been days since Alric had left them for all they knew.
They were the only ones in the entire dungeon, and they could see through their bars clear to either wall at the end of the long hallway. Their words echoed when they spoke to each other.
They had talked at length about what was going to happen to them. Coffman was confident that Alric would think of some way to get them out of their predicament, but could offer up no idea about what Alric might try.
“You don’t think he would actually kill Kaden do you?” she asked.
Coffman just shrugged. “Hard to tell. Alric isn’t always the most predictable person. But he’ll think of something.”
When Coffman finished speaking, the screaming started. It wasn’t a sound of anger, but of desperation. It chilled Nalani to the bone as she wondered who it could be. She hoped she and Coffman would not soon be in the same situation.
“Do you think it’s another prisoner?” Coffman asked.
Nalani couldn’t give an answer. The screams were so genuine. They tried to decipher what words were spoken, but all they could understand was ‘…out of my head. Stay away.’
“Someone’s going crazy,” Coffman said. “Been here too long, I guess.”
“I feel bad for whoever it is.”
“Hey, we’re in this too,” Coffman answered. “That might be us in a couple of days.”
The doors at the end of the dungeon sprung open and a group of guards came marching toward them. Nalani stiffened at the sight, preparing herself mentally for what they were about to face.
“That might be us now,” Coffman said.
In the middle of the big group of guards, a short, hooded figure stretched out a hand, pointing at Nalani. Fear gripped her when a guard pulled out a key to unlock the cell door. She gripped the chains near her wrist instinctively. They wouldn’t move into Coffman’s cage so willingly, she was sure. Coffman was a beast of a man and probably twice as big as the hooded Stühoc. The small Stühoc walked into her cell. He made no hostile action toward her, but simply walked until his frail, gray hands touched the side of her head.
At first she didn’t know what she was feeling. Her vision went white for a moment, and her head felt like it might explode. It felt as if her mind was being assaulted. Faintly, distantly, she could hear a voice calling out, but she knew it wasn’t physical. She could discern no words, but she could feel the beckoning call. This creature was trying to break in.
It became so unbearable that she couldn’t help herself when she wrapped her chains around the Stühoc’s wrists and jerked downward. Instantly her mind felt free. She kicked the Stühoc in the gut, doubling him over, and then she wrapped her chains around his neck.
“Back away!” she screamed at the guards who stood ready with jagged swords drawn. “I’ll break his neck if you don’t back away!”
The hooded Stühoc held up a hand as if to tell the others not to attack. He knew Nalani wanted blood. The guards started to back away, but it did not seem it was because of Nalani’s suggestion. They looked from her eyes to the cloaked face, back and forth. It was as if they were taking silent orders from him. She pulled tighter on the chain and motioned her head toward Coffman.
“Let him out.”
The guard looked at the hooded figure as if to ask if this was all right. In a moment, Coffman was free from the cage.
The man became an animal. Without a second thought he bowled over the guards, knocking them to the ground and stomped the life out of one or two of them. He reached down and grabbed a sword and the keys from a fallen guard. He used it to undo his chains.
Nalani threw the hooded Stühoc to the ground when Coffman came near. He loosed her from her bonds and handed her a sword.
“What was he doing to you?” Coffman asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “It felt like he was trying to read my thoughts.” She pointed her sword at the mind reader who held up a hand to stay her deathblow.
“Where do you keep the orange medallion?”
The Stühoc wouldn’t speak. Perhaps he couldn’t.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Coffman said.
Nalani moved slowly around the creature on the floor, then gave him a sharp kick to the side of the head, knocking him out cold.
“We aren’t leaving without the medallion,” she said.
“It could