A family road trip goes horribly wrong after a young woman, her best friends and her parents are kidnapped by a soul-sucking carnival and its terrifying owner.
When we got to the door, we saw two more guards standing at the side entrance. Sebastian and I paused at the corner, waiting to see how our golem dealt with the first task we'd given it. It walked up to the guards and began to talk to them. A few minutes later, the two golems guarding the door went inside and disappeared. Our golem turned to us and waved.
"Let's go. He's ready to lead us in," I whispered. Sebastian nodded and followed me to the door.
"Why are you calling it him? It's a golem. They don't really have genders, do they?" I shrugged as we headed into the palace.
"I guess not. Now, sh! We can't get caught. We have no idea what kind of security he's got in here and we don't wanna trigger any of them."
We followed the golem down a series of halls until we reached a set of stairs that led down to a damp, dark dungeon-like place. The golem started down the stairs and followed it, trying to listen for my parents and my friends.
"Psst! Golem!" The golem paused on the stairs and turned to face me. "Are there any guards down there?"
"Yes. I will talk to them."
It turned around and continued down the stairs. We followed it down until we reached a set of cells, each with at least one person inside. Sebastian and I waited around the corner, waiting for the golem to do his thing. Just like with the guards at the entrance, a few minutes later, the guards headed out a door on the other side of the dungeons. Our golem waved us in and we began to search for my parents and my friends.
"Where are they? Would he have kept them somewhere else?" I asked as I looked into each cell.
"Anna? Is that you?" I heard my mom call out from further down the line of cells. I ran over to the cell I'd heard my mom's voice come out of.
"Mom?" I looked into the cell and saw my parents sitting on a tiny, wooden bench that barely fit the two of them. "Mom! Dad! You're okay!" Then, I paused and looked at Sebastian. "How do I get them out of there?" I turned to our golem. "Did you grab the key?" The golem shook its head.
"No, master." I sighed and looked at Sebastian.
"I'm gonna have to magic the door open and then we can go find Lana and August." I put my hands up towards the cell door.
"Annamarie, what are you doing?" My mom asked.
"What do you mean 'magic the door open'?" I ignored them as I focused on getting the door open.
"Master, the guards are coming back. I could only get them to leave for so long," our golem told me. I took a deep breath and let my power flow through my fingers. Suddenly, the cell door blasted open with a loud bang.
"Mom, Dad. Come on. The guards coming back definitely would've heard that," I said. They nodded uncertainly and slowly walked over to me. "Come on. We have to get you out of here. Now." I turned to the golem. "Where are my friends, Lana and August, being held?"
"In the North Tower. Back up those stairs we came down. There is a set of stairs just down the hall that lead up there. That is where your friends will be, master." I nodded.
"Thank you. Take Sebastian and my parents to Jasmine. Get them out of here." Sebastian grabbed my arm, prompting me to look at him.
"Annamarie, that is not a good idea. You should not go alone." My mom agreed with him.
"How do you know you'll be safe?"
"The man who kidnapped us is incredibly powerful. How do you know you'll be able to beat him?" My dad continued, worriedly.
"I'm not taking any of you. I can't rescue Lana and August if I'm having to worry about one of you." Sebastian scowled at me as I gently pulled my arm out of his. "Go. I'll be fine. My magic is strong enough to protect them."
"It's not your friends I'm worried about," Sebastian retorted. The golem started towards a section in the wall. It pushed one of the bricks and suddenly, a hole in the wall opened.
"Follow me this way to exit the palace safely," our golem stated. It started through the hole, not waiting for anyone to follow it. I looked at Sebastian.
"Get them to leave. Do not let them come back here."
Sebastian sighed but nodded. He led my parents out as I headed back the way we came. And clearly just in time. Those guards came back right as I got out of there. I headed up the stairs that the golem had told me about. Luckily, I didn't run into any other guards. That is, until I reached the North Tower. I poked my head in, trying not to be seen, and noticed that there were four guards. Why would Pierre have posted so many guards? Unless...he knew I'd come here. Suddenly, an alarm went off. I looked back down the stairs, hoping no one was coming up yet. I wasn't that lucky. Three more guards were coming up. I looked back into the room. I'm going to have to be quick. I closed my eyes and focused on the guards. Sleep. Reawaken when we're gone. I heard several thumps and looked inside. All of the guards had dropped to the ground and two of them were lightly snoring. I walked in and saw Lana and August chained to the wall on the far side of the room. They stared at me.
"Was...was that you, Anna?" August asked, eyes wide. I nodded as I waved my hand and the chains fell off their wrists.
"Yeah. Apparently, I have magic powers. I'll explain more extensively when we have more time. More guards are coming. I need you to each grab one of my arms." My friends still stared at me, unable to move. "You guys need to grab my arms now! That's the only way we're gonna get out of here!"
Lana and August came to stand on either side of me, each taking an arm. I focused on getting us outside, so we could meet up with Sebastian, Jasmine and my parents. A swirl of light gray smoke surrounded us just as the guards made it into the tower. When the smoke faded a few seconds later, we were standing outside the door we'd come in. Sebastian, my parents and the golem appeared from around the corner. Sebastian saw the three of us and seemed to sigh with relief as he stopped in front of us.
Sebastian:
I'd managed to get Annamarie's parents out safely, with the help of the golem, when I saw a cloud of gray smoke appear in front of us.
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I froze. If that's Pierre, then we're screwed. As the smoke faded, I saw it was Annamarie and two other girls. I should've known it would be her. She's much more resourceful than I give her credit for. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding as I continued toward them. I stopped in front of Annamarie, unsure how I should show my relief. I flashed her a smirk as I crossed my arms.
"Guess you didn't need my help after all," I pointed out. Annamarie grinned.
"Of course I didn't. I've been getting better at magic, thanks to Jasmine."
"Speaking of, we should go join her." Annamarie nodded.
"The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I'll feel safe." Annamarie turned to the golem. "You're free from your duties. You can rest now." The golem gave a small smile.
"Thank you, master." Then, it cracked into pieces and crumbled to the ground.
"Let's go."
She led us to the front of the palace, where we'd left Jasmine. Instead, what we found was Pierre, holding Jasmine in the air with his power. He had a sadistic grin on his face as if he'd been waiting for us.
