Etienne's body began to sag under his grasp and he realized her head must have hit the bars hard enough to knock her a little senseless. He released her hair and grabbed the back of her leathers, trying to keep her body from sliding more toward the ground. He felt her throat constricting under his palm, her pulsing heartbeat coming hard at her jugular. Millie had jumped her to feet, letting out a horrified gasp and immediately powering up a destruction spell, but Anders ducked behind Etienne's body, keeping her between himself and the panicking Millie.
The cave echoed with shrill screeches as Millie began calling for help. Anders thought wildly about what to do next. His heart was in his throat, adrenaline soaring through his veins.
"Let me out," he called to Millie, though his words drowned in the echoes of her shrieks. "Just let us go and I won't hurt her! All we want is to be on our way."
Heavy footsteps crunched into the cave, and Anders left his crouch to peer over the girl's shoulder. The short, burly man was taking fast, aggressive strides directly toward them. The girl gasping under his hand began recovering enough to claw at the back of his hand, trying to wrench her sharp-nailed fingers underneath his palm. He searched deep within himself and found the tiniest film of mana. But what could he do with a supply so small? Before he could even complete the thought, a percussive pulse of magic burst into him and erased what little mana he was reaching for. But it let him know that he held the right girl. If he could do nothing else, he could keep this girl from going back to Selise and casting the mana drain on her too. Three hours is how long it had normally lasted, much more than Anders would have expected, but it had already been over two since her last application. If he had gotten that slight film of mana back by then, then it was only a matter of time for Selise. He just had to wait.
Or, he could just kill the girl, he realized. Once she was dead, Julian lost his little mage handler permanently.
The heavy shuffling of boots on the rocky floor signaled Kinley's arrival to Etienne's side. Solid, meaty hands joined Etienne's in an attempt to pry her free, but Anders bared down, digging his fingertips as deeply into her throat as he could, inciting rollicking spasms to course through the girl. The adrenaline empowered him, drowning out the ache in his forearms from the effort of resisting Kinley and Etienne's revolt. And then a searing pain sliced through his racing thoughts, caused apparently by the hacking blade of a knife along the outside of Anders' hand. Giving up the attempt to pull Anders' hand free, Kinley had apparently decided to cut away his strength. Anders cried out harshly at the attack, hearing the screech of pain in his own ears as though it belonged to someone else. This would have to be it, he realized. Either he take her life while he still had the chance, or she would be freed. He couldn't risk that. Her body jerked as her feet kicked outward, and he felt her jaw open as tried to gasp for breath, obscuring Kinley's access to Anders' flesh.
"Go get Julian!" the short man barked at Millie. After a pregnant pause, her footsteps scrambled toward the mouth of the cave.
Anders stood tall again, knowing the man was no mage and could not throw spells his way. He released Etienne's leathers and reached around her head, trying to connect his fist with Kinley, but between the blond head obstructing his view and Kinley's surprisingly quick reflexes his blows all fell fruitlessly through open air. He changed tactics, swatting at the knife that dug into his hand, finding the bones of a bulky wrist. Anders grabbed on and tried to wrench the wrist back, but Kinley held himself solidly into place. He squeezed harder, beginning to see the white sparks of scalding pain before his eyes as the blade sliced away tissues and hit upon bare nerves. From deep inside of him came the low, threatening vibrations of Justice. He tried to hold him off, at least until the girl was dealt with. He couldn't give up control while in the middle of a fight. He had no doubt that Kinley would jump on any second of hesitation. A transition to Justice now could ruin everything.
Anders struggled to keep his grip tight as her body thrashed, but he felt her fingers working their way under his palm. It seemed his grip was loosening as the blade sliced through tendon and tissue and he began to panic. If he failed now, he might not get another opportunity. Anders dropped Kinley's wrist and tried to work his second hand around to support his grip on her neck, but only encountered Etienne's claws, digging their own way into his flesh. Anders felt the strength in his grip begin to fade, and realized with fear how close his hand was to being rendered useless. But the girl still thrashed, clinging desperately to the last vestiges of life within her. Anders cringed as the blade scraped sickeningly between the long bones that connected to his fingers, and in a flash he knew what he needed to do.
Pulling his good hand free he jabbed stiff fingers downward, straight into the soft bulbs of Kinley's brown eyes. Kinley screeched in pain and the instant he began to respond to his own injury, Anders pulled his arm back with a jerk and pounded the pommel of the knife, pushing the blade between the bones of his hand and embedding it deep into the soft flesh of the neck beneath.
The girl choked and spasmed, warm blood spilling out of her, mingling with his own open wounds and flooding to the rocky ground.
As Kinley growled and staggered blindly, Anders grasped the handle of the dagger and pulled it free, releasing his hand from Etienne's spurting neck with a wet, sticky slurp.
