The Lost Dynasty

Chapter 51

Kyda practically flying down the concrete spiral stairs, down into the depths of the castle. A variation of the underworld. Kyda vision was lit by the flaming torches, hung on the wall. The odours of cheap tobacco, bad plumbing and festering debris terrorised her nostrils.

She landed on the flat concrete ground as she dashed down the hallway as her sprinted pace reverberated.

"Ali?"

Kyda called out to him as she dashed down and through the dimly lit hallway with blacked out cells.

"ALI!"

She screamed out his name, almost emptying her lungs of oxygen. She decelerated the pace her feet to a stop and grabbed onto a cell bar to keep her balance. Kyda cursed herself "I should have laid off of the pizza and chicken wings" reprimand herself. As her attention was diverted to her unhealthy diet a shadow was lurking stealthily in the very cell she leaned on. The shadow soon formed itself into some form of a deformed human figure and pounce towards the bars of the cell and gripped onto the lengths of Kyda's hair. The figure was then exposed to be malnourished, skeleton of a man with untamed hair and an unkept beard that reached his chest.

He yacked her hair making her bang the back of her head on the steel bars.

"HELP ME, HELP ME, HELP ME!"

He wheezed out his putrid breath continuously onto her face as Kyda prevented herself from screaming from unwanted helpers to hear. But her hyperventilation wasn't helping her either. She attempted to wiggle herself side to side as she attempts to loosen his grip. "G... get... off... m- me" she crocked out as the outline of her veins on her neck were visible. A torrent of adrenaline rushed down the streams of her blood, her eyes slightly rolled back as the man grip around her throat cuts the circulation of oxygen to her brain.

"LET HER GO!"

The words ringed like thunder and the brittle man had automatically released his grip on her, causing her to collapse on her hands and knees as she heaves and coughing for air. As her sore eyes welled up.

"Kyda..."

She was too busy to respond, she was per-occupied with restoring her breathing pattern. She crawled away from the manic and towards the voice.

"Kyda, look at me"

She raised her head up to see her main purpose kneeling down in front of her, behide bars.

Ali

He stretched his arm out to his full capacity, desperately trying to grasp her and take her under his safe embrace. She scuffled over to him, just barely, but enough for him to clasp onto her upper arm and tugged her across the dirty stoned floor.

He pulled her against the bar and wrapped his arms around her.

"Where did he hurt you?"

Kyda was slightly disoriented from what had just occurred. "I think I'm fine... am I bleeding?" she touched the back of her head, she squinted her eyes and hissed in pain from the stinging sensation hits her nerves. Ali chuckled weakly as he held her hand that was touching her scalp "Just a bump".

Her sight cleared up from the mist of pain to finally see Ali safe in front of her. But the word 'safe' may not be appropriate in this case.

Her eyelids raised up as she witnessed Ali outfit, or what was left with it. They were soiled and ripped, enough to see his body was bruised into raw flesh his face. Kyda eyes slowly travels upwards as she stared in horror. Half of Ali's face and neck was covered in dry blood. She warily raised her trembling hand and faintly grazed her fingertips on his stained cheeks. Ali flinched as she touched his sore cheek "Don't do that, you'll stain your hand". She jerks her arm back like an elastic band "How could he do this to you?" she weakly croaked out.

The disbelief blinded her perception to what she thought she knew. She can not stomach the thought of Saif terrorising the people who once stood by his side. How can he expect her to do the same?

Ali noticed she was at a war with her own thoughts.

"It was nothing, just a scratch" Ali laughed to ease the tension.

"Half of your face is swollen" she spat out facts as she lightly grips onto his chin to examine him "Once we find Dr Adil, he can fix you up".

Dr Adil can fix all of this.

Ali held her hand to keep on his cheek, weakly but with enough grip to feel her warmth on his corpse like hand. "Dr Adil ran away with Amita" he spoke with little to no air in his lungs. Kyda groans with agitation, how she had no clue where her two trustworthy allies... her family could be.

Kyda looked back up to see Ali barely sitting up. His head was against his metal cage as his eyes laid on their connected hands.

"Let's go you out of here and get you help"

She didn't know how she was gonna to do that, but she wasn't going to let him down again. She placed both hands onto the cold bars and began to shake it "There gotta be at least one loose bar for me to pull out". The rattling of the cage travelled down the dark dingy stoned hallway, Ali frantically placed his hands on top of both of Kyda hands to prevent her from making any sounds "Just go... go and find Amita and stay with her till you find your way back home". Kyda gripped onto the bars furiously "Are you kidding me?". Ali felt her hand tense up under his "One of the prisoners told me they overheard Dr Adil and Amita on the night of their disappearance".

Kyda leans in closer, closing the barely existing gap between their faces, not wanting to miss any vital information. "There this village that no one would dare go to... something about someone there doing black magic... it's near the west coast".

Black magic

Those words unlocked a distant memory. Dr Adil mentioned the chest belonging to someone who had done black magic. But why would he take himself and Amita there?

Islam forbids necromancy. "West coast?" Kyda repeated the information and Ali response with a simple nod. Kyda began to scour the defiled ground as she pursued a sharp object to file the bars "Let's get you out of here".

"Kyda"

Ali called out to her, but she was not responding, she was focusing on what she wanted to do. Ali arm slides between the bars and gripped her chin to forcefully face him.

"You don't have much time you have to go. I'm just gonna slow you down and once that tyrant find me gone, he will be on your tail before you could get yourself out of the kingdom".

Kyda gulped never seen him so frantic.

"But-"

Ali kissed her forehead "If you go alone, the better chances for you to help me and others". He smiled meekly "You won't be able to do much if your caught too soon". For someone younger, even though he was similar age to her, he was mature and intelligent, and his choice was appropriate for their situation.

Kyda took a deep breath and stood.

Backing her way towards the stairs "I'll come for you". Ali chuckled as he pulled himself up on the bars to get into his feet "Kyda".

Kyda halted in her steps and her eyes lit "Yes?" hoping he may have chances his mind and come with her.

"If there was a opportunity for you to go home, take it"