Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) (20 page)

Again, he froze in his tracks, this time to a vaguely familiar voice. “Help me,” it cried.

Elijah crouched down and peered through the darkness toward the three-story prison. Then he remembered. “Aiken?” he strained, barely above a whisper.
Clack, clack, clack
caused him to twist around as a lone soldier on horseback crossed close by. Elijah’s hand swept across his forehead, and he peered back again to the dark building beside the weapons shop.

“You must help me! They are going to execute me tomorrow!” cried Aiken through the small, barred opening.

Elijah could see the stark white of the man’s face as he turned to flee. “I will get executed if they find me!” he replied.

Emboldened, Aiken grabbed at the bars. “Really? Well then, it seems we are in the same predicament. Maybe we can work together!”

The nearby shadows overtook Elijah.

“Wait, please!” cried Aiken once again.

The shuffling of his feet stopped and Elijah glanced back.

“Please. I am begging you. Have mercy on me! I will do anything! Anything! Just let me know! Please!” pleaded Aiken through the night.

Elijah turned around. “You told me if I helped you, I could have whatever my heart’s desire was. Is that true?” questioned Elijah.

Aiken eyes widened. “Yes! Please believe me! Anything you want!” he replied.

Elijah made his way across the plaza. “If you’re lying,” he said.

Aiken’s voice stopped shaking. “I swear! Please…I just want to go home.”

Elijah could see tears in the man’s eyes.

In a flash, he glanced up the towering walls and was gone.

Aiken’s strained whisper broke the silence. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Elijah forgot about the racking pain in his stomach as he reached, hand over hand, up the wall. The roof was a welcomed sight. He had never felt his arms so weak before. A quick scan exposed a flickering light.
That door looks open
, he thought as he ran across the short distance. His stomach heaved suddenly when he crossed the threshold.
What a horrible stench! How could anyone exist here?
The many cells along the way were all barred shut. He shook his head to try to remove the deafening ringing in his ears as he tiptoed along. If he peered in, most cells held gruesome sights of skeletons, some chained to the wall, and some sprawled across wooden planks. The hall curved to the right and opened up to a dust-crusted stairwell.
This hasn’t been used in years
, he thought. He covered his mouth as the stench worsened. He was glad he hadn’t eaten anything after all. The first floor hallway was filled with cells and a few soldiers too, as they paced through the dimness. The ringing continued.

Elijah jerked suddenly. “Shut up!” shouted a guard, banging his spear against the cell of one of the inmates. Soon, it was silent again.

Elijah looked at the corner of the open area and recognized Ghais, the captain of the guard.
Perfect,
Elijah thought as a wave of dizziness swept through him again. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea? As soon as one of the guards turned, Elijah sprinted behind a low wall, peering out.

The captain’s voice boomed across. “The city is full of petty criminals! I have never, in all my years, seen it this bad. It is a travesty!”

The other guard joined in. “I heard the Prince Anas will have our city purged of all the bandits.”

Ghais replied. “Well. It’s not soon enough if you ask me!”

“Yes, sir.”

Ghais continued, “I am looking forward to being a part of the God-King’s empire. We will finally have the protection we need from the barbarian hordes!”

“Yes, sir. We will.”

Ghais rubbed his stomach. “Do we have any food?” he asked.

“Just the lamb legs that we have been saving,” replied the guard.

Ghais frowned. “I would rather eat sand that that disgusting lamb leg!” he grunted.

Elijah’s eyes darted around and he spied another door. As soon as the two guards turned, he found himself on the other side and down the stairs. The dungeon was almost completely dark, but he could pick out four cells. He remembered the low four openings on the main wall outside. Only one cell opening was barred.
This must be Aiken’s
, he thought. But he stopped dead in his tracks as a snoring guard came into view. His chair teetered backward, helping to expose a large ring of keys on his belt.

Aiken’s white face suddenly appeared through the bars. Eyes wide, he quickly pointed at the key ring.

Elijah felt another wave of dizziness as he stepped closer to the door. His eyes followed Aiken’s hand, and he nodded.

Aiken pointed again at the ring, causing Elijah to stop and nod again.

Aiken pointed yet a third time, this time causing Elijah to throw up his hands. “What?” he mouthed. Aiken dropped his hand and winked.

