The Twelve Stars

Chapter 20

I do not give up. And I certainly wasn't going to give up now when a dead end blocked our path. This dead end that I spoke of happened to be unidentifiable when I opened my eyes. It drew a gap in time which called for many blank spots of inaccessible memory. To put into perspective, I couldn't make out my surroundings when I opened my eyes which aroused another concern. What had happened to us?

My fear of the dark took over and panic kicked in. I tried to lift my hands only to find that they had been chained in front of me. Anxiety of the unknown sent a flurry of questions that I couldn't answer. Where was I? How big was this room? Was I alone-

"Save your strength!" A voice echoed. I stopped in my struggle, recognising that voice. "The cuffs are Magick. There is no point in using your power to escape. The Shade saw to that when he swore loyalty to King Starbringer."

My eyes widened in fear. Out of the shadows walked Hope. Volumetric rays cast through the air-holes in the iron trapdoor high above us, illuminating her figure just enough for me to make out her face.

"You know Solomon?" I asked.

"That's not to say that I agree with his methods," she answered.

"Why did you come here then?" I said.

"To help you." She brought out a small leather sack that resembled a lot like Robyn's sack of rune stones. She held a set of brass keys in her other hand.

"Why?" I asked.

"You're Ragnar Blackwell," she replied. "Rightful heir to the Throne. We both know Finn is not fit to rule. As for me, I want to see Dragos Starbringer fall. He's a cruel and unjust king. The kingdom needs you-"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I admitted.

"Is that because you're the Dark Wielder?" she asked.

"Just say what you came here for and leave." I shifted my gaze to the floor of the chamber. Irritated, she approached me and stuffed the small sack in my cuffed hands.

"Use these to get out of here," she said. "Dragos is not going to let you go without a fight-"

"No kidding-"

"Will you just be grateful that I'm trying to help you?" she snapped. Our eyes locked.

"For all I know this could be a trap," I said.

"I helped you once before, didn't I?" she reminded me. My eyes remained suspicious. "Would I do this if I was trying to double cross you?" She took hold of my wrist and jammed the key into the lock on my cuffs. With a click, they fell open.

My eyes followed the sound of her shoes as she moved around to free Finn, Robyn and Thad whom I could only guess were with me chained to this large wooden post. Four Wielders. The king had found nearly half of us and in such a short time. If he kept it up, how long would it be until he had all twelve of us? I didn't want to know.

Around me, the others came to, arousing from their uncalled for slumber. Grumblings of confusion resonated throughout the dark chamber.

"Hope? Is that you?" Finn's voice asked. "What are you doing here? What's going on-"

"I'm trying to help you is what's going on," Hope snapped irritably.

"Is Callyk-"

"Over here," I said. "And Robyn-"

There was a thud and a grunt. "She's next to me," Finn replied, his voice stifled from the pain. Why Robyn didn't answer herself concerned me. She couldn't still be upset about not telling her who I really was, could she?