Prison of Darkness

Notes: Here we go, boys and girls, the chapter before the last. These last two chapters are my two favorites from the whole story, so I hope you have as much fun reading them as I had writing them.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or its characters; I only wish that I did. No profit is being made from this story.

XXX

Chapter 14

The narrow passageway grated on Kate's nerves. It had been grating on them every minute for the past hour. Nahla had been uncharacteristically quiet, and it was hard to tell what was going on in the younger woman's mind.

Jacek was also quiet, but that was nothing unusual. He even moved quietly and, unlike on the stairs, Kate could barely hear him. She kept checking over her shoulder to see if he was still there.

"Look," Nahla said quietly. "Ahead. I think that's the end."

She held her hand higher so that Kate and Jacek could see. The corridor ended up ahead with another set of ancient stone stairs.

Kate couldn't wait to get out of the tunnel. She could feel the dirt and grime on her face, and her skin crawled with the feeling of dozens of spiders dancing over it. She didn't know if this was real or imagined, but she didn't really want to. Some things were best not to know.

"At the top of the stairs, we should find a storage room. It was long abandoned the last time Lill mentioned it, but we should be careful in case it is in use again."

Kate nodded when Nahla looked back to see if she'd heard.

As her friend started upwards, Kate felt a flutter in her belly. She hated walking into the unknown—and this was about the most unknown situation she had ever been in.

This staircase, like the first, was short. It ended in a normal door, one that was vertical and not horizontal. Nahla made some gestures in front of it, but this time she didn't speak.

When she opened the door, it moved smoothly on its hinges, making no sound. Kate coughed as more dust rose around her and tried to cut off her breath.

On this side, the door was a very old painting. In it, a pretty blond haired woman held an equally blond haired boy on her lap. The woman looked a bit like Nahla.

After Jacek was through, they swung back the painting. It fit seamlessly into the wall, and it was impossible to tell there was a door there.

The storage room was fairly large and full of junk. Old tables, worn tapestries, a few voluminous gowns. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust. Kate studied it and decided that it hadn't seen use in awhile. If possible, it might be a good exit for their escape.

"Where do we go from here?" she asked Nahla as quietly as she could.

"We go left to go to the main part of the keep. To the right is just more unused rooms."

"How can we know this room again, in case we make our escape this way?"

"Lill said it was the fifth room on the right side of the corridor."

"Can you find the corridor again?"

"Hopefully we'll find some landmarks."

"I'll find it," Jacek said firmly.

Kate had already seen that he had an excellent sense of direction. He could probably find any place he'd been to once. Still, she was worried about finding this room if, in the end, Jacek tried to kill Castle and the two of them had to escape alone. She decided to pay special attention in case she had to find this place on her own.

When Kate opened the door into the corridor, there was no sound. This door, like the others, had been well maintained. Her guess was that it was the work of the illusive Lill.

The corridor was dark and cobwebby. Kate sighed softly to herself. She had seen enough cobwebs and spiders over the past hour to last her a lifetime. There were small slitted windows near the ceiling, several feet above Kate's head, so some light came in to show them the way. When Nahla entered the corridor, she let her light go out. When she did, she stumbled a little. Kate reached out and steadied her.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"I've never had to maintain one for so long," Nahla whispered back, "but I'm fine."

"You sure?"

She nodded.

The three of them headed to the left, walking as quietly as they could. The hallway was empty, except for the occasional tattered tapestry or faded painting. Kate wondered if any of the rest of them had secret passageways behind them.

"When we get back to the main part of the keep, where should we go?" Kate asked Nahla in hushed tones.

"I don't know. Aren't dungeons in lower levels?"

"Do you have any way to track him? Is there any kind of magic you can use?" That was one sentence Kate would never have imagined she'd be saying.

"It could take us hours to find him," Jacek mumbled beside her.

Nahla ignored him and said, "I don't think so. If there is, I don't know it. My mother might even be able to do something with you, since you are here through Richard Castle's magic. I wish I could. It would save us so much time."

"It's all right. We'll find him. Somehow."

Kate wasn't going to get this close and give up. Somewhere nearby, there was a living, breathing Castle, one who was not lying in a hospital bed in a never ending sleep.

When they got to the end of the corridor, Nahla lead them down another and then another. Kate had lost track of the twists and turns by the time she started seeing footprints in the dust.

