Page 6 of Cage of Darkness
“You should,” the assassinsaid, seething with rage. “Because if you don’t, I’ll eventuallycatch you. When I do, you know what I’ll do to the princess.” Theparalyzing substance must have taken effect because his arms fellto his sides, unmoving.
Allyssa ignored his threat. She waspretty sure she knew where they were. “We have ten hours to reach atown and send soldiers here to collect him.”
“He’s an assassin. Bykilling him, we will be saving countless lives.”
“Butwe’renot assassins. We can’t stoopto his level and behave in such a way.” She wanted him rotting in adungeon, regretting everyone he harmed.
“What if soldiers don’t gethere in time?”
She nodded toward the forest, andJarvik followed her. When they were far enough away so the assassincouldn’t overhear, she said, “Do you remember before we left thecastle, I sent a squad of my elite soldiers after the Russek menwho set up a military base in the Romek Mountains?” He nodded.“That cave is roughly five miles from here. My soldiers are morethan qualified to handle the assassin and escort us toFren.”
“That’s an excellent idea.Let’s tie him up and drag him along.”
She rolled her eyes. “The base is atthe top of the waterfall we saw earlier today. We can’t climb thatwith someone in tow. We’ll leave him here and send my men back forhim.” They had more than enough time.
He ran his hands through his hair.“Fine. But we’re still tying him up as a precautionary measure.” Hetucked the dagger in the waist of his pants. “Let’s movequickly.”
Moving fast was the last thing shefelt like doing right now—it was dark and exhaustion consumed her.However, the prospect of being away from the assassin was enough tofuel her on. “Let’s secure him to the tree and go. Our time isalready running out.”
When they returned to the assassin,Jarvik pulled the man’s limp body to a tree and expertly tied himto it. Even if the paralyzing substance wore off before someonereturned, it would take quite some time to undo the knots to freehimself. Not to mention the fact that he was injured—his dislocatedelbow hung at an unnatural angle.
Allyssa pulled her long hair back andwound it into a knot at the base of her neck. The assassin didn’tsay another word as he watched her with a hatred that made herhands shake and her stomach churn. She started walking in theopposite direction they needed to go. After thirty yards, theyturned and headed south, walking in silence.
A mile into their journey, they cameto a river. “We need to cross.” The sun had not yet risen, makingit impossible to see the depth of the fast-moving water.
“Can you swim?” Jarvikasked.
“Yes.” Although the strongcurrent intimidated her.
Jarvik threw a rock into the water,trying to determine its depth. “I doubt anyone would haveestablished a military camp here if the water isn’tcrossable.”
Gazing up and down the bank, Allyssasearched for a bridge, not seeing one.
“What’s that down there?”Jarvik asked, pointing south.
She squinted, trying to see in themoonlight. “Just some fallen trees along the edge of theriver.”
“Maybe we can use them tomake our way across.” She followed him to the fallen trees. Thetrunks were white from water and sun exposure through the years. Afew extended into the river, but none went from shore to shore.Jarvik walked out onto one of them, testing its sturdiness.Satisfied, he returned to the bank and found a large, thick branchhe could carry. Making his way out onto the tree, he walked slowlyso as not to lose his footing. At the end, he placed the branch soit extended to another tree on the opposite side of the shore,bridging the two. Jarvik removed his tunic, tying it around thebranch and tree. He waved her out. Gingerly placing her feet on thetree, Allyssa made her way over the water to Jarvik.
“It’s not very steady, butit will do,” he said, pointing to the crude bridge he’dmade.
There was no way she was stepping afoot on the branch. “It’s not thick enough.”
Jarvik was sitting on the tree so shecarefully sat next to him, only a couple of feet above the rushingwater. “I want you to hold onto the branch with your hands, putyour body into the water, and use your hands to make your wayacross to the other trunk.”
She stared at him.Blimey. He was mad. Thewater would be freezing. However, there weren’t any other options.She nodded, not wanting to be a wimp and complain like apansy.
“When you get to the othertrunk, secure the branch so I can cross. If you don’t hold it inplace, it will jostle loose and I’ll fall.”
Allyssa didn’t want to think about ittoo much, so she slid her legs into the water, yelping from thecold.
“Move fast. Your body can’thandle this temperature for long.”
Grabbing onto the branch, she loweredherself farther into the water, the force of the current nearlyknocking her body off. Jarvik kept hold of the branch as she madeher way across. When she reached the other tree, she pulled herselfonto it, her body violently shaking. Wrapping herself around thetree and branch, she held them together for Jarvik. He untied histunic, wrapped it around his neck, and submerged his legs into thewater. Placing his hands on the branch, he began to make his wayacross.
The branch gave a little, so sheclutched onto it with her hands, trying to keep it as still aspossible. A moment later, Jarvik was at her side. He placed his drytunic across her shoulders and pulled her to her feet, kicking thebranch into the river to remove all traces of where they hadcrossed.
“Come on.” Holding herhand, he led her onto solid ground. “Where to?”
