Warrior's Heart (Book 1 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 49

This was her second time in a cell.

The first time was during her first year in Officer Training. The trainers had dragged all the new initiates to the dungeons in the middle of the night and left them there for two days without food. Three stone walls and bars of steel; at the end of the second day, a guard chucked a hunting knife in each of their cells and they were instructed to get themselves out. Leyla grimaced as she remembered slicing her hand while attempting to saw the bars. Naturally, it was a pure waste of time. After trying a dozen or so other methods, she had eventually created a ruckus to attract a guard, used her belt to pull him in tight, then pressed her knife to his neck. He had given her the cell keys in short order.

Leyla sighed, leaning against the only wall of her prison as she observed. The Greenlander cell was a lot smaller than the one in the Warrior Kingdom, it was also not half as dark. The long room, located within in hut on the outskirts of King's Town, had six cells in total with long bars between each. There were three other detainees in the ones on either side of her, but they kept to themselves.

All was quiet.

Letting herself slide to the floor, she hugged her legs. How long had she been in this place? Were Finn and Alec looking for her? And were they ever going to feed her? Her stomach growled in hunger.

The minutes ticked by, marked by the intermittent laughter of the Greenlander guards in the next room. There were four of them, she remembered from when they walked her through the small building. They wore swords, no bows and arrows, and judging by their movements they were as poorly trained as Light guards. It would be easy to break out of here. But then what? She would become a wanted criminal in the Greenlands and lose her chance to find her father. By Tevvuk's beard this was frustrating.

Her stomach growled again and she thought about the orphans. Had they gone to old Sosostris like she told them to? Leyla hoped so, she hated the thought of them being hungry.

"Food!" A tall guard came in, holding a tray with four bowls. He handed the first three to the other prisoners, then came to unlock her cell door. She stood back, waiting for him to place it on the floor and leave. But he didn't leave. He just stood for a moment, watching her. Black hair, light brown eyes and a shaggy beard that grew over pimples the size of thumbnails; he was an unattractive fellow with a cruel glint in his eye.

"You're too pretty to be a criminal." His spat as he talked and some of it landed in her bowl.

The idiot was asking for trouble. "I am not a criminal."

He took another step forward. "So you didn't steal that necklace like the shopkeeper says?"

"I did not." She watched his approach, stepping her right leg back and adjusting her body weight. If he tried anything, she was going to have to knock him out.

"Why don't I search you? If you don't have it on you, we can work something out."

Leyla held her hand up in warning. "Don't come closer, I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" The guard laughed heartily, then opened his arms out wide. "I am much bigger than you and I have a sword. How are you thinking of hurting me?"

Leyla frowned at the man's foolishness. "I'm warning you, Greenlander. Leave. Now."

The man laughed harder and Leyla noticed the woman in the cell to her left giving her a pitying look. Her dark brown hair was tied back to reveal bruises along her jaw and neck. Her eyes filled with fear, she turned her back and covered her ears. Leyla's temper flared. The guard obviously enjoyed playing with his charges. Well then, she would teach him a new game...