"We're getting close to the used part of the prison," Nahla whispered unnecessarily.

What they were going to do from there, Kate had no idea.

XXX

Rick felt as if he were a child again. The two silent servants, who he had nicknamed Frick and Frack in his mind, brought him to a huge bathing chamber. The room was full of steam and the tub was a waist deep pool. There was also a flowery scent to the air. Rick wasn't sure if it came from the water or the soaps and shampoos laid out along the side of the bath.

The servants had stripped Rick, with no thoughts of modesty, and scrubbed him until his skin was red and sore. Afterwards, they ducked him under—with no warning—and cleaned his hair.

When they were satisfied he was completely clean, they led him out of the pool and ruthlessly toweled him dry. At least afterwards they allowed him the dignity of a robe.

Now, he was sitting in a chair while the two men hovered over him. One was sharpening the most evil looking straight razor Rick had ever seen. He might have made a run for it, but he knew there was a big, burly guard outside the door.

He just hoped Frick and Frack knew what they were doing. With the luck he'd been having lately, one of them would slit his throat.

XXX

It seemed as if they had been searching forever.

The hallway they had taken from the secret passage led to a place near the kitchens. They had barely avoided the kitchen staff and had taken a completely random corridor. They were silent now, afraid they would run into someone at any moment.

The walls were even more stark in this part of the prison than they were in the unused part. The cold gray stone was unbroken by any splashes of color whatsoever.

The whole place had a dark, heavy air to it, as if all the pain and fear people experienced there had soaked into the walls. Kate felt it as a dark and heavy weight on her spirit. She tried to ignore it as she opened a nearby door and peered inside. They had been listening at doors and opening them at random since arriving in the used part of the keep. So far, they had been lucky not to come face to face with a servant in one of the rooms. Kate was starting to feel frustrated and helpless. She was focusing on dampening this feeling when she bumped into Nahla, who had stopped without Kate's noticing.

"Omph."

Nahla turned to look at her, the younger woman's eyes wide.

"Kate," she whispered.

"What?"

"I thought of something."

"What kind of something?"

"I've figured out how to find your Richard Castle."

"Shut the front door." Kate couldn't help it, the words just slipped out.

"What?"

"Never mind. What is it? What have you thought of?"

"It's a spell for lost objects. You know: shoes, jewelry, your pack, things like that."

"It won't work," Jacek argued. "Richard Castle is not a house key."

"But shouldn't it work on the same idea? Kate's lost him and wants to find him."

"That's pretty slim," Kate told her, reluctantly agreeing with Jacek.

"I don't think so, especially since you are already connected to him."

"Has anyone ever used this for a person before?"

"I honestly don't know, but they might have. It's a pretty simple spell."

"Well, at this point, I'll try anything. What do I do?"

"First, you think of holding the object in your hand."

Kate raised an eyebrow at her.

"With Richard Castle, maybe you should think of a time when you touched him when he was awake and firmly in one world. Also, we have to describe him. Or, I do, anyway, since I'll be doing the spell. I'll have to be touching you, since the picture will be in your mind. With a key or a shoe, we describe it physically but, since he's a person, we should use words to describe who he really is."

Kate frowned and thought about this. "He's a writer. A devoted father. A son. He's my friend."

"What else, Kate?"

"Well...he's a good poker player. He has blue eyes. Very blue eyes. He's tall...strong...sweet...He once stole a police horse and rode it naked through the streets of New York."

"Why would he do such a thing?"

Kate shrugged. "For fun. That's just Castle. He's a child who will never grow up, but he's also the most stable person in his daughter's life. Do you think this will help at all?"

"Yes, I think so. Close your eyes, Kate."

Kate obeyed while Jacek stood guard.

"Think of it, Kate. Think of a time you were touching him and what he looked like and what he felt like."

Kate felt Nahla reach out and touch her hand as she searched for a memory. There was one sitting there, right on the surface, begging for her notice.

The night was dark, and she had found him sitting alone. There was something broken about him. She had never seen him like that before, and it scared her a little.

She knew why he hurt. She lived with that same pain herself every day. There was nothing you could do about it, nothing anybody could do to change it. It was something you had to endure as a police officer.

She hated seeing him broken.

