I’m ‘guided’ by Robin’s assassin through the town with nothing but the snow and moon as company. He leads me past a group of Saelac’s men, without even turning his head for a look, and through the usual store. It’s a little messier than I remember. There’s paper scattered on the floor, the drawers of the counter are pulled out as far as they can go and unfolded clothing hangs off the tables. I focus my eyes on the man in front of me.

Did he do this? It’s like a fight happened in here.

Halfway down the staircase, he speaks his first words since threatening Blue Hair. “How come you’re still alive?”

“Would have been much easier if I died doing your dirty work for you, wouldn’t it.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he says. “You’re strange. It’s not what I saw.” he stops at the door and glances at me over his shoulder. One breath later and he opens the door for me.

Robin smiles as I enter. He puts his pen down and gets up from his chair. “I’m glad that you fulfilled your part of the bargain.”

“And you’ll fulfill yours,” I say. “Let Emile go and show us the way out.”

“Of course,” he walks up to me. He’s closer than he’s ever been. Just one quick movement and I can have a knife sticking out of his neck right now. “Once morning comes, I’ll send Brom to bring your friends over. I will show them the way and they can leave.”

“Alright. Then why do you need me?” my fingers twitch. The hair on the back of my neck stand on end as the shadows behind Robin shift. “Are you perhaps… Going back on your end of the deal?”

“Going back? If you want to see the way out, I will gladly show it to you. No, I am not going back on my end of the deal. He will be released and your friends will be shown the way out. It just so happens that I’ve learned something interesting about you and so we’re not quite finished yet. I have a little brother, I’ll let you know. He does something similar to what I do and in our line of work, we sometimes share information. Can you guess what he shared with me?”

“You liar,” I hiss, as a sword presses against my neck.

“No one ever likes to play these days. It’s a simple guessing game for gods’ sake. Your name. He told me he was chasing after a,” he reads the piece of paper on his desk, “Rainen Weaver. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to ask you to stay with me a little longer. Too bad for your friends. I’ve just cut off the head.”

Suddenly my vision goes black. They’ve thrown a bag over my head. I reach out for Robin but two people restrain my arms. The kick me onto my knees and drag me out of the room. I coat my arms in fire. One person lets go and I ram the other into the wall. As I pull off the bag, I’m greeted with a dull pain in the side of my head, the world spins for a moment then black.

“Hey… ou... Hey, can you hear me?”

I startle awake. There’s no bag stopping me from seeing but I can’t quite focus. My whole head aches like I’ve spent the past few hours doing nothing but drink. I gather my strength to break free of my bindings but there’s no point.

What a familiar sight. Stuck in some sort of cell again.

“Hey, you can hear me, right?”

“Yeah, I can hear you. Is that you, Emile?”

“Emile? No, I’m Vaal. Who are you?”

I say the first name that comes to mind, “Henry. I’m Henry. What are you doing here? How’d you get here?” I don’t ask the last question. Why aren’t you dead? Why hasn’t Robin killed you? Why is he letting everyone else go if he knows you’re still alive?

“I have no idea how I got here but I sure as hell know why. That despicable piece of shit, Robin, had his little assassin knock me out and throw me in here. I don’t know why they didn’t kill me but I’ll make them regret it. Hey, can you move your arms?”

“A little bit. I don’t think the person who tied this tried very hard. Still, I can’t break free… Hold on. I have an idea.” as much as I try, there’s no way to get the bindings off while I’m stuck to the chair. Although my vision’s a little blurry, I focus just beyond the cell bars. Teleport… Teleport… Teleport…

I’m stuck trying not to choke or puke my guts out. My eyes water and the world spins. It’s like I’ve gotten my chest stomped all over again. Unable to use my ability, I slip a knife out and into my hands. I saw away at the rope but there’s little room to work with. I don’t have enough power to go through it.

Vaal calls out to me from the other side, “Henry! Henry, are you okay? What’s going on?”

“These… goddamned bindings. Can you use magic-” another coughing fit ensues.

“No, they’re almost exactly the same as the ones we use when holding prisoners. As far as I know, there’s almost no way to break out of them.”

“Give me a minute then,” I continue sawing but after a few minutes, it becomes apparent we won’t get free at this rate. “I didn’t want to use you again,” I whisper, grinding my teeth. “Alistar, come out.”

Everything suddenly gets heavier. I almost drop my knife as Alistar emerges in front of my eyes. Before I even issue a command, my posture breaks. I slump to the side and the chair tips over. Pain shoots up my arm. The initial jolt hurt but it gets worse. The chair is heavy in its own right. Before long, I lose almost all feeling in my left arm. I call for Alistar to gnaw at the rope. As soon as he touches the binding I feel it flare up, like a fire given new fuel.

“What’s going on?”

“The chair tipped over. My arm’s going numb.”

“Shit. If my hands weren’t also tied to the chair I’d be out by now.”

