Chapter 34

Damien and Markos were thrown into a smaller ice cave by the guards and a portcullis was dropped shut, Markos instantly leapt to his feet and slammed into the metal obstruction, he then attempted to lift it but even as his large arms strained, the portcullis didn't budge

"Come help me" he demanded, casting a glance back at Damien who was still sat on the floor

Damien got to his feet still feeling woozy and came to stand beside Markos, his hands gripping the cold metal, he took a deep breath trying to get the room to stop spinning

"One, two, three"

On three both men used all their strength to try and lift, but still it did not move, they tried a few more times before Markos roared in anger and kicked the metal

Damien didn't know what to do, so he stepped back giving the Greek some room, he took to looking around the cave, the ice on the walls were perfectly smooth, he took a seat on the cold floor, he wanted to sleep, but he knew that was just the head injury.

"You okay?" Markos grunted, casting a glance back to Damien even though he was still trying to break his way through the blockage

"Yer, just need a sec" his fingers went to the back of his skull, there was drying blood coating his hair "What hit me?" he asked not remembering any weapon in the faun's hand, but it still felt like something harder than a fist

Markos was now trying to use his shoulder as a battering ram but it was no use "That little goat-man kicked you" he replied bashing the portcullis once again

"Great, glad I asked" Damien felt like he was going to have a headache for days

Damien laid on his back to get the cold of the ice pressed against the wound on the back of his head, he looked up to the ceiling, that's when his eyes landed on a large crack above him in the middle of the room, he looked at it's dimensions, maybe it was big enough for him, maybe it led somewhere, or maybe he was just suffering with a concussion.

After a couple of minutes of laying on the floor Damien's sight returned to normal and the room stopped tilting, he stood carefully taking a closer look at the gap in the ceiling, it looked a little lighter up there, the light could only come through a gap or a thinner layer of ice, either one seemed a better option than trying to break through metal.

"Hey Markos" he called but the big guy was too busy, trying to kick his way through the ice, cursing in hat Damien assumed was Greek

"Markos" he repeated a little louder

This time he turned to face Damien, anger clear on his face "What?" he asked, obviously trying not to take it out on Damien.

Damien pointed upwards, Markos's eyes followed and he came to stand under it, gauging it

"It's not very big" he said sourly

"Maybe for you" Damien gestured to his broad shoulders "Never know till we try, right?"

Markos thought for a moment longer before nodding "Worth a try" he replied linking his fingers together for Damien, the smaller guy took a deep breath and placed his foot in his hands

"One, Two, Three"

Damien was launched upwards, as he approached the crack he, kept his limbs by his side, once he was inside he jammed his elbows outwards, essentially wedging himself into the icy gap. He grunted in pain as his elbows cracked against the hard surface, his legs dangling freely, he groaned in pain

"You good?" Markos asked, hearing noises of discomfort

"Yer" Damien lied, he took a moment before attempting to swing his legs, he had almost made it when the momentum caused his elbows to slip on the smooth ice and he hurtled towards the ground, his back smashing against the ice, knocking the wind out of him

"Crap" he breathed, he took a couple of deep breaths before sitting up, holding his arm to his chest, he had definitely damaged something

"Well there goes that plan" Markos muttered his anger seeming to rise again "We need to get out of here"

Damien shook his head, getting to his feet "No… I can do it" he prepared himself again "C'mon" he said when Markos didn't move

The big guy sighed and returned to his position, again Damien launched himself up into the ceiling, his elbows taking a beating again. But he had learnt from his last mistake, he hoisted his feet up into the gap and got himself into a position where one leg was braced against one side while the other countered it on the other.

He took a moment, testing out his arms, he had definitely injured his left elbow but at this moment in time that was the least of his concerns, Reyna and the others were trapped somewhere in this ice palace and he needed to find them.

He began to push himself up, further into the tight space and it was getting smaller and smaller, Damien had to adjust his legs to try and sneak through the gap. He reached up with his arms, trying to find out exactly where this crack led to, his breath leaving a fog in the air.

"How's it going?" called Markos, he couldn't see Damien that well anymore, which he took as a sign of progress, his foot tapping nervously as he glanced out of the bars to check that no one was coming

"Yer… just a little snug" Damien called back as his face scraped against the ice, the cold surface tight around his chest, he continued to squeeze his body through, he could feel the space becoming more horizontal, which made it a little bit easier to manoeuvre, he didn't have to worry about falling now, but the restricted space was only getting narrower, it was a good thing he wasn't claustrophobic, although he was considering it now.

Damien's hands began to shake slightly with the cold, his core temperature was dropping with being stuck in an icy sandwich, he could see light through thinner ice ahead of him, he tried to push against it, but it didn't budge, he was beginning to feel numb, his brain starting to shut down, it was so cold.

He took a shaky breath before launching his fist into the ice, thankful that he couldn't feel his fingers, otherwise this would hurt, he thought to himself as he launched his fist into the ice again, there was a slight fracturing to the frozen water now, red smears across the white ice

"One more" Damien said aloud, forcing his brain to focus as he punched again… he was almost through, two deep breaths, he clenched his fist, ignoring the blood that was covering his knuckle

Crack,

Damien said a silent prayer that it was the ice making the noise and not the bones in his hand, but he was through, he waited for a moment listening for any sounds but he heard none, slowly he pulled himself out of the tunnel and into some other corridor of ice, he pushed himself to his feet, he couldn't rest here.

He looked down the long expanse of iced corridors, both looking identical "Crap" he muttered

He had no idea where he was in the ice palace, nor how to get back to the dungeon area to release Markos

"Left or right" he whispered to himself as he looked down either way

A noise from the right had him decided as he hurried left and away from the noise, he did not just almost get turned into an popsicle to be caught straight away, but most of all he could not let Reyna down, she was still here somewhere, he knew she could handle herself, as could the other girls, but still he couldn't just sit around and wait, while she was locked away.