Yikes. o.o; I think the interval between Chapter 16 and Chapter 17 was so long that half the readers forgot about this fic. Ah well, to be expected, I suppose. ^^; Hey, I got a new word processor that might actually preserve some of the tags (like center, hopefully). Well, I should be updating at my old pace again, so keep checking back. Thanks for reading!
SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1***
Chapter 18
The Rescue
"Farore's mercy," Zelda whispered, shrinking against Link as Ronin conducted the wind with his feather, the song rising in volume and pitch as the wind grew in strength, buffering them so hard that it threatened to knock them off their feet.
The wind's pitch rose into a shriek, sand swirling through the air, cloud rapidly dimming the sky–then Ronin raised his arms and the windstorm became a whirling cyclone of sand, reaching to the heavens and barely skimming the ground. Sand was everywhere, harsh and dry in their throats, scoring bare arms and faces. The tornado shrieked in rage, bound in place for the moment, starving, ready to devour everything in its path.
Ronin smiled and pointed to the valley. The tornado leapt into the midst of the fortress, tearing the gate from its moorings and flinging it some distance away to land with a resounding crash in the sand.
"Good luck, friends," Ronin called over the howling of the wind, laughing. Something–it might have been a bird, Zelda thought, only its wings were batlike–dove from the sky and snatched him up into his talons. Instantly both entities were gone.
"Blue...?" Zelda said dazedly, gazing after the pair.
Link gripped her arm. "We have to go, Zelda. Now."
He was right. Zelda shook off her daze and looked at the valley below them. The tornado was tearing through the fortress, the Gerudo scattering in panic, and no one was guarding the gate. If they were going to have even a chance at success, now was the time to start.
Ignoring every instinct screaming at her to run from that tornado and never look back, Zelda slipped and slid down the long slope to the valley, Link a heartbeat behind her. They darted across the open sand to the wall–Zelda prayed fervently that no sentries saw them, but they made it safely to the cover of the wall near the wreck of the gate and pressed into the shadows. Zelda changed the string of her longbow, holding one end firmly beneath her instep and bending it with all of her weight. "What do you see?" she demanded breathlessly of Link, who peered carefully around the corner of the gate.
"We have a clear run from the gate to an entryway," Link whispered. "I have no idea what's inside."
"Too bad we don't have a map to point us to the dungeons," Zelda said grimly, drawing an arrow and setting it to nock. She reached to her belt where she kept her dagger and handed it to Link. "You need this more than I do."
Link gave it back to her, showing her his own dagger. "Hide it on you. Just in case."
Zelda stored it in a hidden sheath at the small of her back and nodded, adjusting her grip on the longbow and arrow. "Give the word."
Link was silent, watching the fortress, waiting for their chance. "Now," he whispered.
The two darted out across the open sand, neither of them daring to look and see whether the tornado was headed their way. Out of the corner of her eye Zelda saw a Gerudo warrior point to them–before she could cry the alarm, Zelda buried an arrow in her throat. They darted into the fortress and ran without hesitating for even a second through the stone corridors–Gerudo leapt to the attack, but Zelda fired arrow after arrow, riddling their attackers.
Perhaps the goddesses guided them, for both Link and Zelda seemed instinctively to know where they were going. They descended into the bowels of the fortress far below, where narrow, deserted corridors were lit precariously by flickering torches. At last they came upon a pair of guards playing dice on the floor before a heavy, bolted metal door.
The Gerudo leapt to their feet as Link and Zelda approached, brandishing their weapons. "You there!" one of the women snapped. "You have no authority to be here! Get out now, or–" The walls around them shook as a crash like thunder echoed above them–Zelda guessed that something had collapsed by Ronin's tornado. The women jumped. "What the hell?!"
Link leapt at one with a furious yell, driving his dagger into her heart. Zelda shot the other through the chest. Both crumpled to the flagstones.
Link knelt over one of the corpses and extracted a ring of keys from her belt. He straightened and pushed the key into the lock on the heavy door. The door swung open and he and Zelda entered.
"Miss Zelda!" It was Dagger, hands wrapped around the bars of the cell in which the Best Damn Thieves Around were packed, all of them pale and sweating and plainly afraid.
Instantly they were accosted by the thieves.
"Miss Zelda! Link!"
"Are you okay?"
"How did you get in?"
"We're so sorry! The Gerudo–"
"Lost track of you in the field–"
"We were afraid you died!"
"Slow down!" Zelda held up her hands and the thieves reluctantly fell silent. "I'm okay, don't worry about me. We're here to get you out. Link?"
"Hang on," Link muttered, flipping through the ring of keys. "Maybe this one–" He stuck a key into the lock of the cell door and turned it. The bars slid back, and the thieves were free.
Rune, Dagger, and Bolo slammed into Zelda; Dagger buried her face into Zelda's shoulder and burst into tears. Zelda hugged them and traded handclasps with those she could reach, relieved beyond all measure that they were all safe and well. Impa waited at the back of the crowd, meeting Zelda's eyes when she looked at her.
Thank you, Zelda tried to convey through the glance, and Impa nodded as if she understood.
Link's touch on her shoulder reminded Zelda that they were not out of danger yet. "We have to get out of here," she told the others firmly, gently drawing away from Dagger, Rune, and Bolo. "This way–" She turned toward the doorway to the corridor and gasped.
"Oh no," Impa murmured.
Azura and Arjuna blocked the doorway and escape. Packed behind them in the corridor were at least twenty Gerudo, more than enough to deal with their group of ten, eight of whom were unarmed. Link and Zelda stood side by side, pushing the thieves behind them, as they faced their opponents.
"Call off your wind trick," Azura ordered sharply.
When Zelda hesitated, a purple-clad Gerudo leapt forward lightning-fast, snatching Bolo in her grip and pressing the blade of a long scimitar to his neck. "Bolo!" Cleo cried.
"Let him go," Zelda said to Azura and Arjuna, pale and sweating for fear of Bolo's life.
"Get rid of the tornado," Azura snapped back, "or he dies."
"I don't know how," Zelda said quietly.
Azura nodded to the Gerudo who held Bolo hostage. "Kill him."
"Wait!" Impa snapped. She closed her eyes for a moment; her lips moved as if she spoke, but no words came out. Her scarlet eyes opened again and focused on the Gerudo without a trace of worry or fear. "It's gone. Listen."
They were all silent, listening for the wind's howling. All was quiet, and no alarms were ringing.
"There," said Impa after a few moment's silence. "Now let Bolo go."
Azura smiled. "I don't think so." She looked at Link and Zelda. "It's really up to them."
"What is?" Link asked quietly, his blue eyes as hard as diamonds.
"Their fate." Arjuna indicated the thieves with a sweep of her hand. "Come with us quietly, or they die. Your choice."
"Come where?" Zelda demanded.
Azura smiled grimly. "To see him."
"Don't do it," Impa said instantly. "Do not agree to these terms, no matter the cost. Ganondorf will murder you. You cannot be allowed to die."
"Don't do it, Miss Zelda," Bolo echoed softly. "I don't care if I die, as long as you're safe."
The same look of resolve and dedication was identical to the faces of all of the thieves. So it was on the faces of the Gerudo, as well–they fully intended to carry out their threat. Zelda exchanged a look with Link–a sad, desperate, frightened look–as they realized what they had to do.
"Let them go," Zelda told Azura and Arjuna quietly. "We'll come."
* * *
To be continued.