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.His last conscious thought was a sad one: he hated to leave this sweet final dream.A SONG IN THE DARKRowan opened his eyes, but the blackness of the cave suffocated him once more.Something crawled across his face, and he didn’t even swipe it away.The heavy irons still hung on his ankles and wrists.Death teased him, though in fact he felt more alive now than he had in a long time.Why had he dreamed such a vivid dream about the Prince? His dreamed emotions of regret and renewal seemed quite hollow and meaningless now.He closed his eyes and waited.How many more days of this torture would he have to endure? He tried to return to the freedom of his dreams, but they eluded him.He lay in silence for a very long while until he thought perhaps he was hallucinating again.The faint, lilting sounds of an angelic singing voice sifted through the darkness and lit upon his ears.Rowan sat up, and the chains jingled, momentarily blocking out the lovely voice.He listened again, hoping he had not silenced the lilting voice, whether dream or not.Then he heard it again.Could it be real?“Help!” he croaked, his voice hoarse with disuse.Was it loud enough to carry out of his cave past the larger cavern and out into the open air?“Help!” he tried again, trying for more volume.The singing stopped, so he cried once more, as loudly as he could.“Help!”“Hello?” a faint but lovely voice beckoned from the darkness.“Is someone there?”“Yes.Please help me!” Rowan rasped.Hope welled up painfully in his heart.“Please help!”“Are you trapped?” she called.“Yes.Please …”“I’m coming,” she called back.He had been tricked before by his own hallucinations and wondered if this was another cruel joke of death.“Keep talking,” the voice called.“Where are you?”“I’m in a cave at the back of the—stop!” Rowan’s stomach rose up to his throat as he realized the danger.Too late.He heard the woman scream.“What has happened?” he called out, but he knew the answer.“Get out of the cave while you can still move!”Over the next few moments, Rowan pulled against his chains in anguish as he tried to interpret the muffled sounds from the outer cavern.“Leave the cave!” he called back in desperation.The woman cried out something, but it was unintelligible, and Rowan closed his eyes in despair.He could not bear to think of the horrid death the woman was about to endure.“My Prince,” he whispered, “where are You?”Hours passed as he lay there, trying not to think of what was happening in the cavern outside.Then a faint glow of yellow light spilled into his cave.“Are you still there?” the woman’s voice called out.Rowan couldn’t believe his ears.“Yes … yes.I’m here.In this cave.”Rowan’s cave soon filled with light, and he blinked as he set his eyes upon the slender form of a young woman carrying a lantern and a shovel.He struggled to gain his feet but could barely manage to sit up.“You … you survived!” he said.“Obviously,” the woman said.“Are you real?” His voice quavered.“Or am I dreaming again?”Shadows danced off the woman’s face as she scrutinized him.“I am real,” she said carefully, “and you are not dreaming.”“They said nothing could stop the caterpillars.How did you …?”“I fell onto the white path that led here.They wouldn’t come onto the path.I think it is covered in salt.Perhaps that’s what kept them away.”The woman took a deep breath as if to shake the jitters from her.“It was quite ghastly, lying there for hours, hoping those nasty things wouldn’t eat me.” She made a disgusted face, then narrowed her eyes.“You said you were trapped, not chained,” she said.“Why are you here?”“Marauders killed my men and stole everything.They are … were holding me for ransom.”The woman raised a skeptical eyebrow.“I swear it is true,” Rowan said in desperation.After a moment of silent contemplation, she seemed to grow anxious.She looked behind her as if she might leave.Rowan held out his hand.“Please … please don’t leave me,” he pleaded.“They left me to die days ago—at least I think it was days.Please help me.”The woman settled a bit, looked at Rowan once more, and took a deep breath as if to accept the duty.“My name’s Mariah.”“I am Rowan … of Laos.”His name clearly meant nothing to her.She set the lantern down and cautiously approached Rowan, the shovel before her.When she saw his emaciated state, she relaxed her guard.Rowan stared at her as if she might disappear at any moment.When she hesitated, he broke his gaze and lifted the chains.“They are strong—too strong to break, I fear.”“Perhaps we can dig the stake out,” she offered.“I have tried to do that with my hands, but the ground was too hard.It is worth a try with the shovel.”Mariah set to the task.Rowan could offer no help.It wasn’t long before it became obvious that her digging was not working.Mariah swiped beads of sweat from her brow.“It’s impossible,” she said.She sat down, deep in thought.