Through the Looking Glass (24 page)

“It might be too late by then!” Jakar was at a loss. Leaving his wife in Tuloch’s hold for another day was dangerous. “Is there any other way into the fucking place?”

“No, I’m sorry, my lord,” Lore answered with regret.

“We have no other choice but to wait.” He walked off feeling hopeless. There was no telling what that monster was doing to Isobel even as they spoke. It was going to be a very long day and he needed to get some rest. He needed to be at his best when he went in after his wife. Nothing was going to stop him from finding her. Nothing.

******

Isobel drifted in and out of consciousness. She had no idea what time it was much less what day. Only the periodic sounds of the door shutting awoke her enough to let her know she was still in the dreadful cell.

This time when she awoke, she noticed that whoever had come into the cell last had been sympathetic enough to place the cup of water near her head.
Her hand was shaking so badly when she reached for the cup that a few precious drops spilled from the cup. This time she didn’t ration the water as she had been doing. She drank it all done in three gulps. It felt wonderful on her sore throat as it travelled down to her stomach. The small activity expended the little bit of energy she had and she had to let her head drop back down as the darkness consumed her yet again.

******

The guard who had brought in the water for the prisoner watched through the small window as she struggled to drink. He knew he shouldn’t have given her the water but she was so pitiful. His heart had gone out to her when Tuloch’s men brought her back down and shut her in the cell. Even though he had only gotten a quick glance at her wounds, he knew that Tuloch had gone too far, even for such a cruel man.

He despised being under Tuloch’s rule.
At the moment he didn’t have very many options open to him. He could either work as a guard in the dungeon or he and young sister could starve. Since both of their parents had died two years ago he had been the sole provider. His sister, Chloe, was not yet old enough to marry, so he was the one who had to provide for her, not that she was a burden to him. If it were up to him he would never let his sister marry any of the men in Tuloch’s land. Most of the people under Tuloch’s control had already been established in the south when the dictator had stormed in and taken over. The people were threatened with beheadings if anyone was caught trying to leave. Not only would the escapee be beheaded, the entire family would suffer the same fate.

So, the dungeon had been his only option. He wasn’t going to chance getting his sister killed. He hated Tuloch and what he had done to south Aslog. The south had once been a beautiful, prospering
place before Tuloch took over his father had told him once. Now the bastard cared for nothing but filling his pockets and his belly. He bled his people dry and imposed strict demands on them. Half of the food they grew was to be delivered to the castle and God help the one who took the chance of keeping more than half of his crop.

He looked into the cell one last time before he
went upstairs to be relieved for the day. When he came back for his next shift he would bring with him some of the salve his sister made to help heal wounds. He just couldn’t be caught doing it or it would be his head and his sister’s next to hit the chopping block.

Chapter 24

Jakar waited until it was fully dark before he gave the order to head out. The horses would remain hidden in the cave with one man staying behind to attend them. He stepped to the mouth of the cave and smiled for the first time in days.

The weather would aid them this night. There was no moon and the clouds were heavy in the night sky. He could feel the light mist that was falling when he stepped out into the opening. A flash of lightning bolted through the air followed closely by a roll of thunder. It wouldn’t be long before the heavens would open up on top of them.

Jakar quietly led his men around to the east side of the castle. It was going on nay midnight and most of the lights in the castle had been extinguished. A bark from a dog sounded off in the distance right before the rain began to pelt down on top of them. Within minutes the entire group was soaked through. Now was the time to make their entrance under the wall.

Brock waited in the bushes near the wall with the men while Jakar and Lore more forward to the hole. Brock waited for a signal from his brother before he sent another two men out to help with the digging. The sound of the rain and rolls of thunder masked the sounds of the dirt being displayed and tossed to the side. When Jakar, the largest of all the men, was able to slip under the wall Lore gave the signal to Brock to move to the hole.

The back of the castle was completely dark. Nothing moved as they all crawled under the wall and waited for directions from Jakar. Once all were present Jakar used hand signals to direct the men to their give
n positions. Two men would stand guard near the hole but out of sight while Jakar took the rest into the castle.

