Whispers (Book 3 of Wielder series)

Chapter 30 - The Truth

Alie barely stayed awake as Evan rushed her through the halls. He had to stop far too often to avoid being noticed by the patrolling guards. But somehow he wove past them, like a fish swimming upstream. She listened for voices screaming at them to stop, for the sound of advancing footsteps or crackling power streaming through the air toward them. Miraculously, she heard only the occasional conversation or a distant laugh.

   He brought her down a tight set of stairs. Her feet dragged against the wall as he rushed her down, where the air was a bit stale and the halls not quite so well lit. She heard the familiar sound of a patrol marching by, causing Evan to pause and hug the wall.

   Still, no one stopped them.

   "Almost there," Evan promised with barely a whisper against her ear. She responded with a small nod to assure him she was still conscious.

   As soon as the patrol had passed, he swept down the hall and into a dark room. It smelled of burnt hair and was even warmer than her cell had been. It also echoed with the sound of Evan's footsteps.

   But before she could turn her head to see where he had brought her, he shoved his back against a wall, and the whole thing spun.

   The hidden wall silently turned them into a brightly lit space, leaving the rank darkness behind. Alie blinked against the light.

   Evan knelt and carefully laid her on something soft. "Easy," he told her, tenderly making sure her head made it to a pillow. A pillow! She nearly cried at the softness that enveloped her.

   As she relished the comfort, Evan set to work. Before he did anything else, he snapped the magic-restricting cuffs free. First her wrist, then her neck, and finally, her ankle.

   Magic rushed back into her blood. She pulled in a deep breath, drawing as much of it into her lungs as she could. It took away the worst of her pain. It worked to heal what Ilex had sought to destroy. Then she really did begin to cry. Tears swept down her face; her chest jerked with sobs. She finally had magic back! She would never let it out of her grasp again.

   Evan put a hand on her shoulder as she attempted to rise. "Not yet," he urged. "You're still in bad shape."

   She licked her lips and lifted her freed hand to her face, rubbing the tears away. "Where are we?"

   "In the tunnel of a prisoner who attempted to escape about a hundred years ago," he said.

   Alie blinked. She glanced around. The "tunnel" didn't seem to go very far. One wall was made of the stone of the cell they'd passed through, and the others were made of packed earth that had been carved out, seemingly by hand. But the space was only as large as her bedroom back home. Maybe smaller.

   "He didn't make it out," Evan said, explaining the size. "But they still keep his cell empty, in case anyone decides to try to finish the tunnel." He slipped on a large glove and rubbed the fingers together, sparking magic over them. Then he touched the glove to her side.

   A dull, gnawing ache washed over her as his magic worked to heal her. She curled away from the pain, moaning.

   "I know," Evan sympathized. "But I have to. That Phantom poisoned you; I have to pull out the toxins or you could wind up crippled."

   Alie tried to lie still. She felt Evan's magic work within her, easing away the poison Ilex had driven into her. It wove through every bit of her body, like a tree root spreading wide in search of water. Every time the magic dragged one of the roots out, her whole body spasmed. She tucked her head into the pillow and tried not to weep.