Talon the Black (Dragonwall Series # 1)

Chapter 35 - The Dungeons

Kastali Dun

Saffra peered around the corner into the guard room. A wall of keys stretched up to the ceiling. Numerous prisoners were housed within the dungeons. Some would never again see the light of day.

Four guards sat around a table of crates playing cards. They taunted each other, tossing coins onto a growing stack. With the activity taking place in the streets, their watch was relaxed. She smiled at their carelessness. All the better for her.

She pulled away and rested her back against the cold stones of the wall, breathing quietly. Her ears pricked at the sound of coins clinking.

"Loser o' this hand does the next rounds."

She tensed, side-stepping further away from the doorway.

"I already know it's goin' ta be Eddy, eh lad?"

"You ain't be knowin' what I gots in my hand, Derrell. So shut your hole." Eddy had a higher voice, and must have been much younger than the others.

She continued to lurk, listening.

"Well, let's see 'em cards then." There was a pause, followed by a roar of laughter. "Ha! Told 'e so, Eddy! Told 'e so! To the rounds, boy!"

"Curse you, Derrell. Everyone be knowin' you's a cheat!"

The scrape of a stool sounded. She concealed herself within the shadows. Moments later, Eddy emerged with a glowing lantern. He made his way down the hallway away from her. She watched his yellow glow until he was swallowed up by the darkness.

Long minutes ticked by.

Eddy returned and the guards went back to their cards, swearing and laughing, having a grand time. She crept past the open doorway and began down the same hallway Eddy had used. When she was far enough from the guard room, she created her own light.

"Eflae dagar," she muttered. A small white orb, bluish on the edges, materialized, floating above her open palm. She thrust her hand forward, releasing her hold upon it. Floating along, it followed her progression.

The torches were extinguished in these corridors for good reason. Intruders would have a difficult time navigating the blackness of the hallways. Escapees would find themselves lost. The dungeons were made to be confusing. Their tunnels were purposefully built like a maze, but she knew which way to go, thanks to a large scroll she'd purloined from the keep's royal library. Had the king known it was there, it would have been removed from the shelves. Now it was safely hidden within her chambers.

Taking the first left turn, she made her way down a narrow tunnel. Prisoners awaiting trial were placed in the cells nearest to the guard room and farthest from the torture chambers. Perhaps it was to save them from the screams of those poor souls residing within the depths of the vast dungeon. She sniffed. The air was rancid.

Heavy doors lined both walls with small, barred windows. She looked through them one at a time. With each glance, her heart quickened. She feared the depths of the cells and what she might see within. Most of the occupants were male. Plenty were deranged and aggressive. At one door, just as she peered in, a toothless face loomed before her, laughing. A hand shot out between the bars. She yelped and jumped back, heart pounding.

She reached the wall at the end, but no Claire. She should have been here. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she proceeded to the second tunnel, and then the third. Unease crept into her stomach the deeper she went.

Soon, she found herself in the very back of the dungeons. It heated her blood and set her teeth on edge. The guards had locked Claire in the same tunnel as convicts serving life sentences. Her shoulders shook with anger. Taking a deep, calming breath, she placed her palms flat against Claire's door. She had no keys. If the wood was impervious to magic, her mission would fail.