Elijah slowly crept toward the guard. He listened to the raspy snores and then slowly reached for the ring. A chord was wrapped tightly around it as he wiggled it back and forth.

“Hey! Hey,” stammered the guard, forcing Elijah back. All color drained from his face. “Hey…heeeyy…hheeeeyyyy…,” sounded out the guard again. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the shouts gave way to the raspy snores again.

Elijah drew in a deep breath and noticed that his chest had finally stopped pounding. He knelt down and touched the rough metal again, slowly wiggling it as best he could. Finally, it broke free and into his hands! He quickly inserted one and turned, but it wouldn’t budge.
I can’t believe this
, he thought.

Aiken tried to reach through, but Elijah pulled back with a frown. “Hurry!” Aiken whispered.

The second key slipped into the hole, but it too wouldn’t budge. Elijah wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Let me see it!” whispered Aiken loudly. Both of their hands grasped the last symbol of freedom and turned.
Click
! sounded out just as a shadow smothered the only vestiges of flickering light. Elijah spun around directly into the face of a huge, sword-bearing guard.

Aiken threw open the bars and rushed out to grab Elijah just as the sword came crashing down.

Sword high, the guard charged Elijah again! A racket in the stairway immediately followed the man’s yell. Elijah slammed his fist into the man’s midsection, dropping the heavy guard to his knees. Elijah quickly lunged behind and, with foot raised, thrust it against the man’s back. The guard immediately sprawled forward into the cell. Aiken, with sword in hand, clicked the lock back in place. “There. That should do the trick!” said Aiken, voice shaking.

The guard started rattling the barred door. “Help! Help me!” he shouted.

A frown crossed Aiken’s face. “Maybe you should have killed him,” he said.

“Come on! He will alert the whole prison!” commanded Elijah. They took off toward the stairs and bolted to the next floor. Standing there was an unexpected sight, eight guards, all with swords raised.

Ghais was right in the middle of them. “Well, well, well. What have we here? The rat thief, Elijah, in my humble home? What a treat. And he is helping a crusader? You deserve to die!” chided the captain.

Elijah, swordless, stood his ground.

Ghais glared at the bandit. “You have made a fool out of me for the last time, Elijah. Prepare yourself!” he shouted.

Elijah shrugged. “Made a fool out of you? Why, I have done nothing but try and help you,” he replied as he stepped over toward a table.

Ghais’s glare followed him. “And how did you come to this way of thinking?” replied Ghais.

“Do you really think you’ll catch me this time?” scoffed Elijah.

The room suddenly filled with laughter. “There is no escape for you this time, thief!” demanded Ghais.

Elijah quickly glanced at Aiken.

Aiken responded, “I suggest you let us walk out of here!” he said, keeping Elijah in his sight.

His face turned a bright red. “Silence, crusader! You will die too,” screamed Ghais.

Aiken lifted his sword and charged Ghais.

The other seven guards quickly stepped forward, but Aiken didn’t stop.

One charged Elijah and sliced through the stale air at his head. Elijah immediately ducked and upper cut the unsuspecting guard square in the nose. Face covered in blood, he stumbled backward, just as Elijah grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the table. The guard slipped to the floor.

The other six rushed toward Aiken as he did his best to fend for his life. He had not eaten a full meal since he had been in prison and fought to raise his sword. Elijah charged the guards from behind. The butt of his sword made quick work of one, knocking him to the ground. Another guard turned from Aiken, his and Elijah’s swords meeting violently, over and over. Aiken’s swung low and struck one of the guard’s legs, dropping him to the ground. He continued to fight Ghais and the other two guards, growing weaker and weaker with each move. Working his way around the room, he dodged the men, barely missing fallen chairs and tables.

Elijah’s solo encounter continued with the guard swinging harder and harder. One connected as Elijah’s sword clattered to the floor. Elijah sidestepped and grabbed a chair, sending it flying. Suddenly, the guard lay, sprawled on the floor.

One man’s shriek filled the dank area as Aiken sliced through his arm. The guard disappeared into the shadows.

