Rise (29 page)

“What exactly is this backup plan of yours?”

“That we go through the main gate and to the front door.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief. “Do you want to be captured?”

Anders’s eyes narrowed. “No, of course not. What I’m thinking is that the safest route is the one Morlet least expects.”

I held the bo staff between my hands, squeezing it. Anders wanted to walk right in the front door. The idea seemed crazy, absurd, and maybe, just maybe, it would work. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. You obviously have more experience with this sort of thing.”

He rubbed his chin. “There’s another part to this idea,” he said. “But you’re not going to like it.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Do you trust me?” he countered.

“Yes,” I replied without hesitating.

“Excellent. I’m taking you in as my prisoner.”

***

Crossing the bridge over the moat, at least a dozen men
on top of the wall had their bows trained on me. “This is never going to work,” I mumbled.

“Have a little faith,” Anders whispered. “And remember the plan. You’re responsible for stopping anyone who runs.”

“Got it.” Hanging my head low, I played the part of a dejected captive. My arms were behind my back making it appear my wrists were bound together.

“Who’s there?” A
soldat
from the guardhouse next to the gate in the wall called out.

“Someone of interest,” Anders said with a gruff voice. He was using my bo staff as a walking stick.

Two men approached. “Who is it?” the one on the right asked.

“The twelfth Kriger,” Anders answered, pretending to be a member of the king’s personal guard since he was dressed as one.

“I’ll take the prisoner from here.” He reached for me.

My hands itched to hit him, but I kept my arms behind my back. We couldn’t do anything until the gate opened.

“I want my reward,” Anders said, yanking me closer to him. “You’re not taking her until I’m paid.”

The man
laughed. “How about we split the reward?”

Anders snarled. “In case you forgot, fool, I am one of the king’s personal guards. Do not try my patience.”

“Just let him in,” the other one said. “I don’t want to lose my head if the king hears about this.”

“Fine.” He
raised his arm in the air and made a fist, signaling the
soldat
in the guardhouse. Metal groaned as chains lifted the spiked gate.

Anders shifted closer to me. “Remember to keep moving so no one has a clear shot at you.”

Once the gate was raised, he slid the bo staff to my hands and put his blow dart to his lips.

I swung my weapon in an arc, releasing a wave of power and knocking out every single guard on top of the wall.

“Go!” Anders yelled.

I sprinted for the gate, knowing he had already blown darts into the
soldats
on the ground and in the guardhouse. Since there was no way of knowing what lay on the other side of the wall, I remained connected to my bo staff’s power, ready to unleash it.

When I passed through the open gate, someone dived for my legs, knocking me down. I dropped my weapon and swung my legs around his head, flinging him to the side and pulling his arm. He screamed. I squeezed my thighs; his body went limp, passing out from a lack of oxygen. I let him go.

“Nice move,” Anders said, wiping his forehead. An arrow sailed between us. He cursed. There had to be men in the watchtower at the top of the wall.

Swinging my bo staff in that direction, I released my power, hitting the stone corner and obliterating it. Rocks flew everywhere. Anders covered my body with his until it stopped. Three men armed with bows stood with their hands raised in the air on the now exposed tower. Freeing only a small tendril, I hit each of them. They fell over, hopefully unconscious and not dead.

“Well,” Anders said. “That didn’t go quite as smoothly as I had planned.” Two dozen men now lay on the ground.

“Are we going to just leave them here?” I asked. “It’s a bit conspicuous.”

“If we had time to hide the bodies, we would. But after you blasted the watchtower open, our chances of being subtle are nonexistent.”

I hadn’t meant to blast the tower open—I’d simply wanted to protect Anders. “Let’s go before more
soldats
arrive.”

We ran toward the castle’s front entrance. Since Morlet had his army searching for me in the tunnels, it wouldn’t take them long to realize I wasn’t there. Not only that, but he’d be able to sense my presence since I didn’t have the protection of the medallion at the moment. We didn’t have long to rescue the Krigers.

