Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1)

by Laura R Cole

CHAPTER 33

  “What's the matter,” Gryffon asked her when Layna halted her movement behind him.

  She hesitated before answering. “I have this disturbing, nightmarish feeling like I've been here before.”

  Gryffon glanced around at the abandoned hallways. “These kinds of places can do that to you. Come on, don't worry about it.”

  Layna couldn't shake the awful feeling that easily, but she resumed her motion regardless.

  They moved through the narrow passageway, deeper into the depths of the castle. The castle reeked of musky fumes, and Layna found it difficult to breathe. The more Layna saw, the more convinced she was that it really was familiar.

  They had to squeeze through one set of gates which someone had physically pried open, and the second set looked like it had been melted away. As they came to the end of the passageway and through a hulking metal door, they came out into a large open area.

  Layna's throat tightened as she surveyed the room. Numerous torture devices – some of which she recognized as racks and feet smashers – filled the room, along with various shelves of heinous implements. The tools ranged from common knives with wicked serrated edges, to elaborate contraptions that someone with a truly sick mind must have thought up. There were also several weird-looking objects that she couldn't even begin to imagine a use for, and had no desire to try. It looked like some of the weaponry had been taken, as there were several empty holders, and Layna was sickened by the looters' greed. This apparent torture area was in a semi-circle shape and hallways spread out from it. By the looks of it, each hallway led to a section of holding cells.

  Gryffon grabbed a set of keys that miraculously still hung on a peg, and led the way down the passageway to the right. The ceilings were claustrophobically low and Layna's mind kept playing tricks on her, making her think that she could hear someone moaning in the cells. The first couple that they passed were empty, but shackles lined their walls ominously and Layna was reminded of the cell she and Gryffon had both occupied recently. Even it seemed spacious and homey compared to these.

  They made their way grimly and methodically down the passageways, and found that they were arranged like a wagon wheel around the central torture chamber. The original passageway they had come down was the only apparent way to the surface. Some of the cells held the ragged remains of their previous occupants. Most just had scattered bones, gnawed on by the rats that still skittered around, not at all made nervous by the light from the mage globes. Every time she met one of their beady little eyes, Layna shivered.

  They searched the whole dungeon, and Layna forced herself to look into each of the cells for any clues. Other than the vile evidence of atrocities long past, she could see no sign of any runes or any indication that the mark on her neck corresponded to anything from the Dark King's castle.

  They walked slowly along the final passageway and came out into the torture chamber once more. Gryffon stood there for a moment, biting his lip. “There has to be something that we're missing.” Layna felt that odd tug of familiarity again and looked back up the passageway they had just come down with the urge to go and look in the last cell once more. “That's it!” exclaimed Gryffon triumphantly. “Look here, there should be another passageway right here between the one we just came down and the doorway. Following the pattern of the rest there is plenty of room, so unless it's not there because something else is...” He started back down the passageway with Layna in tow. They came to the last cell that Layna had been wondering about, and Gryffon stepped inside. Layna winced, but followed. “Well, would you look at that,” Gryffon said.

  Layna glanced from the wall he was staring at back at Gryffon. “What is it?”

  “Doesn't this wall seem awfully well-preserved to you?” he asked. Layna took a closer look, and this time did notice that whilst the walls of the other cells had shown cracks and moss, this one looked as though it could have been built yesterday. Gryffon started running his hands along it, studying its surface for a lever or other means of entrance. He muttered to himself.

  Layna walked to the far left corner and had a flash of déjà-vu. She glanced behind her, noting that from here it was impossible to see into any other cells. She reached up a hand to feel at the wall, and it passed straight through. “Gryffon,” she said shortly.

  He looked up at her, and brightened at her discovery. “Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked her in a gently teasing tone. His cheeriness seemed so out of place.

