Scorched Treachery (Imdalind, #3)(29)

“Yeah...and then he…” Talon’s voice caught, his hand still reaching toward me, not quite able to reach. “Are you okay?”

I moved onto my side and pushed myself toward Talon as I gently moved to sit against the bars. Everything hurt as I moved, every joint, every bone, and every inch of skin that covered my body. I felt pools of wetness slip over my skin as I moved, my own blood washing over me and leaving glistening trails of bright red to swirl around the jagged lines of black. I leaned against the bars, right by where Talon lay, his arms moving to wrap around me.

I felt Talon’s lips against my bare arm, his lips wet from the tears of relief that moved down his face.

“Why did you do that?” Talon hissed, his voice panicked and weak as he leaned heavily against the bars in an attempt to be close to me. “He could have killed you, Wyn.”

I cringed as I leaned my head against the bars, the simple movement igniting an inferno of pain in my body.

“He’s going to kill, Joclyn,” I said simply, hoping that my statement would be enough to pacify him but knowing it wouldn’t be.

“And you wanted to join her?” Talon asked, Sain’s chuckle sounding strangely out of place.

“No, I wanted to save her.” I cringed as I shifted my weight, a loud groan escaping my lips as I pulled the long red blade out of my pocket. I held it up, letting Sain’s dim green light reflect off the surface, shattering a wicked prism of red around us.

“No,” I heard Talon gasp, his fear and disbelief at what I held in my hands haunting. Sain, however, moved forward, his hand grasping the bars as he tried to push through them, desperate to get through and reach what I held in my hands.

“You can go in and warn her,” I said to Sain, his eyes widening as they flashed from the blade to me.

“I can’t,” he said simply, the energy not leaving his face, “but, Ryland can. And, I think, without Cail to meddle with his mind, he might be coherent enough to get the message across. He has tried before, without the blade, but it has never worked.”

I nodded my head once in understanding before moving forward, my body screaming as I moved. Talon stayed silent as I moved away from him, my body shuffling across the small space to extend my hand through the bars, the blade stretched toward Sain as I gripped it in between my fingertips. I felt his hand wrap around it, his hand encompassing it as he held it against him like a precious stone.

“Thank you, Wyn. We might be able to save my daughter now.” I heard Talon gasp behind me but ignored it. I wasn’t even sure I understood how that one worked.

I nodded briefly and slowly moved back to rest against the bars of my cell, Talon’s arm wrapping around me from where he lay on the floor, too weak to pull himself to sitting.

“My shield might be able to keep the scream at bay. It should be enough,” Sain said quietly, his voice a mutter as he attempted to convince himself.

I said nothing, I only watched as Sain lifted Ryland’s shirt, moving his hand over Ryland’s heart. He hesitated for only a moment before plunging the blade through, the two men screaming in unison before they blacked out, the green orb of light extinguishing the moment their screams did. I froze in the darkness, waiting for footsteps, knowing they would come eventually, but hoping the shield had masked the noise enough not to draw immediate attention.

We had no guarantee that Joclyn would be sleeping. For all we knew it was the middle of the day and we had hours to wait. Ryland and Sain needed all the time with her that they could get.

“Please let them find her soon,” I said to myself, unable to keep the thought from entering my mind. “Please don’t let this have been for nothing.”

We waited in silence, with no shield to give us the ability to speak and with no light to see. I shifted down to the cramped floor of my cell, letting my arm entwine with Talon’s through the bars, a silent prayer for safety on my lips.

Thunk.

I felt the ripple of movement before I heard the sound of footsteps on the staircase that led down to the jail cell. The heavy tread was followed by Cail’s loud voice as he sang happily while he made his way toward us. I moved away from Talon, ignoring his frantic grasping for me to stay and shuffled across the floor to what I hoped was my original position.

Cail’s voice grew louder as the light he brought with him brightened, his voice moving from song to speech as he stepped into the prison area.

“I have great news, Ryland. We get… What the hell?” His voice stopped mid-sentence and everything inside of me turned to ice, my heart thunking loudly in my chest.

I listened to his footsteps, to the iron grinding as the door opened, another loud exclamation from Cail, and then silence.

Silence.

I waited and waited. I could hear Talon’s labored breathing behind me, the shallow breathing of those on the other side of the bars and then screaming.

All three men’s voices hollered. Ryland’s in maniacal agony, Sain’s in fear, and Cail’s in anger. They joined each other for just a minute before the only scream left was Ryland’s, his scream morphing into wails of agony.

“Where did you get the dagger?” Cail yelled, his voice loud and oppressive.

“I didn’t…” Sain muttered. “Ryland…” Sain’s voice cut off as his body hit the rock of the wall.

“Don’t lie to me!” Cail roared. Ryland’s screams picked up at the increased volume of the room.