Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
There were six cells in this block, with three on either side of the aisle. Three of the doors stood wide open, seeming to indicate that only three had been occupied. At the end on the left, they found a woman’s dead body sprawled on her back. Blood pooled all around her while her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. She had been a beautiful, delicate creature, reminding Haru of a flower.
There was a residual power hanging in the surrounding air. An old magic that was similar to the power he felt in the Ordas.
“What about these two empty cells?” Adrian inquired, pointing to the two with open doors on the other side of the aisle. “Were those prisoners moved after she died?”
“No, sir. It looks like they were among those who escaped during the storm,” the guard replied.
Adrian lifted his gaze, and there was a wealth of meaning in those eyes. Most importantly, there was hope. Real and true hope for the first time since they’d started on this mission for Caelan. With all the magic in the air, Haru felt certain that Shey had been one of them and he’d escaped. Now, they needed to catch up with him.
“I want to see the video. Now,” Haru declared. He didn’t wait for Ruben and the guard. He grabbed Adrian’s hand and pulled him through the winding white corridors to the command center. A few more monitors were now on, and there were flickers of video, showing guards hurrying down hallways and prisoners escaping from their cages.
“Show me the video of the cellblock containing the dead woman,” Haru barked the second he entered the room.
People jumped into action. A clatter of fingers hitting keys reached a crescendo as they all rushed to do his bidding while Yasmine’s body cooled on the floor. No one had bothered to remove her. They hadn’t time to spare her corpse. They had to fix their computer problems or risk joining her.
After barely more than a minute, the main screen that dominated the south wall flickered on, and there was a long shot of the cellblock they’d just left. The cells at the far end of the aisle were the hardest to see, but for now, Haru’s attention was all on the short, slender man who was gripping the bars and shouting at the guard as he roughly carried in the woman.
“Is there sound? What’s he saying?” Adrian demanded.
“There’s no audio, I’m afraid. We tried several times to get it working in that cellblock, but all we ever got out of there was static. Even the video was hit or miss,” one technical worker answered.
As the guard was leaving, they spotted movement at the far cell, opposite the woman. Pale-blond hair and a hard, familiar face. It wasn’t easy to make out, but Haru would always be able to spot Shey. Adrian made a little sound, and his hand tightened on Haru’s. They’d found him. Undeniable proof for the first time. Not a dead body. Not a whisper or a rumor. Prince Shey of Caspagir. Alive.
The guard left the room, and a breath later, the small man slammed his hand against his cell door. Static and snow filled the screen, but only for a second. When the image returned, the man was racing out of his cell and across to the woman’s.
“We think that this is where the facility was hit with the first bolt of lightning. Some lights went out and that prisoner’s door malfunctioned.”
Haru bit his tongue. That wasn’t lightning. It was magic. The stranger had used magic in an act of desperation to get to the dying woman. He could see it in the fierce anger and pain etched into his face. This man had known the woman. They couldn’t hear it, but Haru knew that he’d pleaded for her life. For these bastards to save her.
For several minutes, nothing happened. They could see the other man’s back as he held her. At last, he placed her on the floor, climbed to his feet, and stepped into the aisle. He appeared to be arguing with Shey. As he was stepping away from Shey’s cell, the entire screen went white. The video ended.
“Lightning struck the building, and we lost almost all our surveillance cameras and the power. The backup generators kicked on a minute later,” the guard continued.
“Do you have anything else for those two men in that room?” Haru inquired, fighting hard to keep the excitement and fear out of his voice.
“Some snippets.”
The screen showed brief clips of the two men as they hurried through the hallways. Shey was always in the lead with the stranger following close behind. As expected, Shey deftly took down guard after guard. Sometimes with his bare hands and sometimes with a confiscated gun. But Haru’s gaze remained locked on the unknown prisoner. He projected an air of fear and made himself as small as possible as he followed Shey. And yet, Haru could pick out a slight movement of his hand just before Shey would land a perfect hit or kill a guard with a single bullet. Each time they paused, the man had only to glance at the surveillance camera, and the video would end a heartbeat later.