Chapter 7
Yan
Lin
Meridian
The former Guardian could not count the times
she had done this in her life time. Too many of her friends had been imprisoned
here and died here. Too many failed attempts at freeing the innocent had taken
place here.
But that was a long time ago.
And now, these children were lax.
The second Yan Lin passed through the portal
it slammed shut right behind her. She flew as fast as she could and hid behind
a pillar some 200 yards away. There she crouched and waited. No one came.
Yan didn’t know whether to feel extremely
lucky or insulted.
Better to do this without being noticed,
since I have no back up.
Pain shot through her at the thought, but she
shoved it away. Being young again obviously made her weak to old emotional
wounds. She realized that she wasn’t in the dungeon just yet. Instead she’d
landed near the guards’ barracks outside the castle itself. There ways to go,
and little time to act.
She gripped the Heart.
Where? She inquired of glowing gem.
Down came the reply.
She started to move out of her hiding spot
when a gruff laugh froze her.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen Vathek so happy
about letting a rebel starve to death,” one guard’s deep bass rumbled. “I mean,
he normally enjoys doing something more… Painful. I mean, just letting him die
in the southern oubliette? That’s not….”
As they’re voices faded away Yan thanked the
Creator for stupid gossips. Now she knew where he was. She only needed to
figure out where the southern oubliette was.
It was almost like a game of tag, except
everyone else didn’t know they were playing. She jumped from hiding spot to
hiding spot searching for a hole in the dark. Several times she was sure she had
been spotted by the guards but the rebels had not broken into the palace itself
for over half a century. The guards knew that problems would only come from the
prisoners, and they were treated so badly that within the first two days all
resistance was crushed.
Yan learned everything she needed to from the
gossiping guards who kept trying to one-up each other. His name was Kaleb, and descended
from rebels. His father had been one of the two leaders who had rebuilt the
rebellion after Nerissa’s betrayal. He wasn’t a leader, but had some
information of value. Turned out he was tough. No matter what they did to him,
even when they killed a child right in front of him, he never gave in. He spat,
kick like a mule, a cursed them through it all. Nothing subdued him.
Yan grinned as she flew through the
labyrinth. It was an honor to meet someone that tough. Cassidy had been that
tough. Yan hoped Will was that tough. She suspected the redhead was.
Time
is short, the
heart informed her. Go, and I will tell you if it is
wrong.
She thanked the Heart, and started to move.
“Hey!”
Yan jumped. She’d let her guard down as she reminisced.
“Intruder!” The Guldon sounded the alarm.
Time
to reveal thyself. Attack and keep moving.
Yan didn’t hesitate to summon a blast of
hurricane wind that tossed the guards around like paper. She opted for speed
over stealth and moved a tornado through the barracks and down to the prison
below. Now it was a guessing game. Being underground bottled up the win which
was her guide, so her sense of direction was gone. She had to pick a direction and
let the Heart correct her.
I doubt you will give me a hint?
Down.
So very helpful.
Despite her flying in basically circles for a
bit she moved quickly, flying at close to top speed, down stairs and in and out
of corridors filled with screaming and crying and dead prisoners. Yan did her
best to ignore those she couldn’t save, focusing instead on finding the one boy
who would perhaps ends this suffering. She also ignored the guards, who couldn’t
keep up with her. By the time she was down to the third level they were
everywhere.
Yan had started training at 10 years old to
be the new generation of Guardians, as each had before her, until her
generation was broken with betrayal. Her winds shielded her from arrows,
reflecting them back onto the archers, buffeting those with nets and weighted
chains into each other’s aim, knocking those with spears into walls and their
companions. She quickly blew through them onto the fourth level.
The prisoners soon caught onto what was happening,
and began to help her. They tripped up and strangled what guards they could
reach, shouting jeers and cheers at the guards and her in turn. The din made it
harder for them to find her, and they were distracted beating back the
prisoners rather than focusing on her. She made her way deeper and deeper until
the Heart called to her again.
This
level.
She began flying. It told her when she missed
the turns, when to turn right or left. Certain she was going in circles she
flew on until…
You
passed it, go back.
When she reached the previous corridor lined
with cells, the Heart informed her it was here. She landed and walked into the
dark until the Heart called a halt.
You
stand above him now.
Wishing that Halinor was there to light the
chamber, she fell to her knees, and began feeling the floor for the edge of the
lid to the hole they’d stuck Kaleb in. The thunder of feet and roar of the
guards grew closer.
I need light.
The Heart lit up brilliant, and saw she the
trapdoor immediately. As the pink stone’s light faded, she called to her power
and used it to carry her voice down into the stinking pit below.
“KALEB! MOVE AWAY FROM THE CENTER! I’M GETTING
YOU OUT!”
She waited as long as she dared. Praying that
he was not curled up beneath her, she summoned air, compressing it into a small
ball, flew up to the ceiling, and then threw it. It crumbled and fell into the
darkness. Still praying he still lived, she fell down into the darkness below.
