A Sprinkle of Stardust

Chapter 37 - Escape

Outside her cell, Lyrani found herself in a corridor lined by identical doors set into earthen walls and illuminated by the overhead skylights.

To her right was a dead end. To her left, the passage disappeared into the darkness.

There was no doubt which path she had to take.

Lyrani moved along the corridor, her senses on high alert for the slightest sound or sight of trouble. Nash may have given her an easy way out of her cell, but there were still many things that could go wrong.

The guards could apprehend her. She could get lost and burrow deeper into a cold, isolated section of the prison. Worst of all, Rayn could take control of Nash and hunt her down before she escaped.

The unwelcome possibilities overwhelmed her, and she took a breath to banish them. As long as she kept her focus, she would hit the bullseye she was aiming for.

Lyrani turned the corner into another corridor. It was identical to the previous one except for the light at the end of it. That must be her way out.

Lyrani raced towards it, her bare feet beating against the hard ground. She felt every bump, every stone that pressed into the soles of her feet. Never had she longed for her trusty pair of boots as she did then, but she kept running.

A commotion greeted Lyrani as she neared the end of the passage. Not breaking her stride, she gathered the darkness around her.

"Miss, you shouldn't be down here," said a male voice, probably one of the guards.

"Sorry, I think I'm lost," said a woman.

Lyrani narrowed her eyes. She knew that voice.

A woman in a dress the pale blue of ice stepped into view. Lyrani wrapped the darkness around her before merging with the shadows at the edge of the room.

"Can you show me the way to the ballroom?" asked the woman.

Her back was to Lyrani. Sundrops were woven into her braid, yellow blooms bright against her dark hair.

Lyrani knew of only one person who loved sundrops and could grow them with a wave of her hand.

There was a muffled cry, then a thud. Lyrani looked around the room, but she couldn't tell where the sound had come from.

"Listen miss, I don't know..." The guard sounded uncertain now. His eyes flitted about the room.

Quicker than he could react, the woman grabbed him and clamped a cloth over his mouth and nose. He struggled, but the woman didn't relent. With each passing second, his resistance weakened until he wasn't moving at all.

In her elegant gown, the woman looked more prepared for a formal dinner than a prison break, which was probably her intention. For all the guards knew, she was just a guest who had lost her way.

Lyrani, however, knew otherwise. "Dessie?"

Her best friend looked up, still holding the cloth over the guard's face. "Lyrani?" She smiled. "Morloy, she's okay! We weren't too late!"

Morloy's bright smile betrayed his position in a shadowy corner of the chamber. Lyrani blinked until he came into focus where he crouched and tied up the guard he had knocked out.

Lyrani looked between her friends in disbelief. "What are you two doing here?"

Dessie dragged the unconscious guard to Morloy. "What does it look like we're doing?"

Lyrani joined them in the shadows framing the room and knelt to help Morloy secure the guards.

"We heard our friend was in trouble. We came as quickly as we could."