Edan spent the next few days in Kyden’s study, planning how they would proceed. Since Eva no longer had a need to spend all her time in the library, she spent her time with Lady Kilarra learning more about the country and hearing all the gossip.

One afternoon, Eva decided to go down around the city with Mila and Alik. Since Alik had different interests in the city than the women, he broke off to do his own thing. Eva allowed Mila to show her where to find the best food and her favorite shops. The shopkeepers were friendly as Eva browsed through the jewelry at one stand or the scents at another.

Mila was in a shop that Eva had little interest in when a little boy approached Eva, asking for some help. Expecting it to be quick, Eva followed the boy down an ally.

Mila had left Eva standing just outside while she purchased a small trinket. She walked back out, ready to show Eva the trinket but couldn’t find her anywhere. After searching frantically for several minutes, a little girl approached and tugged at her skirt.

“I seen,” the girl said solemnly and held out her hand. When Mila placed a coin in her hand, she quickly tucked it away and led Mila to the ally that Eva had been taken down. “Tak’n.” The little girl then ran off into the crowd.

Mila, knowing that she couldn’t do anything alone, ran back to the castle and demanded to see Lord Edan immediately – Lady Evailia’s life depended on it.

*~*~* Break

As Mila made a commotion in the streets running back to the castle, the Voice couldn’t help but think how perfect this plan was working out. The sell sword would kill Edan and bring Eva to them to take to the masters!

*~*~* Break

Her head pounded as she began to come to. ‘What happened?’ The last thing Eva could remember was following the little boy into the ally. Then a sharp pain in the back of her head. She tried to move and found that her ankles were bound together and her hands were bound behind her back. A thick piece of cloth was tied around her mouth, preventing her from screaming. Flashbacks of Ordu hit and she began struggling against the bonds as her heart pounded in her chest.

“Tahk!” A man ordered from somewhere behind where she lay on the floor. He then walked over and grabbed her by the hair to turn her face towards his. Once she stopped struggling, he let her go and walked away.

Doing her best to overcome her panic, Eva reached for her magic to undo the bonds so she could escape. But when she tried to find it, there was a barrier over the mouth of the well preventing her from being able to use it. She sat there trying to figure out what the barrier was from when it suddenly vanished. Unsure what had caused it in the first place and not willing to waste her chance, Eva quickly used her magic to untie the ropes around her wrists and ankles.

Watching to make sure the man’s back was still to her, Eva quickly got up as quietly as she could and tried to take him by surprise by throwing magic energy at him like she had done against Ordu, but much more controlled, and running towards the door. But when the magical attacks got within a few meters of him, they vanished as if they had never been. He turned and stepped in her path to the door and once she was within those same few meters, the barrier was again over her magic.

She tried to dodge around him, but he was quicker and grabbed her arm. “Ahhhh!” She screamed as the ring he wore burned her upon contact. Taken by surprise, she collapsed to the floor as he let go, clutching at her arm. Frowning, he looked at the ring on his hand and shrugged. As she tried to still make her way to the exit, he grabbed her again and threw her against the back wall. Hitting the wall hard, she crumpled in a heap, seemingly unconscious.

The person that had identified themselves as the Voice had told him that the ring would prevent the mages from using their magic. They hadn’t said anything about a limited distance, but he knew now. With the girl now lying unconscious next to the wall, it was time to prepare for her rescuer. The Voice said he should be easy enough to kill without his magic and then he was to take the girl to a meeting point outside the city walls – easy enough.

Eva lay still for several minutes until the man walked out of range again. Knowing that magical attacks wouldn’t be able to hit him directly, Eva looked around to see if she could throw any objects. She saw that she was in a warehouse of some sort with large creates and barrels piled everywhere. She lifted one of the crates just a few centimeters to see how hard it would be. She could feel the weight, but it wasn’t too much for her to throw with magic.

With as little movement as she could manage, Eva flung the crate at the man, followed by several others. He managed to dodge the first couple, but one eventually hit him in the back, knocking him on his face. When he went down, Eva kept dropping crates and barrels until there was no more movement. She held one last crate over where he lay as she made her way towards the exit. Once she was as close as she could be before having to enter the range of the ring, she set the crate down gently and bolted for the door.

