Kaelor Vex's Arc

Chapter 6 of 5

The chains bit into Kaelor's wrists. He sat against the cold cell wall and listened. Down the hall, Ruby's voice carried through the stone. She was arguing with a guard, sharp and stubborn, refusing food. Every word reminded Kaelor of the truth. As long as he stayed chained, the warlord could hurt her whenever he chose. He pulled at the iron until his skin tore. It held. He needed another way out. He studied the chains. They ran from his wrists to a ring bolted in the floor. The bolt was old. The mortar around it had cracked. Kaelor braced his boots on the wall and pulled. Dust sifted from the ring. It moved, just a little. He pulled again, harder, teeth clenched. The bolt loosened but would not tear free. He needed leverage he did not have. Footsteps came down the hall. The cell door opened. Malakar Bloodstave stepped inside, hood low, red eyes glinting. This was the man who had burned Kaelor's family and taken his grandfather's war hammer. Malakar carried that same hammer now, its red marks dull in the torchlight. He set it against the wall, out of reach, and smiled. "The master wants you softer," Malakar said. "He thinks the girl will do it." He crouched close. "Beg, and I might feed her tonight." Kaelor said nothing. He watched the hammer. He watched the old man's hand rest on the loose floor ring, tapping it, mocking. Then Kaelor moved. He kicked the cracked mortar with both boots, aiming at the ring under Malakar's fingers. The stone burst. The ring tore loose. Kaelor swung his freed chain and looped it around Malakar's throat. Malakar clawed at the iron. He was strong, but Kaelor was stronger, and the rage of years drove him. He dragged the old man down and pinned him. Malakar's hand groped for the hammer. Kaelor reached it first. He wrenched the war hammer up and pressed the heavy head against Malakar's chest. "The keys," Kaelor said. Malakar spat at him. Kaelor pressed harder until the old man gasped and dug the ring of keys from his belt. Kaelor took them, unlocked his wrist cuffs, and left Malakar choking on the floor. He grabbed the war hammer. The weight felt right in his hands again. He ran down the hall. Ruby stood at her cell bars, eyes wide. "You look like a nightmare," she said. "Good." He unlocked her door. "We're leaving." But shouts rose above them. Boots pounded on the stone stairs. Malakar's soldiers filled the far end of the hall, spears down, blocking the only way out. Kaelor had his hammer and his freedom. He had lost the one thing he needed most. The exit was gone, and the warlord's whole guard now stood between them and the doors. Kaelor raised the hammer. "Stay behind me," he told Ruby. Then he charged.