silence fell, and darkness followed.
The icy cold air bit at katsa's skin, her breaths short and hagged. She pressed her back against the cold stone wall, her hands poised beside her daggers, and inched slowly towards the heart of the dungen. Water leeked from the ceiling, dripping through the cracks in the walls, it smelled like sewerage which made katsa cringe as she dodged sqealing rats with large teeth.
katsa had a map in her head, and until now, she had trusted it. Walking through darkness and being followed by ginomic rats was not on her list of things to do on a friday night. she wiped the sweat and grim from her forehead with her sleeve. she ran her fingers across cold walls, and counted doorways as she past. Suddenly she paused, twitching her head to the side and lifting her ear, she heard a low rummble echo through the hollow tunnel, a smile forming on her lips.
kasta took off in a sprint, leaving no sound in her wake. It was as though she was running on air. one left turn, two right turns and another left. She paused and the end of a corridor noticing a door at the end that flicked orange. Edging forward, she began to hear hushed voices. Two, no three men. Not much of a challenge but katsa would take great pleasure in knocking them in the head with the hilt of her dagger. she crept toward the light and the sound of laughter. Pulling her hood down low, she swug around the corner, coming face to face with her first victom. She grabbed his arm, flinging him against the wall, then grabbing his hair and cracking his head on the floor. Not dead, but enough for him to be out for a couple hours. The second man charged her, his sword swinging down towards her head. Kasta lifted her dagger, catching his sword midstream. They were close and she saw his eyes widen at the site of her own, watching the fear etch through his skin.
"you!" He bellowed. Katsa kicked him in the abdomon, casuing the stunned man to double over, then again in the side of the head. easy prey, she thought.
Her sences were alert but her thoughts were rambled. There was a third man, but where did he go? How could he have slipped past her? It was impossible.
Katsa let out a yelp as a strong arm came around her chest and the other flicking her dagger out of her hand. In an instant she twisted around, grabbing his arm and forcing it in ways that werent natural. He dropped to the ground in pain. Katsa twisted, grabbing her dagger and in an instant she had held of his hair and the dagger pressed against his neck.
"Where is it?" she said in a deep hushed voice.
The room was growing hotter by the second, and the man wasnt more she studdied his face the more she noticed that he was more of a boy than a man. Fifteen at most. Without the mud brown hair plastered to his face and the blood running from a cut above his eyebrow, she thought he might have even been younger. He finally opened his eyes and she gasped. One red and one orange. He was graced, like her. But he wasnt a fighter, and with eyes burning like his, she thought she should fear his grace.
The boy started to laugh which made Katsa angry. Outraged, she knocked the hilt of her dagger on the side of his face, cracking his head to the side and causing a gash to open. Slowly, he turned his head toward her and smirked.
"You wont find what you looking for here my lady," he said in a hoarse voice. "In fact, its not even in this dungen or in the castle above us, you've wasted your time coming here."
Angered, she grabbed his neck and slammed him against the wall. "Well since you know so much much about what i am after, why dont you do me the honors of telling me where it is?"
Blood was running down her fingers from the cut on the bys neck from her dagger, but the boy just gave her a filthy smirk. Katsa was impatient now, she felt robbed of time and longed to leave, but she couldnt quite take her eyes off his.
"What is your grace?" she said sternly. In return the boy grabbed her arm, pulling her forward and whispered in her ear, "Fire."
All of a sudden fire shot from the torches, covering the ceiling in dancing ember. The flames licked at her skin, singeing her hair. Smoke crouded the room, burning Katsa's lungs every time she breathed. The room burned with anger. Through the light headedness, in the distance she heard a cackling laughter which put her on edge. Spinning, she tried to find the exit. But with the thick smoke cocooning her body, she found it hard to do anything. Katsa got down on her knees, ignoring the burning stone, creeping forward till her hand touched burning wall. Through her coughing and splattering, Katsa ran her fingers along the wall until finally she found the open door way. Her whole body ached, but she pushed herself up and forced herself to run.