Ghais, now alone, glanced around and quickly backed up. Elijah and Aiken slowly approached. “You…you won’t get away for this! I promise!” screamed Ghais. His thrust sword shifted between Aiken and Elijah. “You will all be executed!” Pointing at Aiken, he yelled, “You will all…” Just as he moved to point his weapon into Elijah’s face, Elijah’s fist slammed him right between the eyes. The raging man stumbled backward, tripped over the table behind him, and fell flat on his back.

Aiken shouted, “Come on!”

Chests heaving, Aiken and Elijah ran out into the night. The nearby alley concealed them perfectly as they collapsed in the shadows.

Grinning from ear to ear, Aiken started to laugh. “I can’t believe you did it! You did it! You’re a bloody hero!” he exclaimed.

Elijah stared at him, motionless. His thoughts raced through the harrowing events and caused him to shake his head. He realized that he was truly a wanted man now, and no one, not even his princess, could save him. His stomach throbbed once again.

Aiken’s laughter continued. “You did it! You saved me! I’m free!”

Elijah suddenly frowned. “Don’t get too excited.”

Aiken threw his hands up. “What?”

Elijah’s pale face stared into Aiken’s. “Ghais knows who I am…the entire city will know that I saved a crusader.”

Aiken’s laughter stopped. “Sorry.”

Neither said a word.

Then, Elijah replied, “I saved you. Now I want my heart’s desire to come true.”

Aiken glanced his way. “Oh…well…I do not have the necessary tool to do that with me right now.”

“What?” shouted Elijah.

Aiken cleared his throat. “Well, if I had it…I wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place,” he said.

Elijah clenched his fists tightly.

“Do not worry! I will take you to it! Yes, I will!” affirmed the crusader.

“You better not be lying to me, Aiken! I risked my life for you!” said Elijah, again scowling.

Aiken continued, “Oh, everything will be fine. We just have to make it to the foothills.”

Elijah stood up. “What! The foothills? There is an entire army outside these walls!” he exclaimed. He peered into his eyes and wondered if he was dealing with a crazy man.

“Oh,” muttered Aiken.

Elijah suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Aiken’s shirt. “You lied to me!” shouted Elijah.

Aiken threw up his hands. “No! No! Do not worry. Calm down, my boy. We will figure out how to get there. With both our minds working together, I am sure we will figure something out,” he said, grinning again.

Elijah let go of the man’s shirt and fell to his knees. “This can’t be happening,” he cried.

Aiken grabbed onto Elijah’s arm and yanked him up. “Come on. We need to get some rest. We’ll come up with a plan in the morning,” coaxed Aiken.

“It will be okay, lad. Come on. Let’s get away from this prison,” said Aiken as they disappeared into the night.

Chapter 23

H
abarga’s east wall
dazzled brilliantly as the golden sun swept the night’s chill westward. Glittering swords and shields flashed their superiority with ease. The entire city was cast in a golden hue, even her shadows were transformed. Elijah squinted through the tint as Aiken slowly came into focus. That was the sound,
Swish…swish…swish
, that he had dreamed. Aiken slowly slid his new sword across a smooth stone. Suddenly, the bandit twisted around, wondering, guessing at where he had spent the night. He remembered the crashing vale of sleep sometime in the darkness and then the battle for their lives. And now, his friends.
Where were they?
he pondered.
I could take Aiken to my hideout and meet them, if they were still my friends. But would they welcome a mortal enemy? I doubt it. What shall I do?
pounded his thoughts as the dizziness returned.

Aiken glanced over. “Good morning,” came his cheery voice.

“Where, what?” exclaimed Elijah as he rose from the ground.

“Did you sleep well?” asked Aiken.

Elijah curtly replied, “No. Did you?”

Aiken slid his blade once again. “I didn’t sleep at all,” he replied.

Now on his feet, Elijah peered down the alley. “Sorry to hear that,” he said.

Aiken shrugged. “I am not. Anything is better than being trapped in a dungeon. Thank you so much for what you did for me last night. I owe you my life!”

“You don’t owe me anything,” said Elijah, frowning.

Aiken grinned. “Oh, but I owe you everything! I would be dead right now if it wasn’t for you!”

Suddenly, Elijah crouched low. A passing crowd, on the way to the palace, chattered wildly.

Elijah glanced their way for a moment. “All right. So we need to get to the foothills, do we not?” he asked.

Aiken laid down the smooth stone and jumped to his feet. “You sure you want to go?” he asked.