“At the entrance to the cavern there were things strewn about.Perhaps the keys to your locks are there.”She set the shovel against the wall and lifted the lantern.Rowan felt sick at the thought of being left in the dark again.She looked at him and seemed to read his thoughts.“I promise I will come back.”“Thank you, Mariah,” he said quietly.Mariah gave a quick grin and nodded, then disappeared into the outer cavern.Rowan waited anxiously until she appeared again.“Were there keys?” he asked.“No, but I found this.” She held up a long stake, similar to the one Rowan was chained to.“How will that help us?”Mariah inserted the tip of the free stake into the chain link closest to the ground and began to twist the link until it was bound upon itself.Then she used the stake as a lever, putting all of her weight on the other end.After two tries, the link snapped, and Rowan was free.He stayed sitting on the ground for a moment, wondering if he remembered how to stand erect.He slowly stood up, but his knees buckled.Mariah reached out to steady him.“Are you all right?” she asked.Rowan closed his eyes and nodded.“But I’m not sure that I can walk.”“Here, I’ll help you.” She positioned herself under his arm so that he could lean against her.Then, very slowly, they moved along the white salt path that led to the front of the cavern.Hundreds of moths circled above but did not come close enough to threaten them.They finally reached the cavern entrance.Rowan fell to his knees and turned his face upward to the blue sky.He blinked, nearly blinded by the late afternoon sun, but still rejoicing in his freedom.Mariah left him there and retrieved her horse.She rummaged in the saddlebags and handed him her water bottle and part of a biscuit.He started to guzzle the water, but Mariah pulled it away from him.“You must go slowly, or you will be sick.” She seemed fairly appalled at the sight of him now that she could fully see his feeble, filthy state.Rowan nodded and took small nibbles of the biscuit, followed by shallow drinks of water.“You ride Sierra,” Mariah said.“Once we get to my farm, we’ll get the rest of your chains off.”Mounting the horse was problematic because of Rowan’s physical state and his leg chains, but with Mariah’s help he finally managed to perch sidesaddle and lean heavily on the animal’s neck.Exhaustion was quickly overtaking him, and he wondered if he would even be able to ride very far [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.His last conscious thought was a sad one: he hated to leave this sweet final dream.A SONG IN THE DARKRowan opened his eyes, but the blackness of the cave suffocated him once more.Something crawled across his face, and he didn’t even swipe it away.The heavy irons still hung on his ankles and wrists.Death teased him, though in fact he felt more alive now than he had in a long time.Why had he dreamed such a vivid dream about the Prince? His dreamed emotions of regret and renewal seemed quite hollow and meaningless now.He closed his eyes and waited.How many more days of this torture would he have to endure? He tried to return to the freedom of his dreams, but they eluded him.He lay in silence for a very long while until he thought perhaps he was hallucinating again.The faint, lilting sounds of an angelic singing voice sifted through the darkness and lit upon his ears.Rowan sat up, and the chains jingled, momentarily blocking out the lovely voice.He listened again, hoping he had not silenced the lilting voice, whether dream or not.Then he heard it again.Could it be real?“Help!” he croaked, his voice hoarse with disuse.Was it loud enough to carry out of his cave past the larger cavern and out into the open air?“Help!” he tried again, trying for more volume.The singing stopped, so he cried once more, as loudly as he could.“Help!”“Hello?” a faint but lovely voice beckoned from the darkness.“Is someone there?”“Yes.Please help me!” Rowan rasped.Hope welled up painfully in his heart.“Please help!”“Are you trapped?” she called.“Yes.Please …”“I’m coming,” she called back.He had been tricked before by his own hallucinations and wondered if this was another cruel joke of death.“Keep talking,” the voice called.“Where are you?”“I’m in a cave at the back of the—stop!” Rowan’s stomach rose up to his throat as he realized the danger.Too late.He heard the woman scream.“What has happened?” he called out, but he knew the answer.“Get out of the cave while you can still move!”Over the next few moments, Rowan pulled against his chains in anguish as he tried to interpret the muffled sounds from the outer cavern.“Leave the cave!” he called back in desperation.The woman cried out something, but it was unintelligible, and Rowan closed his eyes in despair.He could not bear to think of the horrid death the woman was about to endure.