Chapter 10

Stone felt a knot in the pit of his stomach as the guards slammed the iron barred door of the cell, locking both him and Persimmon inside.

"Rot in there, the both of you." The guard chuckled as he hooked the ring of keys containing the one to the cell door to his belt and turned to walk away.

Stone was about to shout something back at the guard, but stayed silent when Persimmon placed her hand atop his arm. He looked over to her in question.

She smiled at him and nodded at the guard.

When Stone looked back at the guard, he saw the key ring lifting from the man's belt. It slowly floated right over to the cell door. Stone hurried over and stuck his hand through the bars and grabbed it. When he did, it made a jangling noise. The guard stopped and turned around.

"What was that?" asked the guard, looking around in a suspicious manner. "What was that noise I heard?"

Stone quickly hid the ring with the keys in one hand, shaking the bars of the door with his other, making a loud rattling noise. "Let us out! Let us out, I say."

"Quiet down," shouted the guard, turning and leaving the dungeon.

"Your distraction worked." Persimmon hurried over to the door to join him. "Thank you."

"Nay, thank you for using your powers to get the key." With his hand through the gate, he used the key to unlock the cell, and slowly and quietly pushed the door open. "I still have no idea how we'll manage to walk out of here alive, but at least this is a start."

"Aye," agreed Persimmon, following him out of the cell. "If only one of us knew the layout and grounds of the castle, we might be figure out a path to use to escape."

"That's what I'm here for."

Stone looked up to see the pesky elf standing with his back against the stone wall and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Father!" exclaimed Persimmon. "You came to save us. Thank you."

"I'm only here at the request of Lira."

"Oh," said Persimmon, a frown washing over her face.

"How did you get here so fast?" asked Stone. "There is no way the others could have made it back to Kasculbough already, could they?

The elf gave him a strange look and shook his head. "You have no idea of my powers or of how fast I can really move, you big oaf."

"Oh, that's right," said Stone. "I've seen you disappear in a blur. But the others can't move that fast. There was no time for this all to transpire."

"The raven returned to tell Talia-Glen and Alaina that you two so stupidly managed to get caught. Rhys and Zann wanted to bring their armies to the king's door, but that would be an even dumber move right now. That's why I offered to come instead."

"Never mind all that. Can you get us out of here?" Stone scanned the dimly lit area, watching for the guards to return.

"I can. I used to work for King Sethor and I know every nook and cranny of this castle."

"You used to work here?" asked Persimmon, sounding just as surprised to hear this.

"Doing what?" asked Stone.

"It doesn't matter." The elf glowered at him. "Now stay quiet and keep close to me. We have to move fast. I know of a secret door that we can use."

"Thank you, Father." Persimmon liked the fact that instead of abandoning her again, now her father was there when she needed him. She hoped this was the start of a special change that could possibly create a bond between them.

"Don't thank me yet," said the little man. "Because, I swear if either of you do something stupid enough to get caught escaping, I will leave you both behind without a second thought."

"We won't," said Stone.

Persimmon knew the speed at which the elf could move. It would be easy for Elric to zip away and leave them both there to die and not have a second thought about it. She needed to be careful.

Sneaking through the dungeon, they stopped when they saw two guards sitting near the door at a table, playing cards.

"Damn, I'm going to have to distract them," mumbled the elf.

"Allow me." Persimmon looked toward the door and took a deep breath. "Get ready to run out of here."

Using her powers, the door to the dungeon slammed open and a breeze blew the cards off the table to the floor.

"Damn it," said one of the guards. "Get the cards, fast before Sethor finds out what we were doing."

When they bent down to collect them, Persimmon used her skill to make Stone's weapons that were on the table float over to them.

"Hey!" cried a guard, seeing what was happening.

"Take your weapons," she told Stone. "Quickly."

When the guards got up and drew their swords, she made their weapons fly out of their hands. Then she caused the wooden table to rise into the air and hit the men, knocking them down.

"Let's go," she told the others. The three of them quickly slipped out into the sunlight. Unfortunately, there were another couple of guards standing by a wagon filled with wine barrels, and they spotted them.

"Halt!" called one of the men.

"The prisoners are escaping," shouted the other.

"Let's go," said Elric.

"Wait." Persimmon squinted her eyes, looking toward the cart. Suddenly, it broke a wheel and the wine barrels rolled off the cart, hitting both of the guards. "Now, we go." She was about to turn around when she saw the ghosts of the old couple standing next to the broken wagon.

