Gold to Dust

Chapter Eleven

Eleven

The dim firelight glowing in the cavern's thin tunnels was barely enough to illuminate the floor in front of them as Ellegra guided Faine down the turns and twists of the corridors. They held their hands out to feel along the walls, her fingertips grazing against cracks and drizzles of water every so often, Faine stepping on her heels if she lingered too long or moved at a slower pace. What she found odd, however, wasn't that she could hardly see a thing, but that she didn't need her hands or eyes at all. It felt like a magnet pulling her in the direction of Tamshie. She knew it with every fiber of her being. They rounded another bend.

She didn't want to linger on it, but the more hesitant her footsteps became and the more hairs stood up on her arms, the more appreciative she became of Faine's presence behind her. He hadn't said anything since they'd entered the caves, but his breathing and quiet footsteps assured her that he was still there, that he hadn't left their deal to save Tamshie in order to save himself. She pondered the weight of the purse on her hip, debating on whether or not she would actually give up her and Tamshie's only means of survival. Tamshie had been completely right before— there was no way for a woman to earn a living in this kingdom. Especially fugitive women.

"So this is your plan?" Faine growled behind her. "Walk through the halls looking for your friend until someone finds us?"

"She's here," Ellegra whispered defensively. She knew it. She felt it.

"Yeah? Well, it'd be nice if she'd give us a little something to go off of."

His tone of hard annoyance grated against her nerves. She glared over her shoulder at him."Like what?"

Voices erupted in great booms further down the hall.

Ellegra retreated several steps, her back coming to bump against Faine's chest. His hand pressed to the small of her back and nudged her forward again. "Like that."

She didn't hesitate. Blood raged in her ears and coursed angrily through her veins. Every flare of pain she felt and every aching throb dissolved into the roar that pumped the pain away. Her ankle no longer screamed in agony when she set weight down on it, her head didn't pound when she breathed. She pushed off the ground in a dead run towards the racket. Faine stayed close on her heels, his sword in his hand. Ellegra raced down the halls, turning in the direction of noises. She passed door after door of prisoner cells, pulling her lip between her teeth and gnawing on the plump skin each time a pleading cry begged for her to stop. She wasn't here for any of these girls. She was here for Tamshie.

Faine halted, his hand clamping around her wrist to hold her back. She turned to glare at him, wrenching her arm from his grasp, but the look on his face made her reconsider. His eyes narrowed at something over her shoulder, the burning heat of his hand growing hotter on her skin.

The second she turned on her heel, a deep pang of hopelessness rooted itself in her chest. A dark puddle flowed from one of the doors, dribbling into a pool that collected just barely in the center of the corridor. Its metallic odor cleared every other thought in her head.

Faine beat her to saying what they both knew. "Is that—"

"NO," she barked. She rushed towards the door and ripped it open.

The darkness of the room wasn't what appalled her when she stepped in— it was the blinding smell of stagnant blood that made her arm instinctively curl around her nose and mouth and forced a groan out of her throat. Her eyes watered, but it was no longer from the smell. The shape of a body lay crumpled in the corner. Ellegra stepped towards it, kneeling to roll it over. She needed to know if it was Tamshie, to see if her chances of ever going home were truly shattered. She needed to know whether she had to keep fighting or if she could throw herself to the ground and give up, let Cilas and his pets find her. Blowing out several breaths, she pressed her hands to the stiff flesh and pushed, her fingers slipping over wet blood. The body gave way with a thud against the ground.