Nearing the castle’s main entrance, I saw two sentries standing guard on either side of the large double doors. There were probably a few more on the rooftop. Anders pointed to me and then to the one on the right. He mouthed, “Go,” and we sprinted. When I reached the sentry, his hand fumbled for the hilt of his sword. Before he could unsheathe it, I swung my weapon, hitting his head. He fell to the ground, and I jabbed my bo staff at his stomach, releasing a tiny bit of power. Anders had already struck the other sentry with a dart. He quickly pulled both unconscious men
against the castle wall, out of sight from the guards above.

Slowly opening the door, we entered the great hall and stealthily made our way across the room. I kept waiting for someone to descend the grand staircase and stop us, but no one did. We headed down one of the hallways. The place was strangely void of servants and
soldats
. The torches hanging on the walls were dim. Anders led the way along several corridors that all looked the same. Dark, sterile, and void of life. The walls were confining, stifling, and I wanted to leave.

Turning a corner, Anders froze, and I bumped into him. The sound of chain mail clinking resonated off the plain, stone walls. He threw open the closest door and shoved me inside a dark room. After softly closing the door behind him, he lay on the ground, watching through the slit under the door. The thumping of boots marching on the ground neared.

My hands pulsed with pain, so I connected to my power, prepared to use it if we were discovered. Several shadows flickered by. I held my breath, afraid to move. After a few excruciating minutes, the hall quieted and Anders stood.

“That was a squad of twenty-five men,” he whispered. “All of them armed and headed to the mines.”

“How do you know that’s where they’re going?”

“Down this hallway, there’s an entrance to the mines on the left.” He opened the door and peered out. Waving me on, we tiptoed in the direction the men had just gone.

The hallway came to a T. Anders leaned down and whispered in my ear, “To the left is the entrance to the mines. To the right is the dungeon. Stay here.”

Without waiting for me to respond, he went around the corner and out of sight. As I stood all alone, my heart hammered. I heard two grunts followed by a soft thump.

A moment later, Anders poked his head around the corner. “Come on.”

To the left was a fifty-foot long hallway. At the end, a black iron door was propped open. We headed to the right. This corridor was about half that length. At the end, two sentries lay on the ground, not moving. Anders grabbed a ring of keys from one of them and unlocked the iron door, hoisting it open. An eerie, reddish light illuminated a steep staircase leading into the dungeon.

Anders pocketed the keys and went first down the narrow, stone steps. As I descended, the air turned stifling hot. Nearing the bottom, two
soldats
stood guard with their backs to us. Anders pointed to the one on the right. I raised my bo staff, hitting him with a jolt of power. He fell to the ground just as Anders shot the other one with a dart.

We stepped around them and entered a long corridor lined with cells. Locked inside were haggard men with long unkempt hair, torn clothing, and skin covered with black soot. The putrid smell of fecal matter permeated the air making me gag. Were these prisoners unjustly held? Or did they deserve to be here? Should we release them?

Anders was already at the end of the first corridor, motioning for me to hurry up. Not looking at any of the prisoners in the eyes, I jogged and caught up with him. We went down two empty corridors, the torches casting a blood-red glow.

We came to a stop. “Beyond this door is where the Krigers are located,” Anders whispered.

My bo staff pulsed with an energy that radiated joy and excitement. Even if Anders hadn’t told me, I still would have known the Krigers were there.

“The hallway is heavily guarded by large, burly men who have spent years working down here. They won’t show you mercy or compassion—they’ll rip your arms off without a thought. It’s a small space, and we need to neutralize the
soldats
before reinforcements show up. I’ll go in first, and you come in right after me. Don’t be afraid to unleash your power.”

“Okay, killing blows.” I readjusted the bo staff in my hands, preparing to fight.

“Make sure your aim is true. I don’t want one of the Krigers accidentally hurt.” He unsheathed several knives and stretched his neck. “Are you ready?”

Panic swelled inside of me. What if they overpowered me? What if a Kriger died? What if something happened to Anders? My weapon warmed, and a sense of calm melted into me.

“Kaia,” Anders gently said. “If I didn’t think you could do this, I wouldn’t take you in there.”

“I’m ready.” I connected to my power, and certainty filled me.

Anders nodded toward the door. I grasped the handle, took a deep breath, and swung it open. The hallway was narrow with cells along the right side. A dozen armed men turned to face us.

Anders started throwing knives faster than I thought possible.

