The Book of Time: A Guardians of Time Novel

Chapter Eight: Dungeon

Ayden made his way into the vast courtyard of the once beautiful castle. The heavy stone floors were cracked with age. The lack of care for the building was obvious as he crept past a water fountain in the middle of the courtyard that was coated with dry mold. The water that once flowed through it dried up a long time ago.

He moved carefully as he walked in the shadows through one of the stone archways that surrounded the courtyard. The stone flower beds were vacant of anything but dirt, and where large trees had once stood Ayden could only see broken and uprooted stumps.

As he crouched in the darkness of the largest archway he looked out over the grounds. Various rooms in the castle were lit up while others remained dark. The castle itself was made in three sections. The middle section stood the tallest, a large rectangular building that squared off above the two smaller rectangles connected at it's sides.

In the large doorway of the massive building, he could see two guards perched on either side. They wore heavy black metal armor that covered their entire bodies, like the scales of a dragon. Their faces were hidden by black hooded cloaks, but he could see the red eyes peering from underneath, searching the grounds.

He wasn't going to get in through the front door. Not without raising an alarm.

Ayden looked carefully at the outer walls of the castle. It was possible for him to climb up but it would be a long journey. And who was to say that in the glow of the castle, he would not be spotted.

What am I going to do? He thought to himself as he searched.

The quietness of the place seemed to be a false comfort as he looked at the foreboding castle and he looked at the building as another object standing in his way. Frustration simmered within him as he wondered how many hoops he would have to jump through before he could get home. If that was the end result, however, he would jump through as many hoops as needed.

Just then his thoughts were thrown askew when, from behind him, the sound of metal scraping concrete jarred his brain.

He quickly slid around the side of the column he was near just in time to see a dozen more of the cloaked guardsmen walk through the neighboring archway. They marched in unison as they made their way through the courtyard. Ayden studied them carefully and when the final guardsman passed, a plan started to take shape.

The guard bringing up the rear was limping. His large body looked sluggish and tired. He was much slower than the others and was lagging behind. Ayden wondered if he had been injured. It didn't matter. He would use it to his advantage. The guardsmen made their way through the courtyard and near the inner wall of the castle.

Like a cat, Ayden stuck to the shadows and moved behind one of the large archways silently. He lay in wait until he counted eleven guardsmen. The last one wouldn't stand a chance. Carefully, Ayden pulled his staff from the necklace. He had lost his dagger in the fight with the demon girl. But he didn't want to extend the entire weapon;  it would be too bulky to perform a quiet assassination. Unfortunately, he would have to make due. As he held the staff, he wished he had his dagger.

To his amazement, he felt the staff grow. The weapon extended just enough so his hand could wrap around the ornate white marble. The blade at the end was exposed and, nearly a foot long, glinted in the glow of the castle. Again his weapon had amazed him.

Perfect. He smiled to himself.

Just as the final guardsmen made his way through the archway, Ayden pounced. He grabbed the man from behind and in one fluid motion, brought his dagger up and under the guard's chin. It was the only weakness in the armor that Ayden could spot. He pushed with so much force that the blade hit the underside of the man's helmet.