The Long Road to Ruin Ch. 49

After casting, Shiloh tumbled backwards, feeling the air around her convulse as arrows hissed past. She made it to the stairs with Simon on her heels. The angry shouts of the soldiers followed right behind them. Quickly they fled into the safety of the vault, slamming the heavy door behind them. Catching her breath, she leaned against the wall as her gaze remained fixed on the door. An eerie silence filled the vault, the thick metal and stone blocking out all noises from the other side.

Simon paced restlessly, "I always told Peron his men sucked at shooting."

"They took Jero down. So they can't have sucked all that bad," Shiloh hissed. "Though, better him than us."

Simon shook his head in disbelief, "That fool. I saw him fall. I think an arrow got him in the heart. He was protecting me. Damn fool, but there's nothing we can do for him right now. I just hope Benthur doesn't mutilate his corpse so I may have the chance to revive him later."

"How did this happen though?" Shiloh crossed her arms over her chest. Anger rolled off her in waves. Damn that Benthur. She hated that he knew who she was. He'd never stop hunting her, not unless he was dead.

"All I can figure is Peron had the hunting lodge watched or that there was a spy. Pity that he's dead, but that's good for us, as I doubt that any of the others, Benthur included, know the vault password." Simon rubbed his face wearily. He pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking hard for a few silent moments.

"So we're trapped here like bloody fuckin' rats?!?" Shiloh exclaimed as she paced angrily, her low heels clip-clopping on the stone floor. He frowned at her as he glanced up, "Be thankful you're in here with me instead of caught by Benthur. Or would you prefer to be on the other side of that bloody door with him poking you with his glowing sticks. Calm down and let me think."

Simon gazed around the empty room. It had probably been a large holding cell for prisoners at one time, but now it had been stripped totally devoid of all its accoutrements. There was only a metal grate on the floor covering what seemed to be a narrow shaft.

"You are right, Simon. I'd rather be here with you. I have no desire to be tortured by him again. He'd kill me for sure."

Simon ignored what she was saying, lost in his own musings of escape, "The metal grate," he stated, as he moved over to it. With some effort he lifted it, removing it from the shaft it covered and peered down. "Your comment about rats has given me an idea."

Shiloh cocked an eyebrow, following him. She worried her lip between her teeth as she stared down into darkness.

"You wouldn't happen to know where this leads, by chance."

She shook her head, "I wish I did, Simon. The sewers perhaps. It seems like a drainage shaft."

"Well, I have an idea," he grinned with a wiggle of his eyebrows. ...

To Be Continued