Alora: The Portal (31 page)

“Wait!” The bloody man stepped between them. “Morvaen has just saved your life from Vindrake’s knife, for I believe we’re fighting on the same side. But I’m afraid you’ve lost your prize.”

Alleraen looked behind him. Drakeon was gone.

Jireo rounded the corner just in time to spy his sister making a stealthy entrance into Vindrake’s interrogation chamber.
Arista’s alive! She may be able to free Alora and Kaevin if they are in irons. Who is the man in her company?

After a few moments, Jireo crossed the smoky corridor, pressing his ear to the door.
I know from Daegreth’s map, there’s a rear entrance. Should I go through this door or the other?
Footsteps sounded in the corridor behind him. He couldn’t delay any longer. Creeping low under the cover of smoke, Jireo slipped inside the room and ducked behind some barrels to survey the situation.

To his left, Arista’s burly companion battled Vindrake in a surreal dancing scene, with their feet shrouded in smoke. A quick assessment told Jireo the mysterious warrior had victory in hand if no one interfered.

To the right was a strange foggy dome. Inside the semi-transparent dome, a motionless woman stood with arms upraised, her downturned face shrouded with long blond hair.
Where are Kaevin and Alora? And where is Arista? Are there any guards?
He crawled along the back wall, behind a table, searching for his sister and friends.

Arista came into view, circling around to hack at the enigmatic dome with a knife. Rising to his feet for a better view, Jireo spied Kaevin and Alora within the magick dome, shackled to platforms on either side of the eerie shaman.

Before Jireo could move to aid his sister, she cried out, gesturing toward the rear door behind her companion. “Alleraen. Look out behind you!”

Four Water Clan warriors had entered the room under cover of smoke.
Arista’s friend is outnumbered five to one.
Jireo readied his sword to even the fight.

The main door burst open, and three more sentries hurtled inside, running toward Alora. The first guard dodged the knife Arista threw, rolling to his feet and bounding toward his sister, blade in hand.

Arista’s companion will have to fend for himself.
Springing from his hiding place, Jireo intercepted the nimble guard. His sword slashed the guard’s neck before the warrior could reach Arista. Spinning in a circle, Jireo sliced at the two sentries who followed behind. One fell, holding his side, but the other side-stepped, escaping with only a nick in his tunic. Before Jireo could bring his blade back around, the guard fell, taken out from behind.

“Thanks, Naegle!” Jireo’s spirit lightened at the unexpected aid from a fellow warrior of Laegenshire. “How did you come to be here? And how did you arrive so quickly?”

Worster stepped beside him, moving to finish off Jireo’s wounded sentry. “We traveled with Morvaen and Kaevin’s father on a pre-arranged rescue mission, waiting only two hands away in case we were needed.” Worster gestured across the room, where Morvaen and Graely stood with the man who’d been battling Vindrake.

The four Water Clan warriors were nowhere to be seen.

Neither was Vindrake.

Jireo jumped as a weight slammed into him. Arista’s arms encircled him as she embraced him with fervor. “I don’t know where all of you came from, but I’m glad you’re here. Now you simply need to kill that fiendish blond woman so I can open the cuffs and free Kaevin and Alora. I can’t move past her barrier.”

“Did you try throwing a knife?” Jireo peeled Arista’s arms off, frowning at the frozen woman who stood in a dome of fog denser than the wispy smoke in the rest of the room.
She even looks like ice with that white-blond hair.

“My knife bounced off when I threw it. She hasn’t moved a bit. It’s as if she’s in some kind of trance.”

“I hear more guards coming.” Naegle moved toward the door.

Arista ran past him, slamming it shut. She turned to Naegle with a grin. “That should slow them down. No one else can open it without a key.” She hurried across the chamber to seal the rear entry.

“I don’t know how to get past this.” Jireo’s heart raced as he stood beside the foggy circle that blocked him from reaching Kaevin. He kicked at it, to no avail.

“Alleraen will know what to do.” Arista returned with Vindrake’s brother in tow, though he protested the entire way.

