Page 66 of Cage of Darkness
They exited the laundry room andsilently walked along the deserted corridor until they came to anarched wooden door at the end. Odar pulled out the map Kerdan hadgiven him and glanced at it. “The Great Hall is on the other sideof this door. We need to reach the corridor on the other side. Fromthere, we only have to go twenty paces or so until we reach thedungeon.”
“You don’t mean for us towalk clear across the Great Hall out in the open, do you?” Theywould be too exposed. There had to be another way—a safer way, evenif it wasn’t as direct.
“We’re running out of time.This is the fastest route.”
Most of the soldiers would be in theThrone Room where the search was being organized. She was dressedin a servant’s cloak with a cap on her head. “Fine.”
“I’ll go first. Wait aminute and then follow. Walk with purpose, keep your head down, andmove quickly.”
With her hand on the wall to steadyherself, she nodded, hoping to make it across the large roomwithout limping or drawing attention to herself.
He kissed her cheek. “With any luck,we’ll be out of this hellhole by dawn.”
As he left, she prayed this wasn’t thelast time she saw him and that they weren’t about to make acolossal mistake.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Standing in the corridor by herself,Allyssa closed her eyes and tried to breathe steadily whilelistening for sounds of alarm—shouting or swords clinkingtogether—anything to indicate Odar was in trouble. When she countedto one hundred and hadn’t heard anything disconcerting, she steeledher resolve and pushed open the door. Stepping into the Great Hall,she quickly scanned the area, searching for problems or threats.Two soldiers ran by, neither even looking her way. Her heartpounded. She just had to make it to the other side where Odar stoodhidden in the shadows of the corridor waiting for her. Forcingherself not to run, she walked across the hall with purpose, herfocus on the ground.
At the halfway point, she had anintense desire to run the rest of the way. Instead, she forcedherself to remain calm. Three-fourths of the way across the hall,her back prickled with the sensation that someone was watching her.Sweat beaded on her forehead. Only twenty feet to go.
“Stop,” a familiar voicecalled out.
Allyssa spun around. Jana stood at theother end of the hall, all alone without any sort of protection.She could kill the queen to not only honor her bargain with Kerdan,but also to save her kingdom.
“You,” Jana snarled. “Youkilled my mother. Was my throne not enough? You’ve taken everythingfrom me. You will pay.” Her face turned an angry shade of red, andher arms shook.
Allyssa fumbled in the folds of hercloak, searching for the knife. When she found it, her fingerscurled around the hilt. One well-placed throw, and the queen wouldbe dead. The evil woman who was responsible for all of Soma’skills. Who deserved to be tortured for all she had done. Hatredboiled inside of her. This woman had ordered her caning and for herfingernails to be removed. She blinked, clearing thetears.
“Guards!” Jana screamed.Pounding came from the corridor as soldiers responded to her callfor help.
Out of time, Allyssa zeroedin on Jana’s stomach, imagining where her navel would be. Then,aiming slightly above that, she drew a mental target.Deep breath.She pulledout the knife, aimed, and threw.
A soldier ran into the hall, hurlinghis body in front of the queen. The knife flipped hilt over blade,embedding into the soldier’s side. Shock rolled through Allyssa.She’d struck an innocent man.
Jana screamed, the savage soundechoing through the hall. “What have you done?” The queen fell toher knees. The soldier yanked the knife free. “Bring her to me.”She pointed at Allyssa.
“Run!” Odar shouted,bringing her out of her stupor. Allyssa spun and awkwardly sprintedtoward the corridor. Odar’s eyes widened, and he frantically wavedher on. Shouts rang out behind her. She dared not look back—shecould feel the soldiers closing in. When she reached the corridor,he shoved her in front of him, and they ran for theirlives.
She pushed her body to its brink,hoping they weren’t struck in their backs. At the door to thedungeon, Odar produced a key, hastily unlocking the door andthrowing it open. She flew inside and sprinted down the narrowstairwell.
“There are two guards upahead. Let me take the lead.” He stepped around her. At the firstlanding, he dispatched the two men with lethalproficiency.
Soldiers pounded on the steps in theirpursuit of them. If they were caught, Jana would tear them apart.She would cause them as much pain as possible and revel init.
“We’re almost there,” Odarsaid. “Don’t lose faith now.”
After descending three more levels,they went down the hall on the right.
“There should be a grate inthe floor right around here,” he mumbled, looking at themap.
Shouts came from the levels above asthe soldiers searched the dungeon for them. “They’ll be here anyminute,” Allyssa said, examining the floor.
“Here it is.” Odar liftedthe wooden grate that had been built into the floor. “Go!” Nothaving time to think about it, she slid her feet into the dark holeand jumped, plummeting through dank air. A moment later, her bodyslammed into frigid water. She kicked, fighting her way to thesurface where she gasped for oxygen. It felt as if tiny knives werestabbing her all over. The weight of the cape pulled her under. Shestruggled to untie it and narrowly escaped drowning.
Odar hit the water not far away. “Areyou okay?”
“Yes.” A rancid smellpermeated the air, making her stomach queasy. “Where arewe?”
