Dreamscape: Saving Alex (32 page)

I spun around and ran. It wasn’t the right
direction, but that didn’t matter anymore. The walls crowded in, imposing,
dark, and void of any warmth. The thought of imprisonment made me shiver.
Terror choked me, taking my breath hostage in my throat.

The metallic clomp of his footsteps echoed through
the halls, and it grew louder the further I ran. When I turned around, three
more guards had joined him, marching in synchronization. The rhythmic beat of
their boots on the hard stones chilled me to the bone. They weren’t in any
hurry to get me; it was inevitable.

The cruelty in their eyes startled me as they bore
down with deadly intent. All the other dangers I’d faced had hinted at death,
but this was the first time I feared torture.

My feet slipped out from under me as I slid around
the corner. The crumbled stones skinned my face and palms. Forgetting about the
dangers lurking behind each door, I opened them all as I fled for my life.

The roar of flames burst through one door behind
me, and shadowy creatures lurked in the entrance to another. The guards didn’t
miss a beat, walking through the flames and ignoring the shadows as they
systematically closed each door and shortened the gap.

I reached down and halted as my hand strayed to
the dagger. That wasn’t enough to protect myself from the guards. I hesitated
before uncoiling the whip from my belt. The weapon I hadn’t wanted to bring was
my only chance at escape. I arched it through the air, surprised at its fluid
movement. The guards hesitated at the first crack of the whip, and then sped
forward towards me. I twisted the lever controlling the power level to low,
feeling the buzz vibrate through my hand.

The blue flame empowered me, and I clenched my
jaw. I charged forward, snapping the whip. I missed more than anything, but
every spark of the whip when it cracked against the wall inspired fear in their
eyes. My inexperience added to their distrust. I tightened my grip, keeping the
whip from falling out of my hands as it struck each guard in turn. The electric
current shook violently when it hit the metal breastplates. Their yells were
like whispers above the deafening vibrations of the whip. I spun wildly, and I
didn’t stop until every guard lay unconscious on the edges of the corridor.

The smell of burnt skin permeated the narrow
passageway. I stepped over each guard before turning the whip off. My hands
still shook.

I closed my eyes, reorienting myself to my
position in the castle. Where had my frantic running taken me? I knew that
several doors looped back to previous locations in the castle. The doors in
this hall and the proximity to the room guarded by Pounder told me I was closer
to the end than I’d thought. Re-securing the whip to my belt, I passed through
the third red door on the left. Then, after passing the third hanging torch, I
walked through the second door. On a map, this linear approach didn’t make
sense. Only one thing in Lockhorn ever had, and now he was gone.

The stones crackled as I moved further down the
hall, scattering pebbles to the edges. Uh-oh. I crept forward, reaching out to
the walls on either side of me. Bigger chunks of rock dissolved around my feet.
I stopped, holding my breath, hoping the stone would hold. Somehow, I had
miscounted the doors.

The red door seemed miles away, out of reach. My
arms strained against the walls on opposite sides of the hall, hoping to
lighten my steps. The tentative touch of my left foot proved too much. The
stone cracked, disintegrating beneath me. My screams echoed as I fell.

Pain rippled down my side as I landed on a pile of
stones. I blinked, watching the flecks of dust settle. The only light flickered
through a narrow crevasse in the ceiling, where the floor of the hallway had
been. Barely enough light to see beyond my hands.

I wanted to cry, to give up, but I couldn’t. Not
with everyone counting on me. Maybe a hidden trap didn’t have to mean game
over. Maybe this was just a restart.

I pushed myself up, nearly screaming when my
dislocated ribs popped back into place. My breaths quickened, and a rush of
nausea hit me. I rolled to my knees and pulled myself up. Rough stones
scratched my face while I fought to control my breath.

The ground groaned as rocks and debris settled.
When I stabilized, I heard another moan.

“Who’s there?” I pulled out my dagger and watched
its tip waver in the faint light. I steadied my trembling hand and took a
cautious step across the room.

The floor gave with each step. Rocks blocked my
path, tripping me as I stumbled along the uneven surface. I struggled to find a
suitable place for my feet while keeping an eye on the dark lump at the edge of
my vision.

The hunched creature moaned again. It reeked of
burned flesh and sweat. A moment of panic choked me. I looked down at my dagger
and reconsidered. I didn’t want to get that close to whatever they had left in
here to die. Reaching back, I unhooked my bow and poked the back of the
creature with its tip. It didn’t stir.

Morbid curiosity drove me closer. I poked again,
harder, moving it forcefully. An arm slid down, revealing a battered face and
chiseled jaw.

