I looked through the open door and the first thing I saw was a wrought iron lantern over the entrance to a stairwell. Like something was calling me inside, I headed to the staircase and began ascending timidly. The dim light from the starry sky passing through the skylight above the stairs lit the balustrade which was decorated with little angel cupids holding bows with arrows. The end of the staircase led to a long hallway. I opened the first lancet arch door at my right, and I ended up in another hallway with an arched stained-glass window between two ogive doors.
I picked up a lit candlestick that was placed on top of a wooden table and I opened another door that led to a cold room with a few pieces of furniture, a burning fireplace to the left, and two stained glass windows on the right. After I closed the door behind me, I passed by a window and looked outside. The moon had broken through the low clouds signaling the end of the rain. Holding the candlestick tightly, I turned the knob of the door on the left and pushed it timidly. A half-lit chamber was revealed behind the small opening. On the opposite wall, there was another door leading to a strong light source. As I was crossing the long chamber, I noticed an arched bookcase full of old books. Spider webs and dust covered the walls.
“Well, well, well... The mouse fell into the trap,” the robust male voice I had heard at the pub echoed once more inside my mind and made me jump. In the dim light, the figure of a man running toward me was the last thing I saw before I passed out.
“WHAT THE HECK IS THAT with me fainting?” I yelled at myself once I opened my eyes again. “And where the freaking fart am I now?”
It was a dungeon. I was locked in a freaking dungeon. Again.
“Mordred, you bastard! Is that you?”
No answer. How did they make me faint without me being aware of it happening? That had never happened before. It was so scary. Whoever had done that to me must have been immensely powerful. The thought made me feel frightened. Not because I was afraid to confront whoever was behind this attack, but mainly because I did not know what and who was behind it.
“Where is Arthur when you need him the most?”
Arthur knew more than he had revealed to me. He thought that this was the best way to protect me, but I was stronger than he thought I was. The lack of knowledge was killing me.
I looked at the dungeon door. It was made of iron bars. “Some say the telepathic people have the power to bend iron bars with their mind,” I thought. “Maybe I can do that too. Or maybe I do not, otherwise, why would they lock me in a cell with iron bars as a door? Have they underestimated me? I do not blame them. They tested me and I failed. They came close to me and I did not even sense them. They made me faint twice and I did not resist. So maybe they know better than Arthur and me. But I won’t know if they’re right if I don’t try.”
I fixed my gaze on the center of the dungeon door. I focused so hard on the iron bars until my eyes started burning and I got a headache. And then the miracle happened. With a squeaking noise, the bars got bent and a large hole appeared in the middle of the door. It was time to leave that pothole like a boss.
“Believe in yourself when no one believes in you,” I told myself as I rushed into the dim corridor.
Running like hell, I reached a stone staircase and started climbing fast. I did not stop running even when I entered a vast chamber empty of furniture. Carved wood columns were the only decoration. A heavy wooden chandelier with dozens of candles was hanging from the ceiling. A huge iron gate was visible in the distance. And then, I heard them.
A turmoil of thoughts suddenly erupted into my head, accompanied by a shrill sound that caused me so much pain that I unconsciously bent down, with the weight of my body collapsing onto my knees. I placed my hands on my ears in a desperate effort to block the horrific sound out of my mind, although I knew it would have little effect. It was like a vortex of thoughts was swirling in a mist of contradicting emotions. A strong wind blew abruptly behind my back and got my hair fly into the air. Beads of sweat poured over my forehead as I realized that Arthur was in that castle and he was in trouble.
A loud “bang” made my heart race like a crazy horse. The entire castle was shaking, glasses were broken in an eerie crunching sound. Another loud “bang” was this time accompanied by Arthur’s voice.
“Arthur!” I shouted and ran toward the chamber the noise was coming from. It was so dark that I could not see much. I took a deep breath and rushed into the room that resembled a battleground. Arthur and Dindrane were engaged in a life and death fight against a group of Black Sword Fighters.
A bright light flashed the space as Arthur pulled his dagger out of his pocket to defend himself from a huge black-clad man’s knife attacks. Arthur stayed still until his opponent got closer to him, and then with a quick move, he ducked and grasped him by the
