Chapter 93: The Escape
---Aaron---
"Hurry, I hear footsteps approaching!" I hissed as Katherine frowned in concentration and stuck a different key into the lock. "Kath!"
"This is the one!" Kath whispered excitedly as the large granite doors of Lord Victor's treasury swung open in front of us. We darted in and shut the doors softly behind us. I tried to calm my beating heart as we leaned against the door, straining to hear any sounds from outside. A lone torch flickered in front of us and cast a dim glow around the room. Katherine took it off its perch and held it high as she scanned the room for more torches to light.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I examined the treasury carefully. The room was about the size of an average bedroom. Shelves lined one wall while boxes and chests lined the other. Glittery things on the floor caught my eye; they were gold coins that had spilled from an overflowing chest of money and jewels. I thought of all the people that Lord Victor's army looted, and how hundreds of families lost everything in a matter of minutes. Seeing those coins made me sick—those were blood money. People died because of those coins.
Meanwhile, Katherine was making her way around the room, lighting all the torches and candles she could find. Sticking the torch back in its placeholder by the door, she finally looked over the room. Weapons of all sorts hung on racks and by their tassels on the left. Exquisite tapestries, precious silks, and other expensive fabric and clothes hung neatly on the right. Treasures of all sorts filled the room, from ancient scrolls to gold medallions.
"What did Lord Victor take from you?" Katherine asked.
"My sword, Augustus' cloak, and my bag filled with supplies," I replied. "Ashley said they were locked up, along with your sword, so I think we should start by looking through the chests."
"I'll do that. You search everything else." Katherine knelt by the nearest chest and tried to insert the remaining two keys into the lock.
I wandered around the room, looking under tapestries and peering into boxes. I found plenty of interesting objects, but none of our things. I began to make my way back to Katherine, wanting to help look for the right treasure chest, when my foot caught on the edge of a drooping tapestry and I tripped. My hands grabbed onto the nearest drapery for support, but I ended up pulling the entire thing from the rack and falling onto the floor with a crash.
"Oh my gosh, Aaron, are you alright?" Katherine hurried over, pulling the thick fabric off of me.
"I'm okay. Lord Victor should really clean up his treasury; it's much too crowded in here." I stood up and brushed myself off.
"Aaron, look! A secret door!" Katherine's gaze landed on a small safe set into the wall, which had been previously hidden heavy tapestry. "You're amazing!"
She inserted one of the keys into the lock. With a click, the door swung open. Katherine reached in and dragged out a plain, steel chest that was longer than an average treasure chest. Together, we took it out and set it on the floor carefully. Katherine inserted the last key into the heavy steel padlock. I held my breath in anticipation.
Click. The lock sprung open. Katherine looked at me, eyes wide with glee. She lifted the top, and there, lying on top, was Augustus's cloak. I grabbed it and tied it securely around my neck. I had missed the warmth it brought me when I was cooped up in the dark and cold prison cell.
My magical bag was also in the chest, all of its items untouched. At the bottom of the chest were three swords, one on top of another: Katherine's two swords and mine. We took everything out, happy to be reunited with our possessions.
We refilled the chest with three swords, a bag, and a fur cloak from Lord Victor's own treasury, then locked the chest and placed it back into the safe. Browsing the treasury again, we took a large, thick tapestry to use as a blanket on our journey to the Northern Mountains, a small satchel of gold coins, and a box of matches. Then, extinguishing all but one of the torches, we slipped back outside into the dangerous hallways.
"Do you remember the way out?" Katherine asked. "I was unconscious when they brought me in."
"Well…" To be honest, I didn't remember either, because I, too, was unconscious when they shoved me into the prison cell. "Not really, but I'm sure we can find our way out. We just have to go up."
Slowly and carefully, we darted around corners and past intersections. Sometimes there would be guards walking up and down the passageways, but our biggest problem was that we were getting lost in the corridors. We tried to follow guards that seemed to be heading outside, but they always just went to the bathroom or deeper into the mountain. Finally, one of the guards we were tailing led us past the throne room. I realized that a side path sloped upwards. Motioning for Katherine to follow me, we softly ran through the corridor, praying that we would find the exit at the end of the hall.
I had never been so happy to see a set of doors. Just as I was about to pull them open and run out, Katherine yanked me back into a side hallway. "Didn't you say there were guards posted outside? Do you want us to get caught?" she hissed. My mouth formed an O in realization.
"Oops, sorry, I forgot," I whispered sheepishly. "Do we wait till they change shifts?"
"Shh, I hear something." We pressed ourselves back against the rocky wall, trying to be invisible. A few minutes later, the stone doors opened with a creak and two guards came inside.
"It's so cold up here," one of them complained as he took off his helmet and ruffled his hair. "Why did Lord Victor have to choose a mountain as a stronghold?"
"I dunno; I'm not Lord Victor. Come on, let's get the next shift to stand guard outside. I'm tired." The other guard headed towards the throne room with the first guard following behind. We waited until their footsteps faded away, and then darted out and pulled the doors open to escape outside.
Ah, fresh air! I hadn't been outside for so long I'd practically forgotten the taste of fresh air and how colorful the world was. It was early morning, and the sun hadn't risen yet. However, there was no time to enjoy our freedom. Katherine and I quickly headed down the mountain, jumping at every little sound.
Finally, we reached the bottom of Devil's Peak. After making sure that we had no pursuers, Katherine and I approached the forest. We saw the blackened and charred trees up close for the first time. If they weren't uprooted by the explosion, they fell over in the blaze that followed. Judging from how the wreckage appeared the worst around where our camp was situated, I knew that the bomb had detonated right where our camp was.
"There's no way anyone survived," I murmured sadly. "And to think, I had told Indigo that I'd be back in twenty-four hours."
"Maybe they escaped? Perhaps Ashley knew about it and warned them somehow?" Katherine said softly, with the barest hint of hope.
I shook my head. "You saw the wand. Ashley wouldn't leave that behind. Besides, Lord Victor already said that he didn't trust Ashley anymore, so why would he tell her about his plan to kill us?"
Katherine sighed sadly, looking at the destroyed forest. "You guys gave Jason a proper send off. But Indigo, Lucian, Rachel, and Ashley don't even have bodies for us to put on a funeral pyre."
A lump formed in my throat again. We stood silently for a few minutes to pay our respects to our friends, our hearts heavy with grief. But we knew we couldn't afford to waste anymore time. With one last look at our friends' final resting place, we headed towards the Northern Mountains, determined to do all that we could to foil Lord Victor's plan.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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