  She took a deep breath before sending her mage light through the illusion, and then stepped through the stone wall herself. She gasped as she passed through the other side, and hurriedly moved out of the way so that Gryffon could come through. To the left, where the last branch in the wagon wheel pattern that Gryffon had pointed out would have been, was a huge storage room, and it was filled to the brim. Obviously the looters had not thought to try walking through the cell walls. To the right was another hallway, this time lined with actual doors instead of cell bars. In an unspoken agreement, Gryffon and Layna took a left to look at the storage room before tackling the hallway. Layna could not believe her eyes as they scrutinized its contents.

  It held piles of people's belongings: remnants of clothing, shoes, and jewelry. The piles were taller than Layna. She could only imagine how many people it would take to collect that many of any of those things. The room came to a point, and at the skinny end there was a large desk which held an open book.

  Gryffon went to look at it, and he blew the dusk from its pages. His breath threatened to make the whole book collapse into dust itself so he refrained from touching it, but perused the open page. “Looks like a list of people with their crime and what possessions they had.” He snorted. “Most of the listings under crime are nothing of the sort. Listen to this: 'Lillith Posen; one tunic, one wedding band, one pair size 7 shoe. Jailed for buying bread from a person believed to have set foot in Treymayne.' How ridiculous.”

  “Ridiculous or not, she probably died horribly for it,” put in Layna seriously.

  Gryffon nodded in disgust, and they moved out of the storage room towards the hallway. Layna was filled with a sense of dread that far outweighed the initial aversion she had felt when first descending the stairs. As they opened the first doorway, Layna knew why. Runes covered the walls, which also had odd splash-like discolorations that Layna had the sinking feeling had been blood during the room's heyday. In the middle of the chamber was a table, the wood stained a deep dark red that had little to do with the original color. Shackles were affixed to the walls like in the cells, but otherwise the room was strangely empty save for the table. The table looked as though it had at one point probably had leather straps that went across it. There were remains of the metal bindings on either side.

  Layna felt herself getting dizzy, and the room and the runes seemed to swim in circles around her. “I can't be in here,” she managed to choke out, and she rushed out into the hallway, gulping for air as though the room had been suffocating her.

  Gryffon followed her out and put a protective hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

  She nodded numbly and let out a quick steadying breath. Gryffon took her hand, and together they walked up the hallway. They systematically opened each of the doorways and peeked inside, but did not go in any more of them. They recognized the rune that Gryffon bore on his chest, but did not see any sign of the one that Layna had. They came to the last doorway at the very end of the hall and cracked it open. This room was the same as the rest, save one difference. This one still had someone in it. Or, at least, what was left of someone.

  A delicate skeleton, barely held together, was stretched across the far wall. It was held up by shackles on the wrists, ankles and torso. Layna stepped cautiously towards it and let out a strangled cry at the agony that this poor person must have endured. There were chips of bone missing where they must have been hit so hard tha
t they had fractured and had since fallen out. Almost every bone showed signs of having been broken and knitted back together. As Layna looked tentatively with her mage sight, she was horrified to see the extensiveness of the damage that had been inflicted upon the skeleton. Many of the wounds would normally have killed someone, but obviously the person had not been allowed to die as they showed signs of having healed before the person finally perished.

  As she looked closer, she saw that there was gold trim lining the bones, holding them together. Layna knew, as she was still holding on to the power and was therefore able to, that this too had been done while the person was still living. Layna shook her head in disbelief that any human could possibly do this to another, and she wept for the woman. For a woman it was, she now knew. Through her connection with the long-dead woman's remains, Layna could still feel the ripples of pain despite so much time passing. She reached up to claw at the shackles in an effort to get the woman down.

  “What are you doing?” Gryffon asked her urgently.

  “I have to get her down and cremate her in a proper funeral. It will be a symbol for all of them,” she said through her tears, “for all the innocent people who suffered and died here.”

  Gryffon replied by stepping forward to help her undo the shackles. She was grateful for his acceptance of her need to do this without question; she wasn’t sure that she could put into words the emotions that this place evoked in her. She felt guilty for what had happened, though it had been long before her time.

