More armed elves marched past in a steady stream of red cloaks. Their voices faded as the search moved on to other tunnels. Rawn glanced at Elon, and they exchanged a silent nod.
Whoever this intruder was, he sent his thanks.
Now was the time to run.
“We have to move quickly,” Elon whispered as Rawn took out the small pouch from his pocket. “I will take point.”
He quickly dumped out the amber bead and passed it to Elon. “I will guard your back.”
Making sure the tunnel was empty first, Elon skulked to the cell door and pressed the bead against a bar. The black clover inside glowed, and the metal hummed. Energy pulled from the air, and Rawn heard a static pop.
A triumphant smirk crossed Elon’s face. The confinement spell that made the iron indestructible had broken, trickling enough life-force into the air to allow him to gather a sliver of Essence.
Taking hold of the bars, magic ignited beneath Elon’s palms, and veins of blue light snaked up his arm. His lips moved in a soft murmur—an incantation in Elvish tongue.“Ep’mores yalbod esoreca—are’bil.”
The cell door popped open with a loudclang, and their shackles broke clean off their wrists, thudding to the ground at their feet. God of Urn. Rawn’s chest heaved with a disbelieving laugh. They were free.
They leaped up and ran out into the passage. Prisoners desperately cried out to them. Their bony hands waved through the bars, begging for release.
Elon turned away. “Make haste. The guards will soon return.”
Rawn stared at his retreating back. “Wait, what of the others? We cannot leave them here.”
“We don’t have time to break all these cells open, Norrlen.” He continued onward. “The hounds will soon catch our scent.”
The wailing voices of the prisoners filled the tunnel. He couldn’t walk away from this. It wasn’t right.
Rushing to catch up to Elon, Rawn grabbed his shoulder. “We must help them. You regretted soaking these sands with the blood of others. Here is your chance to prevent more from spilling.”
“You’re an honorable elf, Norrlen, but we can’t save them all. Most will likely die down here if they run.”
“They will surely die if they don’t. We owe them the chance to fight their way out of here or die trying.” Because Rawn would want that chance. For the possibility of ever seeing his family again, he would face Death itself.
Sighing, Elon looked at the gaunt faces pleading to them, and confliction tightened his brow. “We cannot break open each cell.”
“Nor do we have to.” Rawn nodded up at the softly glowing runes carved into the stone ceiling. Why break small spells when they could break the main one?
Elon’s mouth hitched. He tossed the amber bead up, and it shattered against the ceiling. A crack split the stone through the runes, and their light winked out. Stunned silence filled the tunnel.
Rawn held still. “Did it work?—”
The earth violently rocked beneath their feet. Voices cried out, and the Blood Keep groaned. They stumbled, bracing themselves against the walls. But the quake soon settled, and Rawn gasped when life-forceflooded into the stale air, falling over him like a soft blanket, warming his skin. He drew on his Essence, and his palm gently glowed teal blue.
“The wards are broken,” Elon announced. “Free yourselves!”
They ran as chants and spells were called out. Cell doors began to crumble or burst open with a flash of colors. Rawn felt a surge of elation.
They weren’t out yet, but he was one step closer to home.
“The prisoners have escaped!” a shout echoed behind them, and that elation quickly vanished.
More guards came running. The sounds of growling hounds and screams filled the tunnels as everyone fled.
“This way!” Elon panted as they skidded around the bend into another tunnel. “We can still make it to the waterways.”
The dungeon was a maze. Rawn couldn’t pinpoint north from south, but Elon seemed to know exactly where to go.
Until a Bloodhound cut off their escape.
