Chapter 33
The cult members battled each other, whether they took Ther's side or Dekk's. It was hard to see much from the closet. They only got what was immediately outside the doorway, but that already hard a fair amount of fighting, and Pride could hear more in the room. The clattering of metal, some of which didn't sound like weapons so much as anything people could find to use, the shouting, and the sound of things thunking against the floor.
He watched with an indifferent expression. Lilly looked on with horror.
"That was a terrible thing to do," she said quietly.
"What did I do?" Pride asked. It was a rhetorical question. He knew full well what he did. "I didn't even tell Ther Dekk was a traitor. I just implied there was one. They did the rest on their own."
In the way people did. Truly amazing how quickly people turned on each other.
"You knew they were going to do that."
"You're welcome for the rescue."
"You didn't have to-Forget it," Lilly said, turning away with a wet glare. "If you're rescuing us, better undo these chains."
"I can't clap," he reminded her, bringing his arms as close together as he could to demonstrate.
"Then can't you just draw a circle the old-fashioned way?"
Pride stared at her for longer than he'd like. Because she was absolutely right. The first time he'd done alchemy he'd drawn a circle and it had worked well enough. Knowledge had just seemed to worm its way into his head, telling him he didn't need to draw. But conversely, he didn't need to clap.
"Do you have anything to do draw with?" he asked.
"Er. . ."
Pride sighed. "Of course not."
He looked around. Well, there was a lot of blood on the floor. He reached down, which fortunately was a bit easier than reaching across. He scrapped some blood up, made a symbol on the cuff, and pressed his fingers into it. There was a flash of light and that cuff fell off. He clapped his hands and freed his other wrist. Then he stood up, in the middle of the closet, out of range of Lilly and smiled.
"Well, it's been fun, but I see no reason to rescue you."
"Pride?"
"Goodbye."
He waved and headed for the exit, walking out into the next room.
"Pride? Pride you ass! Get back here! You can't leave me here! You-you don't get to just leave! You don't even know how to get out! And what are you going to tell the Doctor? Don't you dare leave!"
Her screams reeked of pathetic desperation. He could hear her crying now, and the rattle of the chains as she tried to jerk forward. He let her rant for a while, then walked back in, and started laughing.
"You should see your face," he said. "Now stop it. I was messing with you."
He released her from her cuffs, still amused.
"I could strangle you!" Lilly shouted.
She grabbed the front of his pajamas, actually bringing him off the ground a bit, but she'd have to work harder to phase him. She probably didn't know the proper way to strangle someone, and her hands were jerking, seemed like a result from being chained up so long. And, there was the most important issue.
"Really? You'd dare?"
Lilly's expression fell, her grip loosening. She wouldn't. Of course not.
"Come on," she said quietly. "Let's just find the Doctor."
The cultist's meeting room was emptier than before. The missing people were probably alive and had fled when the fight broke out, or left when it was done. Out of the ones still in the room a few were dead, both Ther and Dekk were, and some were alive but treating their wounds. They gave the two a wide birth. As they should frankly. The two headed for the entrance they'd been brought in through and opened the door. Lilly frowned, and Pride slumped. Outside was a long dark tunnel with no exit in sight.
"It didn't look like that before," Lilly said.
"Yes, I got that." He had come in this way too.
"We should ask one of them how to get through," Lilly said, waving her hand back at the bird people.
"Wait, what? They won't tell us. Have you been paying attention?"
Lilly shrugged as if this was a minor detail and not what her entire plan hinged on. "It's worth trying. Besides, do you have a better idea?"