Gregor is in the keep, said the man.

Our son is here. You need to go to him. Please, contact him for us, said the old woman.

"We need to go into the keep. That is where we'll find Gregor," she told Stone and her father.

"No way. The only place you're going is out the secret door with us." Stone dragged her along with them, not allowing her to go back into the castle.

They made it to the secret door quickly, but Elric couldn't remember where to find the key.

"I know the hidden key is here somewhere." Elric patted the wall that was covered with ivy, but he couldn't find it.

"Can't you just whip up a key out of midair?" asked Stone impatiently.

"I could, but I won't," said Elric stubbornly. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"Oh, never mind. I've got it." Persimmon used her mind powers to open the secret door. Then the three of them slipped out quickly and she closed the door behind them.

"Hurry. Let's get back to Kasculbough before they start to follow us now that they are alerted that we've escaped," said Persimmon.

"I'll meet you there," said Elric.

"Nay, Father. We need you to find our way back. Please, don't abandon us. We are not familiar with this land."

"You'll find it," said Elric, sounding as if he didn't have a care in the world. "Just head for the waterfall and keep walking. Keep your eyes open for the castle. It's big. You can't miss it." Elric sped off in a blur, leaving Stone and Persimmon alone.

"I'm frightened," she admitted, not knowing what would happen.

"I'll protect you," Stone promised. "There is nothing to be scared about." He took her hand and they ran, trying to keep hidden in nature as they traveled.

Once Stone had voiced his promise to protect the girl, he realized how stupid it must sound to her. After all, even though Stone had his weapons again, he couldn't fight off an entire army. Persimmon was the one with all the power, not him. They stopped to catch their breath at the waterfall, looking over their shoulders, but thankfully not seeing King Sethor or his army of soldiers following them yet.

"It won't be long before they're upon us," said Persimmon, breathing heavy and sitting atop a large boulder to rest. "They will know we're headed back to Kasculbough and will know which path we've taken."

"We'll make it. We'll be fine, don't worry." Stone sat next to her. Together they looked at the gorgeous waterfall that fell from the top of the Picajord Mountains in a powerful stream down the rocks to the lake below. In the lake were floating lily pads and large ornate, brightly colored flowers that he had never seen before. Butterflies, dragonflies and those bees as large as birds all buzzed busily around the pond, dipping up and down into the flowers. Tall green evergreen trees and lots more lively, bright green shrubbery surrounded the entire area and led all the way up the tall mountain. He could just feel the life all around him, enhanced by the warmth of the bright sun. "This land of Mura is truly magical, and quite amazing," he said aloud in awe.

"Yes, I agree. Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, staring up at the falling water.

The roar of the falls filled the air, reminding Stone of how much power and energy nature held. Even in its finest hour, Taelgonoth had never felt like this. "It is," he replied. "We don't have anything like this back home."

"My mother often told me stories of Mura, and I know the names of all the places though I've never been here until now," she relayed the information to him.

"Why not?" asked Stone. "Is your homeland that far away?"

"Nay," she answered. "Actually, Lornoon is an island right across the channel leading from the Masked Sea. It can be reached from the west side of this island."

"I would like to see Lornoon someday. I'm sure it is as beautiful as this."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because," he answered, getting lost in the way her face lit up and she seemed to glow when she was around nature. "It has to be a special place since someone as lovely of you has lived there for so long."

"She looked over to him and smiled shyly. "You are too kind, Stone. Thank you for making me feel special. No one has ever made me feel this way before."

"Persimmon, I don't understand. Why did your mother shelter you in the abbey your whole life? And why doesn't your father seem to accept you? It makes no sense at all to me."

"I wish I knew the answer." She wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "I felt so alone and unloved my whole life, until I came to Mura. I just wish I had traveled here long before now." When she reached up to wipe away another tear, he used his hand to do it for her.

Persimmon looked up into Stone's eyes, feeling as if they belonged together. She longed for the intimacy of his touch. Just feeling him wipe away her tear gave her so much hope that because of him, her life could be so much better. His fingers gently glided across her cheek, sending a delicious shudder through her. Then he cradled her chin in his palm and his eyes settled on her lips. Before she knew what happened, he'd leaned closer and kissed her. Persimmon didn't stop him, because this was what she'd been waiting for. She liked it. The softness of his lips against hers was surprising. For such a hardened man who hunted other men for a living, he had a true gentle nature about him. Persimmon's eyes closed as the kiss lingered and then their lips slowly parted.

