Zach Brenner's Arc

Chapter 10 of 86

The bell still rang above. Boots hammered the stone somewhere close. Zach pressed his back to the passage wall and drew the sword. Below them the stairwell ran into black. Behind them the wall had sealed. Torchlight spilled down the steps. Guards were coming, and there was nowhere to run. Raven crouched beside him, dagger up. Her cat ears twitched at every sound. She had left her father's kingdom for this quest, and now she looked ready to die in a stranger's tunnel. "How many?" she whispered. Zach couldn't answer. He set his feet and gripped the hilt. The sword felt heavy, then steady. He let its weight settle the way the King had taught him. If he had to cut his way out, he would. Lyra grabbed his arm. The small elf shook her head hard. "Don't," she hissed. "You swing that and they'll all know exactly where we stand." She had promised to keep them careful, not brave. Now she pulled the blue orb from her belt. "There's no room to hide," Zach said. The steps were bare stone. Nothing to duck behind. "Then we won't hide," Lyra said. "Get against the wall. Both of you. Now." Zach didn't understand, but he trusted her. He and Raven pressed flat to the cold stone. Lyra spread her fingers and spoke low words he didn't know. The orb went dark. A cold shadow rose off the wall and wrapped around them like ink. Zach looked down at his own arm. He could barely see it. His tattoos, his blade, his boots—all of it swallowed by the dark. Beside him Raven had vanished into the black. Only her breath told him she was there. "Don't move," Lyra breathed. "Don't speak." The guards reached the stair. Two came first, then three more, torches high. They pounded down the steps a hand's width from Zach's face. He held still and did not breathe. One guard stopped and swept his torch across the wall. The light passed right over them and found nothing. The man grunted and moved on. They listened as the boots faded down and away. The bell above finally stopped. Silence pressed in. Lyra let out a shaking breath and dropped the shadow. The orb glowed faint blue again. "That," she said, "is the last free trick you get from me tonight." Raven touched Zach's shoulder to prove she was still real. "They think we ran below," she said. "Then we go the other way," Zach said. He looked down the dark passage sloping north. Lyra pressed her palm to the stone and read the empty rooms ahead. "Clear," she whispered. "For now." Zach led them deeper into the dark hallways, away from the searching guards. Every step took him further under Darkthorne's tower and closer to home. The way behind was sealed. There was only forward now.