Page 26 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
I could make out half his face through the crack now. His silver eyes blazed as he continued, “I tried to escape once, and they locked me in there, but Colm had them attach the draining tubes to my veins while I was in that wretched place. I could hear my life draining from me, and he said he had half a mind to just let it spill out until I met my end. I was a fool to think he’d ever have that kind of mercy. Still…”
“That’s awful, and to go through it alone...” I trailed off because words were useless. It didn’t change a damn thing.
His eyes took on a stormy edge, the rawness of his horror like looking in a mirror. Bile rose along the back of my throat.
Elias struck his palm against the wall and came so close that I could see only a sliver of him through the crack. “Colm will take you there. If he’s trying to break your mind and force you to confess, he’ll trap you in that space and keep you there until you pray for torture. If you can’t escape, then kill yourself the first chance you get. But not on the spikes. They’re enchanted. They’ll wound you, but never enough to kill you.” He laughed darkly and flinched back while covering his face. “Don’t let them take you there. Don’t!”
My breath hitched, and I lurched back, even though he couldn’t possibly touch me. His struggling gasps turned into frantic sobs as he dropped down to the wet ground of the cell. He lay there, trembling and holding his head. “You can’t go in there, Briar. You can’t. If they can’t break your body, they’ll break your mind. And sometimes, they do both. Do whatever it takes so youdon’t go in there.” His voice became a series of muffled wails as he gripped his head tighter.
I swallowed hard as panic ripped through me. My lungs couldn't fill with oxygen. Leaning forward again, I pressed my hands against the wall, searching for a weakness or a bigger crack that I could use to get the hell out of here.
“Any chance you know how to get out of this place?” It wasn’t as if I could just tell ColmNope, the Whispering Veins is a no-go for me.And as for escape, I’d have to get out of this cell first, then figure out the rest. “We could work together.”
He dragged the back of his hand over his face. Blood trickled from his cracked lips. “Don’t waste your time on me. If you get a chance to go, leave me. I have days left at most. As long as they don’t put you in Whispering Veins, you’ll make it a couple weeks at least. If they do, you’ve got days at most before your mind is gone.”
His words punched me in the gut. “You tried to escape before, and it didn’t work. What didn’t work about it?”
“I attempted to make it to the tunnels. Used to be able to command stones to move, but here they’re charmed in most places. Didn’t see the sigils. They hide them under stones and masks.” His voice shook. “They have so many spells and sigils we can’t see that they don’t worry about our attempts. Is anyone looking for you? If they can find a way in, you might have a chance. Your best hope, meanwhile, is to find a natural indentation, a tunnel, a crevice, and hide there when things get bad. They’ll send someone in to get you if you don’t come out, but it’s better than being out in the open cell. Especially when the shaking starts.”
My heart sank. Many-Greats-Grandfather said he and Ember were working on rescuing me, but who knew how long that would take.
If only Vad or Thalen were trying to find me.... My heart skipped as I wished that were true.
But I knew better.
Having hope was stupid. Vad thought I’d killed his father. He’d want me to pay for that.
I swallowed a whimper, and my eyes welled with tears. Vadmustbe thinking of me like that. I closed my eyes and drew in a shaky breath.
No.I wasn’t going down that road. There was no time to think of what had been ruined. I had to find a way out of here and save myself. His voice sounded odd as if it was coming from a more confined space.
“What happens in the cell? What makes it shake?” Was my cell like his? There didn’t seem to be any crevice or tunnel or formation on mine.
He whimpered. “I don’t know. Sometimes, the entire cave system this prison is built in shakes, and stalactites will crash to the ground, killing anyone in their path. Either the guards cut these chambers out of the rock, or the spaces opened on their own. Who knows? But the guards don’t do anything to make them safer. This tunnel is part of my cell. I stay in here because it’s harder for them to reach me, and there aren’t any stalactites. No chance of getting out though.”
The broken stalactites now made sense. I glanced over my shoulder and counted at least ten that had fallen in here. Holy shit. I had to get out! This was equivalent to sitting in a minefield.
“Come on, Elias,” I said, trying to force strength into my voice. “Let’s figure something out. How long do we have before they come to get you?”And how long before they come to get me?
He muttered something, but his voice remained muffled, and it didn’t sound like he’d answered me. I forced myself to my feet and nearly dropped to my knees again due to my wobbly legs.
My feet burned and ached, and blood wetted my every step. But I was going to find something in this pit that I could use to escape. Based on the number of bones lying around, at least five fae had died down here. There were five skulls scattered about this space and many more bones strewn in the hay. None of the femurs or rib bones looked strong enough to withstand more than scraping the algae and mold or stirring up the muck. They were demineralized and cracked, making them useless for digging my way out. I picked one up, and it fell apart. The others weren’t in any better condition, and accidentally stepping on one made it crumble.
There were more cracks in the walls and floor, so dark I couldn’t see much beyond them. The consistent dripping of the water confirmed that I'd be in a lot of trouble if there were ever a flood.
A scorpion scuttled out of a crack and vanished beneath the pile of rotting hay. The cell opening they’d pushed me through was over twelve feet above me. Even jumping didn’t get me close. At least not yet. There weren’t enough loose rocks to create even a crude platform.
Elias continued to moan, but the words had become less garbled. “No way out if no one’s looking for you too. If you disappear, you’re gone. No way through.”
I froze. His words were poisoning my mind, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I needed to redirect his thoughts, as much for him as for my own well-being. “Tell me something about yourself.”
“Can’t take any more. They’re not looking for me. Gone. Drained forever.”
If he was right that Colm and his minions were so confident in their spellwork that they assumed no one could get out, I could use that to my advantage.
I pressed my palm against the stone wall, trying to find any purchase, any weakness. Cold claws of panic stabbed my chest. "If there's anything they missed, I’ll find it. There has to be a way out."
Elias’s sobs quieted and were replaced by a hollow chuckle. "They don't miss anything. That's what they do. They find every weakness, every crack in your armor, and they exploit it until there's nothing left of you."
