James Islington - The Shadow Of What Was Lost

And how terrified she was, every time she thought of her own death. How she couldn’t sleep some nights, knowing what was coming.

They talked a while longer after that, but eventually there was a natural break in the conversation and both girls stood, knowing it was getting into the early hours of the morning. They exchanged a warm embrace at the door.

"No matter what you went through before this, Asha, I’m glad you’re here now," said Fessi as they parted.

"As am I," said Asha with a smile. She meant it.

Once back in her room, Asha busied herself getting ready for bed. She would only have a few hours until Michal woke her, but for once the thought didn’t make her scowl.

An abrupt knock on the door made her jump; she shook her head, giving a rueful smile at her own startled reaction. Fessi must have forgotten something.

She opened the door absently, barely having time to register the black-veined face behind the fist blurring towards her.

Everything went black.

Asha groaned.

She was lying on her side on a hard wooden floor; she groaned again as she shifted, her head throbbing. She slowly forced her eyes open, the eyelid on the left struggling to break free of the sticky, semi-dried blood that she suspected ran all the way down her face and neck.

There was light, too bright to look at initially. A lamp. With an awkward motion, she twisted and rolled into a seated position against the timber wall. Her hands were tied behind her back, but she didn’t need to check to know she must have a serious gash on her forehead; aside from the pain, there was a brown circle of blood on the floor where she’d been lying. She took a deep breath, trying to focus.

The small room was lit only by the lamp on the table; there was a seat next to that, but otherwise her surroundings were bare. A door at the far end of the room was shut, and looked solidly made. It was doubtless locked, but Asha slid herself over to it anyway, levering herself to her feet and barely managing to get her hands on the doorknob.

She grimaced as it refused to turn. Just as she’d expected.

She assessed the rest of the room, forcing herself to stay calm. There was no point in calling out; if she couldn’t hear anyone outside then there was likely no-one around to help. And she didn’t want to draw the attention of whomever had brought her here. This might be her best, or only, opportunity to find a way out.

She made her way back over to where she’d started, feeling at her bindings as she went. The knots were tight, but she thought she might be able to undo them, in time. Whoever had tied them must have been in a hurry. Or, she hoped, simply careless.

She frowned as she recalled the man who had attacked her. He had definitely been a Shadow… which more than suggested that the Shadraehin had become tired of her lack of answers. But Scyner hadn’t struck her as an impatient man, nor did he have any reason to think she wasn’t doing her best to fulfil her side of the bargain. It might have been taking longer than he had anticipated - but kidnapping her? It didn’t feel right, didn’t feel like something he would gain any advantage from.

She heard the scraping of boots outside the door and quickly lay back down, resting her head back in the tacky pool of reddish-brown blood. The lock clicked and the door creaked as it swung open.

"Still out," growled a deep voice as heavy footsteps clomped into the room. "You shouldn’t have hit her so hard, Teran. Shadraehin won’t be happy if he finds out we hurt her."

"The Shadraehin won’t be happy if he finds out we touched her," came the dry response. "And as for hitting her so hard, I apologise. Next time I’ll try and hit the person I’m trying to knock out with just the right amount of force." This man sounded sharper, more eloquent. There was a pause, and then he continued, "Besides, she’s awake. Get up, girl. I can see the bloodstain from where you moved."

Asha hesitated, then rolled into a sitting position, staring at the two men as calmly as she could.

The man closest to her was Teran, the one who had hit her. A portly Shadow with a round, cheerful face, he was the least likely looking kidnapper Asha could have imagined.

The other she recognised from around the palace, though she had never interacted with him. He was muscular, thickly built, probably someone who served in a heavy labour capacity.

"Why am I here?" she asked quietly. Her head still swam a little from the pain, but she did her best not to show it.

The big man scowled, but Teran just gave her a slight smile. "Direct. I like that." He grabbed the chair from beside the table and swung it around so that it faced Asha, then sat on it. "I think you know why you’re here, Ashalia. We very much would like the information you promised the Shadraehin. The information you owe him."

Asha scowled. "As I already explained to the many messengers you sent - I don’t have it yet. The duke doesn’t trust me enough to tell me everything." She shook her head, doing her best to look irritated rather than scared. "Why would I lie about this?"

"I don’t know," admitted Teran. "But we’ve been keeping an eye on you, and fates take me if you’re not in the Northwarden’s inner circle. Fates, he made you a Representative! You’re holding out on us, Ashalia." He leaned forward. "I’m sure of it."

Asha stared at him steadily. "Perhaps it would be better if you got the Shadraehin to come down here himself, clear all of this up." If Davian had been right and the Shadraehin was actually a woman, these two were evidently unaware.

The big man shifted, looking uncomfortable, but Teran simply smiled at her. He rose, stepped forward and casually backhanded her across the face; the force of the blow sent her reeling, her vision blurring as new pain joined the already pounding ache of her skull.

"So you overheard us talking. Congratulations," Teran continued, as if nothing had happened. "The thing is, Ashalia, the Shadraehin wants us to keep an eye on you until you hold up your end of the bargain. Which wasn’t a problem until the other day, when he informed us that we were to stay up here and keep watching you even if this army, these Blind , reach the city - that no matter how dangerous it gets, we are not to go back to the Sanctuary until he has his information."

His expression twisted. "And when I can see that you’re keeping me here in harm’s way, that upsets me. So you’re going to keep your end of the Shadraehin’s bargain, or I’ll start making things… unpleasant for you." He leaned forward, touching Asha’s cheek gently.

Asha jerked away, giving Teran a furious glare.

"We’ll give you some time to think it over," said Teran.

He nodded to the other man and the two left, locking the door behind them.

Asha swallowed, staring around the room in desperation, but this inspection revealed no more opportunities for escape than before. She took a deep breath, trying to order her thoughts. She was bound, and even if she hadn’t been, her chances of overpowering both men were next to none. She would be missed soon enough at the palace, of course - but no-one would know where to look for her.

By the time the door opened again, maybe a half-hour later, she knew what she needed to do.

"I’ll tell you what you need to know," she announced to the two men as they entered.

The big man’s eyes lit up, but Teran stared at her with suspicion. "You don’t strike me as the type to give up so easily."

Asha glared at him. "I was always going to hold up my end of the bargain. I just don’t have the proof yet," she explained in a grim tone. "The information I have is useless to the Shadraehin without that."

"So what is it?"