  Together they very gently laid the woman on the table. Layna took off her cloak and spread it over the woman as a funeral shroud. She whispered the blessings of peace, extending her prayer to all those affected by this place. Gryffon remained silent as she stepped back and reached for the power as she had with Mila, and she very carefully set the bones on fire, focusing the power so that it was hot enough to burn them to ash. It took quite some time as Layna was determined to burn off every speck of the offending gold lace-work before starting the ritual of burning itself.

  When the skeleton had disappeared, leaving only a tiny pile of dust in the vague shape of a person on the table, Layna extinguished her fire and was pleased that she had not even scorched the table.

  A breeze suddenly came out of nowhere and the dust scattered off the table, disappearing into the wind.

  Layna and Gryffon stood in silence for a moment before Gryffon spoke. “How is there a breeze way down here?”

  “Magic,” was Layna's answer, but she followed where the ashes had blown and could feel air moving through a crack in the wall. She pressed a hand against the spot and was rewarded by a creaking as the wall slid back into itself, revealing yet another secret passage.

  Once more they sent their mage lights through before them and followed behind. It was a narrow spiraling staircase lined with more runes, and Layna tried not to brush up against the walls as if even physical contact with them would contaminate her.

  At the top was another door that looked as though it would slide into the indentation along the side of it to allow them to pass. Layna paused as she saw what was on the door. It was unmarred by the smaller runes, like those that completely covered the rest of the walls, but in the center of its starkly blank surface was unmistakably the symbol from her neck.

  Gryffon and Layna exchanged a look and Layna raised a shaking hand to push the door aside. As she had guessed, it slid back into the wall next to it to reveal an opening. Layna thought she saw an ornately decorated room in the dim light beyond it and she stepped into the room with nervous exhilaration, hoping that it would reveal some information about the mark that labeled its door.

  Her excitement deflated quickly as she looked around. She sighed. It looked as though the passageway had brought them back up to the main part of the castle, and this room was as threadbare as the rest.

  Gryffon, with his greater knowledge of the castle's lay-out was able to deduce more from the threadbare room, however. “Looks like this was the King's chamber,” he commented.

  Layna winced. Perhaps it was significant that her mark was on the door that led here after all. “Can we get out of here now?” she asked pleadingly, and to her relief, Gryffon agreed.

  Layna stretched out in the bath house back at the Phoenix, happily letting the water lap up over her chin as she relaxed in the warm water. It felt wonderful to unwind after days on the road, and she let the heat seep into her bones. Slowly, it removed the chill from having visited the dark fortress, and Layna tried hard not to dwell on the horrible feeling she had gotten from being there. She still felt wary, as though a presence was watching her, blaming her for the awful things that had happened there, and she was glad to be gone.

  As the water finally started to cool, Layna resisted the urge to use her newfound power to reheat it, and reached lazily for a towel. She took another and bound her hair, bundling it and the towel on top of her head. She wrapped the first around her torso, sliding her feet into slippers, and made her way back to the room. She opened the door to the rooms to reveal Gryffon pouring over a book, and she sighed happily. “You really should go soak out all your aches in the bath house,” she told him, “It's simply divine.”

  Gryffon looked up from the book and laughed. “Perhaps I'll do just that. Getting rid of all this dirt would be an improvement too.” He did a double take at her, and suddenly grew serious. “What did you do with the charm I gave you?”

  “It's right here in my pocket,” Layna said defensively. “I just took it off earlier because it was tickling my neck.”

  “Put it back on,” Gryffon commanded her urgently.

  Layna complied, though she was hurt at the harshness of his words. She groped through the pockets of the clothes draped over her arm and found the charm. She dropped it around her neck. “There. Happy?”

  Gryffon relaxed, and seemed to sense her discomfort. “Sorry,” he apologized. “It's just that it's more than just a necklace, it's a shielding charm. When I first met you, I had the suspicion that you had talent, and a lot of it. We thought it would be best if you didn't draw attention to yourself if you did happen to discover that you were able to do magic.”

