She ducked, but the spear scored a line across her wing, the acid-tipped blade cutting into the fabric. It fluttered, and she dropped onto a cage several back from him. She examined the rent and grimaced, and Shadow realized that it would no longer be safe for her to fly, not while Bartoth was there.
Bartoth deflected Elenyr’s sword and picked up a dark elf, tossing him into the acid lake. The elf screamed as he plunged into the liquid. His hand resurfaced, waving wildly as the gauntlet melted. Then he was gone.
The prisoners were in an uproar, shouting and screaming in the cavern. Spinning around the outside of the prison, Shadow searched for Mimic’s cell, and spotted her seven cells ahead. He charged the edge of the cell roof and jumped to the next, just managing to land on the edge.
“Hey Shadow,” the Red Elf growled.
The prisoner had climbed the bars and he reached up, attempting to grab his ankle. Shadow yanked his ankle free and kicked the elf in the face, knocking him back into his cell. The elf shouted and held his face.
“You broke my nose—again!”
“I wish I could play,” Shadow lamented, “but I do have a task to complete.”
Shadow sprinted to the next, leaping to the following cell. He looked back and spotted Lorica following his example. They’d rotated halfway around the cavern and starting to turn back, bringing the guard station back into view.
Half the soldiers were dead, and Bartoth had cut off the acid flow on the approach road, allowing Zoric and Zenif to leap forward. Then Bartoth landed a blow on Elenyr, knocking her into a wall. He spun and deflected a blast of fire from Rune. Driving past Sentara, he stepped on the edge of the courtyard and leapt high.
The prisoner in the cell cried out as Bartoth caught the bars of his cell, the rock troll’s weight throwing it off balance. The cell careened into a neighboring cell and crashed together, the chains groaning from the weight. Bartoth dragged himself upward just as a chain broke. He leapt to the nearest cell, allowing the careening cell to break free. The dark elf inside screamed as his cell fell into the acid lake.
In the courtyard, the two mind mages engaged Elenyr, Sentara and Rune, the battle quickly turning bloody. Shadow turned away and leapt to the next cell, charging across and jumping to Mimic’s cell. He landed hard, ducking as a piece of chain flipped about from a broken cell, nearly striking him in the head. He leaned over the roof and looked down at Mimic, who met his gaze with the same disturbing calm.
“Shadow,” she said coldly.
“Mimic,” he replied. “Would you rather end up with him? Or me?”
She regarded him for several moments, and her eyes flicked to Bartoth, who had destroyed three cells in his charge across the prison. Thresher screamed as he plummeted into the acid. Then Mimic reached down and withdrew a small sliver of metal from under her sleeve, which she jammed into Shadow’s arm.
“I choose him,” she said, and shoved him free of the cell.
Chapter 17: Vanquished
Dazed from the impact with the wall, Elenyr cursed Bartoth’s speed. It had been some time since anyone had landed such a heavy blow and it had nearly crushed her chest. She rose to her feet and looked to the swinging cells—and saw Shadow be stabbed by Mimic.
He flinched from the sudden wound, and Mimic dislodged his fingers and shoved, sending him tumbling away from the spinning cell. In horror, Elenyr watched as her son fell towards the lake of acid.
Lorica dropped from the cell she was riding and her cloak spread into wings. She dove for Shadow, both hurtling towards the deadly surface. She reached her hand out and Shadow reached up. Their hands clasped and she swooped upward, but Shadow’s feet grazed the acid, melting the heel of a his boot as she banked upward. Elenyr released her held breath, her head pounding with relief.
“He’s not your son, you know.”
Elenyr rotated to meet Zenif’s gaze. The mind mage regarded her with contempt, his lips curled into a sneer. She flicked her sword, the anger sharp and sudden, empowered by her fear. She stalked across the bloody courtyard.
“My family is mine,” she snarled.
She darted in, slashing low, her sword passing through his leg as if it was a mirage. She scowled and spun, finding another Zenif standing nearby. And then another. Zenif was not strong enough to pierce her thoughts, but he was strong enough to insert one of his own, and make her see duplicates of himself.
She winced as a blade cut across the back of her leg, drawing blood. She whirled and cut through Zenif, but again her blade passed through his body as if it was made of smoke. He laughed, the sound seeming to come from everywhere.
She spared the spinning prison a look. Bartoth had begun opening cages, ripping the hatchways off the top and ordered the prisoners to hunt Shadow and Lorica. One dwarf refused, and Bartoth slashed the chain, letting the cage fall into the acid. The others were quick to join Bartoth’s cause.
Zoric had retreated into the barracks, and Sentara and Rune had followed, the three locked in a duel, the sounds of ringing swords and blasts of magic echoing up through the door. The dark elf guards were on the floor of the courtyard, dead or wounded. Captain Jefsor leaned against a barrel, breathing hard as he held a gash in his side.
Elenyr turned ethereal, preventing the mage from striking in her direction, and then leapt through the portcullis into the control chamber. Zenif called from outside and tapped his sword on the steel.
“You cannot escape forever.”
“I’m not here to escape,” Elenyr replied, searching the panel of levers and runes for a way to help Shadow.
She began to work the controls, reading the symbols and pressing runes. The spinning cells began to slow, and the tracks shifted in the ceiling, sending cages going one way and then another. Then she spotted the symbol for acid placed on a symbol for the courtyard. She smiled and slammed her fist on the rune.
A shout came from the courtyard, and the mirages faded. Zenif appeared as if from thin air, only she knew his magic had shielded him from her eyes. He’d been standing too close to a column of acid, and the liquid had burned up his side, catching his hip and elbow. He removed his cloak and used the unspotted portion to wipe at the acid, furiously attempting to remove it before it ate into his flesh.
Elenyr took a step towards him, but then saw Shadow and Lorica battling the sudden army of prisoners. They jumped across the cells and attacked the pair, pushing them back by sheer ferocity. The Red Elf crept from the side and lunged, but Shadow slashed his dagger across the elf’s shoulder. The next attacker was not so fortunate, and he fell into the acid, screaming. Siphon got close as well, but Shadow sent a throwing knife deep into his heart.
Elenyr turned away from the opportunity to strike at Zenif and resumed her place at the controls. She pulled levers and pressed runes, attempting to separate Shadow and Lorica from the other cells, all while Bartoth reached Mimic’s cell and ripped a portion of the roof free. She expected him to help the woman exit her cell, but instead he pulled a dark green cloak and tossed it to her. Mimic didn’t hesitate, and donned the cloak. Elenyr did the only thing she could think to do, and reached for the rune that would break the chains holding Mimic’s cage.
“Elenyr!” Zenif shouted.
She heard the anger in the mage’s voice and turned to see Zenif standing at the edge of the courtyard on top of the low wall. He had his hand around Rune’s throat, the girl’s eyes fluttering, as if she were struggling to stay awake. The acid had burned Zenif’s arm, and the flesh was mottled and damaged.
“You drop mine, I drop yours,” Zenif growled.
Elenyr held his gaze, her hand on the rune that would sentence Mimic to death. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Mimic began to change, the cloak sinking into her flesh and skin, turning her into the final general. Mimic did not scream, but rather clenched the bars of her cage, her eyes darkening inside the cowl.
“You drop her and I’ll cut you to shreds,” Sentara shouted, and Elenyr heard Zoric strike at her flank, the two battling for dominance in the doorway leading to the road. Zoric used his magic to anticipate Sentara’s blows, sensing enough to prevent Sentara from landing a lethal blow, or intervening with Zenif and Rune.
