The Last Refuge (The Tomewright Compendium Book 1)

by L. A. Blackburn

  “No one has ever escaped from this stronghold alive,” she said. “The Regfennid is the leader of that band of Fianna here and this group is very powerful.”

  “All I’ve seen of his power is his ability for cruelty. I don’t find that powerful,” he said.

  “You’ve no idea how cruel,” she said in a cold tone.

  “I am going to clean these wounds and it’s going to hurt. All I have to use is wine and that always has a sting to it,” he said. He took some of the silk sheets and tore them into strips folding them into bandages. “Why am I being treated so well? So far, other than a bruise on the head, they haven’t harmed me in any way.”

  “You must have something he wants very badly or you would not be alive,” she said. Nathan thought on this a moment.

  Perhaps Conner had something to do with the shadow that tried to kill him. But that made no sense, why would he capture someone he was trying to kill and then leave him alive. Everything was very confusing. Nathan cleaned the wounds, carefully bandaging them as best he could.

  “You tried to escape,” he asked. “I could use some help escaping. I know you tried once so I would not ask you to help again. Just tell me what to do.”

  “I will try again even if it would cost me my life,” she said as she opened a compartment in the corner of the room and took a small flask from it. “But first, have a some of this, it will keep you warm and strong. I hide this from the guards for my own use.”

  She opened the flask and took a long drink then held it out to him. She had a disturbingly insistent look so Nathan took a drink. Immediately, he began to feel a warm strength surge from his lungs that move to his limbs. It was a powerful feeling.

  “You’re right. I feel like I could lift a mountain,” he said.

  “Drink all you want,” she added.

  He took another long draft from the flask and stopped in a coughing fit. The heavy vapors from the drink filled his lungs and choked him for a moment. She smiled to herself as she walked to the corner of the room and pushed another panel. In the corner, a portion of the wall slid away revealing a hidden passage.

  “Come quickly. It is almost time for the guards to return,” she said.

  Something felt odd to him but he couldn’t place it. Nevertheless, Nathan followed her into the bleak tunnel, trailing her shadowy form into the darkness. He had no idea how she could navigate in the dimness and could only guess that she had been this way before. The further they went the colder it became and he quickly began to wish he’d brought some blankets with him, but there was no going back now. By the time his eyes adjusted to the blackness, they stopped as she pushed a stone on the nearby wall. Moving aside a large panel, they entered a long corridor with torches along the walls and every few feet there was a wooden door with a lock. Pitiful moaning echoed down the hallway like the chambers of hell itself.

  “The guards come every ten minutes but we’ve no idea how long it has been since they were last here,” she whispered.

  Nathan went to one of doors and peered through the small barred window.

  “We are here to help you escape. How long has the guard been gone,” he asked.

  The bruised and beaten face of a man appeared in the window. He started to speak but when he glimpsed the girl’s face, screamed in terror instead, pulling away from the window to huddled in the corner of his cell.

  “What is the matter with him?” said Nathan.

  “A guard is coming,” she quickly drew Nathan by the hand down a corridor. They checked all the doors until finally finding one unlocked.

  “They believe this cell is empty so no one should check here,” she said.

  Entering the cell, they pressed themselves against the wall on either side of the door and waited. Nathan opened the door just enough to see the guards go to the cell they had just visited.

  “In the mood for some noise are we,” a guard spat. “Well then, here’s a reason to practice.”

  Nathan saw the guards open the cell, dragging the poor man down the hallway ignoring his frail pleas for mercy. They listened until the footsteps fell silent.

  “That was much too close,” he said.

  “The guards are very cautious and will come back frequently now that there has been a disturbance in this corridor,” she said. “That is how I was discovered the first time.”

  “We probably should stay put for the moment,” he said as he made a seat on the floor out of some straw in the cell.

  “As you say,” she said, in an almost dreamy voice.

  The cell fell dark and musty as the light from the torches flickered through the small window on the door and grew colder. Nathan could see her shivering on the other side of the cell and so he went to sit beside her.

  “I’ve always wondered what a dungeon looked like. I’ve been told stories, but I never imagined it would be like this,” he said.

  “I don’t remember it being so cold,” she said.

  “We’ve got to leave here soon or we’re going to freeze to death,” he said as he stole a quick glance down the hallway. Another guard appeared so Nathan quickly shut the door.

  “They’re not coming at any predictable time anymore,” she said, “but we’ll be alright as long as we have enough elixir.”

  She took out the flask and took a long drink. He moved closer as she gave him another drink from the flask.

  “Thanks,” he stammered.

  For an hour, they waited for the hallway to clear long enough to make an escape. Finally, an opportunity presented itself, Nathan tried to go but his legs fell asleep. Everything felt so warm now. All he could think of was how warm everything felt as he leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. The wall felt so soft to him – so assuring. He no longer felt the cold pawing at him as he released his grip on the world. The moment melted into eternity as he gave way to the mindless wonder and drifted off to sleep. Then, it was too late.