The blond girl collapsed to the ground and Anders took a step back, holding the bloodied knife in his good hand. Justice's low buzz remained lying in wait but there was still no time. Julian would be coming any moment and he needed to figure out his next move, and fast. He looked down at the crimson drenched knife and realized it would soon be useless… as soon as Julian returned and put him back under his blood spell, he would have no control anyway.
Flying forward on impulse alone, Anders lunged his good arm back between the bars of the cell, stabbing through the air toward a still recovering Kinley. But the man's body remained just beyond reach of the blade. Kinley looked up briefly, blinking tears out of his good eye enough to take a few more steps back, staggering further out of range. Anders took a deep breath to steady himself, lined up the dagger and threw it with all the force he could muster. His own body fell forward with the effort, crashing hard into the bars of the cage. But he remained upright enough to see the moment the knife lodged itself into the man's chest. It didn't go deep, with half the blade still exposed. But it seemed to be enough. Kinley's backward steps got sloppy, his feet scraping heavily across the gravel. After retreating into the center of the cave, he crashed heavily to the ground with a groan.
The moment of silence that followed roared through Anders' ears. He pushed himself away from the metal bars and clutched at his throbbing hand, peering down to survey the damage. The flesh was a pulpy mess, with exposed nerves screaming, tubes of a yellowy white blinking out from between streams of flowing blood. He pulled his tunic out from under his leather coat and yanked free a strip of fabric, wrapping it tightly around his destroyed hand and quickly found himself doubled over, squeezing his wrist in an attempt to stifle the shoots of pain that traveled up to the base of his skull.
He clenched his teeth and stifled a scream, hoping desperately that he could make it the three hours until his mana returned. A dumbing fog of pain filled his mind and he tried to correct his thoughts. Yes he needed to last the three hours, but first he needed to manage not to be killed by Julian and the other two. Most especially, he hoped they would spare Selise of any retaliation. He cringed again, knowing that was practically an impossibility.
The crunching of footsteps appeared, growing louder until three more bodies entered the cave, their eyes wide with disbelief as they took in the bloody scene. Anders stood hunched at the center of his cell, cradling his bloody appendage and glaring out from under fallen strands of golden hair.
The ever-present glint in Julian's eye died and he walked toward Anders' cell with his face screwed into an expression of pure malice. Millie flew forward and collapsed onto the body of her sister, gathering the dead girl up into her arms, guttural sobs escaping her throat. Her red robe grew dark with the stains of blood.
"Kinley's still alive!" Qaris called out. Julian tilted his head with interest and turned toward the flattened body. The room began to pulse with the low throb of blood magic and a vigorous pulling motion of his dark skinned hands cut through the air to unleash a river of blood, streaming from Kinley's stocky frame and into the air, surrounding Julian in a crimson tornado. The red streaks dissipated before their eyes, the thrum in the air increasing in intensity as the blood converted to pure power.
Anders braced himself, and considered teasing Justice upward, allowing him to finish his attempt to take control. But a nagging voice in the back of his mind brought him to a halt. What was it Selise had said? Justice was the one card they had up their sleeve, and they needed to be free of their cage and together. It needed to be precisely the right moment. And for whatever moment this could be now, he was still locked in a cage. What could Justice accomplish from behind metal bars?
Anders watched as Julian's expression changed again, his lips curling darkly.
"Qaris, Millie. Let's go," he commanded, with the leisurely tone of a man completely confident that his word would be followed. And it was. Millie rose like a ghost, letting her sister's body fall out of her arms as she glared a hateful snarl at Anders. But she made no move for the staff on her back, and only turned to join Julian obediently. A sharp pulse of energy from her chilled him to the bone. Mana drain, again. Had he been mistaken before about Etienne casting the spell on him? No, he was sure he had felt it coming directly from the girl within his grasp.
There was only one explanation. They were both capable of it.
Anders had to fight the buckling of his knees, the desire to crumble to the ground. This didn't mean defeat, he told himself. He had still taken out two of their group.
He held himself in place, bracing for a last minute backlash, but Julian only continued his slow steps out of the cave. They didn't even seem interested in collecting the bodies.
Once again it was quiet. If Kinley had lived just moments ago, he did no longer.
Anders' chest heaved, bringing in deep gulps of tangy air and he tried to hold himself steady. But the world around him moved of its own accord, and he felt the rear wall of his cell crash into his back. He slid to the cave floor feeling the shaky, light headedness of blood loss. While an injury to the wrist never spurted blood like a true artery, it still contained a dense networking of blood vessels. Given a bad enough mangling and a lack of proper care, a person could still bleed out completely.
Anders crawled forward on his knees, making his way to the pale blond figure still splayed before his cell. With his one hand he loosened the belt around the girl's leather breeches and pulled it into him. Threading the strap through the buckle, Anders slid the loop around his throbbing hand until the leather rested upon the muscle of his lower forearm and pulled tight.
