Dawn of Dragons

Chapter 14: Return

As soon as he fled the room, Luther followed the trail of torches to the entrance of the dungeon. He was about to open the door to freedom before a chorus of voices made him veer off into the dark corner, where they could not spot him.

Several guards entered the hallway. "Where is Rhett?" One of them grumbled.

"He's probably sympathizing with the Dragon's brother," another snorted. "Always was a softie, that one."

"I think I heard him scream a moment earlier," another one sneered. "Maybe the prisoner killed him." They walked away, toward the cell.

Luther trembled with fear, until they disappeared, toward the direction of his cell. He had two options, one to escape through the door right at this time when the guards weren't looking, or the other, to go back to Rhett and find out what happened to him. Luther chose the latter, he cared too much about Rhett to abandon him, injured and unarmed.

Luther crept back to his old cell, and pressed his ear to the door. He heard a conversation inside.

"Well, where's the Dragon?" It was one of the guards.

"He's not a dragon," Rhett groaned with the pain. "His sister is. And I already told you, he escaped."

"We can tell he escaped," another guard snapped. "Tell us exactly what happened."

"Well, after I came down, he looked like he was sleeping. I couldn't tell, the light angle was weird. When I leaned forward to look closer at him, he suddenly leaped up and grabbed my knife on my side, and stabbed me with it! When I fell backward, I screamed, and he grabbed my keys, unlocked his cell, and ran off."

There was silence. The only thing Luther heard was his own heavy breathing.

"You lie," was the soft reply. "What were you doing here in the first place?"

"Well," Rhett hesitated, and Luther could tell he was panicked. "I was bringing down food for him-"

"Another lie," another said. "There is no tray. Also, why would he not kill you, just leave you alive?"

"Maybe he is soft," one of the other guards sneered. "Just like this traitor."

"Sir Rhett," one of them said, "You are guilty of assisting the prisoner escape. This act of treason is punishable by death, and so you shall receive it." Luther heard heavy grunts, and then heavy footsteps resounded against the floor, and Luther knew that they were coming up.

Desperate, he turned around and ran up the stairs to the exit and ran outside.

Luther squinted against the last filtering rays of sunlight that flooded his eyes, light that he had not seen in days. Wasting no time, knowing that that they would trigger the alarm and would be searching for him in moments, he raced toward the thick foliage and disappeared.

I will come back, he vowed. Wait for me, father.

* * *

Luther crept through dungeons, opening each one, searching for Rhett. He had returned under the cloak of night to search for his father, and he assumed that he would be held in the same place that Luther was. In his left hand clutched the ring of keys that Rhett had given him, and in his right hand grasped the knife.

Finally, he opened the last door, and found Rhett, bound in chains, kneeling. His back was covered in bloody scars, and Luther knew that he had been whipped as a minor punishment. His real punishment wouldn't happen until they had broken him beyond repair.

"Father!" Luther cried. He rushed to the cell and, in his rush, tried to unlock it with every single key on the ring. Finally, the lock submitted to one of them, and he quickly pulled the door open and rushed into the room.