The only thing she could think to do for him was to offer to share the pain with him. Kate had touched him then. First, his knee, then his hand. Their fingers had twined and they had sat there in silence. That simple connection had said all they needed to say.

Kate heard Nahla begin to speak, but she ignored her as she delved further into the memory.

His hand had been warm. Despite the chill in the air, his fingers had heated hers. His hands were gentle, the skin soft. The memory was so strong that Kate could almost feel his hand in hers again.

"Okay, it's done," Nahla said quietly. Kate was concentrating so hard that she almost didn't hear her. Nahla no longer touched her, but she could still feel Castle's hand.

She opened her eyes. "Did it work?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"What do you mean?"

"Can you feel him?"

She looked at Nahla blankly. "Feel him?"

"Yeah. The way it feels with objects is that you are inclined to go in a certain direction."

"But...but you did the spell."

"Yes, but you're the one who lost him. That's how it works."

For a second, Kate was horrified. "You placed the spell on me?"

"Actually, if it worked, I put the spell on him. It just works through you."

Kate stared at her.

"I didn't think you would mind. You've been living inside Richard Castle's magic for weeks."

"Can we get on with it?" Jacek asked, looking around nervously. "Have you forgotten where we are?"

Actually, she had. She pushed away her discomfort and asked softly, "What is this inclination supposed to feel like?"

"It's different for everybody," Nahla told her.

That did not help at all. Kate closed her eyes and searched inside of herself. She couldn't feel anything different.

With her eyes still closed, she walked down the hallway. Nothing happened, so she turned and walked the other way. A warm feeling suddenly surrounded her. It felt like a mother's hug or being wrapped in a warm blanket watching movies on a cold winter's day with the snow falling outside the window. It was hot chocolate and laughter. Comfort.

She stopped and asked, "How strong are these inclinations usually, and how long do they last?"

"The strength usually depends on how badly you want to find the object that's lost, and the feeling goes away as soon as you find it. Why?"

"I think the spell worked."

Nahla's face brightened. "It did?"

"Which way?" Jacek grunted.

"This way." Kate continued down the corridor, and the warm feeling from the spell made her smile despite the danger. After a minute, she said, "And down."

"Underground?"

"Either that or on the level we just came from."

They had recently come up from the kitchen floor. It looked as if they had made a mistake. Kate had no idea how she knew this. She just did.

"So, we need to look for a stairway," Jacek said.

Kate closed her eyes and tuned out the cousins. They stopped talking and followed her quietly. Nahla came up beside her, and Kate trusted her to warn her of any danger.

They stopped looking in random rooms because Kate knew they weren't close enough yet. Instead, they followed random corridors leading in the right direction, hoping to find a stairwell.

Kate's eyes flew open at a hiss from Jacek. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but held her tongue when he raised his hand sharply.

"There's someone coming," he breathed. If he wasn't so close, she never would have heard him.

Kate didn't hear anyone. She strained to listen, but there were no tell tale signs. Still, when Jacek started looking for a door to duck into, she followed suit.

It was a long corridor with windows on one side and blank stone on the other. There hadn't been a door for awhile.

Kate started to hear movement behind her and couldn't fault Jacek's instincts. The three of them hurried forward as voices got closer.

The line of windows ended, leading to a section that branched off in two directions. One was a small corridor that ended in a fat, round room. The other was a door filled hallway. They took the second and quietly opened the first door they came to.

It was a mistake.

The room was a sitting room of some kind, opulent like the corridors had not been. Everything was done in shades of white and scarlet. There was one bookcase near a large widow that had neat little brown leather bound books. A huge stone fireplace covered one wall, and there was a fire roaring inside of it.

On the small, elegant white couch in the middle of the room, two young servants were kissing. They both looked up as the door opened, and Kate saw the boy's mouth open in a little 'o'. The girl went completely white and opened her mouth to scream.

"Please don't do that," Nahla said, holding up her hands as if she thought she could physically hold the noise.

It didn't work. The scream burst forth, and Kate could hear the sound of running feet.

"Shut her up," Jacek ordered the terrified looking boy. When he didn't move, Jacek took out a knife and said, "Shut her up or I'll do it for you."

The boy's mouth clamped shut, and he reached out and cut off her scream with his hand.

"Smart boy."

