Grishma (Necoh Saga) (29 page)

The King appeared to weigh the decision in his mind. “Very well, then. Since you have the most experience fighting this beast and are volunteering to go, I shall keep the imposter and her associates alive until you come back.”

Phew!

“The party shall leave tomorrow at sunrise,” said the King.

The crowd voiced their approval.

“Until then,” he said before getting up and leaving the room.

Okay, I’ve got until sunrise to break them out of the dungeon and escape!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

T
he night had gone from
bad to worse. After they parted company with Ryder, Algid had become increasingly jealous.

“He sure seemed interested in talking to you again,” said Algid for the tenth time.

Brooklyn had tried changing the subject, even pretending to fall asleep, but he just wouldn’t give up.

That all changed when several royal guards burst through the door. “She’s an imposter!” one shouted as he pointed a stubby finger in Brooklyn’s face.

Algid jumped out of bed and stared suspiciously at Brooklyn.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.

“Sire, the real Princess Sophie and her mother, Queen Yolanda from Sumner, just showed up a few minutes ago outside the gates of Dratun,” said another guard.

His jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. He pointed at Brooklyn and screamed, “You liar!”

“We must take her at once!” shouted the guard.

Algid didn’t even put up a fight as the guards barged past him and grabbed Brooklyn. She screamed as they hauled her out of the room and down the vast hallways of the castle.

One of the guards threw her over his shoulder as they descended flight after flight of steep stone stairs.

Brooklyn lost all awareness and soon became disorientated. It wasn’t until she hit the cold hard floor of a small cell that she realized she had been thrown in the dungeon.

“Wait! What’s going on?” she asked.

No one responded. The guards turned and left her sitting alone in the dark. A short time later, Brooklyn heard the guards rounding the corner again. They opened the door to her cell, threw Emlyn and Brianna in roughly, and then slammed the door shut again.

Emlyn started to cry. “What’s happening?”

“Why are we down here?” asked Brianna.

Brooklyn reached out and hugged both of them. “It was terrible! The guards burst into our room and said they found the real Princess Sophie and her mother, Queen Yolanda of Sumner.”

“What?” asked Emlyn in disbelief.

“They called me an imposter and Prince Algid believed them!” said Brooklyn.

“An imposter? You’re not an imposter!” said Emlyn.

Brooklyn started to cry. “I am. I’m so sorry! I’ve been lying to both of you, but not on purpose, I swear! Remember the antidote I told you Bressa gave me? Well, it helped me remember who I really am, and I’m not Princess Sophie. My name is Brooklyn.”

Brianna and Emlyn stared at her.

Emlyn spoke up, “Are you serious?”

With tears racing down her cheeks, Brooklyn nodded.

“Wait, what did Bressa look like?” asked Brianna.

“Um, she’s a little old lady, missing several teeth and she’s got a crooked nose,” said Brooklyn. “Why?”

“Oh no,” said Brianna. “I think she paid me a visit last night.”

“What do you mean?” pressed Emlyn.

“A little old lady with missing teeth and a crooked nose brought me a cup of tea last night before I went to bed. She said you sent it to me,” said Brianna. “Since then, I’ve been having these really strange flashbacks. They don’t make sense, it’s like they’re memories that I can’t quite place.”

“What in Necoh are we going to do?” cried Emlyn, looking at Brooklyn. “You’re not who you claim to be.” She turned to Brianna. “And you’re having weird memories. We’re doomed!”

Brooklyn tried to remain calm. “It’s okay, we’re going to be okay. Let’s just figure out how we’re going to get out of here.”

The girls searched the cell high and low for any sign of weakness.

Brianna tried pulling on the various bars that formed the cell door. Nothing budged.

Emlyn pushed and kicked on every block she could reach. Nothing moved.

Exhausted and overwhelmed, the three girls sat down and sobbed together.

Brooklyn awoke to someone poking her shoulder. “Brooklyn, Brianna, Emlyn, wake up! Come on, we gotta go!”

“What? Who’s there?” asked Brianna.

“Shhh!” said the hushed voice. “It’s me, Ryder. We’ve got to get out of here right now! Hurry!”

Brooklyn’s eyes tried to adjust to the dark cell.

“Come on,” Ryder urged. “Let’s go!” He helped each of them up and pulled them through the open cell door. Once they were out, Brooklyn hugged him. “You found us!”

Ryder smiled. “Of course I did!”

Unable to move, Brianna just stood staring at him with her mouth open.

He reached forward and took her hand. “Bri, it’s me, your brother.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Ryder? Is it really you?”

Ryder released Brooklyn and embraced his sister. “Yes, it’s really me!”

In between sobs, Brianna managed to get out, “I never thought I’d see you again! I mean, I forgot about you. I mean, I couldn’t remember you!”

He stroked the back of her head and tried to comfort her as best he could. “It’s okay, I’ll never let them hurt you again. I promise.”

