Though, that still left the question of how we would escape.
A glint of metal in the meager sunlight caught my eye. A few feet in front of us, near a particularly old and crumbling building, a nail lay in the dirt. It was a thick black thing, probably made from solid iron, with an unusually rough quality like it had been made by an inexperienced blacksmith.
That could be useful, if only I could get my hands on it.
Unlike before, this time my hands weren’t tied. There might be a chance.
As we came abreast of the nail, I made a show of stumbling over a loose stone. It was a difficult line to walk, making sure that my “fumble” was enough to get a reaction, but not so large that it looked fake.
The man holding me gripped my arm hard enough to bruise and yanked me back upright.
“Keep moving.”
I pulled back against their grip.
“Shove me one more time. See what happens.”
Of course, how could any man, especially one so comfortable with taking others hostage, ignore such a challenge.
The man shoved me again, harder this time. I could have kept my balance by shifting my weight on my feet, but instead I let myself fall.
Even with the hole in the bag, I still couldn’t see very well. It was a hard landing that roughly jarred my shoulder. My hands scrapped across the ground, nicked by small stones and other debris.
Someone’s boot planted itself on my back, pressing me down into the soil.
“Fucking idiot. Not much of a soldier, are you? Get up already.”
The boot on my back squeezed the air out of my lungs but I still managed to cough out a few words.
“And how... am I... supposed to do that with you standing on me?”
Multiple voices grumbled as hands grabbed me and dragged me to my feet.
Not far away, Kayden was looking around blindly with the bag still on his head, demanding to know what was going on.
“It’s fine,” I assured him. “These fine men were just helping me up after I tripped.”
The sarcasm in my voice was unmistakable.
We were brought back to our room without further incident, and the bags were removed from our heads.
My pages on the table had been moved while we were gone. Someone had looked through them.
Did they think I was hiding something from them?
How stupid. Even if I was, I wouldn’t leave it lying around for them to find so easily.
Our captors left, and the door was locked behind them. The moment we were alone, Kayden immediately grabbed my shoulders and spun me to face him, his face twisted in worry.
“Are you okay? I heard you fall. Did they hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” I insisted again. When we’d first been locked in here, I’d checked every inch of the room for hidden cameras or microphones. By now, I was certain that they weren’t watching us or listening in, so I confidently held up my hand and unclenched my fist.
The nail sat on my palm.
“I’m going to get us out of here.”
After our meetingwith Chester Grieve, I was more unsettled than before.