Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (17 page)

Landor pointed toward the left branch, and they traveled that direction until they reached a dead end. In the stone wall was a small recess, but there seemed to be no way forward.

Kendrick wondered if they had taken the wrong branch, but Landor put his ear to the wall and listened. After a long moment, he stepped away and took a deep breath, as if to prepare himself. Then he motioned for Kendrick to help him push against the right side of the wall.

At first it seemed as though they were pushing against a mountain, but they doubled their effort and the wall pivoted slightly. A sliver of dim light entered the tunnel, and Kendrick felt a rush of air. His torch flickered and threatened to go out.

The smell of this air was different—worse! It held the odors of human feces and death, and it frightened Kendrick. A deep moaning sound reached through the crack and warned them of what lay ahead.

They listened for any indication of discovery and then pushed on the wall again. This time it moved more easily, and they continued until the opening was wide enough for a man to slip through sideways. Kendrick extinguished his torch and placed it in another recess he’d discovered on the tunnel wall. Landor stepped through the large stone doorway, and Kendrick followed.

They stood side by side in an alcove off a dark passageway. As they looked around to get their bearings, a scream pierced the dungeon air and echoed off the stone walls. Cries and moans filtered through the passageways, some from men and some from women. Kendrick shuddered at the thought of anyone being held in the chambers here. This was a place of great woe.

“There are three levels to the dungeon,” Landor whispered. “I think we are on the second. If your friend is still alive, he is probably in the torture chamber.” Landor pointed downward. Kendrick’s heart nearly despaired again, but he steeled himself.

“Take me there,” he said to Landor.

They stepped cautiously from the cover of shadow and into the passageway. It stretched left and right, with many branches joined to it. An occasional torch in a bracket provided just enough light for them to see. Both men drew their swords and then ventured into a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers.

They passed countless captives in barred cells. Their faces were hollow, and their flesh hung from their frail bones like loose clothing. Some pleaded with them for help, but most just remained in a fetal position on the cold stone floor. Kendrick could hardly bear to look at them. His soul began to ache, and the discovery of this wretched place weighed heavy on his spirit.

They came to a corner, and Kendrick peered around it. He saw movement and heard heavy footsteps approach. He and Landor looked frantically for a place to hide, but there was none. They quickly backtracked a short distance and found a recessed area near a cell. They pressed their backs up against the stones near the cell’s steel bars and waited.

The footsteps grew louder. Kendrick gripped his sword tightly, hoping he wouldn’t have to use it just yet.

“Water …” came the plea of one of the captives. “Please … water …”

“Quiet, maggot!” came a hoarse shout. Kendrick peered from his hiding place to see a Shadow Warrior as large as those he had faced at the castle drawbridge about a week ago. The warrior kicked at the outstretched arms of the captive and cursed at him. He then turned toward another passageway, away from Kendrick and Landor. They waited a moment to be sure he was gone. Kendrick was just stepping back into the passageway when he felt five cold bony fingers grasp his arm. A rush of fear swept over his body.

“Please help me!” The plea was quiet but full of desperation. Kendrick turned to see the emaciated arm of a young woman reaching
through the bars. Fear and pain filled her sunken eyes. Death was lurking near, and she knew it.

“I must go.” Kendrick put his hand over hers. “But I will come back for you.”

She just whimpered and clung to him more tightly.

“What is your name?” he asked.

She blinked. “I have not had a name for over six years, but I was once known as Teara.”

“Come, Kendrick,” Landor urged. “We must hurry!”

Kendrick gently squeezed her hand and then helped her release her grip. “I will come for you, Teara. I promise!” Kendrick looked once more into her eyes and vowed never to forget her image, for it was a picture of Lord Ra’s work in the souls of men and women.

Landor led them through the maze to another staircase and then down to the third level. They took one wrong turn, backtracked, then had to avoid another guard before they came to a larger chamber filled with instruments and devices designed for purposes that Kendrick did not want to consider. This chamber stood empty, but the screams from an adjoining one echoed through the passageways.

“He is alive!” Kendrick said to Landor. A rising fury drove him toward the sound. He hurtled through a doorway to see a bleeding body stretched about a bloodstained wooden column. A hulking Shadow Warrior wielded a multistranded whip studded with metal fragments. Another warrior lounged against the far wall, laughing at the pain his cohort inflicted.

The warrior with the whip unleashed another swipe of torture onto the bloody back of his victim. Duncan screamed in agony as the whip lacerated his skin with new wounds.

Kendrick rushed upon them.
“No!”

The two warriors were momentarily stunned, and Kendrick leapt to take advantage. Sword out, he lunged at the man who held the whip.
The warrior swiped the weapon at him, but Kendrick’s righteous sword cut through the strands and penetrated deep into the torso of the sadistic warrior. He fell to the stone floor, his blood mixing with the blood of previous victims.