Raising my bo staff, I aimed at the first
soldat
, freeing my power and not holding back. He burst into flames. Another one ran for me. I aimed at his chest and struck him. He disintegrated into thin air. A third man threw his sword at me. I shifted to the side and pointed my weapon at him, releasing my power. He fell to the ground and shriveled up.

All the
soldats
were neutralized.

“Excellent job,” Anders said, wrapping his arms around me. “You’re not injured, are you?”

“No. What about you?” There weren’t any scratches or cuts visible.

“I’m fine,” he said, bending to retrieve his knives.

In the cells, eleven wide-eyed men stood intently watching me. They were just as decrepit as the other prisoners with unkempt facial hair, body odor, and torn clothing.

“Let me introduce all of you to Kaia,” Anders said, “the final Kriger.”

“If I hadn’t seen her use that bo staff with my own eyes,” one of the older men said, “I wouldn’t believe it possible.”

The others mumbled their assent.

Hot pain radiated though my hands, making me yelp. I gripped my weapon tighter, trying to alleviate the feeling. Anders’s eyes widened at something behind me. His knuckles turned white as he clutched his knives, still red with fresh blood. I spun around.

Skog Heks closed the door, locking us inside.

“Stupid girl,” she spat, waddling toward me. “Who do you think you are, coming into my home? Trying to steal my pets? It’s time I kill you and end this nonsense.”

Anders tried to push me out of the way, but I stood firm and blocked the hallway.

“You can’t kill me,” I said. “If you do, you won’t get your magic back.”

Her lips curled into a smile. “I’ve already waited a hundred years. What’s a few more? Especially for the pleasure of tearing you apart.” She grabbed my arm with her chunky hand, her nails digging into my flesh. “Torturing you wasn’t enough? Had to come back for more?” Her hot breath assaulted my face.

A dart embedded into her neck. She swatted it away with her free hand as if it were a fly. “Your poison won’t work on me, boy.”

“Get out of the way, Kaia,” Anders said.

I didn’t want this evil, vile woman to touch him. “
Don’t give fear a chance,”
my father’s voice whispered in my ear.
“Attack it head-on.”
Years of training kicked in and my hand came up, hitting her arm. She let go, and I took a step back. Her lips twisted, and she snarled an animal-like sound and jumped at me, wrapping her fingers around my neck and squeezing. I dropped my bo staff, brought my hands together between her arms, and then I shoved them outward, breaking her hold. I kicked her. She stumbled but remained upright.

“What happens if I kill you?” I asked, trying to catch my breath. With my weapon on the ground, my hands hurt, and I felt overly vulnerable.

She smiled revealing her pointy, brown teeth. “You can’t kill me. I’m a
Heks
.”

One of the Krigers laughed. “A
Heks
with no magic.”

There was a reason it took all twelve Krigers to link together in order to kill Morlet since he was consumed with magic. But Skog Heks … she no longer had her magic. She darted forward, tugged my hair, and yanked me toward her. Placing her hands on either side of my head, she smiled, about to snap my neck. I punched her stomach, but she only laughed.

“Let me,” Anders said, coming up behind her. “You need to free the Krigers.”

He tossed my weapon at me while simultaneously flipping his dagger around and swinging the hilt at Skog Heks’s head. She released me, and I caught my bo staff.

Dark blue blood dripped from the gash on Skog Heks’s forehead. “Foolish, idiotic human,” she spit. “I will kill you.”

Anders crouched low, ready to attack.

Aside from Morlet or a
Heks
, I was the only one capable of removing the ward placed on the cells. As much as it pained me to do so, I turned my back on him and faced the weary Krigers. “Tell me what to do.”

One of the younger men pointed at the bars. “The magical enchantment is on the iron. You have to counteract it.”

“You mean I have to release my power and hit the iron?”

“Precisely.”

Realizing the implications, I rubbed the bo staff between my hands, calming my nerves. Each cell was only six feet by six feet. If I missed and hit the person inside, he’d die.

Anders made an odd noise and Skog Heks screamed. They were on the ground grappling, Anders on top, his hands covered with her oddly colored blood. “Focus, Kaia,” he said, his voice deep with emotion.