Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 50

"Mother, I need you to stand on my hands like Meegan just did," Cole whispered.

Her mother stared at Cole with wide eyes. They were more focused than before, almost as if she was completely back in her mind. This flooded Cole with relief, but she also noticed that her mother was raked with shivering even though the night air was not that cool.

"Mama. Do you think you can do that?" Cole asked, gently resting her hand on her mother's arm. The woman took a moment but then slowly nodded her head.

Cole hunkered down again, linking her hands in the stirrup shape while her mother placed her barefoot into the cup that they created. Cole felt the blisters on the sole of her mother's foot, and saw old scars traced along the thin skin. She wanted to look away before tears jumped to her eyes, but she knew she had to get her mother up and over the wall as soon as possible before their luck with the guards run out.

"On the count of three," Cole whispered. "One, two, three." She surged to her feet again, hauling her mother as high as she could. Even though her mother weighed as much as a child, Cole still strained to get her high enough. Her mother had no strength of her own to help, and merely flopped around, unable to reach Meegan's hand a few feet above her head.

Cole dropped back down, her energy spent, and her mother tumbled after her.

"We have to try again," Cole said, scrambling immediately back into place despite her arms shaking from exertion and her cheek burning from where her mother's elbow had accidentally jammed into it when they fell.

She tried to haul her mother three more times, but always with the same result. They tumbled together onto the ground, a tangle of limbs and bruises, until Cole was gasping for breath.

"What's going on?" Meegan hissed from up on the wall. "We can't play around like this. It's now or n--."

Her sentence was cut off by the shout of guards, close and many. Torch light spilled into the clearing, bathing Cole and her mother in orange light and forcing them to squint against the glare. Cole grabbed her mother, spinning her behind her.

"We've found them!" one guard yelled, presumably to the men who were still far enough back that Cole could not yet see them. So far there were about five guards approaching them, their swords drawn and their eyes burning with righteous anger. There was no running from this. No matter what direction they chose, the guards would be able to keep their eyes on them, and neither Cole nor her mother were in a condition to outrace them to the palace gates.

"Meegan, go!" Cole shouted, over her shoulder. If she and her mother couldn't make it, at least one life could be spared.

She didn't look back, but the angered shouts of the guards let her know that Meegan had disappeared into the darkness beyond the wall. A few split off, running toward the guard tower which would have an outdoor access point. It still left three guards approaching with swords, too many for Cole to fight on her own.

"You're under arrest for treason for the attempted assassination of our crown prince," the lead guard said, his voice hardened and stiff. He did not seem overly upset when mentioning the almost death of the prince. Instead, his voice burned as he continued to speak. "Thought you could escape the palace and make a fool out of us, did you? Well, now you see just how stupid you were to think that, little girl."

"I have a hostage!" Cole shouted, gripping her mother's wrist and yanking her forward. She wrapped her arm around her mother's neck, gently but enough to look as if she was being forceful, and touched the knife to the collar of her mother's dirty shift dress. "I'll kill her if you come any closer."

If she was going to be captured and die at the hands of King Thijs, so be it. But she might be able to fool the guards into thinking that her mother was an innocent bystander. If they thought that, they'd release her before even checking with the dungeon keepers, and at least then her mother could start a new life in the outside world.

The guard laughed harshly. "Kill her then. We're taking you whether you have blood on your hands or not."

He stepped forward and Cole's mind raced as she tried to think of a way, any way, that she could get out of this. But her mind only came to running, which would end less than a minute later if they tried.

The lead guard was close enough that the smell of his torch hit Cole's nose, reminding her of the deep mines and the Sparkstone that coated her skin. She wondered if Thijs would send her to the caves he was digging and force her to work for him once again. She wasn't sure if death or the mine was a worse fate. But if she could only get her mother free and safe, it would all be worth it.

She dropped the knife from her mother's neck, getting ready to shove her to one side, away from the guards. If the pounced on Cole, she didn't want her mother to get caught in the fray. Her hand flexed on her mother's back, getting ready to push...

Just then a flash of shadows surged up from the right, appearing out of nowhere from behind a building. It was a blur of movement as it raced toward Cole. The guard, shocked, stopped for a moment and stared, his sword tip lowering as he watched. A moment later, the blur slowed down and Cole saw that it was a figure. Tanwyn. His long black hair was tangled and wet with sweat, and his clothes were coated with a large stain along the back down to his torso. But he stood between her and the guards now, and they looked unsure.

"Keep moving if you wish to die by the hands of one of the Eldritch," Tanwyn roared, raising his arms in front of him as if he was about to cast some spell over them. Yet, from her position, Cole saw that his ring was not glowing anymore on his finger. He was out of magic, and as defenseless as she was.

The guards still paused, unsure of what to do against someone that should not even exist outside of myths. They muttered to each other, trying to work up enough courage to attack him anyway. Their swords gave them that courage, and soon they pressing forward again. It was cautious and fearful, but they would soon come close enough to realize that Tanwyn wasn't going to cast anything at them.

"I'm warning you," Tanwyn shouted. "There's ancient spells my ancestors have passed down that twist a man's insides into his outsides. Keep walking if you wish to know what that feels like."

The guard faltered only for a fraction of a second before pressing on.