A loud crash in the distance caused them all to tense up. Ryder put his finger to his lips and silently directed the girls to follow. They followed him through the dungeon and up a flight of stairs.

“Boonum? Is that you?” whispered Brooklyn.

The animal purred in delight.

Ryder motioned for them to follow him around a corner and into a small room lit with only a single torch.

He turned and shut the door.

“Okay, here’s the plan. We’re going to sneak out of here with the Grishma hunting party this morning. You need to put on these clothes and try your best to act like men! We’re leaving shortly,” he said as he thrust a pile of clothing at each of the girls. He turned around while they changed.

“Here,” he said, “We can’t take any chances. Tie your hair back and put on these hats.”

Within minutes, the girls had transformed into young Dratunian men.

“Where did you get these clothes?” asked Brianna.

“Let’s just say the guards that were watching you are going to be very chilly when they wake up,” said Ryder.

Brooklyn had to laugh.

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” said Ryder.

They crept up the stairs and on to the main floor of the castle.

“Try to act casual,” he said as they wandered through the sparsely crowded room, Boonum at his side. They walked up silently behind a group of ten men.

“Are we ready to depart?” asked Ryder.

One of the men turned around. “Yes, we’re just waiting for the King to dismiss us.”

“Who are
they
?” asked another man.

“Ah, just three men I convinced to join us on the hunt,” Ryder said.

The man eyed Ryder’s comrades before nodding his head. “They need weapons,” said another man. “Over there,” he said, pointing to a table covered in swords, axes, and flails.

Each girl chose a razor sharp sword and stepped back in line with Ryder.

After waiting a short time, the King appeared at the far end of the hall. He took a seat in his massive throne and beckoned the hunting party to come near.

“Each of you has made a very brave choice by deciding to join the expedition to hunt down and kill Grishma. This dreadful beast has terrorized the people of Dratun for ages and her reign of fear must stop. We know now her treachery has no limits and she will not stop until she controls all of Necoh!”

“Yeah!” cried several of the men.

“Grishma has killed many Dratunian warriors and I don’t expect all of you to return. That said, whoever is responsible for bringing back Grishma’s head will forever be in my good graces,” said the King.

“I will!” shouted one man.

“No, I will!” shouted another.

The King stood and smiled. “Good! That’s the type of attitude I expect from my warriors! Now go, all of you, onward! Find and kill Grishma!”

The men whooped and hollered as King Zandel led them through the front doors of the castle and to a herd of black stallions. Each of the men climbed on a horse and galloped toward the open city gates.

Boonum followed dutifully.

Oh thank goodness,
thought Brooklyn as they raced through the gates.

They rode through the morning and well into the afternoon. Each step away from Dratun felt like a weight lifting off Brooklyn’s shoulders. She watched in amazement as they followed the path back to the woods where Grishma last attacked her and Algid.

Just when Brooklyn thought she couldn’t ride any further, they pulled over to allow the horses to rest and drink from a stream. The men stretched their legs and went to relieve themselves in the woods.

“I’m hungry,” whispered Brianna.

Ryder pulled a knapsack off the back of his horse. “Here,” he said, handing each of the girls a leathery strip of dried meat.

Deciding it was best to remain as quiet as possible, she chewed on the tough meat and cupped handfuls of water from the stream.

After resting a bit longer, the men got back on their horses and galloped off toward the approaching woods.

Her legs felt like jelly by the time they stopped for the night and she needed Ryder to help her get off her horse. He gave her a knowing look and tilted his head toward a clearing a few feet away from the other men. She nodded and managed to get Brianna and Emlyn’s attention without making a sound.

“This spot looks good,” said Ryder. They built a large fire and snacked on nuts and lera berries. The other men stood around a slightly larger fire a short distance away.

One of them shouted, “Hey, we’re leaving at sunrise for the Halias Swamp. Sound good?”

“Yup,” replied Ryder.

Both camps stoked their fires one last time and then everyone lay down on the cold dirt.

Brooklyn didn’t dare close her eyes. She just laid there motionless and waited until she heard snores rising from the men at the nearby camp.

After she thought it was safe, she crawled on her stomach over to Brianna, Emlyn, and Ryder.

“So what’s the plan?” she whispered.

“We each are going to get on a horse and lead the rest of them as far away from them as possible,” said Ryder, looking toward the slumbering men. “Then we ride until we get home to the caves.”

The girls nodded in agreement and slowly crept toward the resting horses.

Brooklyn ran her hand down the mane of the horse she had been riding earlier and coaxed it to stand as quietly as possible. The others did the same and soon they were all mounted and holding the reins of at least two other horses.

Nudging her horse, Brooklyn began to direct the animals away from the group of sleeping men.

Ryder wasn’t as successful and one of the horses he was holding onto whinnied as he attempted to steer him away.