  “We?” Layna demanded, her temper flaring.

  Gryffon looked embarrassed answering, “I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you at first, and I happened to mention to my handlers that I might have come across a high talent. They didn't want you falling into the hands of the priests and having who-know-what happen to you so they suggested the charm. I kinda forgot about it until I suddenly noticed your bare neck tonight. I didn't mean to keep it from you or anything, really. I even added a protection charm to it too, because I…when I gave it to you I didn't think that I'd- that'd you'd be-” He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “Will you forgive me?”

  Layna glared at him for a moment, and then relented. “Alright, thank you. So what's the big deal that I took it off for a few hours?”

  “Only that you're using magic now on top of having a lot of talent. You're like a beacon without it to anyone who's watching for magic-use. From what we've learned, there could be those who are, especially around here. Not to mention that mark on your neck, we don't want to alert anyone watching for that to your presence.”

  “No, we certainly don't,” Layna agreed and then mused, “I thought that like with the messages you send, that any kind of magic gives off a radiant feel. How can a magic charm hide magic? And we’ve been doing magic anyway, so how is this different?”

  “Well,” Gryffon explained, “First off, the magic we are working is relatively small and therefore wouldn’t necessarily attract a lot of attention. Once a talent is discovered, you’re body gives off a radiant ‘feel’ of magic, which is stronger the stronger the talent is. So in your case, it’s pretty apparent. The charm works to counteract this beacon of power. It still is obvious that there is magic present; it just works to disguise it.
It first tries to fool someone into thinking that it is only the charm that is magic, and not the person itself. If this doesn't work, it makes it look as though you have less talent than you really do. So someone doing a cursory scan of the area or who looks at you briefly wouldn't notice, unless for some reason they try and break into the shield. A person with more talent still could do it, but it makes them think there's no reason to. Plus, the charms are done by very powerful mages back in Treymayne. I don't think that there are many here who are more powerful. Since your Dark Age there are only a select few with any real talent such as you.”

  “Such as me,” Layna repeated thoughtfully.

  After several days of asking around at various spots around town, they had learned quite a lot of legends regarding the hidden location, but most of it seemed to be different versions of the same thing, and none specified a location. Layna was slightly discouraged that the only real information that they had gotten was that they shouldn't even try to get in. Gryffon had been optimistic though, and seemed to think that even if no one knew where the entrance was, they still may be able to find clues by wandering the countryside. He reasoned that if there were still followers going in and out, they would have to leave some sign. The thought made Layna shiver, but she was growing more and more nervously curious the closer they got to the historic place. Especially since their visit to the castle had given them no further clues aside from the mark having been on the door between the King's chamber and the magical torture rooms. Maybe it was just a protective rune and really had nothing to do with the Dark King. Maybe.

  “Psst,” said a voice from a dark alley, and Layna jumped.

  Gryffon turned towards it slowly. He craned his head around to try and get a view into the shadows where the voice had come from. “Who's there?” he asked warily.

  “I overheard youse at the tavern the other night,” the voice said, “I knows a way in.” A hand snaked out into the light beckoning to them, revealing itself to be that of a young child.

  Layna glanced at Gryffon who gave her a shrug before carefully following the boy into the alley, ready to turn and run should it be a trap.

  The little boy came into view as their eyes adjusted to the dim light in the alley, and they saw that he was an unfortunate fact of life in any city, and more so here in Dunlop which had been in its prime hundreds of years ago. He was a street child. His clothes were tattered and torn, and the tunic and boots he wore were much too big for him. At least he looked well-covered and well-nourished for living on the streets.

  His eyes darted around as he moved, and he walked in jerky motions, as if trying to evade pursuit though none was chasing him. He reminded Layna of a mouse; moving from hiding spot to hiding spot, searching for crumbs, ever watchful for the hawk that might suddenly come plunging down from above. He led them down to the end of the alley and looked around, glancing behind them to make sure that they weren't followed. He slipped around behind a gate. They followed and emerged in a small area between two buildings. The nook had been turned into a shelter by piles of crates, old clothing, and by the looks of it, anything else they could find. A small fire was being tended in the back by an older woman who scowled at them as they entered.

