Prince Danny's Arc

Chapter 4 of 11

Danny pushed through the splintered door and stepped into the prison chamber. The round stone walls felt cold. Small hands grabbed at his coat. He counted faces in the dark and found them all. But behind him, the broken planks hung loose, chains dragging on the floor. The door would not close again. He turned back to the hall. The arched stone passage stretched long and quiet, lit by low torches. On the far wall, deep scratches marked the stone in even spaces. Patrol marks. The guards counted their rounds here. The next one was coming soon. Danny dragged the snapped planks across the opening. The chains clanked. He stacked broken wood against the gap, but it would not hold a push. A shout echoed down the passage. A short green elf rounded the corner, scruffy and sharp-toothed, and froze when it saw the ruined door. It opened its mouth to scream. Danny moved first. He crossed the hall in three steps and drove the silver pommel into its skull. The creature dropped hard. But more boots thudded somewhere deeper in the castle, answering the noise. He dragged the body inside and pressed his back to the broken wood. The chamber was open. The patrol knew. Hiding was over. He looked at the small faces behind him and made the only choice left. They would run, now, together.