by HC MacDonald
I knew it wasn’t Raina. I could smell it. Slowly I turned. Growling and ready to fight. Hidden in the corner in the shadows and a pile of dirty hay was a young girl. No more then twelve. She was very thin, and scared. I immediately stopped growling. I moved to the bench that hung from chains on the wall and sat.
“I won’t hurt you.” I said to the shadow.
Slowly, she moved out of the corner. She came to sit in front of me between the bench and the door.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Kayley.” Her voice was a mere whisper. She looked at me. Then down at the cell floor. Opting to draw on the rocks with a piece of straw. I watched her silently. Thinking what my next steps would be, this plan to escape had been taking to long. Now that I had been moved, this might be the chance I needed to get out, and find Raina.
Hours passed, neither of us saying a word. My stomach growled. My hunger was getting to me through my boredom. “Do they feed us?” I broke the silence with my question.
“Sometimes.” Kayley answered. She had been playing with the piece of straw for hours. I laid on the bench with one arm under my head.
“Is there a way out of here?” I figured we had the time, and I needed more information to formulate a plan.
“My friend may know a way.” She replied.
“Is your friend here?” I asked starting to feel frustrated. She was not very forthcoming with answers.
“Maybe.” She said.
I ran my hand thru my hair. “Can I talk to her?”
“That’s up to her.” Was my reply.
Okay, I thought, let’s try a different line of questions. Maybe that will get us somewhere. “How often do the guards come in?”
“Sometimes every day, sometimes twice a day, sometimes not at all.” Kayley said.
“Do they always come in pairs?”
“No.”
“So they come alone sometimes.”
“Yes.”
I felt a little hope. If one came alone, opened the cage or got close enough for me to grab hold of. Maybe with the help of the others here, I could get loose. Find Raina, then head home.
“Do you know any of the others here.”
“No, they sleep mostly.”
I was feeling frustrated again. This was going to take time. I stood up to pace the cell. I needed to have a plan. I was at the end of our cell facing the moldy stone wall deep in thought when I heard the sound of an iron door move. I moved to the bars and looked through the cells to the doors I had come through. No one was there. I moved back into the shadows of my cell. I heard the noise again. My back was to the bars. As I stood there, I smelled the familiar scent I had come to know Raina by. It was very faint. Hard to decipher from the other stenches that filled the floor I was on. A flutter of relief filled me. She was here somewhere. I heard the young girl move closer to the bars.
“You have a guest.” I heard Raina’s voice say. I turned from the wall to face the cell bars. Beyond the iron cage sat Raina. She was covered in dirt and wore a burlap sack tied at the shoulders. I could see a fresh cut across her collar. Anger swelled up inside me. I watched as she handed the girl two rolls of bread. With a smile she added, “Tell him the rules. We don’t want anyone to get hurt. Three days to the arena event, keep your head down.”
The young girl smiled up at her. “I can do that.”
“I know you can. I am counting on you.” Was Raina’s reply. She patted the girls hand and then stood to walk away. I wanted to go to her. For some reason I didn’t. I stayed in the shadows. Afraid of her seeing me in this grotesque state I had transformed into. Afraid she would not remember me. I watched her as she gave each person a roll of bread. I could see the fresh whip marks on her back and scars on her shoulder. It looked as if someone had taken a knife and carved words into her back. I vowed to kill anyone who had done this to her.
Raina had just finished passing out all the bread she had brought and was headed back to the opposite end of the hall. As she passed our cell, I moved out of the shadows to the bars. She glanced at me and smiled. Then moved the iron grate that covered the wall and disappeared.
I was so relieved that she was alive. Together we could escape. I looked down at the young girl. She handed me some bread.
“Is that your friend?” I asked with a smile.
“Yes, she always brings us food when she can.” She said stuffing the bread into her mouth.
“How long have you been here?” I asked her.
“A few months now.” She took another bite. “My father and I were captured. Raina says he’s okay and will be waiting for me. She can get you information if you need it. How long have you been here?”
“A while now. I hope to leave soon.”
“I’m leaving soon. Raina says so.” She said with a smile.
“How is that?” My curiosity peaked. Did Raina already have a plan. She was resourceful, and from what my sister Sanna had told me, knew this fortress like the back of her hand. If anyone knew how to slip by the guards, she did. I felt a surge of hope grow inside me. I knew a plan would come together. “So what are these rules of yours?” I asked my host.
“First, don’t upset the guards. If you do, you will go to the Arena. Raina can’t help you there. Second, if you do go to the arena, run as fast as you can to the gate. It is only open for a short time. Three,..”
“Wait, why is the gate only open for a short time. Why do I need to run to it?”
“So you don’t get killed. That’s what Raina says.” She was so absolute in her answer I dared not question her again.
“Three, whatever she tells you to do you do. No questions. Got it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I replied. These were easy enough rules. Considering number one, my plan to take down the guard was canceled. I needed to trust Raina. If she did have a plan, that was good enough for me.
Legends of Thamaturga
© Copyright 2016, H.C. MacDonald
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