  “Who are you?” she demanded rudely, looking up from the fire which she had been huddled up against.

  “They're with me,” said the boy. He brought another blanket over to the woman, and laid it around her frail form.

  “I wasn't talking to you, boy,” she growled, taking a swing at him and dislodging the blanket he had just brought for her.

  He dodged the blow deftly, and replaced the blanket with a shrug before turning his attention back to them. “Me mum's a bit ornery in this weather, it makes 'er bones ache.” The woman grumbled something impolite and turned her back to them. She hummed softly under her breath as she rocked back and forth in front of the fire.

  “So youse wanna get into the ruins, do you?” the boy asked, his voice thick with an accent that Layna couldn't place.

  “Yes,” said Gryffon guardedly, and he waited for the boy to go on.

  “Well,” the boy said, “I can gets you at least parts way.” He paused and gave them a grin, revealing blackened teeth. “For a pretty penny, of course.”

  “Nothing in life is free,” quipped Gryffon and nodded to the boy, indicating that he understood that the information would not come without a price.

  The boy nodded happily back and went on, “I's been around in them foothills since I were a little, and cans tell you that without a knowin' which caves are which you could find yourself in a tomb yourself, if you catch my meaning. Supposedly there's another entrance that the Darkies use, but I ain't never seen it. I can lead you to the main doors through the tunnel maze, but then you're on your own. Ain't nobody in town here that'll take even half as close as me.”

  “Darkies?” Layna asked, and was given a long stare before he explained.

  “Darkies are the ones who still follow the ways of the Dark King,” the boy said softly, as if afraid he'd be overheard. “They's say that the followers are still servin’ his spirit, and they've been seen in the woods in these parts. We don't go out at night if we can help it here, it be dangerous alone in the dark.”

  The woman was starting to fuss. Her humming was replaced with curses and the boy hurried to continue, looking at her with trepidation.

  “Meet me by the big oak behind the smith's tomorrow at sunrise. I'll show the way.” He shooed them out, calling behind them, “And don't forget to bring me a little somethin’.”

  The next morning they awoke in darkness, and prepared themselves for the trek to the caves and the possibilities of answers that lay within them. Gryffon handed her a dagger and she fastened it to her belt solemnly. They found their way to the kitchen and left money with the innkeeper, telling him that they were going to be camping out of town for a bit so they wanted to pay up their bill.

  Layna stifled a yawn as they made their way to the smith's, and she shifted the weight of her pack to a more comfortable position. They found the oak that the boy must have been referring to, and settled in underneath it to wait for their guide. Layna had just closed her eyes and was hoping for a little cat-nap when the boy appeared, seemingly out of thin air beside them.

  She jerked awake and he grinned sheepishly at her. “Mornin'” he greeted them. “You brought somethin' for me?”

  Gryffon nodded, and held out his hand with a few coins in it. The boy looked at it and narrowed his eyes and Gryffon added another.

  The boy reached out and took the coins with a satisfied nod and set off without a look behind him. Gryffon and Layna hurried to follow.

  The hike to the caves was long, but not overly difficult. The winter's snow was already melted, making walking easier. Layna grew more nervous with every step, fear growing inside her of the danger that awaited them. It was easy to fall into Gryffon's easy-going attitude that everything would go alright when the plan was in the distant future, but now that they were headed into danger, she wasn't sure that she had quite as much confidence in their abilities as Gryffon did. Why would we be able to succeed where so many others have failed? And not only failed, but paid for their failure with their lives. She tried to break this train of thought by focusing instead on winding the power around her like a cocoon, trying to create a sort of barrier between her and anything that might try and hurt her.

  Just as Layna's feet were beginning to ache, the boy leading them stopped and pointed to a small cave entrance up above them. “I'll lead youse in as far as I've gone,” he told them, “but after that you’re on your own.”

