Veda, Ember, you can come meet them.
A moment later, Veda strode cautiously through the trees.She hesitated only slightly, tangling her hand in Neka’s fur as she crossed over the crumbling perimeter of the fortress grounds.Though she seemed steady, Neka might have a few broken feathers by the grip she kept on her friend.
“Veda, this is Evie and Kovvar, family of Cass’s.”Daya continued the introductions to Ember and Neka as well.
“Hello,” Veda said, touching her necklace with her free hand.
Evie smiled, softening slightly at Veda’s presence.
Once the greetings were done, Kovvar left to retrieve horses from Mountainview.The familiar course of action made Daya’s heart tighten.Just a month ago, she and Connor had stayed to watch the fortress while the others went to town for supplies.Shaking off the memories, she steadied herself.Time to end things.
“What are those for?”Veda asked.
Daya looked up to find Evie pulling two thin chains of metal from her pack.
“To keep the prisoners in line.It will help me keep them controlled with my magic on the trip back.”
“Is that why they’re metal, not rope like our collars were?”
“Yep,” Evie said without elaborating.“Can you stay here and keep watch for us while we go have a chat with the prisoners?”
Veda looked relieved not to be asked to enter the dungeon.“I can do that.”
“Great.Dayanara?”
“This way.”Call if you need us, Veda.
I will.
Tromping through the mix of earth and crumbled stone, Daya led Evie over to the central keep that was still mostly intact.The Wolflumen took it all in with measured glances, silently assessing as they walked.
Lighting a pair of lanterns, Daya led them down into the dungeon.It was pitch black, so she hung the lanterns on designated hooks to light the area.
The two soldiers flinched and cursed, throwing arms up to block the light.She realized that would probably pose a problem for them when they left, after a month in the dark.She never left light for them since she wasn’t around to keep an eye on the lit flames.Usually, she darted them with a short-acting sleeping herb so that she could replenish their water and rations and remove their waste.They’d need to blindfold them the first few days until they re-adjusted to the light.
“Hey, let us out of here!”The surlier of the pair yelled, focusing in on the new face.“This crazy woman has been keeping us captive!”
“We didn’t do anything illegal!Just doing our jobs!”The other joined his comrade at the bars.
Evie stared back at them in her silent way, her single pale eye seeming to glow.Small flickers of energy sparked through her hair though there was no breeze in the dank room.
They continued to plead with her for their freedom until they dissolved into screamed curses at her disinterest in talking to them.
Only then did she finally step closer, boldly standing within grabbing distance should the two try to reach for her through the bars.“The only laws I follow are those of nature, and you are most certainly at fault.Cause any trouble, and I will kill you without a second thought.Bringing you back is a favor, and I never agreed that you’d arrive alive.”
The surly soldier returned to stand across from Evie, hands resting nonchalantly on the bars.“I’d like to see you try.You’re barely more than a child.Let us out, and we’ll see if you’re capable of holding even one of us.”He sneered.
Quicker than Daya would have thought possible in their malnourished state, he launched his arms through the bars to try to grab Evie.Before he reached halfway across the distance, the power roiling in the air snapped with vicious force.
The soldier screamed as the dungeon lit with blinding light.The sharp crack of lightning was deafening.The scent of seared flesh nauseating.
When Daya’s vision cleared, she saw the mouthy soldier lying prone on the ground and the other huddled in terror against the back of the cell.
“Dead?”Daya asked.
“Not quite,” Evie said, sounding resigned to have to leave the man alive.
The remaining soldier was cursing a quiet stream of words from realms far and wide as he stared between his fallen friend and the Wolflumen outside his cell.
