Page 67 of Savage Crown
‘They will want him alive,’Val said.‘Harrow knows Godric’s value.’
I swallowed. Alive was good, but alive could still be broken.
The crypt spread out like a small maze. Alcoves held old stone coffers, lids shattered and shoved aside. Newer chains had been drilled into old pillars. In the far corner, where the ceiling dipped, a prison cell had been fashioned with iron bars and a single door. Two figures huddled outside it on low stools, playing at dice on an overturned crate.
I crouched behind an old chest and listened.
“Alpha’s dog is tough,” one was saying. “Harrow wants him presentable. No marks on the face.”
“Then maybe we break his legs,” the other said. “Legs don’t speak.”
They laughed softly.
I waited for the next rattle of dice. When it came, I rose, stepped into the lantern light, and lifted Valkaryn.
“Hi,” I said.
Both men lurched to their feet, hands flying to swords. I pointed the blade and let Val do the rest. Light pulsed, precise and quiet. They crumpled like sacks, not dead, only empty of consciousness. I caught the nearest by his collar and lowered him silently.
‘Keys,’Val reminded me.
I found a ring at one man’s belt and moved to the barred door. The lock was oddly cut, as if a smith had been ordered to forge something ornamental. It looked like the third key on the ring. I slipped it into the lock, and the door groaned. I stepped inside and instantly smelled blood.
“Godric,” I said.
He lay on his side, hands chained behind him, one leg twisted strangely. His hair was matted with sweat. Shackles dug into his wrists.
‘I can see Mind Render’s power on him, probing his mind for control. He’s fighting.’
‘Can you break it?’I asked.
‘Not without letting him know we are here.’
‘Do it.’I didn’t want to fight Godric if Mind Render turned him against me. I couldn’t hurt my friend. There was a flare of yellow light from the tip of Val’s sword.
‘He’s free.’
When I kneeled and pressed a hand to his cheek, his eyes snapped opened, sharp even through pain.
“Brynn,” he rasped. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Too late,” I said. “I brought Val.”
His gaze flicked to the sword at my hip. Relief softened his face, then he adjusted, going into soldier mode. “Harrow has doubled patrols looking for you. Mind Render is powerful. I fought but…”
“Val cut his power to you. He will know we are here,” I said.
I worked one of the keys from the ring into his shackles. The metal fought me, but eventually the cuff sprang loose. Blood-flow surged back into Godric’s fingers, and he hissed.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
His leg was the real problem. It was not broken, not fully, but the knee was so swollen that the skin shone. I guided him to lie flat on his back, resting his head on my rolled cloak. He watched me with the stoic look of someone masking pain.
‘I can knit what is torn,’Val said.‘But your strength will pay the price.’
‘I know,’I breathed. I was a wolfkin now. I could take it.
‘You got Godric? How is he?’Kaelric checked in.
