Page 183 of I Ran Away to Evil
It was hard, but he let the vitriol and anger go in one ear and out the other. The servant watched on, but he had long ago plugged his ears.
Keith tried activating a few other perks. [Identify], he got nothing. [Ventriloquism], he couldn’t connect at all to his constructs. He moved to [Sense Motive] and [Sense Enemy], and that gave him further clues.
He couldn’t [Sense Enemy] the servant right in front of him.
With a bit of mana manipulation, Keith attempted to examine the pink bubble. The second his power touched the barrier, that part of his mana disappeared. Actually, worse than that, the mana justceased to be.
He hissed. Keith didn’t think it waspurelyVoid based, as that would have made it impossible to see through … but whatever title, skill, perk or spell this was … it waslacedwith Void.
The mastermind behind this wasverythorough. Keith didn’t think Marquess Dorset was high enough in level, or ostentatious enough to construct something as profound or pink as this Void pocket dimension.
He was struck by a horrible thought.Their Royal Highness?No, surely not.
Keith tried to keep his spells going while he tested his perks and analyzed the bubble—and blocked out his neighbors. And as he worked, he did his best to ignore the small distracting feeling that he’d forgotten something …
What happened to Gerda?
CHAPTER 111
An Emotional Support Brownie
Henrietta
The kitchen-boy-who-was-actually-a-spy dropped his knife when he hit the ground chest first, the flautist-who-was-actually-a-slave-trader kneeing him in the lower back. The boy switched to screaming for help. Hewasdressed as a palace worker, and if anyone who wasn’t working for the marquess had been around to hear, then he might’ve had a chance.
The screaming ended quickly when his captor pulled a bottle and emptied it out onto the boy.
The boy slumped over, asleep from the potion. I looked between the carriage and Knight Commander Havork.
“A hundred seconds,” I repeated myself. If he’d known the answer to Gerda’s riddle all along, then he’d already helped me once before. I was willing to give him one chance.
The knight nodded back almost imperceptibly. Louder, he called out to the flautist, “Are you almost done? It’s past time we leave.”
“I don’t see you helping to make it faster!” The man lifted the boy by his shirt again and dragged him to the carriage. He ripped open the door, revealing a quiet and calm Bronwynn sitting on a bench against one wall. The boy was thrown haphazardly inside, and then the slave trader waved us forward.
Every part of me screamed tonot get into the box… but I let Havork put me through the open door. He took a step back and was replaced in the doorway by the flautist. I resisted the urge to stab him in the face with my boot needle. Instead, I sat beside Brownie and leaned into her for emotional support. She wrapped an arm around me.
She’d always told me she loved her nickname because she was sweet, dark, and a little nutty. Her sense of humordidcause more than a few delicate soulsto flinch. As someone who had a sweet tooth, I liked the idea of an emotional support Brownie.
“Now, don’t make a fuss,” the flautist threatened. “Or you’ll end up likehim. And don’t bother screaming—the carriage is spelled for sound.”
Then the door closed.
The light blinked out in the well-sealed carriage. It was great for transporting things so people couldn’t see what was inside … or outside. I closed my eyes against the darkness.
One …
Nothing happened in one second. And though it felt like an eternity to go from one second to two seconds, it wasn’t very long at all.
Two …
I felt the familiar, overwhelming terror seize my limbs, clawing at my senses and making my breath catch.
Five …
My heart raced. The pit of my stomach clenched until I tasted bile. I held it in, but the nausea swimming in my throat and pressing against my chin threatened to push me over. I lifted my fists and awkwardly pushed the one not holding the needle against my lips. The orichalcum metal of the manacles cut into my wrist.
Ten …