Every second that he’s out is a drain on my mana, something I’m already low on. I pull him back in and instantly, relief washes over my body like a healing spell. It’s effective to the point I reconsider using my ability. So, I do. The first two tries are met with failure and the same tolls as the first but, on the third try, I make it. Now out of the cell, only the chair, with my arms still tied to it, is on the other side of the bars. Exactly as planned.

Ignoring the throbbing in my chest I fall on my back. With the bars holding the chair far enough back for me to place my feet on the seat, I push. My arms tense and my legs struggle with the force. I twist and turn searching for the smallest imperfection in the craftsmanship. The top snaps off. “Damn it,” I roll free of the chair but my hands are still tied. I was hoping they were tied to the bars of the chair, not together…

“Is that you?” Vaal asks, squirming in his chair. “Quick-”

One of Robin’s men barges through the door at the end of the cramped hallway.

“What’s with all the- What the? How the hell?” he unsheathes his sword.

I rush him at full speed and throw my entire weight in a kick to his chest. It knocks him off his feet and his sword falls to the wayside. I quickly stand. He sweeps my feet and gets on his. Clearly with orders not to kill me, he grabs my leg and tries to drag me back to the cell. His grip is like iron. I pull my legs in and push. Like the chair, he breaks. I dash through the door and close it on him. A well-timed kick catches him off guard and I finish with another to the head. I kick his sword in and close the door behind me.

“I’m impressed,” Vaal says, “No wonder Robin imprisoned someone like you.”

I move the sword onto the other side of the cell and slip it between the rope. Using the iron bars to keep the sword as still as possible, I manage to cut the binding. Even after it’s been severed, the part that stops magic use still exists. I untie the rope around my wrists and unlock the door to Vaal’s cell. He doesn’t seem to recognize me.

“How’d you get out?” he asks after thanking me. “Those bindings should stop all magic. I don’t suppose you're some sort of master thief, are you?”

“Hardly. I used my ability to get out.”

He meets my eyes with an incredulous look. “That must be some ability you have there. These things should block those too.” he turns his attention to the guard. “Nevermind how you got out, let’s put this guy down before he can get up again.” Vaal picks up the sword.

“Hold on,” I stop him.

“What?” he looks at me with a raised brow, “I’m thankful for your help but if you’re going to suggest that I keep this piece of shit alive, I’m not going to listen. I’ve done it once today and look where it got me. That lunatic Robin thinks he’s some grand maestro. People who choose to follow someone like that deserve death. I won’t let mercy get in the way of saving this town, especially not now.”

I bite my tongue.

He’s right. If he killed me then he wouldn’t be in this position. He and the captain might have actually done some good. Robin might have been thrown in prison and rotted away in there for the rest of his life. But what if they didn’t catch him? Look at where killing got me today.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Pushing past my guilt I say, “I’m not saying to show him mercy. But… I do think it’s best if we question him first. We don’t know where we are. We don’t know what Robin planned to do with us. Don’t you think it’s more important to learn what’s going on?”

Vaal considers my proposition for a second. He points at the chair. “Help me lift him up. Hey, wake the fuck up.” Vaal taps his cheek with the flat of the sword. The man slowly wakes. “Where are we and why are we in here?”

“Like I’d tell some snobby rich bastard like you! Why don’t you go and use that education of yours and figure out where you are?”

“Unless you want this sword rammed down your throat, you’re going to tell me everything I want to know.” Vaal’s grip tightens. He lifts the man’s chin up with the tip.

“I’m not scared of you.”

Vaal snorts. The sword sinks into the man’s throat, blood runs down the blade like a tear. A terrible gurgling sound echoes through the cell almost like water as it boils, my ears pound against my head. Vaal whisks the sword away splattering blood on the walls. Even with a new opening for the blood to drain out of, enough gathers in his mouth to spill over. When it happens, I turn and walk out in an attempt to forget.

“Oh,” Vaal says as he steps out after me with a clean blade. “I didn’t know you were squeamish. That’s my fault. The captain was a bit like that too… I’ll try to keep the ‘visuals’ to a minimum then. Let’s go.”

I shake my mind back to the present and shake my nerves off as well. We trek through the next room on the balls of our feet. Each sound out of place, shadow that moves under the flickering torchlight, or brush against some object laying around sends both of us into a small panic, like two animals being hunted through a forest.

“Calm down will you?” Vaal stands after clearing the room, “You’re so tense it’s even affecting me. What the heck happened? I thought you were a lot more capable than this.”

I take a breath. “I’m fine. Keep going.”

“I hope so.”

I gradually regain my senses as we move through the next room, which is a little smaller and brighter than the last one. Vaal’s pace is steady and slow but quickens after another empty room. His confidence, no, his thirst for vengeance growing. The bright but weary look in his eyes are replaced with cold focused hate. Three of Robin’s men play cards beneath torchlight. Vaal leaves the room with a new bloodstained shirt before I even manage a word. I reach out for him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to go so fast,” he says as he opens the door to an abnormally narrow hallway. He examines it for a moment, “This place… I wonder if he planned against a raid. These hallways would be perfect places to hold us up. The whole place is like a fortress.”

