Leni raced down the empty corridors and stairs; the dungeon was buried deep in the bowels of the castle. The walls went from white to a dingy grey as she descended the last staircase. It was dark, wet, and cold. Kieran must be miserable she thought. She listened and heard a guard coming towards her. She didn't want to kill anyone, but she had nowhere to hide. She concentrated on her hands, and when he rounded the corner, she pushed him he flew back into the wall and sank down to the floor unconscious. She checked him and made sure he was still breathing before moving on. There was a long row of cells and she didn't have time to check them all.
"Kieran?" she whispered, but heard nothing. She repeated his name louder.
"Who's there?" he demanded. She ran towards his voice, to the last cell on the block.
"Thank the gods it's you, do you have the key?" Kieran said, seeing Leni. His dirty hand reached out for it but she cursed.
"I don't, but I do have an idea." She told him. She held the padlock in her hand and replayed the events in her mind when Ferinor was in her chamber but she was able to temper her anger. She squeezed the lock and the metal melted slightly making the lock pop open.
"You're getting really good." Kieran told her, grinning from ear to ear.
"The raiders are trying to take the castle, we have to find Rayn." She tugged his arm towards the stairs.
"I kind of need a sword." He said sarcastically," I can't exactly go charging into battle without one."
"You can have the one off that guard over there." She pointed, noticing his jaw drop as she did so.
"You intentionally knocked out a guard?" he asked her in shock.
"Just get the sword!" she almost yelled at him. This was not the time for his sarcasm.
They went back the way she'd come. She noticed how filthy his clothes were, and his feet were bare. She felt awful. She had been the reason he was treated badly.
"Come on, let's get you out of here," Kieran said, heading for the courtyard.
"I'm not leaving until I find Rayn," she was determined.
Kieran grabbed her arm," I promised him I would get you out. You will listen to me."
"Or what, you'll overpower me?" she asked derisively, before heading the other direction as she pulled away from him.
"Stop it! Just do what I say for once," he said, his voice showing he was very irritated.
Leni went along with what he wanted, but they didn't get very far. As they were about to make a run for it across the open courtyard, a stream of warriors on horseback flooded in followed closely by an army of raiders. A horse's shrill whinny pierced the air, men cried out in pain or to each other. Eleanor looked frantically for Rayn but didn't see him.
"Get inside!" Kieran said, as he pushed Leni back into the castle, and waded into the fray with his sword raised.
Leni was suddenly terrified and she froze. Kieran cut down two raiders and was engaging a third when he turned back and saw her standing there alone. "Run Leni!" he screamed as he swung his sword and toppled another one. Her fear rose up inside her. She wanted to run and she didn't want to kill anybody, but she closed her eyes and concentrated carefully, building a force in her mind and sending it outward. She opened her eyes to see a raider running at her full speed. She gasped and put her hands up as if to push him. The force was so strong it knocked over everyone within 50 paces of her. The rest of the fighting lulled and everyone looked at her. She was suddenly very afraid of all the focus on her.
Run!
She turned and ran but she didn't know where to go. Her only exit had been cut off so she did the only thing that seemed like a decent idea. She headed for Rayn's chambers; she would just have to hide in the passageway until it was over even though that seemed cowardly and she'd rather be helping, but she didn't know which side to help! She was rounding the corner toward the throne room when King Mollach himself took her by surprise. She shrieked and threw her hands up again throwing him back against the opposite wall but he recovered quickly. She pulled her dagger and he drew his sword. She hadn't been taught how to fight like this so she just prayed she could escape somehow.
She waited for him to engage her; she didn't want to make the first move. He lunged at her and swung his sword in a low arc. She jumped over it as it passed close to her legs and stepped into arms reach so he couldn't use it on her again, a trick she'd learned from Riley. She pushed more magic into her hands with her mind and managed to pin him against the wall but it didn't last. Her magic was waning quickly; she'd spent so much energy already. Grey was bigger than she was, almost as big as Rayn she noticed. His armor glistened, his sword was sharp. She was no match for a seasoned warrior like him. He raised his sword and she tried to duck under his arm but he was faking. He grabbed her throat with his large hand. She tried to stab him with her dagger but he twisted it out of her hand and threw it aside with little effort.
"You thought you could run from me?" he growled in her face, his hot breath caressing her skin. His fingers pressed into her windpipe and made her vision blur. He was so strong. She tried to focus but she couldn't. Oh Gods it couldn't end like this! She kicked at him and tried to break his grip but he forced her against a stone statue of a knight in the corridor.
"You will lose your life protecting these filthy rats?" he spat.
She tried to scream again but she could barely breathe. She clawed at his hands as the sounds of a battle echoed farther down the corridor. Lukas' face entered her mind, tears ran down her face. He'd grow up an orphan, just like she had. She tried to force the magic through her veins but the little that she felt pass through her went unnoticed by her assailant. Eleanor felt Grey Mollach's grip go slack as her eyes rolled back, her head hit the floor hard and she blacked out.
**
She woke up hearing voices, many voices. The wounded were laid out on the floor around her, some moaned, several were bleeding, but many were simply resting. If the fighting was over, why hadn't someone come for her? Where were they? She panicked and got up to look around. She steadied herself on the wall and walked into the throne room. She was shocked at the sight of it. The King was slumped on this throne; an arrow stuck out of his left shoulder; that must have been why he had dropped her. His throat had been slashed; the large wound had poured blood down the front of his shiny armor but it had dried already. She covered her mouth and almost retched on the floor. If they'd done this to the King, what had they done to Rayn?
A man approached her that she didn't recognize. He was definitely Rodanian, with tanned skin and blazing green eyes. He was very striking for a middle aged man; he was in good physical shape. His clothes were a little bloodied and dirty but he was clean shaven. He was a raider.
"Who are you?" he demanded of her, firmly.
"My name is Eleanor, I was a prisoner of the King," she said, thinking maybe she could win his favor and he might help her.
"I'm Kien, are you wounded?' he asked, his hard stare as he surveyed her. She rubbed her neck instinctively.
"No," it didn't hurt that badly but she did have a headache, "where is the Prince?" she asked, dying to know.
"In the dungeon, wounded in battle." His eyes narrowed.