  ***

  He woke to find himself in a cell alone wearing only a set of ragged breeches. His belly knotted and he shivered uncontrollably. Sounds in the room echoed in his ears while his head felt as though someone jammed cotton into his skull until it was ready to explode. Abruptly, a hooded man entered the cell clad in a silver-trimmed black and gray cloak, tall black books and a brown fur-lined coat made of wolves fur. Nathan noticed the heads of the wolves were skinned and left as part of the decoration with their faces twisted into horrible expressions. Following him, an enormous giant with a claw-marked face stepped through the doorway, grabbed Nathan by the shoulder and pinned him to the wall with one hand.

  “Well now,” said the giant with a grin. “Look who we have here. It’s an Eldritch sneek’in ‘round. What variety you reckon this one is?”

  “I assure you my friend, he is not as fair as he thinks,” said the hooded man.

  “I have friends looking for me,” said Nathan.

  Suddenly, the dark-clad man began laughing and pulled back his hood to reveal the face of Conner.

  “No, this one’s mix,” laughed Conner as Nathan struggled to get free.

  “I’m enough to wring that smile off your face you murdering maggot,” Nathan said with conviction.

  “You really don’t have a clue do you?” he said in a superior tone. “You’re in my Keep now, boy. This is where you where I rule and you continue breathing at my good pleasure.”

  “What are you yammering about?” Nathan hissed.

  Nathan began kicking at the giant and struggling against the grip that held him to the wall but the more her struggled the more joy the giant took in pressing him until Nathan’s ribs ached.

  “Good, good. You get good and angry. My guests always last much longer when they have a little fight in them. The Mag Mel people aren’t known for their strength of limb and unfortunately you don’t seem to have their strength of mind. Zan is many times stronger than either one of us. Show him,” smiled Conner with a nod.

  The giant heaved the young Seer against the other side
of the cell like a doll. Nathan slide to the ground and tried to catch his breathe. Conner took Nathan by the hair, tilted his head back and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

  “Here I am leader of this Fianna and everyone in the castle would willingly die for me if I asked it. But you, what do you know of our world you selfish brat? Your life isn’t worth spit,” he said venomously. “Where is the journal?”

  “I don’t know,” Nathan said. Conner stared into Nathan’s eyes for a moment, then smiled as he released his grip on Nathan’s head.

  “I don’t believe you,” he said casually. “But if you know where the book is, you will tell me soon enough I’m sure.”

  “You are out of your mind,” Nathan declared.

  “You see the famous traveler, Father Brendan, wasn’t the first to discover this world,’” said Conner. “You’ve read the story about how Moses rescued the nation of Israel from the Egyptians, but you didn’t know that spoils can mean many things. They took more than just silver and gold. One slave took the incantation scroll the magicians used to combat Moses.”

  “So what,” Nathan said with acid in his tone.

  “I thought you’d be more interested since I killed that fool Delgado for it. The journal that shows it’s location after that scum of a priest Brendan hid it,” spat Conner.

  “If you’re so smart, find it yourself – you motherless son of a pig,” said Nathan.

  “Oh, I will young man, I will. You see. Demonic power is far reaching. Or did you think all the attacks you’ve had so far were by accident? And the plague you’ve seen will be like nothing,” said Conner. “Now, where is the journal?”

  “I don’t have it. But if I did, I’d be happy to pound you in the head with it till you stopped breathing,” Nathan yelled as he lunged at Conner, but the giant snatched him in mid-air, slamming him to the stone floor for his trouble.

  The giant took Nathan and pulled his arms back over his head, bending him backward causing him to yell with pain as his arms stretched from of their joints. Conner took a thin knife from his boot and made a small cut on Nathan’s upper chest that sent a trickle of blood streaming down his stomach.

  “Answer the question,” whispered Conner with venom.

  “I lost it when I fell in the cave,” gasped Nathan.

  “What cave you idiot! You had it when you fell and we can sense its presence here in Akeldemah,” said Conner as he nodded to the giant.

  The giant leaned with his weight, bending Nathan’s body even further, causing his joints to make sickening popping noises sending cries of agony from the young seer’s lips. Conner glared into the grimacing face of the tormented youth, searching for something that would guide him to the truth but the pain of torture obscured the picture.

  “It had a red stream in it,” Nathan whispered.

  “Release him,” ordered Conner. “He’s too stupid to lie to me.”

  Zan stood up, lifting Nathan off the floor, and then dropping him like a sack on the cold stone floor as he rolled in agony until the pain subsided. Conner motioned to a guard outside.

  “Have our contacts check the caves on the Morah Highland,” Conner said, then turning to Nathan. “And don’t worry about the girl, that drink she kept giving you is a most lethal poison which she’s immune to. For anyone else, it’s particularly painful and quite deadly. No, indeed, what you should worry about now is pleasing me with more information so I ease your agony before you die.”

  Conner slowly strolled to the door. “I have a meeting right now. In the meantime, get ready, your hell is just beginning.”

