by Jeff Gunzel
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Addel nearly collapsed on top of the pearl she had been channeling her energy through. Eric bore most of the load, but he never could have held it that long without her assistance. With the extra power she had received now depleted, the old lady could now hardly move. You can thank the dark lord for that gift, boy. She hoped this was a start to help atone for the evil she had helped build. Dragot would kill her for sure once he found out. On one hand, she would gladly accept her fate if it came to that now that her conscience was at least partially clear. If this is how it ends, so be it. On the other hand, she had nothing to lose now, seeing as how staying here would be certain death, while trying to flee was only probable death.
Deciding a slim chance was better than none, she tried with all her might to move her exhausted body. Move, you old bat. You have to try. She pushed hard to get her weight off the table. Her legs could barely support her as they wobbled under her weight. Move. You have to move. She slowly placed one foot in front of the other. With how exhausted she was, it was like learning how to walk for the first time.
Addel hobbled from her room and headed towards Dragot’s chamber, but she could hear him screaming and pounding the walls long before she got there.
“No. No. It’s not possible! How could this happen?” the demon screamed as he flailed around in a berserker’s rage.
As Addel peeked her head inside the room, it was just as she had hoped. The image of Taron still remained on the wall, meaning the portal was still active. She held her breath as she summoned all her remaining strength to make a run for it.
Dragot noticed her hobbling across the room at the last second. He grabbed at her as she stumbled through the chamber, ending up with nothing but a fistful of hair.
“This is your doing, witch,” he screamed into the portal.
Addel fell through the hole in the wall but ended up with a soft landing. When she lifted her head from the green grass, she could see the cream-colored walls of Taron off in the distance. She began to crawl as the feeling of renewed hope washed over her. Maybe they will kill me. Maybe worse. No matter what, I will accept my fate.
On she crawled—to an unknown, true enough, but away from certain death. That much she knew.
