Wandering Fortunes

Chapter 33: Dungeon Duel

Alden's head hurt. He couldn't believe it. The king of the Thraundlus Kingdom kidnapped Serani in order to marry her? So that he could become the king of the Salenth Kingdom? That would never work. It couldn't work. It wasn't allowed to work.

"So that's where she is!"

Alden jumped. Steven appeared and the prisoners jumped too—at least those who could.

"Steven?" Alden asked. "Of course; that's why the guards were knocked out."

"I searched every inch of this dungeon but couldn't find Princess Serani," Steven said.

"She's long gone," said the older prisoner. "Whisked away to the throne room."

"We have to hurry to her," Steven said.

"Yeah, but . . ." Alden looked around. "We can't just leave these people here, can we?"

Steven shrugged. "We do have a job to do. That should be our first–"

He covered Alden's mouth and put a finger to his own. A creak from upstairs was followed by stomping. Steven pulled Alden into the shadows and a fustornis charged in, all spikes and plates and appendages thick as trees.

"Hey! Who's down here?" They snarled like rocks tumbling into a swamp. "I saw the guards out front. Come out or . . ." They looked around the room and grabbed Olivia. "I'll twist off this prisoner's arm. I know we have something down here that can do that." They grimaced jagged teeth in a spiky mouth. "It's called me."

Alden looked at Steven and his mouth dropped: the cyborg aimed a hand to shoot the fustornis. Alden shoved Steven's hand aside; the bang echoed and stone glinted.

Steven threw his hands up and mouthed something at Alden, but the scalago couldn't read him in the dark. Alden shook his hands; he was wholly against shooting anyone.

"What do we got here?" The fustornis trudged to them. "An aspiring prisoner and a robot?" Alden looked at the fustornis in the dim light—their face looked as rough as the side of a volcano. Many of their spikes and plates looked cracked or broken.

"Run!" Steven shouted. The fustornis lunged at them. Alden jumped aside and Steven disappeared.

"Stop right there or I'll blast a hole in you."

Alden turned; the fustornis held a revolver as big as his head. "No, not an aspiring prisoner; a soon-to-be stiff." In the darkness Steven appeared and aimed at the fustornis.

"Look out!" Alden shouted.

"Hah, you think I'm gonna fall for that–" A bang shot out and the fustornis stumbled. He opened fire on Steven.

Alden scanned the dungeon and saw chains and shackles in the corner. He grabbed one and ran to Olivia.

"That's the dungeon keeper," Olivia said, trembling. "He's going to kill you."

"Not if we . . ." Wait, no. No killing him first. " . . . keep him from doing that. Hold this." Alden gave her one end of the chain and tossed the other through a metal loop in the wall.

"Steven! Knock him over!" Alden shouted. Steven turned invisible.

"Just try it, you freak. You won't make me budge. Come within arm's reach and I'll–" He swung his arm and bashed Steven to the floor visible. The fustornis grappled him. "Gonna make a junk heap outta ya."

Alden ran around the dungeon keeper, looking for an opening. Steven shot the keeper in the face and he dropped the cyborg.

"Ha! I hardly feel a thing in this old face anymore." He fired at Steven. The cyborg shot a rocket and blasted the keeper to the floor.