Chapter Sixty-Seven

Leaving Brigid’s bloody corpse behind, Rasputin dragged Amy back to the Dungeon kicking and screaming all the way. Each time the girl threatened to use her magick to defend herself or to break away from him he shoved her into the nearest wall—not hard considering they were walking down a narrow corridor—smashing her skull against the hard stone. That didn’t stop her from shouting and struggling the whole while.

The others came to the doors of their cells upon her hearing her cries. Seeing their shadows dance on the walls in the flicker light of torches, they heard her scream that Brigid was dead, Rasputin killed her.  How many more members of their Family were they to lose to this monster?  First Danny and now Brigid? (They were unaware of Annie’s passing for the time being.)  “Let her go!” Aiden shouted out before Amy could be seen. “Pick on someone your own size!”

The iciness in Rasputin’s chuckle made all of their skin crawl with goose bumps. “Ah, but if only there were such an opponent available to me, Prince Aiden.” He crooned in his thick Russian accent.

Now they were at the entryway, Wolfgar left the door open at all times as he wanted to be able to hear what might be going on down here in the Dungeon. It didn’t seem that he was afraid it would encourage them to escape, perhaps it thought the open door silently taunted them.  If he did think so then he would be right.  Amy entered the Dungeon slightly ahead of Rasputin, his hand was plainly seen around her neck. It was covered with Ichor as Aiden’s eyes followed upward he noticed that nearly half of her face was missing. The left side of her skull had been caved in and below that the cheekbone was shattered and her nose was broken. Barely able to stand on her own two feet, Amy spit out two teeth. They landed on the dirt floor in little puffs of dust. “Don’t do it.” She muttered though the left side of her jaw didn’t want to move at her command.

“Shut up. He’s right, you know, you are an insolent little bitch.” Rasputin hissed as he squeezed her throat tighter, his other hand—as with Brigid—was firmly entrenched in Amy’s red rings of hair.  “Step away from the doors, all of you. I’ve come for Kiki.” The girl was in a cell alone but Rasputin had to pass too closely to the others in order to get to her. A little more pressure on Amy’s throat and it soon looked as though her eye would pop out of what remained of the socket and fly across the room. “I said back up.”  When none of them did as he commanded he leaned in close to Amy to whisper in her ear. “How many more of them are you going to get killed tonight?”

It was her fault that Brigid was dead. She pushed Wolfgar too far and was naive to believe that he would not shove back.  He had and Brigid suffered for it.  Amy got to live with that.  Maybe she wouldn’t have to live with it very long. Maybe she would be spared the pain and humiliation of having to look her father in the eye and tell him how she got his mortal daughter killed because she wouldn’t do as she was told.  “Fuck you.”

“You believe I am like Raven, don’t you?  Just some perversion of nature. An immortal man with no abilities.”  Rasputin drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly as he released his grip on Amy’s throat.  The breath Amy drew in was not as calming and relaxing as his had just been but rather it was raspy, harsh and painful. “I am not like her.”  Amy turned her eyes to meet his, she didn’t like looking into them it was like standing at the edge of the abyss and looking down into the fiery depths of Hell.  In those black gleaming pits, for just an instant, Amy swore she did see flames there.  Then the hand that had been closing off her air supply landed abruptly between her breasts.  The skin there grew hot and she tried to cry out but her wounded throat wouldn’t allow it.

“Stop it!” Colleen shouted. Being in the cell nearest them, she stretched her arms through the squared bars in a vain attempt to put an end to the torture which was just beginning. “Get away from her!”

Beneath Rasputin’s large and ancient hand smoke began to billow. The acrid scent of burning flesh rose quickly in the crisp air.  To their amazed eyes his fingertips appeared to burn holes right through Amy’s chest, they swore they saw them sinking slowly into her. “Get away from the bars.” He said quietly without so much as a flinch not even when Amy’s knees gave out and he held her full weight unexpectedly in the palm of one hand keeping her on her feet by her lovely red locks.