He scooted his body back to rest against the wall. Black splotches edged around his vision, but adrenaline still coursed through him, powering the shakes that stung through his throbbing hand.
For the first time that Anders could remember, he began to pray. To the Maker, to Andraste, to anyone who might be listening. Just don't let him hurt Selise, he begged. Just don't let him hurt Selise.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Selise jumped awake, startled from her fitful sleep by what sounded like a very impassioned discussion coming from just beyond the mouth of the cave. But the actual words being spoken were all just outside the reach of her comprehension. Glowing in from the cave's entrance came the dim light of morning and her eyes confirmed her fears: the cell beside her remained empty.
She pulled herself upright and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself as her only defense against the cold. Only moments after the murmurs died, the dark shadow of Julian entered the cave and Selise stood, hoping to see Anders' silhouette following behind him. But only Qaris and Millie appeared. Selise shifted her weight angrily on her feet, impatient with whatever it was that they were pulling. Why had they kept him all night? What manner of evils were they inflicting upon him?
"Where is he?" she asked.
Even in the dim light Selise could see that Millie's face looked blotchy, her eyes slightly swollen. The girl quickly cast the mana drain spell, and then hiccuped a little sob. She followed the two men like an apparition, her shoulders slouched forward and hands dangling ineffectively at her sides. Selise watched her closely. Why would she have been crying? Some lovers quarrel with Julian? If that were true, it must have been a considerably devastating one.
When Julian approached her cell, Selise pressed her back into the rocky wall behind her, trying to keep as much space between them as possible. He carried the energy of his blood magic with him, already activated and pooled in ready access at the tips of his fingers. It hit her like a wall of bricks, amplified and powerful and her stomach lurched in response.
"Where is he!?" she repeated.
"Luther will no longer be accompanying us to Skyhold," Julian said.
Selise felt the ground fall out from under her and bile rise in the back of her throat. She had been holding onto the hope that their separation was temporary, that it would soon be ended. They were wanted together, not individually, weren't they? If the plan was to take them back to Skyhold, why only one at a time?
"Why?" she asked, her shaky voice but a croak.
"It's not important. It will just be the four of us now, which I actually think will allow us to move much more quickly," he said as he flashed a satisfied little smile.
"You have to appreciate the small things in life, right?" he asked as he turned back to his crew. "There is always a silver lining."
He flashed her a wide smile, his teeth practically glowing in the dark of the cave.
Calling him Luther meant Qaris hadn't revealed Anders' identity yet. But still, why would he be left behind? Selise rubbed the tension out of her brow and tried to clear the fog of sleep from her mind.
She knew it was coming before she saw his hands raise. The magic crept over her body, holding her limbs stock still and sliding like ice water up her spine. She watched as Julian pulled a bulky metal key from his belt and unlocked the door. For the first time she wondered how exactly it was that he had come across a key in the first place. These caves were old and the metal strips that made up the rudimentary bars had clearly been made by a metalworker of only basic skill. She wouldn't have been surprised if the caves had been in use hundreds of years ago. How is it that a key survived? The door opened and she felt her legs begin to move, making clumsy steps toward the three shadow figures.
Despite being trapped in her body, when she reached her mind out for Anders' energy, she found it. It wasn't far and it wasn't panicked, his emotions dulled and reflecting the particular patterns of sleep. Or unconsciousness, she realized. She savored the warm sensation of him, even if it only rippled intuitively through something unnameable and insubstantial within her. She wished she could reach out and grab it, could grab him. A day in his absence, stuck in this strange, dreadful place alone had fired up a desperation for him that infected every cell in her body. She ached to have him back at her side, even if separated by bars. It was still a far kinder existence than being left to wonder, her imagination filling in all the empty space with horrific visions. But still, feeling him then eased her mind slightly. He was alive.
Her feet carried her out into the deep blue morning, and she cast her eyes toward the pile of packs and supplies sitting in the snow. Qaris slung her old pack onto her back, securing the shoulder straps over her chest with thin strips of leather. As his fingers worked, his eyes met hers momentarily and flashed her a confusingly troubled look. A shiver of fear joined the chill of cold that was seeping through the seams of her leathers.
Qaris. Qaris had shared a small bit of information with her, and so far had kept the secret of Anders' identity. There had been no sign of Solas during the night, despite her attempts at searching her dream world for something that might feel like a doorway or a transition to another plane, so she had nothing else to grasp onto. But to what extent might Qaris help her? He wanted to keep Julian from the Inquisitor, but that was the beginning and end of her information.
They were clearly about to walk, beginning their journey to Skyhold, while Anders, Kinley and Etienne were left behind. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it could make a bit of sense. A smaller group definitely would move more quickly, and it might even give Julian more bargaining power if he kept an ace in his pocket.
She hoped that's all he was doing.
But even that didn't matter. She was going to get back to Anders, no matter what it took, just as she had told him she would.