Selene

Chapter Fifty-Four

A breeze pushed gently against open cage doors. They squeaked on their hinges.

War, dragons, and deadly piranharrow raged all around but in the Imperial Stables it was quiet as the grave.

And that's just how the only remaining occupant liked it. Unnoticed, forgotten. If things stayed that way, then with luck she might be able to figure a way out. But without luck, at least she could die here in peace, never to be hurt by human hands again.

Something slithered onto the scene. It stepped softly down the abandoned aisle, body low, nose working carefully until it got to an open cage on the end. Lips curled away to reveal each and every canine in detail, a deep and hateful growl emanated within the beasties' throat.

The occupant watched in deathly silence, not daring even to breath.

The intruder followed a scent and crossed tracks with another, one of North, of Viking country.

Perplexed for a second, fondling a splintered spear the intruder sat on its haunches. There had been a fight, no doubt about it. But no casualties? ...What had happened here?

Roars in the arena sounded. Pupils turned to slits as the intruder redirected its attention, watching a four-winged beast hover over a stage. A stage it knew all too well. A stage whose star was always death.

A flick of the tail and the intruder was gone, leaving the barren cages empty and as eerie as before.

Unnoticed, overlooked. The sole occupant of a once full Imperial Stable sighed her relief.

"Where'd she go!?! Check this way!"

Soldiers in hot pursuit ran blindly past.

Hehehehe muttonheads. I slinked out from behind the creeping vines against the arena walls. Too bad they didn't creep all the way up, I woulda climbed them.

Making sure none of them turned to see me I stepped backwards.

"Astrid-"

A hand landed on my shoulder. Grabbing it I pulled and ducked down, letting its owner fly over me and onto his back. In mid-air I stole his sword.

"Seriously what is wrong with you?" Pallus spat. "Justin you ok?"

"I'm-fine," He gasped on the ground in front of me, giving a thumbs up. "Not the worst thing that's happened to me this week."

"Griseomus tried to feed him to Selene." One of the other soldiers with Pallus shuddered.

"Tried- what do you mean tried? Either he fed him to her -in which case he'd not be here- or he didn't there is no try." Pallus derailed on a technicality.

"Aerthirn-"

"Talk on your own time! Did you get Toothless tail?"

"Both," The ex-soldier had two members of his new following come forward. "Which one should we use? The red one has a whole big gear system and I don't know how to attach it."

"Neither do I really. We should go for the solo one but bring both in from different angles in case someone tries to stop us. Is this the best way in Pallus?"

"No Griseomus stationed soldiers up there. I could lead half of us this way with the red tail and its accessories to see if we can't convince them to change their allegiance while you sneak through the horse gate on the other side with the solo tail. It will be easiest access and there should be only one guard; leads right into the arena. By the way I saw Griseomus."

"Me too." I grunted. "He let Selene out."

"...that was stupid."

"That's what I told him. Where's this horse gate?"