Up to the first knuckle now and sliding beyond it, Coley stopped reaching through the bars and took two steps back. “Leave her alone, please, I’ve moved away.”

“The rest of you.”

Surgical knives on fire. That’s what it felt like when Rasputin’s finger’s pierced her skin but now as they began to sink deeper below the surface they turned into a fiery vice grip as he reached through her rib cage searching for her heart with expert hands. Soon he would hold her life in his very hands, he could rip her heart straight out of its place. He could grab it and squash it like a rotten grape.  “Come on now, she doesn’t have much time left.”

Amy’s eyes rolled back in her head and a long spittle dripped from the corner of her mouth.  “All right,” Athena agreed. “Back up, go on.”

“Aggie,” Aiden protested.

“I don’t like it either,” Athena agreed, “it’s the only way. Besides, Kiki’s only a Mortal. She isn’t worth as much as we are.”

The force of the venom in his Sister’s words sent Aiden stumbling backward. “I don’t believe you said that.”

Athena ignored him. “Go on take her, leave my Sister be.”

“Wise, like your Great-Grandfather.”

“On one side,” Athena said without missing a beat. “On the other he’s just my Grandfather.”

“Olympians, always so colorful.” Rasputin said with a lilt.  The fire in his hands dissipated but the wound left behind did not.  Making sure they all stepped to the farthest corners of their cells, Rasputin dragged Amy’s body back to her cell where he tossed her inside, unconscious and alone.  Kiki wasn’t willing to go with him.  When he opened her cell door she ran to the other side and when he tried to catch her she played a fair game of Cat and Mouse with him.  Finally, the Mad Monk did catch the little Mortal girl still several years from the verge of womanhood.   Still unwilling to comply, Kiki bit him. Rasputin promptly bounced her head off of the iron bars. Reeling from the blow she crashed to the floor of the cell and felt a trickle of blood oozing down from her temple. She saw something as she laid there with stars in her eyes. “Let’s go, don’t give me any more trouble.” He barked as he hauled her to her feet to tuck her under one arm like a football. “Master’s got plans for you.”

Passing by the cells of the others with the worried looks on their faces she mumbled. “The foot, see the foot.”

“Where’s he taking her?” Aiden demanded. “Amy! Get up Amy!”

Amy wasn’t moving. She wasn’t evening moaning or groaning.  She was perfectly still and perfectly silent.  Aiden reached through the bars on his side but she was too far away. Athena did the same on hers but ended up with the same result.  Amy’s blouse was stained red with Ichor and her face was ghostly white. The pretty blouse wasn’t just stained it had holes burned into it, big thick fat finger holes. Below that Aiden and Athena could see the damage done.  “She can’t hear you, Adie.” Athena said softly. “By the Gods look what he did to her.”  Off to her right on the other side of her cell she heard a shuffling noise. “What are you doing?” She asked of Lilly who was on the floor of her own cell looking around.

“She said look at the foot.” Lilly replied without looking up.  The only feet in the cells—other than those belonging to the occupants—were on the beds.  “Turn them around, all of you, turn them around.”

“What are you talking about, Lil?” Coley asked.

“Look at the feet,” Lilly looked up at her mother as she pointed to the feet of the bed. Colleen and the others followed suit.  “See it?”

On each bed, the foot farthest from the odd mark on the floor that Aiden was sure was a switch plate was an odd foot.  It wasn’t completely flat like the others and it looked like, if you lined them up, the odd foot would fit into the plate.  Maybe then Aiden’s door would open.

“She’s right,” Aiden agreed. “Cole, keep a look out.”  When Colleen turned around to face the open doorway Aiden swung the small but heavy bed around 180 degrees until the odd foot was over the odd mark.  It fit together like two pieces of a jig-saw puzzle and two stones in the wall of his cell slid back to reveal a hidden passage.  Everyone was elated until they realized they couldn’t get Amy’s door open from this side. They didn’t know where the passage led or how far it went not even where it came out.

“We can’t just leave her here.” Lilly insisted.