“Arrow!” I dropped to my knees and framed his face
in my hands. My tears dropped onto him. I leaned over and kissed them off,
wiping his skin clear of dirt and ash. I felt sick when I saw how his pale skin
had been darkened by bruises and welts. His moans broke my heart.

“I thought I had lost you forever. It’s me,” I
said, peeling his hair away from his forehead. “I’m not going anywhere.”

His hands fumbled up his chest until they reached
my hands. I bit my tongue, trying to keep myself from sobbing. I let the silent
tears fall. He moaned again.

“I told you we were doing this together. I still
mean that,” I said, tightening my lips. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise you,
but I have to get my bag on the other end of the room.”

I let his hands go and ran to where I thought my
bag had fallen. After what felt like an eternity, I found it, hidden between
rocks and debris. The leather ripped when I yanked it out, but I didn’t care. I
ran back to Arrow’s side. His hands warmed one of mine while I rummaged through
the bag. I emptied the contents in my lap, rolling the unneeded items out of
the way. One of the luminance rocks rolled against him, brushing against the
skin on his arm.

His groans deepened into agony.

“Oh crap! I’m so sorry!” I said, grabbing the ball
of light and placing it on the stone next to me. I hadn’t thought about the
heat of the ball radiating through him. I shook my head, cursing myself for my
thoughtlessness.

I dug further into the pile of items in my lap and
grabbed the final scraps of tangled vines.

Melody’s last-minute gifts had now saved me twice.

“It’ll be okay soon. I have the vines. Just sit
still so I can place them.” I unrolled the vines and slid my dagger along the
interior seam of the plant. The crisp smell hit me, and I almost smiled.

I laid the cool interior of the vines across his
chest, cringing as he shook in pain. He knocked them off his chest.

“Does it hurt?” I asked.

“No,” he whispered, trying to turn away from me.

“Then what are you doing? You need these!” I
grabbed the vines off the ground.

“No,” he said. “You said it yourself. The whips
are deadly. Don’t waste your vines on me. You might need them.”

I bit my lower lip. I couldn’t deny the danger
from the whips, and I knew I might not be able to heal him. But I also knew I
couldn’t leave without him. I forced a smile into my words and repositioned the
vines across his chest.

“Oh no, I’m not saving them for me. You’d be proud
of me, getting to this point with nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises.
I have another set in the other bag, but these are for you.” I hoped he would
forgive the lie.

He didn’t argue.

“Arrow?” I asked, shaking his shoulder. Tears of
frustration and anger boiled over, spilling onto my cheeks. I splayed the vines
and spread them evenly across his chest, covering the slashed ribs and bruises.
I looked at the diminishing pile at my side, hoping I had enough. “You’re not
leaving me again.” I ripped more vines open, draping them across his forehead
and up and down his arms.

His moans deepened and then relaxed, and his
breathing grew slow. Too slow. Rocks dug into my knees as I leaned over him,
listening to the sluggish beat of his heart. I couldn’t be too late.

“Arrow,” I wept. “Open your eyes. You can’t leave
me. I don’t want to do this without you. Don’t leave me.” I wrapped my arms
around my knees and rocked back and forth, watching the slow rise and fall of
his chest.

I’d never been one for waiting. In fact, the
longer it took for something to happen, the less interested in it I became.
Instant gratification, my mom called it. I called it common sense. Life went by
too quickly to waste time waiting on something when you could have something
else instead. As I watched the soft flickering of his eyelids, I begrudgingly
admitted that some things were worth waiting for.

That didn’t make it easier though. Stuck in the
darkness, time stretched to an agonizing pace. I had no way to judge how long I
had been in there or how long Arrow slept. When I looked up, I only saw the
soft flickering of the torches, and I wondered if I would be stuck in this pit
for eternity.

I leaned back and rested inside the niche of rocks
I had sculpted into a chair next to Arrow’s body. The tips of our fingers
touched before I closed my eyes. I don’t know if I slept before a fit of
coughing startled me. I jumped up, one hand dropping to the hilt of my dagger.

Arrow’s body shook. He groaned as he pushed
himself up, covering his ribs with his wrapped hands. And then he turned, and I
saw his weary eyes.

“Arrow?” I blinked the happy tears back. “No, no,
don’t get up,” I said, helping him lay back down.

“Alex?” he asked in a deep, raspy voice. “What are
you doing here?”

“I’m the Golden Hero, remember? I’m here to save
you,” I said lightly, falling to the ground at his side.

He half-laughed and grabbed at his ribs. “I
thought we were done saving each other.”

“I don’t think we ever will be,” I whispered.

