This was inspired from a story by Major Lynette. I don't own Inkheart, and I don't own any of the characters. It takes place hours before Meggie reads out the Shadow.
Lynette quietly trotted through the dense forest. It was the only way to get to Capricorn's village without being seen by the guards. As soon as she had heard about Basta's execution, she had to come.
The tall fence bordering Capricorn's village was easy enough for Lynette to climb, but she knew once she had got into the village, it would be much harder to get out.
Luckily, there were many tall shadows cast off of the buildings for her to hide in.
A stiff backed guard passed by, and fear grasped her heart as she held her breath until he passed.
It wasn't far until she reached the cage Basta was in. "Basta," she whispered, "Turn around."
He had been holding his hands in his heads, and bewildered, looked up. Turning around, his face lit up, then formed into a worried frown. "What are you doing here?" he whispered.
Lynette reached back into a bag she had and pulled out a ring of keys. "I stole these from Capricorn himself. One of these had to be for the door." She walked to the front and tried to fit them in.
"Please, hurry!" said Basta, his anxious voice rising.
The keys dwindled until there were only two possible ones left. Lynette stuck the key into the opening, but it wouldn't fit. One left.
"The last one," she said holding it up triumphantly. She stuck it into the slot, and it fit.
Before Lynette had a chance to turn it, the execution started. "Hide!" Basta screamed.
She took his hand in his hand, squeezed it, and said, "Keep faith alive," before turning back to the shadows of a tree.
The Shadow mercilessly slaughtered Capricorn and his men before turning to Basta. It sensed he was bad, but somewhere, it felt the strongest surge of faith, that somewhere it kept him alive.