She threw the door open, still running, and crashed right into Edan. The two tumbled to the ground as the guards around them jumped out of the way. Not aware who it was she had crashed into, Eva struggled to return to her feet and continue her escape. When she realized who it was though, she stopped her scrambling and threw her arms around his neck.

Edan was just as surprised to see Eva barreling out the door as she had been to see him. She quickly told him about the ring and showed the burn on her arm. The guards carefully entered the warehouse to find the man still unconscious, barely alive. They quickly removed the weapons he was carrying and searched for any hidden ones. During their search, they found the bag the ring had originally been kept in and slipped it off the man’s finger and into the bag.

Once it was in the bag, its effect on magic ceased. Edan took possession of it and walked with Eva back to the castle as the guards took the man into custody.

*~*~* Break

Watching Edan’s arrival and the immediate aftermath from a safe distance, the Voice cursed under their breath. “Curse that man! Curse the Masters! Curse the Gods! Curse everyone!” They knew it was risky, but were hoping Edan wouldn’t be able to take the sell sword without his magic to aid him. They had never expected Eva to manage to escape without help.

As the group started back towards the castle, the Voice blended into the crowds and made their way back before anyone would know they had been missing.

That night, after inquiring where the man was being kept, they slipped down into the dungeon to speak with him. When the man demanded to be gotten out of there, threatening to tell everyone about them, the Voice slid a small dagger through his neck, silencing him for good.

*~*~* Break

That evening, the court was buzzing with the news of what had happened that day. Everyone wanted a chance to talk to Eva and Edan and ask about the details. Knowing this, Edan decided that they would have their dinner in a private suite with only their friends to spare Eva the unwanted attention.

“So, will you tell us exactly how things happened?” Kilarra was instantly glued to Eva’s side.

“I’ll try,” Eva laughed. “So I was enjoying the market with Mila. She was looking at some trinkets or something while I chose to stay out of the shop.” Eva told the story about what had happened, showing everyone the bandage on her arm where she was burned. “When Edan tried to heal the burn, it just made it hurt worse. Same with the other healers.”

“Do you have any idea why he tried to kidnap you?” Kilarra had listened to the entire story, eyes wide in astonishment.

“No,” Edan answered. “But the man will be questioned tomorrow. Tonight, he should be thinking over his options as he sits in the dungeon.”

The following morning, Edan woke up early and headed down towards the dungeon. On his way there, a guard came running down the hall to him, “My Lord! The prisoner! He’s dead!” Edan ran the rest of the way to see the dead man for himself.

“Who was on duty last night?” Edan turned on the guards, furious. When two guards came forward, “Who came here last night? How did this happen?”

“Only the servant that brought his food, My Lord,” the guard pointed to the tray of untouched food in the corner.

Edan turned on his heel and made his way to the kitchens. “Who took the meal to the man in the dungeon last night?” He demanded of the head cook.

“I’m sorry, My Lord, but no one took anything down to the dungeons.” The man answered. “Since the healers had been with him, I figured he would be fine until this morning.”

“Question everyone and report to me at lunch. Someone went down there with food, with or without your permission.” Edan ordered. He then headed back to his suite. When he opened the door and stepped in, he found Eva sitting in one of the chairs looking out the window.

“What happened?” She asked when she saw anger etched across his face.

Edan quickly told her what had happened to the man that had attacked her. “How are you feeling this morning? How is your arm?”

After a pause, Eva answered. “I’m not going anywhere outside today,” she forced a small laugh. “But it wasn’t as bad as,” she stopped and looked away, unable to finish the thought. “And my arm looks and feels even worse than yesterday. It was the reason I couldn’t sleep any longer.”

Edan spent the rest of his morning in his study, trying to see into the past to see what had happened to the prisoner. He managed to see someone walking to his cell carrying the tray of food, but no matter how he tried to move his point of view, the figure was disguised by dark magic. He watched as the two exchanged their few words and the figure slipped a small knife into the man’s throat. Edan’s hope of tracing the man’s blood on the dagger evaporated quickly as the figure thoroughly cleaned the knife.

The report from the kitchen arrived shortly before noon with exactly what Edan had expected after seeing what happened for himself – no one from the kitchens had been to the dungeon.