Vic was the first to test the kitchen door to see if it had been left unlocked. Tuloch would be feeling pretty secure in his home and wouldn’t think that Jakar had enough guts to make a move on his land. The door creaked as Vic pulled it tentatively.
Vic gave the all clear sign after sticking his head into the kitchen for a quick look.

Jakar moved first into the kitchen, sword ready to slash at whatever moved. The ashes in the fireplace still glowed from the day’s work and gave them just the right amount of light to see by. Step by step, he pushed forward, opening a door slowly when he came across one. He didn’t have a clue to where the dungeon would be but in
his castle it was secluded in one of the towers.

The sound of a cough alerted
them that someone was near. Every man stopped where he was and didn’t move a muscle. Light footsteps were walking away from where they were hiding. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the signal was given again to move. The group of forty men spread out to cover all doorways as the group crept through the castle.

Jakar’s blood was roaring in his ears and his heart was thudding so hard he was afraid that someone would be able to hear it. Adrenaline was flowing through his tense body and wanted so badly to be released. He had to rationally tell himself that he needed to take care because it wouldn’t do
any of them any good if they were all caught.

He came upon a doorway that lead out into the main hall. Two torches caste their light around the room generously
and revealed a door beneath the staircase. He motioned to his brother that he was going to check it out and see where it went. If it had been a storage room under the stairs the door would have been much smaller and narrower because the area under the stairs was small. His hand reach for the knob that called out to him. Somehow he knew this was the way to Isobel.

The door open
ed without a sound and inside was the set of stairs he had been looking for. He waved for Brock and the men to follow him as he began to descend the stairs. The two men were to wait just inside the doorway and alert them to anyone who came their way.

One by one the stairs took him down farther into the bowels of this hell hole. The place reeked of death and urine, making him want to vomit. He could see at the bottom of the stairs the light of a torch flicker on the wall. Movement came from around the corner, stopping him dead in his tracks. A guard had probably been posted to watch the prisoners during the night, so they would have at least one person to get passed.

He was about to step off the last step when the guard came around the corner and saw him. Both men stopped and stared at each other before Jakar made the first move. He launched his body into action and slammed the man against the wall. They fought unmercifully until Brock was able to come up behind Jakar at punch the guard in the face. The blow knocked the guard senseless, stilling him in Jakar’s hands.

“Where is she,” he hissed in the guard’s face then slammed him against the wall again for good measure. “Where. Is. She.”

The man shook his head, “Who?”

“My wife, asshole! Tell me now or I will kill you where you stand.” He held his sword in his right hand while his left arm had the man pinned to the wall by his throat.

“She’s in there.” The guard nodded slightly to the door across from their position.

“Open it.” He released the boy he had thought was a man. Jakar knew just by the size of the boy that he was not fully grown yet. He had to be in his late teens if not a bit younger. Tuloch
was notoriously known for drafting every abled bodied man or boy he could muster if they didn’t come on their own.

The boy pulled out a set of keys and stepped up to the door in question. Hands shaking, it took the boy several tries to get the key into the lock then turn it. No sooner had he pulled the
door open that he was shoved violently aside and landed on the floor. He knew exactly who this man was and why he was here. The lord of the north had come for his wife.

Jakar entered the dark cell. His eyes instantly found his wife lying on the floor wrapped in a filthy blanket. He went to her side and lifted her, turning her in the process. A moan escaped her chapped and cracked lips as he ran his hand over her face.

“Isobel! Isobel, please wake up,” he whispered in her ear. She moaned again but did not wake up. He gently gave her a shake which instantly had her awake and crying out in pain. Her cry startled and frightened him at the same time. Her eyes were unseeing as she looked up at him. Anger rushed through him at the sight of his wife. He could see in the low light the bruise on the side of her head and the blood that was dried in the corner of her lips. He ran his hands over her body checking for broken bones that might be the cause of her pain.

Outside of the cell, the guard called out to him. “Bring him in here!”
Jakar said.

Lore thrust the young guard into the cell and held the tip of his sword at the boy’s back. “My lord, she’s been flogged. That is the source of her pain.”

