I rise to my mother’s eyes. She must surely see me for what I have become now. Her expression is grim, but I am not met with the horror or disappointment I was expecting.
“We need to go!” Orrian yells. I look over the heads to find that he has emerged on the other side and has a clear exit to the tunnel. He too has managed to arm himself, a colony sword in each hand. Around us the conflict continues but the soldiers are clearly being slowly overwhelmed. Despite the weapons and armour, they are still no match for the numbers and the sheer manpower facing them.
My mother nods once.
“Go,” she says.
“I’ll be back,” I promise, before fumbling my way over a couple clawing at each other on the ground. Damion follows closely behind, desperately trying to avoid being separated.
A few of us manage to break free and join Orrian’s side near the exit. Horas reaches us, he drapes a wounded man over one shoulder just as Orrian decides that we need to leave now if we hope to stand any chance at escaping. A quick head count tells me that only nine of us have made it this far, eight if you are counting the able-bodied. The wounded man is bleeding heavily from his leg but is just about standing. As much as he will slow us down, I know we can’t leave him down here, we would be condemning him if we did. If we run into more trouble, and we more than likely will, it’s going to be a real struggle to battle through them.
Our last looks around the dungeon mirror each other. Orrian, leaving his people down here, Horas separating from his twin, and myself, vowing I’ll return for my mother.
“Come on!” Damion shouts, putting an end to our silent farewells as he itches on the tips of his toes, ready to be rid of this place.
We turn and run together, brushing shoulders against each other in our eagerness as we sprint down the narrow tunnel and towards freedom.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
We reach the top of the spiral staircase panting. Luckily, there are no reinforcements readying themselves in the courtyard to support Becker and his group below. As we ascended the stone steps the battle cries have quietened dramatically, but the noise is not yet reduced to a point where they shouldn’t attract any more attention.
The air begins to freshen around us, I hadn’t realised how used to the stale and dusty atmosphere below we had become. A slight breeze makes its way across the steps and distant sounds of actual life begin to reach our ears. The wind brings shivers down my body, like Orrian I am still topless from giving up my layers to the children in the cart.
Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Nightfall has come and so, as planned, we should have the cover of darkness. Becker, clearly not expecting anyone to make it this far, has also foolishly left the outer gate open, giving us a free exit into the courtyard. With the keys lost somewhere among the bodies back down below, it would have taken far too long to try and retrieve them and make our way back here.
We crouch in the shadows, Orrian perches on the highest step, just out of sight for any passing on ground level. Meanwhile, I help support the injured man being hoisted by Horas. We must manoeuvre awkwardly as I am a couple of steps above but eventually, we manage to hold him securely as he clings aggressively to consciousness.
Orrian curses under his breath, “The gate is blocked. There’s a whole wooden wall covering it up.”
“What?” I ask startled, leaning the injured man against the curved wall so that I can have a look. Sure enough, the regular mesh of twisted metal has been dropped down, but behind it, where I would expect to see the lights of the city, is plank after plank of solid wood. It doesn’t make sense, they hadn’t known about our plan and surely they couldn’t construct a barrier like that every night.
“Wait,” Orrian whispers.
We watch as a pair of guards cross the small courtyard in front of us, passing so close that I ready myself to spring out if we need to. They continue towards the gatehouse, disappearing into a door embedded in the side of the thick wall.
I remember the river I saw pressed up against the walls as we came in, a plan coming to mind but not a good one.
“We need to follow them,” I tell Orrian.
“What?” he asks shocked, “We don’t know how many of them are in there!”
“Come on, we don’t have time. Just follow,” I say, daring to command a king. I slip round him so that I lead the group.
“Ready?” I ask the tiny group behind me, the question so soft that I doubt those at the back can even hear it. Several heads nod back in reply.
Without wasting another passing second, I gently pull the gate open, flinching as its groans bounce around the walls. Sticking my head out first to check that none of the guards have noticed the disturbance, I step out into the moonlight.
I keep my head low as I sprint across the exposed yard, the coldness now really biting at my exposed chest. Despite the bitter chill and the growing numbness in my toes, I am for the first time grateful to have lost possession of my shoes. The soles of my feet lightly slap against the floor as I head back into the safety of the shadows on the opposite side from the dungeon entrance. We are now directly below the first colossal wall between us and
