A Wild World- A Witcher FanFic

Chapter 12

Scrambling through the open window Eskel landed deftly on the cold stone floors.  He hadn't even broken a sweat but the rage that was building from the potion he used caused him to pant lightly.

Snapping his head this way and that he tried to locate Cass.  Whoever had pulled her back had made a quick escape.

Only her faint scent was left in the hallway along with a bitter tang of something else.  Taking in a deep breath Eskel let the smell settle on his tongue.  It was bitter, but metallic with a snap at the end.

Magic.

Whoever had Cass used magic to get away.  This was a very bad sign.  He hoped they were still here in the castle.  Closing his eyes he focused and let his ears wander the castle.  

He could hear almost everything.  The clatter of steps from servants in the walls.  Rats nibbling in a cellar.  A crackling fire in a kitchen somewhere below.  A heavy scraping of chains, and screaming.

Cass!

Eyes snapping open, he had found her.  Just a few corridors away.

The screams became louder.

Wasting no time Eskel took off down the confusing floor plan of the castle.  He only hesitated at a few crossing ways to orientate himself.  If he didn't have witcher senses he was certain he'd become lost in the many dead end ways and stairways leading to drops.

Suddenly the screaming stopped.  Straining at his best he couldn't make out any noises.  It just wasn't there.  Shit.

If they had used a portal then who knows where they would go.  Cass could be... would be, he didn't want to think.  He needed to act.

Now he was facing down a large wooden door.  The bastard that took Cass was on the other side of it.  Dramatic entrances were not his thing, that was all Geralt, but he was pissed.  Twisting with a fluid motion he fueled all his anger and worry into one solid kick to the door.  Shuddering it burst off its hinges and fell with a cloud of dust.

Bursting into the room, Eskel froze.

The world fell away.

Cass' very pale body was chained to a large wooden table, slumped against the restraints barely breathing and certainly not moving. Cords of tubing ran from her arms into a variety of colored vials suspended from metal racks above.  The liquid was dripping down at an alarming rate.  At junctions in the tubes where the chemicals mixed there was a small spark and colors would world together.

Miscellaneous items that Eskel could not even begin to identify, which he had learned were from Cass' world, made several small piles across the room.  

A tall elf with pale hair loomed over her table while also reading through a tattered scroll.  He adeptly adjusted a vial over her allowing a more rapid flow of carmine colored liquid.

Cass' eyes fluttered open briefly but stared into nothing. Her mouth opened in a scream but nothing came out. She strained again, making the chains that held her groan from the tension, before collapsing. Her breathing now was raspy and erratic.

Sword at the ready Eskel slid closer to Cass while keeping an eye on the elf,  but the elf made no move to stop him.  Although the elf was on the other side of the table area, he was to engrossed in a particular line on the paper to care. 

Placing a worried hand on her arm, Eskel gently shook her. How could he wake her or comfort her. She was here but not. It felt like they were both in a living nightmare.