The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 18

After lunch, I returned to my usual spot, avoiding social interaction with others where possible. My arm muscles ached and screamed under the effort of swinging my axe, but this pain was merely ancillary to another, more dangerous, feeling. Someone was watching me again – I knew it. The base of my neck prickled, instinctively warning me of danger. I let my axe hang and rested my arms for a moment as I caught my breath. Looking around the room, I saw a huddle of guards on the far side, talking among each other and shooting glances in my direction.

I swallowed; my mouth dry. My instincts had been right. Was it possible Aergia had spread word about my escape? I grabbed at my matted and muddy hair, wondering if my red roots had begun to show. If it had, it was a dead giveaway. Not many people in Sloth City had my eye colour, let alone red hair. I returned to shovelling, paranoid and working at double the speed.

Of course, there was always the possibility I was imagining their lingering stares, but if there was one thing I'd learned, it was to trust my intuition.

"Sarah!" a high-pitched voice shouted. I jumped, my axe slipping from my hand and cluttering to the floor.

Leo surprised me by ducking out from behind a trolley, picking up the residue rocks that had fallen from my meagre mining attempts and depositing them back in the trolley.

"Oh, hi Leo," I said, looking nervously over at the guards. Two of them nodded to the others and set out in our direction. I spun around and stared at the wall, my mind racing. They'd be over here in thirty seconds, giving me little time to prepare...

To prepare what? An excuse? An escape plan? I was disastrously lacking both.

"Leo, I need you to listen to me," I said, trying to put as much force in my voice as possible.

He stopped working, some of the rock slipping from his fingers. "Yeah?"

"I need you to move on and act like you don't know me, okay? Go help the next person."

Panicking, I picked up my axe and swung it. Hard. It hit the wall and caused a huge chunk to fall off. The guards were probably only ten seconds from us.

"Why would I do that?" he asked in confusion.

"Please. Go, now."

"Okay, okay."

He wandered off with his trolley, looking significantly more downcast than when he'd arrived. I didn't mind, knowing that at least now he wouldn't get caught up in whatever drama was awaiting me. Footsteps approached from behind, but I forced myself to continue working. If I was lucky, they were just going to ask about my shift time or order me to work in the kitchen.

I'd hoped that the guards would move past me, towards someone else, but it was clear they were taking a beeline for me. My breathing became shallow.

Someone cleared their throat from behind me. "You have to come with us," a deep voice rumbled.

Taking a deep breath, I held my head high and spun to face them. It looked like my only option was to fake confidence.

"Sorry?" I asked, my voice firm but my hands shaking. I hid them behind my back.

"You need to come with us," the man on the left said, with less patience than before.

"And put the axe down," the right man added, staring me straight in the eyes.

I bit my lip and slowly did as he said. I could see no way out of this. I was a horrible fighter, and even if I was substandard there was no way I could make it past the onslaught of guards, navigate my way through the many tunnels and up to the surface. I was cornered, quite literally.