Warrior's Mind (Book 2 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 67

Leyla stared at the plate in front of her.

Vegetables, meats and breads were piled high. It was food fit for royalty, had it not been served in a wooden bowl without utensils. The guards obviously did not trust her with a knife and fork, which was smart on their part. She was in the mood to do someone damage.

The scent of spices hung in the air around her and her stomach growled, but Leyla closed her eyes and pushed the hunger away. She wasn't eating. She hadn't had a meal since they locked her in the cell two days ago.

Two days. For two days she had been sitting here and the only people that she saw in the otherwise empty dungeon were her prison guards and the servants who delivered her meals. Leyla kept watching the entrances on either end of the long underground chamber, waiting for a familiar face, but no one appeared.

No Raphael. No interrogator. Not even Michael had made an appearance.

At first Leyla was angry. After sitting in the cell for a while she had realised that not telling Raphael the truth had been a mistake. Why didn't she protest when Annabelle claimed to have been stabbed by her? So what if it had sounded mad? She owed it to him and to herself to see what he would do once she told the truth.

But as the hours went by, it became apparent that no one was interested in hearing her side of things. No one even showed to proclaim her sentencing...they just sent food.

Food that she was not going to eat.

Leyla stretched her right arm across her body, then switched to the left. She guessed it would appear like she was on a hunger strike, but she was fasting. She had done fasts often during her training in the Warrior Kingdom as it allowed for greater focus and control over both body and mind. Whether she needed to convince the council of her innocence or fight her way out of this dungeon, focus and control were going to be integral.

Stepping into the centre of the large cell, Leyla took up the first position of a meditative sequence Alec taught her long ago. The Ten-Step-Peace had her moving slowly across the cold stone surfaces of her prison and within minutes her mind was calm.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before three sets of footsteps approached her cell. Bringing her hands together on a last exhalation, Leyla opened her eyes.

"We need to move, quickly!" Michael was holding his hand out to her as her cell door swung open, but Leyla couldn't move. Beside him, on the other side of the dungeon guard stood a woman that looked exactly like her. Same hair, same face, she was even wearing the same clothes. "La-La I'll explain later, I promise, but we have to move now!"

Her look-a-like stepped into the cell as Leyla left, keeping up with Michael's pace. The guard had remained behind and was now locking the door. "Is that a Face Changer?"

Michael held his fingers to his lips, grabbing her hand as they headed towards the far exit of the chambers. Then, just before they reached the steps that led up to the door, he ducked them behind stacked water barrels and whispered: "Yes, it is a Face Changer. We just need to keep quiet and watch. Raphael has a plan, he's going to end this, don't worry." Removing his cloak, Michael draped it over her shoulders and pulled up the hood so that her face was hidden.

"Raphael..."

Michael cut her off with the warning in his eyes, then took a step closer to her as hurried footsteps sounded from the door behind them. Leyla watched as the Book Keeper and the Minister of Defence rushed down he steps and ducked behind the barrels on the opposite side to them. The Minister noticed Michael, then leaned back, frowning as he tried to see under Leyla's hood. The Book Keeper pulled him back at the sound of commotion at the other end of the chamber.