Kethry was lead through the underground in a rush, Aethen practically dragging her behind him. She knew where they were going simply because she'd been there before, but she couldn't help the sinking feeling that she'd never be getting out alive. Aethen only reinforced this by berating her and stopping every hundred or so feet to hit her as hard as he absolutely could, which was pretty hard. By the time they'd stepped into the dungeon palace of Rix Maadi, Kethry could barely stand on her own. One of her eyes was nearly swollen shut, and she was fairly certain her nose was broken, as were a few ribs.

"You've been summoned by the Dark Lord, my dear. I hope you said your goodbyes – oh wait," he paused, a slasher grin spreading across his face. "You didn't. I was there. Too bad. Jace certainly seemed to be rather upset. Oh well!" he cheered, clapping his hands together. "Off with you," he commanded, thrusting her into the care of a Blood Witch.

"Eirza, take her to the Dark Lord. He ordered her alive, but he didn't specify as to what condition, so, you can interpret that as you wish," he instructed. He turned on the heel of his boot and vanished in a stench of sulfur and flame.

"So," the Witch said, regarding Kethry with distaste. She crouched down to where the woman had fallen, reaching down with a thin hand to tip Kethry's chin up. "Let me get a look at you..." she murmured, observing the damage that had been inflicted. "I'd say not to take this personally, but Aethen really has it in for you. He was the one whose idea it was to riot throughout the city and flush you out. I don't think he anticipated Beleren being with you. Must be why he took off so fast. I sincerely doubt he'll be anything but scarce for the next few years," she mused.

"Please," Kethry urged, her voice laboured by the pain in her side. Definitely a broken rib, possibly more. It was hard to tell. "Please, let me go. My father is -"

"Stop," the Witch commanded. With a wave of her hand, Kethry stopped, unwilling to invite more damage to her body. "I know who your father is. I also know that in favour of not exposing the House, he's washing his hands of this. As far as Szadek is concerned, you don't exist." She stood up, snapping at Kethry to stand as well.

"Sorry, sweetie," she said, though she didn't sound sorry at all. "You're on your own." She paused, tilting her head. "And I'm to bring you at once to the pit." With that, she tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder and took Kethry, albeit more gently then Aethen had, by the arm.

As they entered the great hall of the dungeon palace, it erupted into total madness. The followers of Rakdos had gathered en masse, and they all looked on as Kethry was lead in by the Witch Eirza. They didn't dare try to interfere with Eirza as she forced Kethry through the crowd, though that didn't do much to diminish their berserk chanting and screaming. Kethry jerked back suddenly as she was hit with something. She felt warm liquid running down her head and her face, and looked up into the ceiling of the hall, feeling her stomach drop.

Blood. The Gore-House Chain Walker had just coated Kethry with the blood from the dead sacrifice that he carried across the tight-rope chain.

"No!" Kethry cried, jerking back. The crowd formed a circle around her and Eirza, and the hall fell silent. "No, take me to Rakdos!" she screamed, feeling herself give in to the panic and fear inside of her. If she was to die, she would die by the hands of the Dark Lord, not to the rioters. If she fell from the chain, she'd go right into the crowd, and she was certain they'd rip her limb from limb... and that was if she was lucky.

"Sorry, darling, you know the ru-ules!" Eirza sang. She turned to a large goblin who twice dwarfed her tall frame in size, and pointed to Kethry. "Get her up on that rope. Let's give the Dark Lord a show before he's to have his prize," she commanded.

"NO!" Kethry screamed. She turned to run, reaching for the knife strapped to her thigh. Her fingers brushed air, and she swore as she realized that Aethen had stripped her weapons as soon as they'd gotten into the underground. She was caught almost instantly, maniacal laughter filling her ears as the goblin lifted her up above his head.

"If you fight me, you will walk that chain with a broken leg," the goblin threatened in his broken accent. "This is an honor, girl. You will do well to receive it." And with that, he threw her over his shoulder and began climbing the series of rickety steps and poorly-constructed scaffolding that lead to the chain.

He dropped Kethry down at the edge of the platform, nearly causing her to topple over. She stumbled, feet dancing along the precipice, saved only from her fall by his strong, grey arm thrusting out and snatching her by her hair to yank her back. He released her and took a step back, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.

"Walk." It was not a request, it was a command. When she didn't immediately move, he drew an axe from a sheath at his back and took a step forward. "Walk, human," he hissed, and he pointed at her with the axe. "Or I will remove one of your feet."

Kethry turned, trembling, and squeezed her eyes open and closed. It did nothing for the damage to her left eye, and her right was watering so badly she could barely focus. "I can't see," she pleaded.

"Not. My. Problem," the goblin responded. She felt the cold steel of the axe against her cheek, watching as the blade effortlessly sliced some of her hair off. It fell to the dirty platform, and she took a step towards the chain.

KETHRY!

The shout flooded her mind, causing her to teeter for a moment. She dropped to a knee, the sudden onslaught of a voice in her head causing her an intense wave of nausea. She wasn't used to mind speech, not of that magnitude. Jace? JACE? I'm on the scaffolding! Are you here? Can you see me? She looked over her shoulder at the goblin, who seemed satisfied that she was at least moving towards the chain, and he merely gazed on, impartial to the situation at hand.