“My Prince,” he whispered, “where are You?”Hours passed as he lay there, trying not to think of what was happening in the cavern outside.Then a faint glow of yellow light spilled into his cave.“Are you still there?” the woman’s voice called out.Rowan couldn’t believe his ears.“Yes … yes.I’m here.In this cave.”Rowan’s cave soon filled with light, and he blinked as he set his eyes upon the slender form of a young woman carrying a lantern and a shovel.He struggled to gain his feet but could barely manage to sit up.“You … you survived!” he said.“Obviously,” the woman said.“Are you real?” His voice quavered.“Or am I dreaming again?”Shadows danced off the woman’s face as she scrutinized him.“I am real,” she said carefully, “and you are not dreaming.”“They said nothing could stop the caterpillars.How did you …?”“I fell onto the white path that led here.They wouldn’t come onto the path.I think it is covered in salt.Perhaps that’s what kept them away.”The woman took a deep breath as if to shake the jitters from her.“It was quite ghastly, lying there for hours, hoping those nasty things wouldn’t eat me.” She made a disgusted face, then narrowed her eyes.“You said you were trapped, not chained,” she said.“Why are you here?”“Marauders killed my men and stole everything.They are … were holding me for ransom.”The woman raised a skeptical eyebrow.“I swear it is true,” Rowan said in desperation.After a moment of silent contemplation, she seemed to grow anxious.She looked behind her as if she might leave.Rowan held out his hand.“Please … please don’t leave me,” he pleaded.“They left me to die days ago—at least I think it was days.Please help me.”The woman settled a bit, looked at Rowan once more, and took a deep breath as if to accept the duty.“My name’s Mariah.”“I am Rowan … of Laos.”His name clearly meant nothing to her.She set the lantern down and cautiously approached Rowan, the shovel before her.When she saw his emaciated state, she relaxed her guard.Rowan stared at her as if she might disappear at any moment.When she hesitated, he broke his gaze and lifted the chains.“They are strong—too strong to break, I fear.”“Perhaps we can dig the stake out,” she offered.“I have tried to do that with my hands, but the ground was too hard.It is worth a try with the shovel.”Mariah set to the task.Rowan could offer no help.It wasn’t long before it became obvious that her digging was not working.Mariah swiped beads of sweat from her brow.“It’s impossible,” she said.She sat down, deep in thought.“At the entrance to the cavern there were things strewn about.Perhaps the keys to your locks are there.”She set the shovel against the wall and lifted the lantern.Rowan felt sick at the thought of being left in the dark again.She looked at him and seemed to read his thoughts.“I promise I will come back.”“Thank you, Mariah,” he said quietly.Mariah gave a quick grin and nodded, then disappeared into the outer cavern.Rowan waited anxiously until she appeared again.“Were there keys?” he asked.“No, but I found this.” She held up a long stake, similar to the one Rowan was chained to.“How will that help us?”Mariah inserted the tip of the free stake into the chain link closest to the ground and began to twist the link until it was bound upon itself.Then she used the stake as a lever, putting all of her weight on the other end.After two tries, the link snapped, and Rowan was free.He stayed sitting on the ground for a moment, wondering if he remembered how to stand erect.He slowly stood up, but his knees buckled.Mariah reached out to steady him.“Are you all right?” she asked.Rowan closed his eyes and nodded.“But I’m not sure that I can walk.”“Here, I’ll help you.” She positioned herself under his arm so that he could lean against her.Then, very slowly, they moved along the white salt path that led to the front of the cavern.Hundreds of moths circled above but did not come close enough to threaten them.They finally reached the cavern entrance.Rowan fell to his knees and turned his face upward to the blue sky.He blinked, nearly blinded by the late afternoon sun, but still rejoicing in his freedom.Mariah left him there and retrieved her horse.She rummaged in the saddlebags and handed him her water bottle and part of a biscuit.He started to guzzle the water, but Mariah pulled it away from him.“You must go slowly, or you will be sick.” She seemed fairly appalled at the sight of him now that she could fully see his feeble, filthy state.Rowan nodded and took small nibbles of the biscuit, followed by shallow drinks of water.“You ride Sierra,” Mariah said.“Once we get to my farm, we’ll get the rest of your chains off.”Mounting the horse was problematic because of Rowan’s physical state and his leg chains, but with Mariah’s help he finally managed to perch sidesaddle and lean heavily on the animal’s neck.Exhaustion was quickly overtaking him, and he wondered if he would even be able to ride very far [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]