guardians and move them off the road? We might need to finish off the two that landed in the brush. My friends know a tunnel leading to Cupidor. We’ll tell you where, but you never saw us. Is that clear?”

The prisoners nodded with vigor.

Souzie smiled and then turned to the brothers. “Dacias, get the horses. Klorin, take these three, move the exposed guardians into the brush, and grab two uniforms. I hope you big oafs fit in them. I’ll stay here and watch over the transport.”

Dacias stood still, shell-shocked and heartbroken that Julen wasn’t there.

Souzie wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “We have a way in now. This wasn’t for nothing. It doesn’t feel like it, but we’re making progress.”

He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes.I’ll find you, Julen. We’re going to get you out.

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Chapter 29

Julen

The smell of something cloyingly sweet mixed with hints of sulfur and a metallic aftertaste roused Julen from his unconscious state. He opened his eyes to a blurred view of rust-colored spikes. They hung above, pointing menacingly at Julen.

For a moment, he thought this was some new torture device similar to the pendulum. Julen blinked with frenzy as he tried to catch his bearings. Whatever hung above looked moments away from crashing down and slicing him to ribbons. His vision cleared, and he saw that the spikes above were russet stalactites.

All at once, the agony from his wounds throbbed throughout his body.

He tried to move, but manacles tied his limbs to whatever he laid upon. Julen tried to turn his head but was stopped by what felt like rods poking into either side of his skull, not deep enough to pierce the skin but enough to let him know that any sharp movements would result in terrible pain.

Where am I?His body shook as tears rolled down the sides of his face. Pain and panic consumed him.

He started gasping for air, trying not to be sick from the sensory overload. He wanted to call out to his mother, but could he? Would she come? Where was he? He started to recall the events from his parents’ private quarters.The images flashed through his mind. Julen had attacked his father. He remembered the screams of his mother, the sounds of the servants calling to him, the arrows sticking out of his back, the agony that sent him plummeting, and his father…

Julen began to moan, the pain like shards of glass stabbing his back.

“Ah, our honored guest is awake.”

Julen startled at the voice. It was a man’s voice, unfamiliar to Julen. The footsteps grew louder as the figure came into view.

A hideous man stood over Julen. His right eye was a cloud of white, and his left was dark brown. His pale, craggy face and baldness gave him a sickly appearance. As if death loomed about, ready to snatch his soul at any moment.

As revolting as his face looked, it was the man’s teeth that twisted Julen’s stomach. They were an ochre yellow, and strings of saliva stretched between them as he gazed at Julen with a transfixed grin. He wore a black coat, and black leather gloves covered his hands, cut off at the fingers, revealing mangled fingernails as if they’d gone through a grater.

“You must forgive the restraints. We mustn’t let you attempt another one of your stunts.” The man tsked several times. “Gracious child, you certainly rattled your father. I’ve never seen Haligran look so…vexed.”

Julen gasped at the sight of him. He could only imagine the fear on his face as the man let out a raspy chuckle. “You must forgive my appearance. Seven years in the mines and, I’m sorry to say, I am certainly worse for the wear.”

Mines. Are we in the mines?As if reading Julen’s thoughts, the man dragged a finger down the right side of Julen’s face and said, “My apologies. It seems I’ve forgotten my manners. My name is Doctor Carnufor. Welcome to Vinculux.”

Julen’s stomach dropped at hearing the word. His body grew cold, and he couldn’t breathe. He let out a wail reverberating off the metal furnishings adorning the room.

“Now, you mustn’t overexert yourself, my dear prince. You will need every ounce of strength for what I have planned for you.” An evil smirkstretched across Carnufor’s face. “Oh, you must forgive me for the lack of anesthetics. While your wounds are severe, aids for the pain will only weaken your defenses.”

Julen breathed heavily. He understood only half of what Carnufor was saying. He concentrated on his breath and tried to steady himself. He needed to speak. Julen needed to talk his way out of this somehow. He had to reason with this man.

He closed his eyes and imagined the sun and moon side by side the day he and Dacias first kissed, hoping it would calm his racing nerves. Julen’s voice trembled as he said, “P-please. I know I am here for what I have done to my father. You must believe me when I say I was only trying to defend my mother. Please, untether me.”

The doctor simply looked at him. Julen shifted from pleading to bartering. “You say you’ve been here for seven years, yes? A prisoner? We can work together. I have contacts in Cupidor and Rugiria. We can flee this place. We can work together and seek refuge abroad. I have friends who will assist you; they will help you if you free me. I promise. You must be—”

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