Out of Time

Chapter 46

Arthur stood outside the dimly light building he'd never seen before. It was inside the walls of the castle, and yet, he knew full well it didn't belong. "What do you sense, Merlin?"

"Probably the same you're sensing. There is something very wrong about this building."

Arthur turned his head, searching for his wife and Lady Guinevere. They should have arrived long before him and his men, but they were nowhere in sight. Could they have entered the building? Or better yet, could they have turned around and returned to the keep? He didn't hold out a lot of hope for the latter, knowing his wife a little too well to think she would turn back. "Let's go."

He led the way, grabbing the door, and pulling it to open it, but it didn't budge, not even making a groan in protest. Checking, he didn't find any locking mechanism. "Merlin, can you do the honors?"

"Of course." With a wave of his hands and a couple muttered words, the door creaked open.

Arthur slipped through, then stumbled when he caught sight of the interior. He'd expected a small, one room, hut, but instead he'd walked into a narrow hallway with countless doors on both sides. Some doors were open, and he could see the subtle red and orange glow of a fire licking at the central hall.

"An enchantment," Merlin said into his ear. "This will make things a bit more difficult."

"Can you break it?"

"No, if Lancelot is trapped in this space, breaking the enchantment could simply untether this realm from our own. We and Lancelot could end up stranded."

Arthur turned to Merlin. "What is the this place?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, which is why I don't want to take any chances."

Arthur nodded, running a hand through his hair. He didn't like not being able to trust his senses, but he trusted Merlin, and would continue to lay his trust on the man. Readying his sword at his side, he made his first steps into the hall, approaching the first door.

Merlin touched his shoulder. "Perhaps I should lead."

Arthur turned and nodded. They had no reason to believe the proper warriors awaited them. The news had said that Lancelot had been led away by a woman. He hadn't seemed in good shape, but he'd been alive. He only hoped it really was just a woman. Women were prone to trickery, but they rarely resorted to true acts of violence.

Merlin stepped forward, his movements slow and cautious. Arthur wanted to run from door to door, impatient to find Lancelot, to reassure himself that his wife hadn't been stupid enough to sail into this deathtrap without help, without him.

At each door, Merlin peeked his head in or pushed the door open, paused for a moment, then moved on. He knew so little about Merlin's skills, his magic. What was he looking for as he looked into each. Was he just using his eyes like a normal man, or did he have more senses at his disposal?

Arthur held himself in check, focusing on keeping close to Merlin's heels and keeping his men at his back. They would get Lancelot back. They had to.

#

"This was a really bad idea," Guin said, wringing her hands in front of her.

"That's enough, Guin. There's only a few more doors left." Dani held her sword firmly in her hand, the blade throbbing with her nerves.

Stepping into the building had been like stepping into another realm. On the outside, the building was tiny, but inside? Inside proved to be another beast. She'd frozen in place, terrified of whatever magic could conjure such a place. But it didn't take more than a handful of moments for her fear to send her flying back toward the door, a door that was firmly closed, stubbornly refusing to let her pass. Dani'd had to pull her away from the door as her panic overcame her.

"There's nothing we can do about it now," she'd said. "We should just move forward."

The words hadn't reassured Guin, but they had managed to get her to leave the security of the doorway. She wished she could say that she'd managed a modicum of courage, but in truth her body trembled like a leaf on a branch with two cats fighting on it. It took every ounce of strength she had to put each foot in front of the other.

Dani walked up to the last door, and Guin held her breath, almost expecting, almost hoping, that it would prove just as empty as the rest. "He's here. Oh, Guin," Dani breathed.

Her fear evaporated, and she rushed to a space over Dani's shoulder. Lancelot lay on a table, strapped to it. Strips of cloth lay in a melay around him, and angry, red gouges littered his once gorgeous skin. It'll give him character... Battle scars, she reassured herself. She tried to race around Dani, but the other woman barred her, grabbing her around the middle. "No!"

"Easy, Guin."

Dani dragged her around the corner so that she couldn't see Lancelot anymore and Guin freaked. "Think!" She pushed Guin against the wall by her shoulders. "There is magic here everywhere. We can't trust anything."

Guin nodded, and Dani released her. Dani turned back to the doorway, looking in, hesitating. "God help us." Dani led the way into the room, going straight for Lancelot's table.

"No!" he yelled when he saw Dani. "Get away."

"Sh," she said. "We're here to rescue you. We'll get you free in no time. I promise."

He shook his head, eyes pressed firmly shut as if trying to not see something desperately.

"Lancelot?" Guin said, her voice like a soft, summer breeze.

"No!" he moaned, turning his head away. "Not again. Please, anything but this again."

Dani looked at Guin, a perplexed look on her face, but returned to the bindings. "Chain. Did it have to be chain?" She knelt, tracing the chains with her hands.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for a weakness."

"Do you think whoever took him will be back soon?"

"I hope not. Let's not borrow trouble, okay?"

Guin nodded, and moved to the other side of the table, her heart twisted when she saw how Lancelot had his eyes squeezed tight against the sight of her. What had they done to him?