“Maybe there’s a catch on the other side,” Aiden suggested. “I’ll go through mine and see if I can open hers. Yell if you see anyone coming.”  If there wasn’t a way to release the secret door on this side then they would have to re-enter the Dungeon to get her out through the cell door.  Aiden thought it was safe to say that they would all rather just duck out quietly this way and go for help.  He didn’t think that made him a coward just a realist.  The place he found himself in was cramped and dark. It was full of cob webs and smelled of old air.  Feeling along the grime covered stone walls his hand came upon something metal, reaching up he found more metal and then wood. A torch. Of course Zeus would have left himself a light source.  Only on the other side of the wall but if Zeus hadn’t left any matches or a Zippo or anything like that then it was probably safe to assume that magick was accessible once more.  Any good Olympian could produce enough fire to light a torch and Aiden was no different.  The light was dim at first and the smoke was thick, it made him cough as he waved it away from his face.  If he could use magick here then he could just walk through the wall and get Amy.

Perfect.

Aiden went back to the opening in his cell and paced off his steps until he believed he was behind Amy’s cell. “Here goes nothing.”  On one side of the stone wall one moment and the other the next the others gasped as they looked over at him.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy? You won’t get out again.” Athena shouted as Aiden emerged on the other side of the wall.

“Of course I will, let’s get going.” In Amy’s cell, Aiden swung the bed until the switch plate opened. “Feel along the wall you’ll probably find more torches looks like we’re going down but we’re getting the hell out of here.”  One after the other the switch plates went off and hidden panels slid open.  “Move.”  He advised the others firmly as he got down on his knees so that he could scoot his unconscious Sister along the floor. Looking down at Amy she was pale, motionless and didn’t show the slightest sign that she heard him or was aware of what was happening around her. “We’re getting outta here kiddo, it’s gonna be alright. Don’t worry.”  He didn’t know if that was true or not but he hoped it was.  Ducking through the hidden panel he reached in to slide Amy fully out and into his arms.  Looking down he saw that they’d all found a torch for themselves. The light was brighter now.  “Stairs.”

“Looks like,” Athena agreed. “A lot of them.”

“It’s cold,” Lilly said and rubbed her arms.

“Stay close,” Colleen advised and held the torch up to the wall with the opening. She felt along the top and down the side until her hand fell along the catch. Snapping it shut she turned to the others. “Close them up.”  From each she got a puzzled look but they did as they were told. “It  might not be much but it’s enough to make them wonder how we got out and how not to follow us.”

“Good thinking,” Athena complimented, “but if you don’t mind my saying so, why don’t we just travel the astral out of here? Obviously magick is working.” She gave Aiden a keen stare.

Was it? Aiden didn’t know. He had an inherent ability to walk through solid objects that was as natural to him as Nick’s strength was to Nick.  “Try it.” He said hesitantly.

The keen stare turn into an icy one before those raven eyes closed as Athena made the attempt to will herself out of the dusty stairwell.  It was no use. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t conjure up enough magick to do it.  “Looks like we’re walking.” She muttered.

“Damn,” Colleen said. “All right, like I said, stay close this place looks like it hasn’t been used in centuries.”  It was drafty trapped here between the narrow stone walls on the even narrower staircase. The torches sputtered and flickered casting strange shadows ahead and behind.  “You got her?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Aiden replied as he shifted Amy’s weight in his arms to a more comfortable position. “Let’s hurry, she doesn’t look so good.”

“Kiki?” Lilly asked in a small voice.

“We have to come back for her,” Athena replied in gentle but firm voice. “There’s only one way out and that’s to follow these stairs, after that, oh after that….” Her tone turned dark as it trailed off with thoughts of choking the life out of Wolfgar dancing in her mind.

The thought of leaving the smallest of them behind made all of them ill but Athena was right there was no other choice and so the troupe plodded onward through the dark.

End of Chapter Sixty-Seven
Golden Years
by Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling
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Chapter Sixty-Eight