  Fifteen

  “Cutting With The Grain…”

  Mercifully, a strong gust of wind blew the party closer to the wall of the precipice. Branches from the trees along the chasm walls began pounding them as they fell, cutting and tearing at them like greedy fingers. Yet in spite of the injury, they also slowed their decent to the bottom. Isha attempted to grab tree branches as they flew past but the combined weight of both she and Agabus was too much. She thought for a moment to let the old man go. Without his weight, it would be easier to stop her fall, but for some reason, she could not bring herself to do it. The slower decent gave the eldar a chance to put his hand on a small tome at his belt resulting in a flash of light. Abruptly, a strong wind began blowing from below with such force that their fall began to slow to a gentle. Quickly, they found themselves gently descending but still spinning wildly. A guard began clutching wildly at the chasm wall even as Agabus tried to calm his panic. Nevertheless, he continued to flail wildly, pushing himself further and further away from the lifesaving stream of air, until finally, going beyond its boundary and tumbling to his doom against the rocks below.

  “Use your hands to stop the spinning,” Agabus said, “but gently.”

  With Agabus’ guidance, Isha put out a hand redirecting the air current from below and bringing the spinning to a stop. With the whirling ended, she could now grip the rocks on the side of the cliff and pull herself to safety. Elhan and Dodie followed her example and with good timing since the updraft ended after they were safe.

  “What now?” Dodie asked.

  “My father found many old tunnels on this part of the chasm. They may have been where the bridge builders lived,” said Elhan.

  “Then hurry, I can fell the worms moving down the side of the wall,” Isha said and she was right. Slowly, vibrations spread from above, knocking loose small rocks and sending them raining down on the trees below.

  “They don’t know where we are and seek to find us. So, I recommend we choose our holds very carefully so we don’t disturb any of the rocks in the cliff,” Agabus said.

  “Follow me. Let’s move back toward the bridge,” Elhan said as he followed the small ledge they held as a lifeline.

  After several minutes of near fatal slips, they traversed the outcropping and thankfully happened upon an opening in the stone surface.

  “There’s an opening over here,” Elhan called. Being the better climber with the exception of Isha, he quickly made his way to the opening and helped pulls the others in. “We must be careful. These tunnels are not as abandoned as they appear. There may be other things to worry about besides the worms.”

  They found ancient torches held in sconces jutting from the walls and were grateful to use them. A tunnel pushed through the darkness ahead of them, opening on the left and right into an enormous cavern filled with hollow blackness. Unseen creatures scurried about in the gloom, sometimes revealing small misshapen eyes that reflected back the torchlight.

  “Don’t lag behind,” Elhan warned as they descended. “This path circles the cavern till it reaches the freshwater lake at the bottom.”

  Lurid slim shimmered on the walls as the pathway drunkenly descended to the lake below as the sounds of splashing reverberated off the walls. They could see an exit to the cavern on the far side of the lake but the water now covered the pathway, hiding it in its murky depths.

  Dodie and Isha swam to the opening but it was sealed off with iron bars as big as her waist.

  “Elhan, this way is barred. Is there another way?” she called.

  “It was open the last time I came this way. That was our way out,” he said. “And for some reason, the water level is high now.”

  Isha plunged under the water looking for any passage that might lead outside and managed to dive deep enough to reach a sewer opening but it too was barred. Her eyes were exceptional but the water blurred her night-vision. Luckily, these bars were smaller than the ones above, so she gripped them with both hands, braced her feet against the wall and heaved with all her strength. There came a faint groaning from the olden metal, and then slowly, the old stone and metal began to give way. She pulled again till her lungs might burst when they immediately gave way with a jolt.

  Quickly, she swam toward the surface for air but was snatched back down by something on her foot. Large flat plants growing from the depths wrapped around her ankle, pulling and tugging at her like ten
tacles while its leaves that bit into her flesh. Dodie sensed something wrong after she didn’t surface. The water began swirling and thrashing over the place she should be so he dove in to investigate. When he found her, Isha was limp and sinking fast into the cold blackness. He pulled at her, trying to break her free from whatever had her in its grip but his effort had no effect. Quickly, he took a tract from his pouch and illumination hit the darkness of the water sending beams of radiance in all directions. It was all he could do to keep the tract flaring under water but it had its intended effect. Whatever held her was sensitive to the light and released its grip. Dodie grabbed her, pulling her to the surface.

  “Quickly, Isha has made a path through an ironwork grate. Follow my light as fast as you can swim. There is something else in the water,” called Dodie. For his size, he swam with the agility of an ice-water seal. He patted Isha’s face till she came around and began coughing up water. “Well now, that’s my girl.”

  “What happened,” she sputtered.

  “You saved us, young lady,” Dodie laughed. “But we’re not out of it yet. I need you to put your arms around my neck and hold your breath for me a moment longer. Can you do that?”

  “I’ll try,” she gasped.

  “Follow my light,” called Dodie to the others and under he went. Smoothly he made it through the opening she had made in the ironwork. The tunnel opened to the river so he took her through and quickly surfaced. Dodie barely made it through the opening of the tunnel with less than an inch to spare and was almost swept down the river when he surfaced to make for the bank. His face told the story of his hatred for swimming. Coughing and sputtering, he put Isha down and began pounding her on the back. She abruptly coughed twice, convulsed, and with a heaving motion spewed the dark liquid from her lungs.

  “Be easy. You have swallowed some of that foul water and should rest for the moment,” Dodie said.

  “Something grabbed me,” she said.