Page 115 of Kingdom of Chains

Isabel suppressed her first smile in days. ‘I bet you wish you had waited for me to open it.’

Jaw working, Hodge turned to the guard and said, ‘Lock her in my quarters. Do not leave her alone under any circumstances.’ With that, he marched out into the corridor.

Blackmane knew he did not have a lot of time until Hodge showed up asking questions, and he was not hanging around to answer them. He would have every guard in the castle parked outside his cell within minutes, because he knew exactly what hewas up against. For now, Blackmane only had one guard to deal with.

He began to pace the length of the cell, acting nervous and restless while slowly working a small blade from the sleeve of his uniform. He only had one chance to get out. The moment the blade touched the flesh of his palm, he turned and flung it. It slipped easily between the bars, striking the guard in the throat. Ideal, because the only noise the man could make was that of a man suffocating on his own blood. While the man sat dying, Blackmane unbuckled his belt and removed the two prongs from it—the belt had been designed that way specifically for the purpose of picking locks.

He was through the cell door in under a minute, rushing over to the now-dead guard and stripping him of his weapons. With a sword in one hand and a knife in the other, Blackmane ascended the narrow stone steps to the light-filled room at the top. He had the advantage of knowing his way around the castle, including where all the guards were posted. It always helped to pay attention.

The defender moved silently and meticulously through the corridors of the castle, stepping into the shadows whenever he encountered someone. It was better for everyone if he hid rather than left a trail of corpses in his wake.

When he reached Isabel’s quarters, he knew she was not in there because there was no guard posted at the door. In fact, the door sat ajar, and on closer inspection, he realised it had been busted open. His teeth creaked. Where the hell had Hodge taken her? Perhaps with him. That would be the smartest thing to do. Or maybe he had locked her in his quarters.

He took off at a jog in that direction. He was halfway there when he encountered a guard coming the other way. There was nowhere for him to hide, so he threw his sword at the man, striking him in the chest. Blackmane caught him before he hitthe ground, attempting to keep the floor clean, and dragged him to the side. He tugged the weapon free and wiped it on the guard’s trousers before jogging away, continuing to the end of the corridor and peering around the corner. And who should he find outside Hodge’s bedchamber door other than Morris himself. That was problematic, as he had promised to let the man live. He stepped out into the open, and Morris whipped his head in Blackmane’s direction.

‘How did you…? You know what? Never mind.’ He nervously glanced both ways down the corridor. ‘Surely you know I can’t let you inside this room. If you don’t kill me, then His Lordship will.’

‘Not if it looks like you put up a good fight.’ Blackmane stepped up to him fast, slicing open Morris’s arm before the man even had a chance to draw his sword.

‘Shit,’ Morris grunted.

‘It’s just a surface wound,’ Blackmane said, ‘but you’re going to want to apply pressure.’ He tried the door handle, but it was locked.

‘Youcutme.’

Blackmane searched the bleeding guard for keys. ‘Isavedyou. You should be thanking me.’ He found the keys in a trouser pocket. ‘Thanks,’ he said before going to unlock the door.

‘You’ll never make it out,’ Morris said. ‘His Lordship is probably on his way. This corridor will be swarming with guards in a moment.’

Blackmane knew that. ‘Don’t you have a wound to tend to?’ He pushed the door open and looked around the oversized room. Isabel stood against the far wall, staring at him with a look of pure disbelief.

‘You know how this goes,’ he said, stepping inside. ‘I need you to do exactly as I say.’

She nodded. ‘All right.’

He tucked the knife into his belt and extended one bloodied hand in her direction. She ran to him, but instead of taking his hand, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, ‘He is going to kill you.’

Blackmane breathed in her floral scent. ‘Only if he gets the chance.’

As if on cue, he heard footsteps coming at a run—lots of them.

Isabel stepped back from him, and he turned to lock the door. ‘Gather all the linen and garments you can find,’ he instructed.

She ran straight to the bed, tearing the covers from it. While she was doing that, Blackmane jammed a chair beneath the doorhandle, then got to work knotting all the linen together.

‘Are we going out the window?’ she asked.

‘Yes.’

The door handle rattled, and then Hodge’s voice boomed, ‘I know you are in there, Blackmane. Hand her over to me, and in return, I will not force her to watch your death.’

‘He will break the door,’ she whispered.

Blackmane secured one end of the garment rope to the bed and tossed the other end through the window. ‘Get on my back, quickly.’

She ran to him and climbed onto his back.

He climbed out the window, pressing the soles of his boots into the wall. ‘Hold on tight.’ He then lowered them all the way to the ground while Hodge continued to shout above them.

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