  “How do you know it's the right cave if you haven't gone all the way in?” Layna asked.

  “You'll see.” was the only answer she got. He scurried up the sharp incline of rocks ahead of them, and disappeared into the cave. Gryffon followed behind, and turned to give Layna
a hand. She took it, and heaved herself up as well. They squeezed into the dark opening behind the boy and found, to Layna's surprise, that inside was a somewhat large cavern.

  The boy was holding something glowing and Layna looked curiously at it.

  “Glow worms.” He held them up for her to see. “Someone magicked ‘em to stay inside these globes to light the way. Pretty good talent to last this long, huh?” He turned, and the light followed his movement, casting eerie shadows along the cavern walls.

  A bat was startled by their entrance, and it detached from the ceiling, fluttering off into the darkness. “Watch your step here,” the boy said pointing to where a portion of the floor seemed to be indented in an oddly circular shape. “I think it's already been triggered, but youse can never be too careful.”

  “Why do you think it's been triggered?” Layna asked and the boy pointed once more. Layna's vision followed where he pointed, and she sucked in her breath. As his hand swung around to show her, the light followed to illuminate a section of cave that had previously been in the dark. The scene it revealed was grisly: A skeleton was pinned to the opposite wall, held in place by a hundred daggers that had been buried inches deep into the rock wall.

  “Whoa,” she whispered.

  “Yeah,” the boy said, “I wouldn't wants to be wrong. There’s all sorts of things likes that so I’d stick close.”

  Layna decided that perhaps she wouldn't ask any more questions.

  The boy led them around several other booby-traps. He pointed out the triggers and another skeleton, this one crushed under a huge stone. “I think some of them were triggered by magic,” the boy said, “I couldn't find any other way they would have been, so hopefully any other magic ones have worn off by now.” He didn't seem overly confident about this statement, and Layna glanced at the globe of glow worms, still shining brightly.

  “What made you come in here,” Gryffon asked him curiously, and the boy shrugged.

  “Same as the rest; hoping to find something worthwhile,” he paused to look back at them with a roguish grin, “I just happen to be smarter than they are, and I let them go in and get it. Then I comes in to take it off them once they don't need it anymore, see?”

  “How nice,” Gryffon commented dryly. The boy didn't seem to take notice of the sarcasm.

  They came to a doorway, the man-made object looking out of place in the natural cave. It was elaborately carved wood, polished to the point of gleaming and strange symbols were carved into it. Her breath caught in her throat as she caught a glimpse of the symbol matching the mark on her neck. A glance in his direction told her that Gryffon saw it too, and he raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing.

  The boy walked up to the door and laid a hand on several of the symbols. The door swung open with a squeak, a great ball of dust billowing out as the air around it was disturbed. Layna waved a hand in front of her face and coughed.

  “Don't touch anything,” ordered the boy, and he entered through the doorway. Gryffon and Layna were close behind.

  Walking through the doorway was like entering a whole other world. The path became illuminated with their movement, and suddenly the cave became an actual hallway rather than the rock corridor they had previously been following. There were more of the strange symbols along the walls. Every now and then, there was a hollowed out section of wall where an ornament; be it a golden goblet, a crown, or in one case what looked like some sort of animal's talon, displayed in a glass case. Gryffon moved closer to the talon to inspect it, but heeded the boy's warning and did not touch it.

  “Tempting, isn't it?” the boy asked. He sighed, gazing longingly at one of the gold pieces. “Must be a fortune in here, but no one's ever been able to get them off the pedestals without dying so I'm not abouts to try.”

  “No, I wouldn't think so,” Layna agreed. They started forward, moving through the treasure more quickly, the appeal suddenly diminished for Layna knowing that these too were traps. For all they knew they could really only be illusion.

  Curious at the thought, Layna reached for the power and touched one of them lightly with a magic tendril of energy. A huge crash sounded and she jumped backwards, tumbling into Gryffon, who caught her and then swung around to face whatever had caused the noise.