I'm here. I see you. Don't look for me; I'm using the ring from Iosa to cloak myself until I can get to you. Jace was moving rapidly through the crowd until he reached the other side of the chain where Kethry would inevitably end up – if she could make it across, anyways. He looked up, restraining himself from a low whistle as he estimated the height. Several stories, at least, but it was no different than some of the stupid stunts he'd witnessed Kethry pull when he'd first met her.

You can do this, Kethry. I will be with you all the way. As soon as you get to the other side, I will be there, and I will get you out of here. Just listen to my voice, Kethravyn. I promise, you will not fall. I will not let you fall, he swore.

She stood back up, looking over her shoulder again to the goblin. "Okay," she whispered. "I'm going." At her word, he put his hands to his mouth and howled, the sound bouncing all around the structure and into the crowd below. A slow, steady chant rose from the rioters and Rix Maadi mages beneath as roustabouts swept through the crowds, dragging the dead bodies out from the thrum of the mass.

She took a deep, shaky breath, and stepped out onto the chain. Please, Jace, please don't let me fall, she begged. She had never let him in her head when she was under duress before, and she realized that he could poke around with ease.

Don't think like that, Kethry. I already know everything you weren't telling me. Iosa explained everything, and I'm not mad. I understand why you did what you did. Just concentrate on my voice, he instructed her.

She began to move.

I have someone with me you'll want to see, Jace said, switching gears. Inside his cloak hid the little wisp that Iosa had said was so fond of Kethry. When he'd left, it had followed him. He hadn't even noticed it right away, not until it stopped him from getting lost in the tunnels. He realized it was trying to lead him in the right direction, and started actually following it, allowing it to 'talk' to him with the small waves of emotion it could convey.

Who? She made it a few more feet, using the feel of him in her head to anchor her. It had never occurred to her how much she trusted him until that very moment. If he ever got her out of this, things between them would be forever changed, and it made her worry that he would move on. She knew he still missed Liliana because he was honest with her, and she was aware that he did not have room in his heart for another woman. Upon that thought, she stumbled.

Don't even think that, Kethry, Jace said, unable to hide the tone to his voice. The downside of being in her head was that all of her thoughts came to him freely and unfiltered, and things that had gone on unaddressed were inevitably coming to the surface. I trust you with my life. Please know how much that means.

She took a deep breath, realizing she was about halfway across the chain, and steadied herself by holding her hands out slightly. She closed her eyes. Who's here with you?

Someone who misses you very much, he promised. You're halfway there, Kethry. Keep going. I'm not far.

The crowd below here was going absolutely wild, and she felt a bolt of power tip her hard to the right. She slipped off the chain, barely catching herself with a hand before she fell the entire height of the room down to the ravenous group below. "JACE!" she screamed aloud alongside the plea in her head. She was in absolute terror, swinging her legs around to try and give herself enough momentum to get back up onto the chain. Unfortunately for her, someone besides Jace heard her plea.

Kethry! Listen to me! He couldn't suspend the emotion from his voice, and he was ashamed that the fear was translating through, but his own ego wasn't the point at the moment. Remember when we first met? You were on the tallest spire in Ravnica and you were running from the Wojeks. They were sending winged infantry after you and you darted across the ropes for the solstice festivals to me so I could bounce us off the Plane. You were so surefooted and determined that you absolutely could get to me before they got to you that you didn't even stop shouting insults at them.

She managed to pull herself back up onto the chain and she crept into a standing position as slowly as she possibly could, arms out again. Somewhere in the crowd, Eizra swore to herself that her attempt to knock her off the chain had failed. She wouldn't risk interference again, or the Dark Lord would be displeased that his prize had been killed.

I can't do this, she whispered. She remained stagnant on the chain, only fifteen or twenty feet from the other platform.

Yes, you can, Kethry. Look, he commanded her. When he felt her trying to push him out of her head, he gritted his teeth and forced himself back in, this time painfully. I'm truly sorry for this, but you need to stop being so stubborn for once in your life and listen to me. Look, Kethry.

She flinched from the sudden pain of the invasion in her head. He meant business, so she looked. Before her, the surroundings warped and bent, the scene melting from the terrifying vision of the Rix Maadi to the rooftops from where she'd run from the Wojeks. She could actually feel the warm sunlight and the soft breeze of spring through her hair as she stood, juxtaposed between the onslaught of angelic guards and Jace's outstretched hand.

To me, Kethry. Come to me, he said softly.

She nodded, took a deep breath, and ran the rest of the chain. The crowd fell totally silent for about a half a second until her toes touched the second platform and then broke out into radical cheering. Bright flashes of flames shot up from the costumed denizens, celebrating wildly as someone completed the Gore-House Chain Walk.

Jace?

She was met with silence. She turned around in a circle, scanning the crowd frantically as she searched for him. He'd said he was cloaked, so she realized it was futile, but she couldn't even feel him in her head, and the absence of his presence terrified her. "Jace?" she sobbed, both aloud and in her head. There was nothing. Nothing except a firm grip on her arm as a winged denizen of the Dark Lord jerked her away from the ledge.

"He will see you now," the imp hissed. He raised his clawed hand to her and placed it on her forehead, preparing to deliver her to unconsciousness.

"JACE!" she screamed, blood and tears running down her face.

Everything went black.