The Initial Struggle
The deep female voice would have made Rayel jump if she had not been thoroughly restrained by Air. It came from somewhere behind her, dashing all beliefs that she was the only one in the room. That was only a bad thing if the speaker was on her captors' side.
"I'm over here."
Rayel turned slightly to her left, peering into the lumpy darkness where she could faintly make out a slightly hunched figure, though no features were discernable.
"Can you channel?" she asked immediately, knowing it was foolish to risk this but finding that her desire to escape was overwhelming her.
She heard a light sigh. "I can. Under ordinary circumstances."
The meaning of the words sunk in, as Rayel's heart sank in her chest. "Light. They have you shielded too?"
"Not them. Others. But this is where I'm kept."
"Who are you?"
"I asked first."
The voice reflected that the speaker was sure of herself. And determined. I know that things COULD get worse, but could they really be so bad that telling this person my name will create a landslide?
"I am Rayel."
"Ah. Yes. I know you. Rayel Markhin, am I correct?" There was an almost contemplative pause, and then the voice sounded again. "Well, well. I suppose there are worse people I could've been trapped in a room with."
"Well, thank you," Rayel responded to the shadows, not quite sure how to take that. "Now, who are you?"
"I am not an enemy, nor am I a friend. I'm just an innocent bystander, caught up in this silly mess."
"I do not buy that," Rayel protested wryly. "In this place innocent bystanders do not sound as sure of themselves as you do. And most of them cannot channel either."
"You have me there. Very well. I am not an innocent bystander. We have that established, I am glad to see. But what I should like to see far more is my own escape from this room. Got any ideas?"
"Yes, I do. Break through this Light-forsaken shield and then blast my way out of here swathed in a wreath of Fire."
She was startled to hear a laugh from the shadowed stranger. "Ah, the enthusiasm of youth."
"Youth? How old are you, if I might ask."
"A lot older than you. Let us leave it at that."
Rayel frowned. "And you know my age how?"
She almost imagined the stranger shrugging. "I have seen you around; I have heard a little about you. Satisfied?"
"I suppose that I am." Rayel felt grumpy, but she would not let this opportunity slip through her fingers. "But I am not satisfied to stay like this any longer. I am looking forward to getting my hands on Guydin Raventhal."
She was speaking like a drunkard, bragging too much, boasting dangerously. Soon enough she would start making promises she could never keep, she supposed. I must get out of here! she thought frantically, hating being separated from the Source with every minute that passed. But what about those wards? She decided she'd deal with those later. For now she had work to do.
She could see a little more clearly now, enough at least to find her way to a clear spot on the ground and make it her seat.
"What are you doing?" the stranger asked, shifting slightly in the same spot she had inhabited all this time.
"I am sitting down."
"Do not play games with me. I am not in the mood."
"My apologies," Rayel said, her heart not in it. "I am sitting down and I am 'securing my escape', at least from one of my prisons."
"The ward."
"What else?"
"Good luck."
"I'll need it. Why don't you stop talking and begin remedying your own predicament?"
Silence descended again, and lasted for a long moment before Rayel heard the stranger moving about. By then she was far too absorbed in working at the shield that trapped her, feeling out the chinks in the weave. She had found a few already, but she hadn't yet found a way of using them to her advantage. Only time would provide her with the solution. She wasn't sure how much she had.