I sit back and close my eyes, trying not to focus on the cramps in my stomach, or the nausea that follows them, while I try to come up with a way to get us out of this fucking mess without getting us killed.
Chapter Four
Fallon’s words have been playing over in my mind.
There’s a way out.
I just need to find it. If I can find it, I can get us out of here. The only issue with that is the shackles on my wrists and ankles, finding a way out isn’t as simple as it could be. My only advantage is my ankle shackles are looser, as if they were made for someone bigger than me. While I might lose some skin getting them off, it’s not going to be impossible.
The issue I have are the wrist ones.
Considering the amount of pain they’re causing already, and the fact that my healing is reduced because of the salted iron, I don’t really want to cause myself any more damage than I’m already taking, especially since I’ve not eaten or drank anything since I got here, and the pudding cup doesn’t really count, because well, pudding. I haven’t passed out from pain for a good while, and that’s a record I’d quite like to keep.
The door creaks open and the timid woman from before darts into the room and collects the plates and cups. She looks over her shoulder at the door nervously, as her gaze bounces around the room. She looks down at me and pulls a bottle of water from the deep pocket on her coat. She undoes it, takes a sip, then puts the lid back on and hands me the bottle.
Fates bless this woman, whoever she is.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and her eyes go wide before she scurries from the room. I don’t know who she is, or why she’s helping me, but I’m not going to turn my nose up at it. I sip the water to start with, just to make sure there really isn’t anything in it, even if she did drink some, and when nothing happens, I drink the rest. My stomach bloats a little with the water and lack of food, but it’s something, and I’m not going to forget it.
Even with so very little food, the water helps and I can focus a little easier. Fallon said there was a tunnel, but I have no idea how to get to it from here. I have no fucking clue where the kitchens are, or even, where we are. It’s useful, but it still has its own issues. There are now windows in here so I can see how high or low we are.
I try not to huff, but the frustration is real.
First things first.
Slipping these shackles.
I start with the ones at my feet. My boots had been removed when I woke up, but I spotted them by the door. Very civilized, all things considered. My leather pants have been pushed up my leg so the shackle sits on my skin, causing maximum pain.
I tug on the leather and my skin burns as it pushes against the poisoned metal, but I manage to pull the material through the shackle on one leg, down to my foot, giving my skin some blessed respite. It also means that pushing the shackle off is going to hurt, but I might not lose so much skin with the leather there. I do the same on the other leg and pause, just long enough that the skin can start to heal and what was a permanent sting can reduce a little before I move forward.
The click of heels on the stone floor outside the room makes me pause. Of course someone would come back here now I’ve got a plan. Why the fuck wouldn’t they? I check on Fallon but she’s just staring at the wall, staring and smiling, though I get the feeling she’s not really seeing anything when she’s like that. It’s creepy as fuck, and the second I work out how to release her from whatever hold they have on her, I will.
I pause, holding my breath so I can listen better and wait until all sounds of life disappear from near here. As I push at the shackles, it’s more uncomfortable than painful on my feet, but my hands sting and start to bleed from handling the cuffs. It takes longer than I thought it might to get the first one off, and I’m panting like crazy by the time I slip my foot free of it. I could almost cry with relief. I might only be a quarter of the way to freedom, but it’s a damn sight closer than I have been. I take a few deep breaths, waiting for my hands to heal so I can start again. I chastise myself for not having tried this sooner, but suck it up and work on freeing my second ankle. This one goes much smoother, my hands still sting plenty but I get the shackle off before they start to bleed.
Now for the harder part.
Getting my hands free.
I inspect the D loop in the wall that the chains are attached to, but there’s absolutely fuck all give from it, and digging it out of the stone will take longer than I want to spend on this. It’ll be too noisy and leave too much evidence of what I’m doing if someone interrupts us.
I run over the options in my head, and grimace when the realization hits me of what I have to do.
Motherfucker this is going to hurt. I’m not opposed to pain, but I’m also not a fan of it either. Usually it’s other people inflicting it, and I’m pretty sure I can take that easier than what I’m going to have to do.
I take a deep breath and steady my heart rate. I close my eyes and bite down on my thinned lips before I take a hold of my thumb and dislocate it.
Holy fucking shit that hurts. My eyes water as I slip the shackle from my hand. As soon as it’s free I pop my thumb back into place and try to swallow the pained cry that comes with it. It doesn’t take too long to heal and for the pain in my wrist to start to ebb so I can do the other hand.
The pop makes my eyes water again, but this one goes a little faster, and then I pop it back into place. I take a deep breath when it hits me.
I’m free.
Fallon curled up and went to sleep not long after I slipped the shackles, so I took that as a sign that it was time to see if I could find a way out of here. All I want to do is find it, then I can come back, get Fallon, and get us the fuck out of here. Even if I have to fly us home because she’s still in their hold, it’ll be so much better than the pile of shit we’re in at the minute.
I slip my boots on, trying to ignore the fact that my ankles are still a little sore. Holding my breath, I try to sense if there’s anyone near us, I hate how much my senses are dulled in this place, it’s like being human again - thankfully I was human not so long ago, so the limitations don’t strangle me as much as they could. I don’t hear anyone, so I inch the door open trying to stop the tell-tale creak as much as I can. Wincing as the squeak of hinges echoes down the hall I freeze, but when no one comes after thirty seconds, I poke my head out of the door and check to verify if the coast is clear.
Letting out the breath I’d held, I inch from the room. I have no idea where I’m going, but staying still isn’t going to get me anywhere, so I head right, and just hope that I’m going in the correct direction. Creeping down the hall as silently as I can, I spy a window in the distance. It’s a dead end, but I might be able to see something from the window at least. It might cost me time, but it might also be a more direct route out of this freaking fortress.
My footsteps are silent as I stalk down the hall as quickly as I can, but when I get to the window my heart sinks a little.
This definitely isn’t a more direct route.
There’s a wire running through the glass, and no way to open the window. The glass is thick. Thick enough that breaking it is going to be a lot of goddamn work. This whole feeling human thing is getting real old, real quick. The sight out of the glass gives me hope though. I can see that we’re up high, in the tower I saw when we approached this place. Of course we’re the captives in a fucking tower, could Nevin be any less imaginative? Though I guess the dungeons in the basement are too close to the tunnels for him to be happy. I snicker at how fucking cliché it is.