“It’s over! I’ve lost my chance to kill Drakeon… and all because I craved my own revenge. I forgot my promise to help you, so focused was I on retribution.” Alleraen jerked his arm from her grasp, turning away. “Your friends have plenty of rescuers now. Leave me to my misery.”

Arista grabbed his arm, jolting him back. “Now who’s being a recalcitrant child? Are you really such a coward?”

“Coward? I’m no coward.”

“You can’t even face your own fallibility. You made a mistake. One mistake, and you’ve given up. You’re more a coward than I was when I had but five years. I’ve never let a mistake prevent me from trying again.”

“I believe that about you.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “But truthfully, I’ve no idea how to circumvent Empusa’s protection. At least no further harm is coming to them.”

“No! We must get them out. I must reach Kaevin.” With his head pounding, Jireo flailed with his sword at the impervious cloud.

Graely lifted his lone, undamaged eyebrow. “So the defender bond exists, after all. I assume this is why you’ve come here, Jireo, directly disobeying our orders.”

“I’m sorry, Graely. Truly, I had no choice.” Jireo ducked his face as heat rose in his cheeks.

“The fact you’re compelled to be here by your bond is more terrifying than seeing them chained on either side of this evil shaman.” Graely’s voice trembled as he spoke. “You feel Kaevin’s death approaching?”

Jireo’s throat convulsed as he tried to speak, but no words emerged. He nodded his head, staring at the floor.

“Empusa!” Vindrake’s deep voice spilled into the room, oily and putrid, and Jireo felt the hackles rise on the back of his neck.

Inside the foggy dome, the evil shaman lifted her head to the ceiling, opening her eyes, though her arms remained outstretched above her.

“Kill them now!”

Alora faded in and out of consciousness. Empusa stood between them, so silent and still, Alora thought she might’ve died where she stood. Empusa’s dome effectively cut off all the sights and sounds from the rest of the room, so Kaevin and Alora used the precious time to speak their hearts.

“I’ve failed you.” Kaevin’s deep green eyes pierced her soul.

“I’m the one who failed. I was too weak to bear the pain.” Alora tried to lick her dry lips, but she couldn’t find a drop of moisture in her mouth.

“No one would describe you as weak. I felt it, too… I know how much it hurt. I’m still willing to speak the oath, Alora. Whatever is required to stop the torture.”

“I know you want to help, Kaevin, but nothing is worth letting Vindrake’s mind inside you. Besides that, he was going to make you torture me. It would’ve made us both go insane.”

“I must do something. I can’t simply lie still while he burns you over and over again. I cannot.”

“We have to, Kaevin. We have to hold out until it kills me; then we’ll both be free.”

“How I wish I could take the pain in your place. The fact I can’t protect you is agony to me. I love you so much.”

Like cool water, Kaevin’s love washed over Alora, chilling the fiery agony of her burns. She fought to hold onto the precious sensation, though it made her feel weaker.
Perhaps I’m finally dying.

“I love you, too, Kaevin. I love you too much to let Vindrake into your mind. Better to suffer now and die than live under his control, wishing we were dead.”

“Alora, I want you to know, I have no regrets about us. I’d rather die in agony like this, knowing you love me, than be safe at home in Laegenshire without you.”

“Every girl dreams of being loved like that. I’m just glad I got to experience real love before I died. If we weren’t soulmates, I’d still choose you.”

“I wish I could kiss you one last time.”

“I wish for that, too. One last goodbye kiss. And I wish we could tell our friends goodbye.”

“Empusa!” Vindrake’s deep voice penetrated the silent shroud.

“Oh God, he’s back.” Alora’s body trembled, anticipating the torture to come.

“Kill them now!” At Vindrake’s booming order, Alora tensed, desperately wishing she could hold Kaevin’s hand. Empusa lowered her arms, stretching them out on either side, over Kaevin and Alora.

A shock went through Alora’s body, relighting the faded nerve endings. Her heart sped up like an adrenaline rush, and she panted against the pain.