“An astute observation,” a figure appears on the other end of the hallway. “If possible, I’d like for you to return to your cells before Robin finds out. He’s a patient man but it seems to be much thinner as of late.”

“Patient man,” Vaal spits. “A thief is only patient as he watches his victims and waits for the best time to rob them blind. Otherwise, thieves are nothing but murderous, money hungry, material-obsessed deviants who think their tricks are special.”

“You’ve got some strong feelings there. I wonder if it’s because of recent events. Anyway, it wouldn’t be good for either of us if Robin finds out you’ve escaped. I’ve seen enough to wish he stays happy.”

“And I wish he stays dead after I finish with him,” Vaal charges. He stabs the man straight in the chest. The figure vanishes. “Huh? Quit hiding! Watch yourself, Henry. I think this is one of Robin’s ‘shadows’.”

“Hiding? I’m not hiding, just playing my strengths. I am a thief, after all. These cheap tricks are the only things I have to show you.”

Vaal suddenly drops. He pushes back towards me while making gasping for air. I send a fireball down the hallway hoping for something to change. “Don’t… make… contact…” Vaal chokes out. “He’ll… visions… real…” he manages a breath of air and begins coughing violently.

I race to Vaal, grab him by the collar, and drag him back the way we came. The armor he’s wearing weighs me down. It echoes through the shadow-filled hallway as it scrapes the ground. Dread grabs ahold of my body, similar to how it likes to. I turn around. The black figure blocks the doorway, its arms reaching out for me. I flick a fireball at it and it disappears as well as the door. I pull Vaal into the room and peer into the dimly lit hallway.

“There’s a range,” Vaal stands, rubbing his throat. “I’ve heard of this one. The folks who were here before me captured him before. He’s troublesome when he’s in that state but he’s nothing when out of it. Grab one of the torches off the wall. The light will protect us.”

The open hallway snaps closed as we approach. The room rumbles and flames flicker. The doors warp and vanish. We rush for the nearest one but it fades before we reach it. I swing the torch around in search of possible enemies, instead, I find new doors. The one that led us here doesn’t exist anymore.

Laughter reaches our ears. “Lucian was right again. I’m glad. I thought I’d actually have to fight for a second there.”

“What’s going on?” Vaal shouts.

“The boss changed the layout,” the man replies. “The old doors and hallways have closed up. You’ll have to find another way out now. Too bad it’ll give me enough time to find sufficient backup.”

“Screw this,” Vaal says, whispering something under his breath. He points his palm at where the old hallway used to be. One bright flash later and a gaping hole has been torn through the bricks.

“Wha?”

The shadowy figure forms before us. Vaal chases it away with swing of the torch and marches on. He beckons me after him telling me to watch our backs. The figure contorts in the face of the light. Its pushed back further and further, each attempt to get to our flanks is spoiled by a wave of the fire. “At this rate,” Vaal says, “We’ll make it out before the sun comes up.”

“Hold on,” I say, lowering my torch. “We can’t leave then.”

He turns, “Why?”

“We can’t. We have to wait until morning comes.” Otherwise, how will Aisha and the others get out? How will we find Emile? I have to slow us down here, at least until Robin’s showed them the way out.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, kid, but we have to leave now. Any more time wasted is more time for Robin to be alerted.”

“We can’t leave. There’s something that needs to happen before we leave.”

He shakes his head, “Stop acting crazy and get a move on.”

“I can’t.”

“Then I’ll go on by myself. Someone like you should be fine on your own.” Vaal breaks off in the other direction before I can get another word in.

I see the light of the torch even when his form is no longer visible. Footsteps ring from end to end and a feeling leads me to tread tentatively behind him. My own steps grow faster and quicker as it strikes me that if he gets out, Emile won’t. It’s become a mad dash, a chase to the finish, his being the end of the hallway, if lucky, and mine being him. I throw the torch down and cover myself in my own flames. It drains my energy but the distance between us shortens.

I don’t know what I’ll do to him when I catch him. If I catch him. I might knock the torch from his hand and let Robin’s shadow do some work until I can restrain him. I might do it myself and force him into listening to me. Or, in the worst case scenarios, I kill him or don’t do anything and he escapes. But I don’t have to choose. The burden doesn’t fall onto me.

Vaal reaches the end of the hallway and the light in his hands suddenly dies like a match blown out by the wind. He casts numerous spells, some of illumination, some of fire, but they don’t quite do the trick. The fire disappears too quickly and the spells of light are snuffed out like the torch. He drops to his knees, hands flying to his head. His screams fill the room until he’s short of breath.

I burst onto the scene unleashing a wave of fire everywhere. I manage a glimpse of the figure as the light splits it in half, as well as a glance of another more tangible figure in the corner. His eyes shoot open and he pushes himself from his meditative position. A second later, I lodge my fist in his gut. He crumples and I make sure he stays down with a stun spell.

I walk over to Vaal who wipes the saliva off his chin, “I helped you again. Can’t you trust me, at least, this once?”

He glances over my shoulder and says, “Fine. I’ll trust you, just this once.”

I nod, knowing that I’m betraying every aspect of that trust.