The Archer (A Tale Of Heroes & Demons Book 1)

Chapter 4

Escape

"Every person has free choice. Free to obey or disobey the Natural Laws. Your choice determines the consequences. Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices."

– Alfred A. Montapert

Declan hurried down a small tunnel, continuing to blindly run into the walls. He gripped Rosie's hand tight enough that she kept pace with him but not hard enough to actually hurt her. He peered ahead into the darkness. His only indication that they might me heading towards the surface was the slight inclination of the path.

"Declan, where are we going?" When he didn't reply she asked again. "Declan, where are we going?" she pleaded.

Declan paused. He turned around so he could face her. "I'm not sure where we're going yet. Hopefully towards the surface." He smiled slightly, trying to reassure her. He still wasn't sure if this child was his sister.

The continued down the slightly winding path, their hope of escape slowly diminishing. They kept stumbling along until they could see a small pinpoint of light at the end. Their hope was reignited and they practically ran towards the light.

Unfortunately the light that they had seen did not lead to the surface. Instead the tunnel opened up into another large cavern. At the far end they could see five or six large cages, all full of the girls who were kidnapped from villages. Large wooden contraptions filled the rest of the expanse of the room. A scattering of creatures guarded the room armed with nothing more than their own claws. They shuffled about, oblivious to Declan and Rosie.

They ducked behind a nearby crate, careful not to make too much noise.

"What are they doing with those girls?" Rosie asked. She stood slightly behind Declan, no longer terrified but still more scared than she had ever been in her life.

"Nothing right now." Declan analyzed the situation. He wasn't just going to stand back and let the girls suffer. He was going to do his best to save them. He scanned the walls, searching for more tunnels. He saw three more for sure but he didn't want to just blindly walk back into the labyrinth. Beside each tunnel entrance there were small marking, the language of the creatures.

Over the years Declan had been hunting Demonica he had been able to pick up some of the language. He knew enough to figure out which tunnel led to the surface. With that in mind he crept farther along behind the crates, closer to the cages.

"What are you going to do?"

"Get them out." Declan looked at the cages. They did not have a bottom but instead were just sitting on the cold ground. The top was attached to a large pulley system so the creatures could easily lift them up when the need arose. The lever was large, so large it required at least two creatures to operate.

"Stay here," he commanded Rosie. "And be quiet." He tore his gaze off of her. His sister...alive. He still couldn't believe it.

Declan crept up to the closest cage. He caught the attention of the closest girl and told her his plan. She quietly spread his idea to the rest of the girls in the cage before returning to him.

"Thank-you," she whispered. She wrapped hands around the bars. She was wearing a night gown like most of the girls were. Her hands and face were streaked with dirt and her hair all tangled, with leaves and twigs weaved in it.

"Don't thank me yet, you all are still in there. Remember, wait thirty seconds after you see me leave then start. If you don't wait you could compromise everything." He placed his hands on hers for a moment. He felt a lump form in his throat. Her hands were so cold.