“It hurts,” she cried.

“Don’t be afraid; we’ll die together,” Kaevin called.

Uncle Charles, I wish you were here so I could tell you… I tried to stay alive.
The world went black.

The echoes of their footsteps reverberated against the walls as they hurtled down the dimly lit stone passageway. Charles’ lungs burned; he hadn’t run this much in years.
Humbling for these two little kids to leave me in their dust.
He had to be close behind them when they passed the guard’s station at the passage junction, or his strategy wouldn’t work.

With grim determination, he put on a burst of speed, gaining on Haegen who followed close behind Markaeus. Both boys held their cans of pepper spray in their right hands, ready to aim at the guards. Peering over Haegen’s head, Charles realized the plan was doomed to fail. The sentries were supposed to be just inside the side corridor so the boys could run past them, spraying to the side. Then Charles would follow behind to stop the chase group. But instead of standing to the side with the other guards, one lone sentry stood right in the middle of the corridor.

Fifty yards away, the guard shouted, waving his sword. Another sentry joined him. And another. Markaeus slowed, casting an uncertain glance over his shoulder.

“Stop, boys. Let me take the lead. We’re going to have to play it by ear.” Charles ignored the confused expressions of the Water Clan warriors. Putting on his best Texas Hold’em poker face, he stomped confidently to face the three sentries with drawn swords. He named them Larry, Mo and Curly in his mind, not that they actual bore any resemblance to the Stooges.

“I freely and gladly serve my master.” Charles hoped he remembered the phrase correctly.

“Who are you? And why are you dressed so strangely?” Larry made no move to lower his weapon.

“I’m a trader, and these are my grandsons. I traded for these clothes. You can see I haven’t got a sword, so there’s no need to aim your weapons at me.”

“What is that thing in your hand?” asked Curly, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

“This?” Charles lifted the Molotov cocktail bottle as if he had nothing to hide. He’d forgotten Kaevin hadn’t been familiar with blown glass. “I don’t really know for sure. I traded a pelt for it. It’s supposed to have a special lamp oil inside.”

“But why are you in here? You and your grandsons?” Larry relaxed his sword arm, but his brows furrowed.

“Of course, I’ve been ordered to bring this lamp oil to Vindrake.”

“Then you’re in the wrong part of the cavern. Go back the way you’ve come.” Larry motioned with his free hand.

“But you see, I’ve lost my pet,” said Haegen, pushing his way forward. “We were chasing him. There he is. Right over there.” He pointed past the guards. Charles followed the direction of Haegen’s finger, wondering how he was going to support Haegen’s bizarre story. Charles jaw dropped at the sight of a large brown and white rat.

“That thing is your pet?” Mo turned up his nose.

How are we going to pull this off?

Curly slid to the side for a better view. “It’s a rat—it’s huge!” Curly’s face displayed a mixture of fear and disgust, the same sentiments Charles was attempting to hide from the guards.

“Yes, that’s his pet. Call him, Haegen. Let them see how tame he is.” Markaeus pulled his brother’s arm, edging around the guards, who stared as if mesmerized by the strangely docile rat.

Twenty feet past the guards, Haegen knelt down, calling out to the rat, “Nosewise! Come here, Nosewise.” To Charles amazement, the rat scurried into his waiting hands and Haegen stood, twisting to face the sentries with the disgusting furry creature cradled in his arms.

With a casual stride, Charles moved around the guards to join the two boys. He reached out to stroke the rat with a wary hand, keeping his back to the guards. Only with great difficulty did he suppress a shudder at touching the dirty mottled fur. Readying the cigarette lighter, he muttered in a low voice. “Get ready to run, okay?”

Markaeus nodded, sliding the two cans of pepper spray from the pockets of his cloak, and Charles turned to face the sentries again. “There. You see? We couldn’t leave his pet behind.”

“Very well. You have your rat.” Mo’s upper lip twitched up on one side. “Now be gone, back the way you’ve come.” He took a few steps toward them, muttering and gesturing over his shoulder with his sword.