9 - Hayley

                                    

                                          
The streets of Tempyria are filled with people today, and as I walk along, my cane in hand and Atlas, Dax, and Tiber all around me, I sense something. I look around, my nerves on edge. Aldrea is resting. But I can still sense her unease. 

"Do you... feel that?" I whisper.


Atlas looks at me, then up to the garlands hanging from wires above the four of us. Bright and shiny colors fill the streets, too, full of promise of fun and wonder. I look over at a rectangular hut on the edge of the road, and I stare at the woman who stands before the door to it. Her dress is threadbare and brown, her wiry gray hair falls in thin curls by her chest. 


Atlas nudges me, and I turn my head to look at her. We are walking by the strange, old woman and her shack, but something about her unsettled both me and Aldrea. 


"What's up?" asks Atlas, studying me closely. 


I chew my lip and then I glance back at the woman's shack, but she's gone. Frowning, I look away. Atlas shoves her hands in her pockets, looking around. She is scared, as am I. We walk through some more crowded streets, before a loud, bloodcurdling scream rips through the air. 


Flinching, I curl in on myself, wrapping my wings and arms around myself in defense. My cloak hides my wings, but I look up at the sky as the morning light becomes dark and cold. Tiber and Dax hurry over to us, Tiber takes my free hand, and Dax takes Atlas's.  She looks at him like she's ready to slap him, but he doesn't give her the chance, before he starts to run. 


I look at Tiber, but before I can ask what is happening, he hoists me up in his arms, and starts to run. 


Fear surges through my veins like icy sludge. We are being chased. Scores of people are racing after us now, their eyes glowing red. They've been corrupted by the demons that came into the city last night? That's gotta be it. 


Tiber carries me as we follow Dax's lead, and down a particular alleyway, we stop and hide behind some barrels. Dax is panting as he sets Atlas down, and Tiber holds me close still. He turns in a circle, slowly, as he searches the rooftops. 

"Atlas," Dax whispers.  "The castle is up ahead, but can we get there safely?"


She shrugs.  "I don't know, Dax.'"


Dax sighs.  "We need to get to the castle, otherwise we won't be able to save your brother. "



"We have to save him," she whispers. 


"But can we get there safely?" I ask. 


Tiber sighs and looks up at the slope that leads up to the castle, and he snaps his fingers. "Ah! Come on, follow me, I have an idea."


We turn around and head toward a narrow path that wends its way up the outer edge of the path that takes us straight to the castle. Tiber leads us around the side of the castle, and I see a small hatch in the wall against the castle, which is made of thick, white painted brick. 


Tiber pulls open the hatch and grins up at us. 

"How did you know that was there?" I ask. 

He shrugs.  "Used to study castles and their structures when I was bored, and most of them had a hidden escape hatch. There's no telling where this leads, but we have to get in, so let's go."


We four slip into the gap provided by the hatch, and we close it behind us. Tiber lights his torch once more, and we press on through the tunnels. 


"Ugh," I say as we pass a particularly nasty-looking pile of gross things that I'm not sure isn't a corpse that's rotting. 


"Yeah, uh, be careful where you step, or put your cane," says Tiber. 


The four of us reach a door at the end of the seemingly miles long tunnel. When Dax opens the door, though, we are not where we thought we'd be. We'd thought we'd be in the guard barracks or the kitchens. No, we are in neither. 


We are in the bedroom of one of the royal family members.