The Hunt for Freedom

Chapter Thirty Five

    When Lainey stopped at the alcove and looked expectantly at Dakari, she could tell by the look on his face that he had no clue what was going on. She hadn't noticed before but the alcove was at her level. Anyone over nine years old would probably not see it. She shimmied in, and beckoned for him to follow. He looked quizzically at her, his apprehension evident. From the end of the hallway came a shuffle of feet. Probably just a maid, but even a maid could point fingers.

Dakari lowered himself and tried to squeeze in. The shuffling became louder and any minute someone would be upon them. He was in up to his knees when the footsteps stopped. He imagined himself shrinking down and opened himself to the possibility. He didn't think he had enough strength left in him but the fear of being caught allowed for a reserve of energy he didn't know he possessed to spring up in him. He was in! From the hallway came a voice to go with those feet.

The scream pierced the silence and reverberated off the stone walls. Dakari could see bare feet facing the alcove and knew he had been seen. He used the last of his strength to send a sleep spell over the young maid. She dropped where she stood, going down almost gracefully, sound asleep now on the earth below. Before her head hit the floor Dakari was unconscious as well.

Lainey had heard the screaming behind her and stopped her progress. In the complete darkness she hadn't noticed that Dakari wasn't following her. She felt her way back as quickly as she could go. Seeing Dakari's lifeless form slumped just inside the alcove gave her a start. He could easily fall out and give them away. She tugged and pulled but could barely get him to budge.

She found a way to climb over him, somehow he seemed smaller than she remembered, and fell out to the hallway with a thud. This was a nightmare. What should she do now? She looked at the little girl she had just yesterday scrubbed rocks with now prostrate on the ground, hand still pointing to the alcove.

"She must have seen Dakari as he was getting in" Lainey reasoned. Even if she could move Dakari, she couldn't leave the girl here. If they thought she fell asleep on the job, they would kill her. If she began telling what she had seen they would discover the escape path. Lainey looked around for a solution.

The maid began to stir and Lainey quickly bent down to her. She whispered in her ear, "we have to get you out of here, can you stand?"

"I saw a ghost come out of the wall, he heard me and melted back into the wall." She started getting hysterical, "I saw a ghost, I saw a ghost!"

"You hit your head, the lights in this hallway make scary shadows and they look like ghosts. We are right outside Essam's private chamber. We have to get you out of here before he finds us both"

"I have been summoned by Essam, it is my first time here. I don't like it here, I want to go home!" She started to shake, overcome with her emotions.

"I want to go home too, but if we die in this hallway, it won't matter will it? Let's go back to our rooms and figure this out." Lainey pleaded and tried to sound like a mother's cooing.

"Ok, you'll come with me? I don't think I remember the way." The girl stood, her teeth chattering.

"Yes, I'll show you, but let's hurry...If Essam was waiting for you, he'll be coming out soon." With one final look to where she knew Dakari lay, Lainey all but pulled the girl down the hallway.

As they walked Lainey formed a plan. It was risky, but she had no choice at this point. She kept reassuring the girl that there were no ghosts, but instead just shadows thrown off by torchlight in the hallways. She made sure to mention that Essam's father had just killed the cook, and for her to stay out of the way and quiet to keep herself safe.

"What did Essam summon you for?" She asked the girl, now changing her hair to the one braid this girl wore instead of the two she favored.

"I was to clean his rooms and take his food order....why?" She asked skeptically.

"I am going to take your place so they won't come looking for you. You get cleaned up, and rest until that bump on your head goes down. Stay out of sight, I will sneak you some food."

"Why are you doing this for me? No one does something without a motive." The girl had a point, and Lainey certainly had a motive. She just wasn't about to share it with this girl.

Lainey did her best to let tears come to her eyes. "You look like my older sister," she lied. "I was hoping we could be friends, it is lonely here." A tear slid down her face. She hoped she was convincing.

A tender look came into the girl's eyes. In an instant it was gone. This place certainly hardened you. "Thank you, I have a little sister too. Maybe we can look out for one another." With that she turned and fell into her cot, facing the wall. Apparently, Lainey was dismissed.

Lainey ran for the kitchen and scrounged around. Having no idea how to cook, and no one yet appointed to the task, she did her best to make what looked like a tray fit for Essam. She pulled out fresh fruit, bread, and cheese. She grabbed a pitcher and filled it with water. After cleaning his rooms so often she knew that he had a fondness for alcohol at all hours of the day, and grabbed the decanter of amber liquid on the shelf.

She heard the sound of wings preparing for landing and scurried out of the kitchen before whatever dragon had just landed could make their way in. Her hands began to shake as she thought of the possibility of an encounter with Hassan.

She knew no one except Hassan would dare to question her as they all knew Essam's fondness for the littlest maid. With so much food on the tray the going was slow, and Lainey's heart began to race. What if they had found Dakari already? What if she was too late and certain death was just around the corner.

At last, she reached the long hallway leading to Essam's rooms, and her alcove. There was no noise, no tell tale commotion to alert her to the possible doom. The torches really did cast scary shadows here and she did her best to keep her head lowered. It would not do to trip and fall now, she thought.

As she neared the alcove she saw no evidence of Dakari. Where could he have gone? She quickly unloaded half the tray, away from prying eyes and raced for Essam's chamber. Her original plan was just to climb around Dakari and somehow pull him in until he woke up. Now, she had to rethink. If she went to Essam's room she would certainly hear the latest news. Even if they were speaking their funny language, she would understand enough to know if Dakari had been found.

She bolstered her courage, lowered her head into a position of submission and knocked on the door.

It was thrown open with curses. He was prepared to grab her arm and throw her down when he noticed the tray of food. Somewhat mollified, he took the tray, set it on his desk and busied himself pouring a drink. He eyed the girl harshly, and Lainey knew some horrible plot was forming in his head. She set about cleaning as she had done countless times before.

The banging on the door made her jump. Heavy fists pounded furiously, and Lainey heard Hassan's voice bellowing. She tried to fade into the background, she had no desire to be in the path of his wrath.

"You're Gruppa is in shambles! You have no cook, your prisoner has escaped, and all you can do is hide away and drink! You are worthless, you have disgraced me." He fumed, face turning as red as Essam's wings.

Lainey could see Essam's face, he tried to hide his surprise, but it was there. He emptied the glass in one gulp and turned to face his father.

"You are not welcome here. You have killed my cook, and most likely my prisoner. Don't think I don't know. I have spies everywhere. I will give you to sunset to be gone or I will unleash this worthless Gruppa on you. We'll see who is disgraced then." His words were slow and even. The evil radiated through them and became a stench in the air.

Lainey inched towards the door as the two weredragons faced off. She saw Hassan raise his hand as if to strike and saw his feet rise off the floor. The last thing she saw before escaping to the hallway was Hassan being hurled into the wall.