His hand grabbed the cuff of my shirt, pulling me
closer. My heart pounded as I looked into his eyes. The darkness could not hide
his raw emotions.
“Alex, thank
you.” His hold on my shirt grew stronger, and his other arm encircled me from
behind, pulling me in for a kiss.

I sensed sadness in
his kisses, and I saw it in his eyes when he pulled back.

“I’m sorry I
dragged you into
all
this,” he said.

“What are you
talking
about
?”

“If my brother
hadn’t called you here, you
would
n’t be
stuck. You’d be out there, in your own world, free of the burdens we’ve placed
on you. Free from this dungeon. And the way I treated you in Flourin—”

“Hey, stop that. I
may not have asked for this, but it hasn’t been
all
that
bad
.” I
squeezed his hand. “In fact, it’s been better than I ever imagined. This world,
and you,” I said, holding his gaze, “have shown me what I’ve been missing. I’ve
learned to not shy away from adventure, or from love…” I let that thought trail
off and bit my lip. “You sound like you’re giving up, and we can’t do that.
It’s not too late to get out of here and save the queen. There has to be a way.”

I stepped away from
him and patted the walls, looking for something to grab ahold of.

“I’m
just trying to be realistic,” Arrow said. “
I don’t see many options
here; there are no doors, stairs, or exits in here. I mean, think about
everything we’ve seen. My men didn’t even make it out of Marix’s manor. How are
we going to break out of here?” He looked up at the crevasse above us.

“There’s always a
way out, we just need to find it. Don’t underestimate me now.” I moved from
wall to wall, unable to find a grip to hold on to.

“Do you know something I don’t?”

“No, but it’s way too early to give up hope. Just
let me think.” I wasn’t going to give up.

“Let me know if you come up with something. I’m
going to look for a forgotten slice of bread.”

“There’s none. I already checked.” I blushed. “You
were asleep for a long time.”

He sat back and sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

“We’ll find a way out,” I said. “I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I’ve already
made too many of those.” He swore and threw a rock.

“You only promised what you could—that you would
try. There’s no fault in that.”

“I promised much more than that. I promised a
future of hope and possibilities and a chance to live without wondering who was
on your side.”

“You haven’t broken those promises yet. We can
still find a way. Stranger things have happened.”

“You keep on hoping. I’ll check the bag again for
a magic wand,” he said, shuffling to where I’d dropped my bag.

“We don’t need magic,” I said.

“If we had some, we could make our own way out of
here instead of going around in circles talking about impossibilities.”

I jerked my head in his direction. “What’d you
say?”

“Magic wands? Impossibilities?”

“No, you said we could make our own.” I felt a
smile grow on my face. “We’ll make our own way out. You’re a genius!” I ran to
his side and gave him a quick kiss before scouring the pile of items from the
bag.

“How do you expect to do that? Neither one of us
knows any magic.”

“We don’t need magic when we have this.” I pulled
out the last pouch of luminance powder and emptied half of it into his hands.

He looked at the pile of glimmering dust in his
palms. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Help me find the way out. These traps were always
built with an exit. We just need to find it. There has to be a trap door,
staircase, moveable blocks, I don’t know. Something. I’m sure of it.” I pinched
the dust and threw it up in the air, watching it settle.

He shook his head like I had lost it, but followed
my example.

Golden flakes filled the room, shimmering on the
ground like hidden treasure. The pile of powder shrunk more quickly than I’d
expected. I glanced at Arrow, pacing along the other edge, empty-handed. Now
what? I threw the last bit at the wall.

The flakes settled around my feet. Deflated, I
looked back at Arrow, who had walked to my side. “Maybe I was wrong.”

“Or maybe not,” he said, pointing to one flake
lying suspended in mid-air.

I dropped to my knees and scooped up more of the
golden dust, tossing it at the floating flake. I squealed as several flakes
landed next to the first, and others came to rest above it on a slight angle.
The dust now clearly defined a hidden staircase.

“That can’t be,” Arrow said, throwing more.

“It is! And you know what that means. We’re
getting out of here.”

I climbed up the illuminated staircase, digging my
nails under the layer of powder.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I slithered
across the smooth stones of the hallway, keeping my eyes focused on the red
door at the end of the hall. The stones cracked under my weight, sending a new
wave of panic over me.

“Run!” I yelled behind me, throwing the door open
and crashing through it. Arrow tumbled over me.

I winced and pushed him off me, cradling my ribs.
“I told you we’d find a way out of there.”

“I’ll never doubt you again. What do we do now?
Save the queen?”

I looked behind him, down the dark hallway lined
with red doors. A shudder ran down my spine. “Now we kill the king.”