Chapter 301 – Perfect Timing

Chapter 301 – Perfect Timing

The cold voice echoed off the underground tunnels, making it hard to discern its origin. Kai lay motionless on the icy stone floor. He cradled Kea’s head in an attempt to wake her, but she seemed to have sunk back into unconsciousness.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

He had just freed himself from those damned shackles. Given a handful more minutes, he could have woken his sister and vacated the cell. Instead, he might not have seconds.

Why now?

Biting the inside of his cheek, Kai closed his eyes and channeled Body Augmentation to enhance his hearing. Drops of moisture dripped from the ceiling with a crisp patter. Multi-legged creatures skittered in the dark corners. The voice he’d heard earlier had been barely a whisper. Was it possible he had imagined it? His mind was still muddled from his capture and imprisonment.

“Uh, are you sure?” A man with a husky tone rumbled in the distance. His words severed the silence and Kai’s hopes. “Could be a gust. These tunnels are full of drafts.”

“I know what I heard.” The cultist snapped. “There was a distinct tapping and blabbering.”

“Could be a cavern spider. Or a stoneworm. The mana of the lake keeps eating at the wards.”

“Perhaps…” The cultist growled. “Either way, we must check. The praetor doesn’t like to lose resources. Do you know what happened to the last fella who let the critters devour specimens?”

“No…”

“My point exactly.”

“Well… where is it?” The husky voice inquired with a gulp.

“It came from over there…”

Kai’s heartbeat deafened their words.

Please, don’t point in my direction. Am I not supposed to be lucky?

He tightened his lips, wishing he could strangle whatever rotten deity made Favor so unreliable. Heavy steps replaced the echoes of the conversation. The sounds were still faint but moving closer. Soon, they‘d reach the cell and notice the prisoners weren’t shackled.

A crash of rocks reverberated in the tunnels. Before Kai could wonder about its origin, he noticed the silver furball was missing. His suspicions were confirmed by the smug satisfaction flowing through his familiar bond.

“That came from the opposite direction…” the husky guard pointed out, sneer obvious in his tone.

“Yes. Obviously,” The other snapped, clearly irked. “We’ll check this way first, then loop back.”

“If you think that’s better…”

Fuck!

Righteous irritation rang through the bond. Hobbes watched the dull humans, weighing a bigger rock to roll with his paw.

No, don’t. It won’t work.

The cultist was determined to look over here out of pride. If Hobbes made the distraction any more obvious, they might raise the alarm without even checking. Then their chances of escape would truly be none.

Dammit.

They must solve this quietly.

Plans flashed into his mind and got discarded. They couldn’t run. Opening the cell door would alert the cultists of their position, and he couldn’t carry three unconscious people by himself. Feigning being still imprisoned was out of the question too. There wasn’t time to chain everyone—not silently, at least. Not to mention, it’d leave them powerless if the guards noticed something off.

If running or hiding are out, that leaves only fighting.

His mind throbbed from having been drained of mana, his body was sore from the beating, and his limbs numb from the shackles. Those weren’t even the main issues: his sword had been seized during capture. The spare knives in his ring couldn’t replace his main weapon.

I should have bought a substitute.

Regret was worth a fistful of sand now. He had fought in more desperate conditions in the Hidden Sanctuary, though not with three unconscious people at his feet. Kea, Mari and Rain gave no sign of stirring. If he was overwhelmed, retreat wouldn’t be an option.

Should I try to wake them?

The noise risked alerting the guards, and it might still not work. Rain’s bruised body appeared too battered even to stand. Mari or Kea looked better, though they’d likely be too dazed and weak to help. Anyway he put it, he was alone, with no proper weapon and half-empty mana reserves.

Just how I like it.

Outside the cell bars, a blue light flickered in the rough stone. The thuds of boots punctuated the impending arrival of the guards. Time was running out.

Moving quickly, Kai stored the keyring in his spatial artifact and lifted Kea to move her beside Rain and Mari in the darkest corner of the cell, away from the metal door. Scraping together his Shadow mana, he cast a cloak over them. The rushed spell wouldn’t pass an attentive examination, but it’d hopefully trick the guards long enough for its purpose.

“So where did you think you heard that noise?” The husky cultist rumbled, his voice echoed by the ringing of metal on metal. “These cells were emptied last week.”

“Not all.”

Behind the metal bars, the jailers’ shadows wavered on the tunnel walls. Kai slipped his hands into the shackles, leaving the cuffs wide enough to easily slip out—the enchantment only blocked his mana when tightened to his wrists. If his Favor wasn’t totally worthless, the cultists wouldn’t notice the wide loops in the dark.

“I didn’t imagine it. It came from around here,” the cold voice said.

Kai crossed his legs so his freed ankles wouldn’t be noticeable and hung his body limply from his arms. Pain shot through his wrists when the metal dug into his wounded skin. He clenched his teeth to suppress a wince. The light from the guards shone on his closed eyelids.

“This one then?” The husky guard said, rapping his knuckles on the metal bars. “Hmm, there is a boy here.”

“I told you.” The smugness was obvious in the annoyed cultist’s tone.

Kai felt their heavy breath mix in the stale air of the cell. Their words sounded dangerously close.

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“Well, he must have blabbered in his sleep,” the guard said dismissively. “He looks half dead. Won’t last another round. We should check the other disturbances. Some critter might have snuck in.”

Thank the spirits—

“Wait.” The cold cultist halted him. Kai fought against the impulse to squirm under the eyes watching him. “The Warden siblings brought this one in today.”

“You mean those snooty highbloods?” the man snorted. “They were helpful to lure adventurers in Limgrell, but I don’t understand what the praetor sees in them. They couldn’t even capture a couple of brats and made a mess.”

“Either way, unconscious people don’t blabber or move,” the cold voice cut the rambles of his comrade.

“Uhh… What?”

“People knocked out by the life-siphoning array don’t make sounds in their sleep,” the man sneered, making the light source flicker. “He should be unconscious for half a day. And there should be three others with him.”

Shit!

Kai fought the impulse to jolt and attack. He gathered mana in his arms, ready to unleash his elemental spells. His survival hinged on picking the right moment to act. Too soon, he would waste his surprise; too late, the guards might recognize his deceit.