“Oh my God!” He eased Isobel to his chest as Brock helped him unwrap the blanket. The sound that Brock made told him that it was bad. “Is it… Is it bad?” He had to know.

Brock nodded his head in reply, unable to voice what he saw. He slid the blanket back over her still body and let his brother take the corner and tuck it against his chest once again.

“I did my best to help her,” the boy started to say but was cut off.

“Do not speak! Your leader did this to an innocent woman! I will have you all killed! Brock,” he nodded to his brother to kill the boy.

“No, no wait, my lord, please I beg of you!” The boy was close to tears as he pleaded for his life. “I snuck in some salve to put on her back and gave her as much water as I could without being caught!”

“Do you think that really matters to me? My wife ha
s been tortured and you tell me about salve?” Jakar spit the words at the boy.

“I…I was trying to help her. Tuloch is crazy and will stop at nothing. I was going to try and get her out of here but if I had been caught I would have been beheaded along with my sister.”

“Why would you risk your life to save someone you don’t know?” Jakar asked.

“I hate Tuloch, my lord and want to escape but I do not have the means to do so,” the boy admitted and pulled the jar of salve out of his pocket and held it out to Jakar. “Take it. It will help her while you journey home.”

Brock snatched the jar out of the boy’s hand then prepared to kill him. Jakar watched the boy then stopped his brother right before he could ram his sword through the boy’s young body. “Bring the boy with us.”

He stood up with Isobel in his arms and walked out of the cell and up the stairs. His men were still positioned at the door watching and waiting for their return. They were just about to open the door when it was
suddenly whipped open. Two guards stood there and spied them.

“Intruders!” one called out while the other took off running, screaming for help. “Intruders!” the guard yelled again then was silenced by one swift swing of a sword. The guard fell dead to the floor, blood running from the hole in his gut.

“We need to get out of here!” Brock yelled. He led the way back the way they had come into the castle. Loud footsteps were rushing towards them as they made their way through the maze back to the kitchen. Several guards came around one corner and met them head on. The clash of swords was deafening in the small, enclosed area and the cries of pain reverberated through the air.

Two of the enemy guards were cut down and the other was lying wounded on the ground. The sound of running was all around them now as they continued on. Jakar ran with Isobel in his arms then slid to a stop. Brock ran up behind him asking what was wrong.

“Take Isobel,” he handed his wife to the only other man he trusted with her life.

Brock was taken off guard and had to quickly grab for Isobel. “What are you doing? We need to get out of here!”

“I am going to find Tuloch and kill him once and for all.”

“Are you crazy man? This place is going to be full of guards in a moment. You won’t stand a chance!” Brock pleaded.

“I know of a way!” the boy called out.

Jakar’s head snapped to the boy. “Show me!”

The boy wretched out of the grip Lore had on him and lead the way. They ran back the way they had just come but turned down another hall Jakar had not paid attention to before. He nearly ran into the boy when he stopped suddenly in front of a tapestry that hung on the wall. He waiting impatiently as the boy slipped behind the tapestry and called for him to follow. When he did, he saw that the boy had pushed open a hidden door that revealed a hidden passage way.

“This is one of Tuloch hidden passages. He believes no one knows about them except for a few people. I found this passage late one night when I should have been guarding the dungeon.”

“Where does it go?” Jakar asked.

“This one goes directly to Tuloch’s personal rooms.”

“Where does it come out in his rooms?” He needed to know before he went plowing into unknown area.

“His bedroom.”

They continued through the passage until they reached the hidden door that lead into Tuloch’s bedroom. What were the chances that his enemy lay sound asleep in his bed? Probably not good considering all the noise now drifting through the walls. Voices were calling out orders and bells sounded to raise the alarm. But, he was here now and he was going to confront Tuloch for the last time. One of them would die this night.

The boy slowly pulled the door back then let Jakar go in first. The room was quiet and, unfo
rtunately, empty. Tuloch was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s not here,” Jakar said when he stepped back into the passage.

“Let’s go this way,” the boy waved for him to follow.

Again they raced through the gloomy and narrow passages. The boy zigzagged so many times that he became utterly lost. After what seemed like a lifetime of running, they came to the end of the passage.