The Amulet Of Nicmir (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 1)

Chapter 26

In what light filtered through the slats of the boarded window high in the wall, Lillian could make out a wall of thick bars cutting through the center of the room, blocking off a cell within the cell. There was a door to the side, leading in, but even in the dark, she could see that it was chained shut and fastened with a lock.

As her eyes adjusted, she took a step forward. Her feet shuffled loose straw on the floor.

"Nyle?" she whispered into the dark. She could see the walls now; metal-plated wood.

"Lil."

It was a croak, a hoarse reply. But it was him.

Lillian dropped to her knees and wound her fingers around the bars. Beyond them, she could make out a dark, human-shaped form.

"Gods, Nyle," she choked out. "I was afraid they'd killed you."

A quiet laugh, bitter and half-cough, came from the body. It shifted with a rattle of chains. Lillian's heart squeezed.

"I'm harder to get rid of than that," Nyle rasped out. Familiar sarcasm laced his tone, but Lillian could hear the pain in his voice. Her chest was already aching, but at that, she felt like she was suffocating. "Besides, you and Sam don't stand a chance out there without me."

She managed a soft, incredulous laugh. A tear slipped down her cheek, warm on her skin. "I'll get you out," she said. "I swear it. I'll save you, Nyle."

He stiffened. Lillian could see him better now. He was on his hands and knees, one palm against the wall to keep himself upright. His tunic was torn nearly in half, stained with something dark.

Blood.

They'd beaten him. Badly.

Her hand hovered near her mouth, and another tear slipped down her face.

"Lillian," he rasped out, and raised himself a little farther, turning towards her. His chest was exposed by a tear in his shirt, the skin turned to an ugly mosaic of purples and blues by the bruising. When his dark eyes, so, so familiar despite the bruises that mottled his features, met hers, she couldn't look away. "You have to leave. Get the others, take the Amulet, and get out."

"Not on your life," she growled through her tears, clenching the bars until her fingers hurt. "I don't care what you say, you idiot-brained fool. I'm getting you out, if I have to murder the king to do it."

"Don't say that," Nyle gasped out, pushing himself up against the wall to support his broken body. His tone was heartbroken. "Don't. You have to finish the quest without me. Let me die with honor, Lil. Face it. Even you can't get me out."

Lillian glared balefully into the shadows at him, tracing her tongue along her upper lip, catching the salt of her tears. She couldn't decide whether she was desperately angry with him for giving up or hopelessly foolish for thinking that she could save him.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," she said earnestly, her voice choked.

Nyle's eyebrows drew down in a glare as he looked at her, chest heaving. Slowly, he lifted himself up until he was standing, then pushed off the wall, staggering into the bars. Breathing hard, he slid down to the floor, eyes shut, face contorted in pain.

Lillian stuck her wrist through the bars and took hold of his hand. His fingers, still strong, curled around her palm, and his eyes opened to look at her. Her heart skipped a beat at the raw emotion in his gaze.

"You just don't give up, do you?" he whispered, his voice bordering on frustrated. Lillian smiled through her tears and squeezed his hand. His tone was softer with his next words. "Don't ever give up. Keep fighting, always."