Hope

Chapter Twenty-Five: Prisoners of War

Zack

The guards had wrapped him in chains the instant they left the throne room. The chains were heavy for humans, but Zack was an elf and he could wear them easily. He was quickly separated from the others, but Jing cried out and reached for him. The guards tried to hold her back, but she resisted ferociously.

"Hey, the elf has put a spell of some sort on her!" one of the guards exclaimed. "Should we try to separate them or would it be too much bother?"

Another guard looked Jing over. Tears of desperation filled Jing's eyes and Zack's heart ached to look at it. "Don't bother. Stick them in cells next to each other. They deserve each other's company." With a look of contempt, he separated Jing from Tasha, Stan, Tornheart, and Rebecca and pushed her along the corridor with Zack.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears still pooling in her eyes.

Zack understood instantly what she meant. "It's not your fault."

One of the guards whacked Zack on the side of his head with his pike. "Shut up, elf. You too," he added with a sneer at Jing.

Zack's vision started to tunnel and he struggled to stay conscious. But soon the danger passed and he started thinking of a way out. The guards had known what Tornheart was, or at least they had guessed, so there was no help from that sector. No doubt the prison walls had special spells on them to keep Elementals like Rebecca from breaking out and it seemed like this place also had special cells for elves so he was of no help. Tasha and Stan were magicless and therefore easy to control. Jing's fighting magic was little more than a handful of tricks meant to distract until help could arrive, so she was also of little help.

That left Pointedleaf, the wild card, the only one still free. Zack was a telepath, but even he did not know what went on in her mind. Her mental shields were some of the strongest he had ever seen and he did not try to break into her mind without her permission. But he knew enough about her to know that her motivations were a bit hazy. She had no real reason to rescue them. As far as he knew, her whole mission was to free her brothers and get on her way. She alone had escaped so far, but no doubt the king's advisor would be on the lookout for her or anyone else who could potentially rescue them.

Upon this thought, Zack cursed himself. He should've guessed that the king was just a puppet. He remembered Jírda telling him something about the 'majority' party wanting someone they could control in charge. Of course, this also meant that he and the others had just alienated the real person in charge. No doubt they were all going to be executed. After he himself was studied, of course.

Another blow, this time to the back of his head, jolted Zack out of his thoughts. The guards shoved him into his cell, but his superb elven balance allowed him to catch himself before he fell over on his face. One guard, armed with a wicked-looking dagger, chained Zack to the back wall of the cell. The guard then returned back to the other guards.

"What do you think?" he asked.

A guard considered Zack, his gaze sliding from Zack's chained wrists to the iron anchor in the wall. "This would be a prime time to interrogate the elf about his home. This one seems young and in good condition. He could give us lots of information."

"A spell could be put on him to persuade him to tell us, or a spell could be put on the chains to make them red-hot," another guard observed. "Does someone want to fetch a mage?"

A guard quickly detached from the main group and went off to go and find a mage of some description. The remaining guards closed in on Zack, malicious intent clear on their faces now that Zack was unable to retaliate, even if he had wanted to, which he didn't. By the time the guard had returned with the mage, Zack had several new cuts and bruises to add to his collection. He also had a slash mark across one cheek that was dripping teal colored blood.