Nephilym by Valerie Lillis

Author:Valerie Lillis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Valerie Lillis

Five

OATHS IN THE DARK

Carthys woke in darkness. The hard chill of stone pressed to his thighs; pain pounded his skull. The world took its time to tilt into focus. The bars of his cell let in little light from the flickering wall sconces. He pulled himself upright, the chain leading from his arm to the wall rattled a complaint. He looked at the cuff, dumbfounded.

The perfect form for a King to take. The Lich’s worms squirmed like a cold slime through his mind. If the monster meant to make Carthys into a new body, he wouldn’t accept the new job lying down. He gave the chain a firm tug, pleased to see dust fall from behind the wall plate. It hadn’t given way, but it was loose.

The clack of disturbed bones sounded from the bars. A skeleton picked clean of all but the smallest pieces of flesh stood guard. Its hollow eyes watched Carthys, skeletal fingers resting on the handle of a sturdy cudgel. He found the shine of the rusted iron keys that hung from his jailor’s belt far more interesting than the skeleton’s appearance.

Just as his jailor turned away, Carthys gave a hard jerk of the chain again. The guard clicked its jaws in warning, pulling the cudgel free. It was almost amusing, in a macabre sense. Carthys jerked again and out came the keys. A third and the door flew open.

The jailor clacked and rattled his bones harshly, storming in with cudgel raised. The glimmer of green light sparked in those hollow eyes as the weapon came down on Carthys. Pain shot through his forearm as he took the blow. The chain came free with a final jerk, the plate sailing into the side of the skeleton’s skull. The skull soared to the far corner of the cell. The body stepped back and raised the cudgel again. Carthys scrambled, barely dodging the next blow as it crashed into the ground behind him.

He reached for the skull; its snapping jaw barely missed his finger as he smashed it against the wall. The body stopped and shuddered. With a second blow, the skull shattered, and the body dropped. It fell to pieces beneath the weight of its armor. Carthys knelt beside the skeleton and relieved it of its keys. For good measure, he locked the door behind him on his way out.

He flexed his wrist, still sore from the shackle. The hall was unfamiliar, but standard for a jail. He needed to figure out where the jailor’s room was. His sword would be there, and then he could rescue Valiant. Surely the angel would have a plan, or they could think of one together.

The memory of Valiant hanging limp in the undead’s grasp made Carthys wince. How had he been taken? He had run, hadn’t he? Answers eluded him. Picking a direction, he walked down the dark hallway, his eyes darting between darkened cells. Empty room after empty room passed by, not even a skeleton left hanging on the wall.

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