“And this isn’t?” Shadow asked.
“Not this time,” Elenyr said as they turned a corner and the dark elf prison came into view.
Shadow forgot about his fatigue and irritation, his eyes rising to the large cavern. He’d expected a castle or fortress, for the rumors of the prison were too varied to believe. For the first time, the rumors did not do justice to the truth.
A thousand feet across, the cavern was large and open, with a curving road clinging to the left wall, where it connected to a small fort embedded in the side of the cavern. But the prisoners were not in the fort. Instead of locking their greatest criminals in walls of stone and steel, they had turned the entire cavern into a prison.
Hundreds of cages hung from the ceiling, each cage containing a single person. Channels of steel crisscrossed the ceiling, allowing the cages to be moved throughout the rail system. At the center of the prison, a platform extended upward like an island from what lay below the cells.
A lake of acid.
Heated from below, the green liquid spat and popped, casting the entire cavern in a green hue. Built by a dark elf named Werindel, the prison carried his name, but the criminals of the Deep called it by another name. The Melting.
“Don’t touch the acid,” Elenyr warned, leaning over the edge of the road. “It’s strong enough to disintegrate steel, let alone flesh.”
Men and women in the cages called out to them, clamoring for attention as the five advanced up the curving road that bordered the inside wall. The path was narrow, forcing them to walk single file, and Shadow noticed the holes at his side. Noticing his gaze, Sentara motioned to the holes.
“Acid traps,” she said. “If the guards think we are a threat, they can open the pipes and we’ll be washed into the lake of acid.”
“Lovely,” Shadow breathed, his smile widening.
Rune shuddered. “This is the worst prison on Lumineia.”
“On that, we can agree,” Elenyr said. “Werindel Prison contains the worst offenders of the dark elves, as well as a handful from the other races. The surface kingdoms pay a handsome sum for the dark elves to house their more violent offenders. It is said Ero himself even put a criminal here.”
“Jeric?” Shadow asked, surprised. “Who did he put here?”
“No idea,” Elenyr said with a shrug. “But rumor says he’s another krey, one using Lumineia to hide from the Empire.”
“Really?” Shadow asked.
Elenyr smiled. “Like I said, it’s just a rumor.”
“Anyone ever escape?” Rune eyed the acid lake, her features tight with worry.
“Some got close,” Elenyr said. “But none made it out alive.” She pointed to the guard station they were approaching. “That controls the movement of the cages, and the acid traps. They can also seal the entrance we came in, preventing entry from without, or escape from within.”
“Aren’t you a pretty one,” a criminal called to Lorica, whistling in her direction.
Shadow’s eyes widened. “Do you have any idea who that is? That’s the Thresher, a man known to kill his victims and rip them apart. And that’s the Devil of Dorinvale, a dwarf said to have robbed every major vault in every kingdom. And that’s the Red Elf, who spilled so much blood they say his hands will never be clean.”
“Why do you sound so excited?” Lorica asked.
“I put them here,” Shadow said, smiling at the memories. “I wonder if they remember me.”
“The fragment of Shadow,” the Red Elf called from his hanging cage. “Did you come for a visit?”
The elf wore a grimy uniform, grey with orange accents. He stood at the edge of his cage, leaning against the bars as he picked dirt from under his fingernails. The green glow of the acid made him seem more sinister.
“You do remember,” Shadow said, pleased.
“How can I forget the one that put me in this hole,” the Red Elf said.
“Is that the fragment of Shadow?” a gnome asked, rising and stepping to the edge of his cage. “Who would have thought he would come here.”
“Siphon!” Shadow exclaimed. “I thought you were dead!”
“Who’s Siphon?” Rune asked.
“The worst of the lot,” Elenyr replied. “He used to create horrending daggers for the gnomes, and he is quite gifted with anti-magic. He decided to use the daggers he was making to steal the magic of other mages, claiming he could sell the magic and place it in someone else.”
“Can you do that?” Lorica asked.
“Of course not,” Sentara said. “But he managed to steal and kill his way through several kingdoms and several bounties.”
“Until we caught up to him,” Shadow said, waving at the gnome.
The gnome did not return the gesture. He merely regarded Shadow from beneath bushy eyebrows, his black eyes reflecting green from the acid. Shadow noticed he had an additional shackle about his ankle, the attachment preventing him from using his magic.
“You should visit more often,” Siphon called.
“I’ve been busy,” Shadow said. “Next time.”
“Stop goading them, Shadow,” Elenyr said. “You can’t come spend time with them.”
“Why not?” Shadow protested. “They could clearly use the distraction.”
“For you it’s a distraction,” she replied. “For them it’s a game of who can murder the fragment.”