The other warrior drew his sword and came toward Kendrick with loathing in his eyes. Kendrick balanced himself and prepared for the impact. The swords engaged, and the sound of crashing steel echoed off the walls of Lord Ra’s torture chambers.

“You will never make it out of here alive, fool!” snarled the massive Shadow Warrior.

“You are wrong, Guish,” Landor said from behind him.

The warrior’s head swiveled and he froze in confusion. Seconds later, his weapon clattered to the floor as Landor’s and Kendrick’s blades pierced his body. He fell to his knees with a look of astonishment across his scarred face.

“Landor … you.” The warrior grimaced, then fell to the floor dead.

Landor and Kendrick ran to release Duncan from his bonds. Kendrick caught him as he collapsed, lowering his friend gently to the floor and cradling his head and shoulders. Landor ran to the nearest passageway to look for more Shadow Warriors.

Duncan’s body was torn from head to foot. He looked up at Kendrick, struggling to focus. “Kendrick,” he whispered, “you came.”

Kendrick fought back tears. Had he come this far only to watch his young companion die in his arms?

“Yes, Duncan, I came.”

“I’m … so sorry … I …”

Kendrick stopped him. “There is nothing to be sorry for, Duncan. You risked your life to save Ancel. That kind of courage flows only from one who belongs to the Prince.”

Duncan tried to smile through swollen, bleeding lips and then grimaced. “They’ll be … coming soon,” he said with great effort. “You must … leave me …”

“I’m not leaving without you.” Kendrick shifted Duncan’s weight in an effort to lift him, but Duncan grabbed his shoulder weakly.

“Take care of … Elise …,” he whispered. Then his body went limp.

“Stay with me, Duncan!” Kendrick urged as Landor reappeared in the doorway.

“We have to get out of here fast!”

Kendrick nodded. “Help me carry him.”

The two men lifted Duncan between them and headed back through the passageways. As of yet, there were no pursuing footsteps, but their progress felt much too slow. Duncan’s weight was a challenge, especially when they came to the stairwell leading back up to the second level. Breathing hard, they made it back to the passageway near the secret exit before shouts of alarm began to echo down to them. They increased their pace, but the sound of boots running on stone floors grew louder with each passing second.

With every step, Kendrick felt exhaustion close in. Sweat poured down his face and the pain in his leg and shoulder triggered waves of nausea. Kendrick stole a glance at Landor and saw the older man was near the limit of his physical ability.

The entrance was just ahead. They half carried, half dragged Duncan toward it as the shouts and footsteps grew louder behind them. Neither of the men could talk, nor did they try. The commotion from the captives in the cells rose in volume. Chaos seemed to fill the dungeon, spreading throughout all three levels. Kendrick assumed their pursuers didn’t know exactly where to search. If they did, they surely would have found them by now.

They reached the alcove, and Landor slipped through the opening first. It took some maneuvering to get Duncan through, but Landor finally dragged him clear so Kendrick could pass through. They both grabbed the recess on the other side of the stone door and pulled to close it, but there was not enough area for them to get a firm grip and pull the massive door inward.

Kendrick looked about for some other way to pull the wall closed. He found a place on the wall to set his foot against for leverage, and the two men pulled on the wall with all of their might. Slowly it began to move, and the sliver of light streaming in narrowed. They worked the door two more times before the wall finally came to rest in its original position.

Kendrick and Landor slid down the walls opposite one another until they rested on the moist, cool ground, their energy spent. Even through their heavy breathing, they heard the faint sounds of a frenzied search being conducted just a few feet away.

After a few moments, Kendrick crawled over to Duncan, wondering if their rescue had been in vain. He laid his head on Duncan’s chest and detected a faint heartbeat, then rolled over on his back, weak with gratitude and relief.

Landor made his way to Kendrick in the dark. “We cannot linger long. Their search will expand, and soon they will discover the dead blood wolves. We must bury them and erase any evidence of our presence.”

“Yes, I agree.” Kendrick had to reach deep for the strength to stand.

They relit their torch, lifted Duncan once more, and began the slow, painful journey back from Lord Ra’s chambers of torture and death. Kendrick found himself haunted by what he had seen beneath the stronghold of that evil Shadow Warrior. In his mind he heard the moans of the captives and saw the dry-eyed despair on the face of an emaciated girl. The compassion of the Prince filled his heart and solidified his resolve.

He turned his gaze back to the castle before they mounted their steeds.

I’ll
not forget
, Teara, he vowed.
I will come for you!

I WILL CONQUER

They journeyed far enough to be safely out of Lord Ra’s immediate searches, setting up camp in the northern foothills of Mount Quarnell. In spite of his exhaustion, Kendrick bandaged up Duncan as best he could and tended him throughout the night.

Duncan drifted in and out of consciousness as he fought for his very life. Kendrick watched him, wrestling with the decision of whether to travel or not. Lady Odette and Elise would be better equipped to nurse Duncan to health. But getting him there—a full day’s undertaking—could kill him.