"Mmm, that was nice," she said, feeling safe and happy being with Stone. With him by her side she no longer feared anything.

"You are an amazing woman, Persimmon. Any man would be lucky to call you his." He kissed her again, and she reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. And when he slowly pulled away, their eyes remained interlocked. She felt as if somehow they were joined together as one.

"I saw that coming," she admitted.

"What?" He chuckled. "How could you? You weren't even looking into your crystal ball."

"Nay, I wasn't. But yesterday I had a vision and we were kissing."

"Really. I guess there will be no surprises being around you." He stroked her cheek again, and she leaned into his touch.

Suddenly, they heard the noise of thundering hoofbeats rumbling the ground. The sound came from the direction of King Sethor's castle.

"Oh, no. They've found us." Persimmon jumped up, spinning around, looking for their captors to appear. "I'm not sure my magic is strong enough to be able to hold off an entire army."

"You won't have to. Come with me." He held out his hand and she willingly took it. But when he started walking toward the water, she became confused and stopped.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "We are going to the wrong way. We have to get back to Kasculbough, not go for a swim at a time like this."

"We are returning to the castle, but first, we need to hide. We cannot outrun them on foot when they are atop horses. If they don't see us, Sethor and the others will ride right past us. It is our only chance to not get caught." He entered the water and pulled her along with him.

"Stone, I still don't understand what we're doing. I can't hold my breath under the water until they're all gone."

"And neither will you have to. Now, just trust me. Please."

"All right," she said, releasing a deep breath and nodding. "I do trust you." She flashed him a quick smile.

"Good. This way, then," he instructed, swimming toward the waterfall. Now, she understood.

"I'm coming," she told him. "I'm right behind you, Stone."

They made it to the other side of the small lake and had just climbed up the rocks and slipped behind the waterfall when King Sethor and his army of men rode up. They stopped for a moment, looking around.

"They must have gone this way," said Sethor. "Where in the world are they? Look everywhere."

"They're probably hiding," said Rancor.

"Then check behind every tree and bush. Hurry!" commanded Sethor.

Shaking from being wet and cold, Stone wrapped his arms around her. They were safe and protected behind the falling water, standing in a small cave in the rocks.

"Don't make a sound," he whispered directly into her ear, following his words with a small kiss.

She was afraid to even breathe, thinking somehow it would alert Sethor and his men to their presence. They were searching the area, but thankfully none of them had thought to look behind the waterfall.

"We are wasting too much time," called out Sethor. "They must be up ahead. Let's go."

In a puff of dust, the men atop their horses charged toward Kasculbough, leaving them and their hiding place undetected.

"It worked," she said as soon as she was sure they had all left. She was so cold that she couldn't stop her body from shaking or her teeth from chattering together. "They didn't see us. You are a life saver, Stone."

"Just a little trick I picked up in my profession."

"So, can we go now?"

"Not yet. And when we do, we're still going to have to be careful. We don't want them to spot us on their return trip to Macada Castle."

"How long do you think we should stay here?" she asked.

"However long, it wouldn't be long enough," he told her, once again leaning over to kiss her.

"The others will be worried about us," she told him. "We don't want them to send an army to Sethor's door looking for us."

"Nay. Of course, we don't want that." Stone looked out from the waterfall, and up to the sky. "It's clouding over and looks like it's going to storm. I think we'd better go."

"Aye, we wouldn't want to get wet, would we?"

He stopped and looked back at her and she started giggling. They both laughed at her jest, and it felt good. Persimmon liked having someone to share a jest with. Being with Stone Nightstalker felt like the first thing in her life that was right.

"Stone, how will we be able to avoid the soldiers?" she asked him. "Since Rancor is with him and he's a thief, he might figure out what we're doing."

"Leave that to me, sweetheart." He held her hand as they walked. "Remember, I am a tracker. We'll be able to tell which way they took and be sure to go far around their route."

"Thank you," she said. He stopped and looked back at her.

"For what?" he asked. "You were the one who saw to our escape. I should be the one thanking you instead."

"That's not what I mean," she told him. "Thank you for being kind to me. I haven't had a lot of kindness in my life and it feels nice."

"I promise you, Persimmon, that I will always treat you with love and respect. I will also do everything in my power to make sure that no one is ever mean to you again."