I sort of rearranged my fanfic a couple of days ago. I combined chapters 2 and 3 because 2 was so short. And I fixed a couple of spelling errors, ect. Sorry it took a little longer to update than I intended it to take! I have no idea when I'll update next, but you can for sure count on a new chapter over Christmas vacation. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Disclaimer: None of Narnia is mine.

THE BLACK FIRE

Chapter 7

Gone

"Mallory?" Wade yelled again, only this time a little quieter and in a shakier voice. He stumbled blindly into the room. It was pitch black. The lantern was out.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed as he stubbed hit toe on something. My flashlight! Of course! The teenager thought. He quickly turned it on and shown it about. His eyes darted around and saw no sign of Mallory. He walked over to the dresser. The medallion was gone. Then something caught Wade's attention from the corner of his eye. The curtains, they were fluttering in a breeze--from outside. He stumbled over to the window. It was open, revealing a colorful Narnian sky with the setting sun slowly moving to the horizon. A perfect night, for…a kidnapping? But who…

"Impossible," Wade muttered. I've got to find Matt. He made a 180 degree turn and sprinted out the doorway, down the hall, his feet pounding on the marble. He had just hurriedly rounded a corner when crashed head-on into Matt.

"Whoa there, Wade. What's the hu--"

"Mallory!" he choked. "She's…she's, gone!"

"What do you mean gone?" He could see the urgency in Wade's eyes.

"Didn't you hear that scream?" Wade was just beginning to regain his breath.

"I was in my office," the king replied.

"Didn't anyone else hear it then?"

"Nearly everyone is in the dining hall…" Wade was getting frustrated and heaved a great sigh.

"Follow me," he said, and then shot off back down the hall with Matt trailing behind.

They both reached Mallory's room in seconds time and stopped in the doorway, both trying to catch their breaths.

"We'd just met in the hallway when Mallory went back into her room to get the medallion you gave her," Wade said between deep, forced breaths. "Then she screamed, I went in, the lantern was out, the medallion was gone, and the window was open."

"Well, what happened to her?" Matt was now growing deeply concerned.

"I don't know, but..." Wade took a final deep and shaky breath, trying to collect his thoughts before he spoke again. "I think she was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? By whom?"

"Well, Broady."

"Broady? Broady! How do you figure?" By now Wade really wished Mallory would have told the king what had happened between Broady and her. Then a horrid thought crossed his mind: since Mallory hadn't mentioned what happened, should he have told Matt? Was all of this his fault? The teen shuddered at the thought.

"Remember when you told us that your dad said the medallion was pirates' treasure?"

"Yes…"

"And you told us that you didn't know anything about Broady. Not where he lives, nor who he really is, right?"

"Right…" Wade was now ready to drop the bomb.

'This afternoon Broady bumped into Mallory and seemed extremely interested in the medallion. He even tried to steal it off her neck."

"So, you think Broady is a--pirate?" Matt shook his head and laughed.

"Yes, I do. You're just going to have to trust me on this one."

"But that still doesn't explain why you think Broady kidnapped Mallory."

"What's a pirate with out his treasure? He must have wanted, possibly needed, that medallion. So he kidnapped Mallory to get it."

"Wait, I thought you said Mallory went back into her room to get the medallion? Why couldn't Broady just have stolen it? He didn't have to kidnap Mallory in order to accomplish that." Wade scratched his head, then ran his fingers through his hair. Matt was right; he hadn't thought of that.

"Well, I still think this was Broady's doing," Wade confirmed. Something in the pit of his stomach told him he was right.

"Nooo, I did not say I didn't believe what you concluded about Broady. I was just questioning why he had to kidnap Mallory." There was a long pause between the two. The only noise was the sound of the curtains billowing in the wind. The American walked over to the window and quickly looked at the setting sun. Only a small sliver was still above the horizon. It was already getting dark and he knew they would have to act fast if they ever wanted to find Mallory and her captor, whether it was Broady or not. Suddenly Wade got an idea.

"Where exactly did you find this medallion?"

"Ah, on the beach about three miles west of the castle."

"That's as good of a lead as any, because if Mallory told Broady or whoever-it-is where the medallion was found, they might be going there. It's just a wild idea."

"But Mallory didn't know anything about where I found it, except that I found it on the beach."

"Oh, yeah…" Matt then grinned at Wade and snapped his fingers.

"But suppose 'pirate Broady' has an entire crew and ship. They could be floating just less than a mile off the coast in the sea near what used to be the most famous pirate ship spotting spot in Narnia."

"Let's go then!" Wade got a new burst of hope and was just turning to run out the door when Matt suddenly caught him by the arm.

"Wait, we have to be quiet and sneaky. I've already mentioned you being here has raised suspicious questions. If anyone saw us rushing through Cair Paravel, they'd know something was up. And even more, if they saw what you are wearing, they'd definitely know you're not from here." Wade looked down at what he was wearing: his hockey jersey, jeans, and his hiking boots. This would be perfectly normal in his world, but this certainly was not part of his world.

"Alright…"

"Follow me," the king whispered, then snuck out the door.

Ten minutes and several close encounters later, the two were finally outside. Matt said the quickest way to travel would be by horse, so they were headed to the stables. When they got inside the king went and took a beautiful stallion named Sampson from his stall and lead him over to where Wade was standing.

"You know how to?" Matt asked as he pointed to the saddles and reigns that were hanging on the wall. Wade nodded his head. "His are the second from the end," he said over his shoulder as he walked to Victory's stall.

"Wait, where's--oh no!"

"What?"

"Thunder's gone…" Matt sighed. "We don't have time to worry about that now though." He reached Victory's stall and lead him to where Wade was tacking up Sampson. In a few minutes both horses and riders were ready for their departure. They were just sneaking out the back door when Matt stopped.

"Weapons. You must have a weapon to defend yourself." He hurriedly walked over to a cabinet mounted on one of the walls. The king opened the doors, revealing five swords inside. All the swords were identical. A blood red and golden yellow design with Aslan imprinted on the handle, and a silver blade that shown with every bit of light that touched it. Matt grabbed only one that was to be for Wade because he already had one in his sheath resting at his hip. Then he grabbed a brown leather sheath that was hanging up on the other side of the cabinet, and walked back to Wade. Matt held the sheath out and the American took it and slipped it around his waist. Then the king carefully gave him the sword. Wade held the handle tight as he turned it so the flat of the blade was facing him. He could see his reflection, and looked into his own eyes. He could see his own fear that had moments ago risen in him, though he hoped it wasn't obvious to Matt. Wade quickly lowered the sword and shakily thrust it into its sheath.

"You ready?" Matt asked. Wade nodded. He saw the king motion for him and Sampson to exit the door first, so he obeyed. Matt walked Victory out the door next, then he went back and poked his head into the doorway and blew out the lantern, softly closing the door behind him.

A/N: So how was that? Do you dig it or diss it? Tell me! Give me some good criticism I can work with! So…who do YOU think kidnapped Mallory? Was it really Broady? Or someone…else? Will Matt and Wade be able to rescue her? Or will they be too late? Hehe…her fate rests in my hands…