That still didn't do anything about the people in the hallway. The teenagers didn't move, so Jacek turned his focus to the door. Two men burst in. One of them was large, bigger even than Jacek, and had a weapon in his hand. The other was smaller and older. What little hair he had fringed his bony head. The big man was dressed much like Jacek and Nahla, but the bald man was wearing expensive looking robes.

"What is going on h..." His very official sounding voice died off as he saw Kate, Jacek, and Nahla. At the sight of them, his face grew red.

"Hi," Nahla said perkily, though Kate had no idea what good that was supposed to do.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh..."

Without waiting for an answer, he turned to his companion. "Kill them."

The big man grinned and swung his weapon at Jacek. The other man had been ready and met steel with steel.

"Why is everybody so ready to take everyone else's head off in this place?" Kate asked Nahla.

The girl shrugged. "It's not like this at home."

Kate saw the small, older man head for the door. She rushed forward to stop him. It wasn't much of a struggle. He was thin and wiry, but he didn't have much strength. She grabbed him and wrestled him to the floor. All the while, the ring of steel echoed around her.

"Watch the kids," Kate told Nahla. "If they leave, they'll tell Rithisak we're here."

Nahla nodded and went over to where the silent teenagers were holding each other. Kate watched a second to make sure her friend wouldn't get ambushed by a double attack. The kids didn't move. Satisfied, she settled more firmly on the man's back and pulled his arms backwards. He was throwing out curses and threats, and Kate wished she had a gag. Roughly holding his wrists with one hand, she struggled to undo the sword belt at her waist.

While the man wiggled and squirmed, she managed to use her other hand to slide the sheath off the belt. She then wrapped the belt around and around her captive's hands and tied it. She felt more like a cowboy than a cop, but it did the job.

"You will be flayed alive..." the man was saying.

"Oh, please, shut up," she said, grabbing a small cushion nearby and shoving it into his mouth.

"Thank you," Nahla said. "That was getting annoying."

"You should find something to tie the servants up with too. We don't want anyone to find them until we're out of here."

"Good idea," Nahla agreed, eyeing the fancy silk curtains.

Kate turned her attention to Jacek and his huge opponent. The two of them were still fiercely trading blows. They were also noisy and wasting time. Plus, no one else was going to die if she could help it.

Her searching eyes clamped on a big elegant vase by the fireplace. She went over and retrieved it, deciding to try something she had seen in the movies. She had no idea if it would work in real life, but figured it couldn't hurt to try.

She grabbed the vase and came up behind the man Jacek was fighting. The two of them were moving quickly, so it took anticipation on her part. When the guy was moving in the right direction, she smashed the vase as hard as she could against his head. Her blow was so hard that the vase shattered. Most of the pieces that fell sprayed the large man or fell harmlessly to the floor, but Kate felt a sting as two shards nicked her face. That never happened in the movies.

Both Jacek and the man stopped fighting. Kate could see a comical look of surprise on Jacek's face. Before either of them could recover, Jacek's opponent suddenly dropped like a stone. A very large stone.

"I can't believe it worked," Kate said without thinking.

Jacek prepared to skewer his unconscious attacker, but Kate put a hand on his wrist. When he looked at her, she asked, "Hasn't this place seen enough death?"

He seemed to consider this, then gave a sharp nod and put his blade away.

Nahla had already finished tying up the servants with the curtains. Jacek took what was left and bound his opponent's hands and feet. He gagged him as well. When they were sure everyone was tightly tied and incapacitated, the three of them cautiously left the room.

Kate had a feeling they should go back and take the other corridor, so they backtracked the few feet to the split. When they started towards the large round room, Kate felt as if someone were giving her a warm, loving hug.

"It's definitely this way," she said quietly.

They entered the room slowly, though there were no sounds. The room was even larger than it had looked from down the hallway. It was a red and gold room with expensive rugs on the floors and expensive tapestries on the walls. Big windows let in lots of light, and chairs and couches ringed one wall. In one corner of the room, a set of stairs led both up and down. Kate headed for these without hesitation.

As she went down the stairs, the feeling of warmth and comfort increased. It was so strong that it almost obliterated all of her fear.

She led her companions unfailingly down three different hallways, all of them leading in the same general direction. Eventually, they came to a section where the ceilings were at least two stories high and the corridor was as wide as two average rooms put together. There were several doors on both sides of the corridor, and Kate knew that Castle was behind one of those doors. She didn't know how she knew; she just did.

