Marienda jumped in surprise as the curtain covering her door opened, and stared in shock at the person who was forced into the room. She kept her distance from the door as her mind whirled at this additional element to her escape plan. When the curtain closed again, she leaned her back against the stone wall and waited for the other person to speak. 1
Yanuia stared at her as the anger built inside. Here was the woman responsible for the murder of Dorran; the person responsible for the emptiness that had taken over her heart and soul. Isiru may have done the deed, but this woman was the direct result of those actions.2
Marienda finally broke the silence. "Why are you here?" 3
"I came to kill the one responsible for Dorran’s murder." 4
The words came out cold and calculating, and Marienda immediately knew that she was the person Yanuia considered ‘responsible.’ Every instinct automatically clicked into overdrive as she forced her expression to remain calm, yet sympathetic. 5
"I am so sorry about Dorran," she told the other woman. "He was a wonderful person." She paused. "But I did not kill him." 6
"You might as well have," Yanuia replied, anger taking over any pain she might have been feeling. "You were the reason that they came. They killed Dorran, nearly killed Grydin, and took…you." 7
Refusing to be baited into the argument, Marienda bit the inside of her cheek to keep from asking what she meant by ‘nearly killed Grydin’. Grydin was fine, she told herself. She had felt his presence many times during her captivity…had felt both his calm and anxiety reaching out to her. 8
"Yanuia," she began calmly, yet cautiously. "You can blame me all you want, but deep inside you know it is not true. Please…I need you to help me get out of here, and help Grydin." She raised her hands slightly in desperation as Yanuia only stared. "I know he’s here," Marienda said, "I can feel him." She paused, then raised her voice. "Damn it, Yanuia, either kill me and get it over with, or help me!" 9
~~~~~~~~~~10
The tied and gagged figures of Lagen and Trishu looked at Grydin as the battle of wills heated up. Trishu gave a small shake of her head, while Lagen mumbled something of an agreement through his gag. Grydin looked away from them casually. "I see," he replied slowly as he leaned forward in the chair. "And if I refuse?" 11
Pontage raised an eyebrow at him. "You know I’ll kill them." He motioned to the people holding Lagen and Trishu. "Kill them." 12
Grydin stood quickly as his amulet glowed, and sent two shoves at the men behind his friends. They stumbled back, and one raised his hand as his amulet started to glow. 13
"Wait," Pontage said as he held up his hand. He smirked at Grydin. "I knew if I threatened enough people, I’d get you to do what I wanted." 14
Grydin silently cursed himself for begin so predictable. "You and me," he said. "And your word on your power that the others go free." 15
Pontage grimaced at the thought of having to promise on his power. It had been the one thing he had demanded of the others in his little clan. A ‘my word on my power’ was the ultimate honor, and never to be broken. "My word on my power," he sighed, "the others will go free, regardless of the outcome." 16
Grydin waited silently as Lagen and Trishu were removed from the room and tried not to let the nervousness show. He had no doubt that Pontage would not harm the others, but he also knew that all it took was an order from his old friend, and someone else would do the deed for him. 17
Pontage entwined his fingers together and put his arms out straight in front of him. He looked Grydin over, and had to grudgingly admit that he looked to be in fairly good shape. He frowned as Grydin walked out of the shadows, and he got a good look at his hair. Pontage had always insisted that his followers keep their hair extremely short, and took offence to the fact that the other man had grown his rather long since leaving. Pontage took this as a personal insult, and swore to himself to teach Grydin that he was not someone to be trifled with. 18
"Now," he said lazily, "let’s see how complacent you’ve gotten while living on the other side." 19
Grydin gave him a smile he knew to be egotistically superior. "I don’t need an amulet to defeat you." 20
Pontage’s eyebrow went up in surprise. "It would be my pleasure." He reached back, untied the cord around his neck and held it up. He smiled evilly when Grydin did the same. They both dropped them to the ground, and stared at each other. 21
Pontage walked slowly to his left, nodding to himself as Grydin matched his movement in the opposite direction. The two men warily eyed each other as they slowly paced. 22
~~~~~~~~~~ 23
Isiru cautiously peeked around a corner, then walked around it when she saw no site of the person she was pursuing. She had no way of knowing who it was, but the fleeting glance she had gotten, plus the knowledge of the other two captives, led her to believe that it was Karro. She snorted lightly at that, since she had always thought the other to be a little wimpy when it came to things like this. 24
Hearing a slight sound from just around another bend in the tunnel, she stopped walking and let her amulet glow white as the power flowed through her. "Now, now," she chided, "there’s no need for you to hide from us. All I want to do is reunite you with your friends." 25
Karro pushed herself slightly closer to the wall as she heard Isiru talk. She glanced to her left, cursing herself for the hundredth time that she had taken this deadened tunnel. The rock wall stared mockingly at her. She let her amulet glow white, and tried to fight the feelings of regret she was experiencing about the next few minutes; thoughts of the possibility of her either having to kill someone, or of her dying. 26
The thoughts of dying had appealed to her in the first few weeks following her mate’s death, but over the years, friends had eroded that feeling. In coming with Grydin, she had made the decision that she would do all she could to keep him from once again experiencing the pain of someone he loved. To do it once was enough, to have to live through it twice, was something no one should ever have to go through. 27
A calmness flowed over her, and she knew what she was about to do was the right thing. She pushed herself away form the wall and faced the opening. Tapping into all the life force energy she had, she took a deep breath and stepped out into the open. 28
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Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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Holds breath. I guess I will find out what happens in the next chapter after she stepped out into the open. I have a gut feeling that it wasn't a very wise choice but with her energy who knows maybe it'll work!!
>.>
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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Glad to have you back reading this!
There are only two chapters left 
...It's wonderful to finally finish the novel, and even better to have people that eagerly waited the chapters!
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Woohoo! **dances happily around** I finally got around to checking on this series, and it's done now. I am soooo happy right now. But I shall contain myself and read this slowly so I can remember what's going on.
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Thank you, Sir wattle
it's about tiem I started writing this again, and although it was short, it was at least, a start.
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Oh wow Ms Barbara has brought 'my' Marienda back to me - thank you ---- more please, more often
Edited on Mar 15, 3:24 p.m. because ''.
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