Chapters (76)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART I
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- PART II
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- PART III
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- INTERLUDE
- PART IV
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- INTERLUDE
- PART V
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART VI
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- INTERLUDE
- PART VII
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- PART VIII
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
But there was nothing else nearby. Just tunnel wall and the iron, a square gate in its middle, locked. None of their keys were even the right size. The air moved here, it felt glorious against her skin, but it could pass through the bars that she could not.
“Hallo, then.”
There was a black shape on the other side, light all behind him. Neither Elena nor Will made to conceal themselves, there was nowhere to hide.
“Need a little help, then?”
The shape stopped too far away from the bars, too far for them to reach through and grab him. “No need to be cross then, you can talk to me. What are your names?”
“Go to hell,” Will mumbled, turning away.
“I’m so sorry,” he replied, “I am, that’s an awful name. Must have been difficult on you. And then this, on top of it all, what a rotten day for you. Only gets worse, too. Have you seen one of these?”
The man drifted to the side, and came back hefting the silhouette of a crossbow.
“Nasty business, this one. Goes through these bars more than a bit easier than you could.”
“So what?” Will asked, pitiful and desperate. Elena’s heart could have broken. “You’re going to hang us. Why not die today rather than wait?”
The figure crouched down, a little closer. Still not close enough. His eyes were set wide, large, they pushed forward. “Boy, I don’t mean to be mean. But trust me, this isn’t the way to go. Hanging is clean, and before God. You don’t want to die where you can’t see the sky. And I don’t want to kill you. Please don’t make me. Go back to your cells, and pray. I’ll pray for you, too, I swear it.”
Will slammed his body against the bars and slumped down, letting out something between a scream and a laugh. Elena reached down and twisted her fingers into his hair, tracing the back of his neck. His other hand came up to meet hers, wrapping around her finger.
“I’ll give you a minute,” the gord said. “Don’t be here when I come back.”
“YOU DON’T ESCAPE,” MORG said, once they were alone again. “You could have asked me.”
It was dark, her cell seemed smaller now. “You don’t speak,” Elena mocked him, and he actually gave a gentle laugh.