Darkness carved in bone

Chapter 42

Ten

It was slightly difficult to breathe through the thick hood that had been placed over his head. His hands and legs were bound, forcing him into an uncomfortable position on a cold stone floor. But the predicament he was in didn't matter. Desperation had made him try to get loose for hours, pulling at the ropes, hoping they would loosen at some point, tiring him completely, draining his muscles for energy. His throat was screaming for water. He had to get free and save Helen. Every moment he wasted being captured here was another moment his mother could and most likely would hurt her.

What if she had killed Helen? The thought made his blood turn to ice as tears formed in his eyes. Nausea hit him, making bile rise in his throat as he thought of Mørk being free to do whatever he wanted to Helen. He gritted his teeth and curled his lips into a pained grimace; he had to save her.

To save her he had to get free. He didn't know exactly what had happened before he had been knocked unconscious, but the man had recognized him for who he was, and that had perhaps been enough motivation to kidnap him no matter what words he uttered.

He couldn't really blame the man, though. He cursed himself for not being more involved with the people before, letting them know he was different from his mother. Every muscle in his body clenching together at his regret, as he tried one last time to pull the ropes loose.

Some distant noises made him try to sit up, instantly alert. As if sitting up was going to make him any less vulnerable if someone came at him, he thought angrily at himself. Anyone who came at him now could just slit his throat if they wanted to, he was completely defenseless. Still he was not afraid for his own life, it was just that Helen's chances for survival were so much greater if he was alive.

A hand grabbed the hood and pulled it off. His eyes needed a moment to adjust to the light in the room, the bright light stabbing his eyes. After a moment Ten could see that the man from the tavern stood over him, and three figures stood behind him in the shadows, masking their faces and most of their bodies. Their clothes were non-descript, not giving anything about them away.

"You get one minute to convince us to not kill you," the man said, his voice harder than it had been in the tavern.

The one in the shadows who looked the smallest of the three scoffed, as if they had already decided to kill him.

His heart started beating frantically fast in his chest, his mouth becoming too dry. What on earth should he say to these people to convince them.

"Ehh, I don't know who you are, and what you want. But my mother will kill us all if we don't stop her. Her plans for eternal darkness will hurt us more than it will save us. She has a Sòlungr as her prisoner, and if we do not save her, the queen will succeed."

His eyes flickered between the man standing before him and the people in the shadows. What else could he say? How could they understand?

"Is that all you have to say, something about eternal darkness, and you expect to be freed, the prince of darkness?"

His heart crumpled together at those words. They didn't care about the prophecy. What could he offer them?

"You don't understand," he spoke through gritted teeth, his voice hard and loud. He pushed his legs underneath himself, so he ended up in a begging position. He did not care. He would plead and beg. For Helen he would do anything. "I was told to find the one who carries your symbol, both the sun and the moon, which suggest you also consider living under the sun and the people who live under the sun as a part of your organization. Right now, the queen has a child of the sun, and will hurt and kill her to obliterate the sun. And if you do not think that is of any consequence to you, then I don't understand anything."