"Here's here," she whispered. "Somewhere."

Even that little bit of noise echoed slightly, and she hoped no one would come out of any of the doors. There was nowhere to hide in a hallway that large.

They split up and started opening doors. There were pools and bathing chambers and dressing rooms and even a neglected play room. All of them were humongous...and empty.

They were running out of rooms, and Kate was about to despair, when their hallway took a sharp turn. As they went around it, they saw a man leaning against the wall. He had his arms folded over his massive chest and there was a bored look on his face.

A guard?

The three of them ducked back around the corner, and Kate leaned into Nahla.

"Can you use your sleep spell?" she breathed into the other woman's ear.

Nahla nodded and started mumbling to herself. When she was done, she quickly turned the corner, and an arc of lightning flew from her fingers. It hit the man and he grunted before sliding down the wall.

Kate rushed forward, leaving Nahla and Jacek behind. She ran towards the room the guard had been guarding, and the feeling of unconditional love got so strong it made her want to cry.

She flung open the door, not caring that there might be more guards.

This room was another bathing room, full of hot air and steam. As soon as Kate entered, a strange feeling went through her. A tinkle like broken glass sounded in her mind, and there was a lurch inside of her chest. It felt almost as if something were painlessly pulled out of her through her skin. Suddenly, the feeling of loving warmth left her.

"Kate?"

The voice almost stopped her heart.

Her eyes searched the steamy room and landed on three figures. Two of them were young, younger than Nahla, and obviously identical twins. The other face, her gaze drank in hungrily. They had shaved his beard and cut his hair. Besides being pasty and unusually thin, he looked a lot like his old self.

"Castle?"

He jumped out of his chair, and Kate saw he was clad in only a thin robe.

When he jumped up, his two keepers looked at each other. Kate could see the two of them were both scared and unarmed. She ignored them. Nahla and Jacek could deal with them.

Her legs were suddenly moving her forward again. She felt an irrational fear that Castle would disappear and she would have to find him all over again.

As she reached Castle, her arms, almost of their own accord, flew around him. She had only ever hugged him, really hugged him, once before. It had been in an exhausted, emotionally drained moment of shared triumph. This hug was different. She wanted to know that he was really there, that he was real.

The hug was tight but brief as she fought with emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. By the time she pulled away, they were back under control.

She searched his face, still not sure she could believe it was really him.

"You came!" he said. There was a hint of wonder in his voice.

"I said I would, didn't I?"

He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

Kate was vaguely aware of Nahla and Jacek entering the room and of Nahla using her sleep spell on the twins.

"Do you know where I am?" Castle asked.

"Would you believe me if I said you are in a parallel world that you can only reach when you are asleep?"

He thought about this. "Maybe."

"Have you ever heard of a Shadow Walker?"

"Do you know what a Shadow Walker is?" His face showed he was eager for the answer.

"Yes..."

"We've got to get out of here, Kate," Jacek said.

"...but there's no time to explain. If we don't get out of here, we'll probably both die."

"You know about the guy who wants to kill me?"

"Us, Castle. The guy who wants to kill us. Now, come on."

"Can I get some clothes?"

"You can get all you want once we get home."

"Home? You can get us home?"

"Actually, you...Never mind. Yes, I can get us home."

"Let's go," Jacek said.

"Who are you?"

Jacek glowered at him, and Kate instinctively stepped in front of Castle.

"I'm Nahla," Nahla said, "and this is my cousin, Jacek. We've come to find you and help you escape."

"Which we won't do if we don't get moving," Jacek pointed out.

They left the room with Nahla in the lead. Then came Kate with Castle, and Jacek was in the rear. They knew the general direction of the kitchen, and they knew if they got there, they could find the underground tunnel. And somewhere along that tunnel, Kate and Castle could go home for good.

They passed the sleeping guard, and Kate bent to make sure he was still asleep. Soft snores came from his body, and he showed no signs of stirring.

The three of them hurried through the corridors, back towards the kitchen and the secret passageway. Kate was impatient and it seemed to take forever. Now that she had Castle with her, she just wanted to get him to safety.

When they ran into Rithisak, she was almost as stunned as he was.