Page 4 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

She tried not to stare into the cells for too long as she searched. She’d look long enough to see if the figure was male or female, young or old, and then move on if they didn’t match what she was looking for.

This wasn’t an ordinary prison. The people in this place were not locked up temporarily for not paying their taxes or for getting in a tiff with their neighbors. These people were violent. Dangerous. And they would rot here for the rest of their lives. The thought made her stomach turn. She’d go mad if she were them, knowing she’d be trapped in this place forever.

She suddenly thought of the night elf again. How long would he last here? They might just kill him sometime soon, from the sounds of it, either on accident or on purpose. That might be a blessing.

Or, since they seemed to so enjoy torturing him, maybe they’d want to keep him alive. Perhaps he’d spend a lifetime here—an elven lifetime, which could be another hundred and fifty years.

She shook her head. Sometimes she swore the empathy magic was plaguing her even when she wasn’t touching anyone.

She came to the last cell in the row. Through the bars, in a shadowy corner, lounged an Uulantaavan man with dark hair and pale skin. He didn’t look up, though he must have heard her arrival clearly.

This was the man she was here to retrieve. The one she was going to break out of the prison.

She studied him, trying to guess what kind of man he was. The rest of her task here could either be unpleasant or very unpleasant, depending on his personality.

He was here because he’d been caught while trying to steal from the queen, of all people—which was an idiotic thing to do, of course, but wasn’t the worst thing a person could do. She knew there were other people here who had earned their imprisonment by murdering babies as sacrifices to Moratha.

She stepped closer, careful not to get within arm’s length of the bars. “Well met, Toreg.”

He tilted his head to peer at her from behind a shag of hair and a shadow of a beard. His eyes went to the Conclave emblem. “I’m not interested, witch,” he said.

Crow crossed her arms. “I think you’ll want to be a little more polite.”

He snorted. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” She glanced down the hallway, gauging the distance between herself and the next cells. If she kept her voice low enough, they wouldn’t be overheard. “I have a proposition for you.”

He climbed to his feet and leaned lazily against the bars. “I’m not in the best of moods right now, frankly, and I’ve got no interest in anything a witch has to offer. Unless this proposition is for you to get on your knees and suck my dick, how about you keep walking?”

Crow blinked at him tiredly. It was going to bethattype of day, then.

“The reason you want to be more polite is because I hold the key to your exit from this prison, Toreg,” she said, with much the same tone she’d use while speaking to a small child. “Would you like to hear more, or shall I just ‘keep walking’?”

He turned away, wandering to the back of the cell. “Everyone knows you mages use the inmates as toys and test subjects for your magical nonsense. I want you to know that if you try that with me, I’m not going to go quietly. So keep your hands away from me if you don’t want your sweet face kicked in.”

“It has nothing to do with magic.” She lowered her voice a little more. “It has to do with your work.”

“I’m not interested in working for the warden, either,” he informed her.

“I’m not here on behalf of the warden.”

He bent and picked up something from the floor of the cell. She realized what it was an instant before he turned and lobbed it toward the bars. She dove aside to avoid the slosh of unmentionable sludge that flung into the hallway as his waste bucket hit the bars and clattered to the floor.

“For the gods’ sakes!” She recoiled from the foul mess and her hands reflexively darted to her ears, pressing hair over them.

Toreg just smiled.

“What in the hells is the matter with you?” She moved closer to the bars and said in a harsh whisper, “I’m here to break you out, you godsdamned idiot. Why else do you think I’m here? What part of this don’t you understand? Are you set on staying in this hole for the rest of your sorry life?”

He looked like he thought she was making things up, but he had the sense to keep his voice down when he replied. “Why would you want to break me out?”

She smoothed her tunic. “My employer has decided he would like to hire you… regrettably. I’ve been sent to retrieve you and escort you safely past the guards. If you’ve got any sense whatsoever, you’ll come with me, quietly.”

He frowned in annoyance at the command. “Who’s this employer?”

“You’ll find out when he chooses to reveal himself—which won’t be while we’re still in this prison.”

“Only a fool would indebt himself to someone he doesn’t know.”

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