88 GATES-Return of the Fallen

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The narrow hallway to the dungeon was dim, almost dark. The torches lined up on the walls were too far from each other for Arda’s comfort. The tip of her gown was scraping on the floor and her high heels were ticking on her way to the room. By now, her face was in discomfort, her forehead and neck were already sweating. Ramdam niya ang hindi kaaya-ayang init sa loob na dala ng pagkakalagak ng piitan sa ilalim ng Great Circle.

     In a couple of minutes, Arda had already arrived. The anxiety that she’d been hiding had already escaped into her face. She was scared. Her visit wasn’t permitted nor known. She fooled the guards to let her in. Now, she was already inside, she couldn’t back off.

     “Ma! Ano’ng ginagawa mo rito?” Adiya whispered, worried of her mother’s sudden visit. She hoped Loki had given her a permission.

     Arda could see her daughter, no more in an electric sphere as well as the others, but in a magic-restraining shackles. Her heart broke. The sight made her eyes watered. “Of course, I am going to get you out of here,” she whispered back, careful not to awaken the other bearers who were unconscious.

     “Pero pa’no sila?” Adiya’s voice was low and broken. It must have been the cause of fatigue from countable days of torture.

     Arda contemplated, but made a decision, “I could not let them go. Wala na akong oras. You are my only choice.” She started unbinding her with a key she stole from the guards. In no time, the shackles had broken off and Adiya fell on the ground. Arda’s reflex to rescue her daughter was fast. “Holy Celestials! What did Loki do to all of you?” she mumbled, teary eyed. As much as she wanted to tighten her grip on her daughter’s arms to make her stand, she couldn’t. Mas nakikita na niya nang malapitan ang mga pasa ng anak, ang mga galos at pamamayat nito.

     “Ma, kailangan natin silang tulungan,” Adiya resisted as they were heading for exit.

     “Shut up, Adiya!” Arda warned while wrapping Adiya’s arm around her neck, her other hand’s holding her daughter’s waist for support. “Huwag mo muna silang isipin sa ngayon. Baka maabutan tayo rito. We cannot weld powers in the dungeon. Loki summoned a great magician to cast a spell of power restriction inside. Wala tayong magagawa kung maabutan niya tayo. The spell has no effect on Loki.”

     Adiya silenced herself. She was contemplating on how to respond. She wanted to escape but not alone. She wanted her co-Bearers with her. “I’m sorry, Ma,” she whispered into thin air and then put her mother off with a quick, hard but careful hand chop on her mother’s neck. She was surprised it worked but had to be worried of her mother. “I’ll get back on you, Ma.” Now, she was already heading back to her co-Bearers with the ring of keys her mother used to free her. One by one, she tried every key on each lock. “Euai. Euai,” she called, fortunately, Euai already gained her consciousness back.

     “Ano’ng ginagawa mo?” Euai asked, actually knew what Adiya was doing, only that she wanted a reply why Adiya was doing it. Their escape would only mean they really were guilty of the crime.

     “We’re going to escape.” The shackles were already unbinded. She, removed all the keys from the ring and then said, “Tulungan mo ko.”

     It wasn’t hard for Euai to understand. She helped Adiya in releasing the Bearers. Every one didn’t look good—bruises, scratches, wounds—they were pained. Their escape would satisfy their need to be free.

     “I hate to say this,” Xyluz, who received more torture for conspiring up with late Ordon, spoke. “But with our escape, the Council would only think were guilty.”