Page 181 of I Ran Away to Evil
Nothing,nothingcould have convinced me that Havork would be working with slave traders … except seeing him here in person. It was a complete betrayal of everything I knew about the man.
Which meant I hesitated to outright stab him in the face until I got some answers.
Havork bent down and scooped me into his arms. He grunted and seemed to struggle lifting me.
“What now?” I asked, waiting for my time to strike. I only had Strength fifteen, but I was close enough for a surprise attack.
I wished I had my sword, but what use would that do. I probably couldn’t use Jacqueline properly evenifI could summon her. Stupid manacles.
“We all go for a nice carriage ride to the Servalt border and meet the marquess in Colwood,” he explained. We followed the others out into a hallway that ended in a set of stairs and a door to outside.
Havork stopped at the bottom of the stairs. What was effectively a wooden box masquerading as a “carriage” waited for us. There were men and women stationed around the carriage, loading cargo or keeping watch. I thought I counted nine or ten all told but wasn’t sure.
Brownie was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed she was already in the box. The flautist was chasing after the kitchen boy, who had attempted an escape. There was a scuffle, and the boy was tackled to the ground while everyone else just watched.
Some of the group laughed.
Others continued their tasks.
“You know I can’t go in that carriage,” I told Havork. If he took one step toward it, I was going to attack him. “Youknow I can’t. Please don’t make me.”
I tensed, but he made no move.
I tried to maintain my image, speaking matter-of-factly … but I felt my voice break at the end. I would fight with my little silver boot needle until they knocked me unconscious before anyone convincedmeto get intothat small, dark box.
The knight commander grimaced. He glanced at the slave traders, distracted with the runaway spy boy.
He whispered quietly, “It won’t be for very long.”
“I’ll barely last one hundred seconds before I do something stupid,” I told him. Even now, Iwantedto trust him. To believe in the Havork I knew and respected. I’d forgotten what it meant to love a parent, but he was the closest thing I’d ever had to a real father.
His face was unreadable, and I tensed.
“Did you know I’m actually quite good at riddles?” he said suddenly.
“What?”
To our side, the kitchen boy pulled out a knife fromsomewhere. Good for him!
I looked up and raised a questioning eyebrow at the knight commander.
He sighed and said something I wasnotexpecting.
“If you want to know why it’ll be alright, I’ll give you the answer. It’sa book.”
CHAPTER 110
Physical Torture Would Have Been Preferable
Keith
With his basic shield already active, Keith wasted no time manipulating mana to cast a higher-level spell. “By the Undaunted Scales That Guard the Wary Wyrm, [Dragon Shield].”
[You have attempted to use the High Draconic Spell:Dragon Shield. You have succeeded. Mana Cost: 450 Mana. Durability: 1000HP.]
Only after he was suitably wrapped in two bubbles of protective power did Keith turn his attention to his new surroundings.
He was alone in a dungeon cell, inside a bright-pink bubble that pulsed ominously. Gods only knewwhichdungeon cell; that bright light must have been a teleportation trap. Simple enough to deal with. He activated [Mind Map].
