Tina Daniell: Maquesta Kar-Thon

"Father?" she repeated.

His eyes fluttered open, and he stared at her quizzically.

"It's me… Maquesta," she said softly. "I've come back for you."

His cracked lips turned upward in a grin. "Maq?" he whispered hoarsely.

She nodded and leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to get you out of here."

Rising, she breathed deeply a few times, then reached her arms under his knees and shoulders. Bending slightly, she picked him up and turned to face Kof. Maq adjusted her father's position until his head lay against her wounded shoulder, hiding the blood. "See? Attat won't know anything happened down here," she said smugly, as she padded toward the door, her steps slower under Melas's weight. "Follow me up the stairs-after you've freed any other prisoners he might have down here, and then stay behind the curtain. I'm going to get us all out of here."

The minotaur looked at her with a puzzled expression on his bull-like brow. "At least let me carry him up the steps," he offered.

Maquesta shook her head. "There's not much left of him, Kof. He's not that heavy. Besides, I'll be winded by the time I make it back to Attat's audience chamber. If you carry him, I'll not have reason to look so tired. I don't want Attat to suspect anything."

The minotaur nodded and retrieved the key ring. Maquesta heard the cell doors opening as she started her long climb.

Pushing the curtain aside, she saw that Fritz and Vartan were still chained to the column. Lendle stood near them, chattering. She glowered at Attat and stepped into the chamber. The minotaur lord held out the vial.

"Your antidote," he said, running his thick fingers along the smooth glass. He tilted the vial so the torchlight caught the liquid and made it sparkle.

Maquesta took another step forward, and watched in horror as he raised the vial above his head and brought it crashing to the floor, the golden liquid trickling into the cracks between the marble tiles.

"Fool!" Attat blustered. "I had no intention of allowing your father to live. Or you! You were only tools to retrieve my morkoth. Guards!" The minotaur lord clapped his hands, and the two guards at his side vaulted down the dais steps and rushed toward her.

"No!" she screamed. Setting her father on the floor, she somersaulted over him, narrowly avoided the spears thrust at her. Leaping to her feet and spinning, she saw the guards whirl and come at her again. Gripped with rage, and realizing she had only once chance, she dashed at them, hearing the encouraging shouts of Fritz and Vartan in the background. As she darted in, she grabbed one of the guard's spears and yanked with all her energy. The weapon came free, though she fell backward onto the floor in the process.

Without getting up, she spun the spear around, as she had seen Ilyatha do with his staff, impaling the very guard she'd borrowed the weapon from. He pitched forward on the spear, his weight pushing him down farther on the shaft, and she dropped the weapon and rolled to the side to avoid his falling body and the other oncoming guard.

Lendle rushed in, his small sword drawn. He waved it at the remaining guard and darted in to slash at his legs. The minotaur stepped back toward the dais.

"Guards!" Attat cried again.

Maquesta knew he was calling for those who stood beyond the chamber, and she knew she would have to act quickly. Rushing up the dais steps, she slipped by the guard and bowled into Attat, sending him reeling backward and knocking over his massive wooden chair in the process. It splintered and loudly cracked. The clattering noise continued, though it took her a moment to realize it was no longer the broken chair making the racket.

Bas-Ohn Koraf had arrived, wielding one of the fallen guard's curved swords. He roared into the room and headed straight toward the minotaur charging at Maquesta. The guard halted for the briefest of moments, enough to give Koraf the time he needed.

Koraf changed his grip on the sword and angled the weapon over his shoulder. In the next instant, he hurled it through the air like a javelin, the flashing blade dancing in the light of the torches. The weapon flew true and caught the surprised minotaur in the center of his thick throat. The guard was dead before he hit the floor, and Koraf rushed forward, picking up the dropped spear and tossing it to Maquesta.

She caught it just as Attat began to struggle to his feet and the chamber door burst open and a half-dozen minotaur guards poured in. Thinking quickly, she jabbed the spear against Attat's side.

"Tell them to keep back!" she spat. 'Tell them!"

The minotaur lord glowered at her, and his guards pressed forward, hesitating slightly. One growled loudly and took a step toward the dais.

"I'll kill you! I swear I will!" Maquesta shouted. "You signed my father's death warrant, and you said you would kill me, too. What do I have to lose Lord Attat? Now, tell them to drop the weapons or I'll run you through!"

The minotaur lord nodded slowly, his eyes smoldering with hate. "Your weapons," he began. "Drop them and back away. Do it!"

The guards obeyed, and Koraf and Lendle dashed forward, picking up an assortment of spears, scimitars, axes, and knives, depositing them near Fritz and Vartan. Koraf strode over to the two dead guards and turned them over. Finding a key on one of their belts, he headed toward the captive crewmen.

"You must have more of the antidote somewhere," Maquesta fumed. "Where is it?"

Attat laughed, his deep tones reverberating off the chamber walls as he struggled into a sitting position. "There is no more antidote, Maquesta," he hissed. "And even if there were more, your father is too far gone for it to do any good. He failed quickly and would have needed the antidote days ago to survive."

Maquesta knew his words were true, and she choked back a sob. "You and I are leaving this place," she stated through clenched teeth. "We're going to the Perechon . You're my prisoner now."

The minotaur lord laughed again. "You think to kidnap me? I am powerful in this city. To kidnap me would invite your own destruction."

She prodded him until he awkwardly rose to his hoofed feet, then she edged him down the dais steps and nodded to Fritz and Vartan, who were finally free of their chains. The half-ogre looked over the collection of weapons and selected one of the curved swords and thrust it in his belt. Vartan chose an axe and waved it at the guards, who held out their hands to their sides in response.

Next, Fritzen dashed up the dais steps and yanked down a cord that tied back one of the heavy drapes. The half-ogre grabbed Attat's arms, pulled them behind the minotaur's broad back, and wrapped the cord several times about his hairy wrists.

Glancing up, and satisfied the minotaurs were keeping a safe distance, Fritzen padded toward Melas, knelt, and picked him up. The half-ogre cringed at the sight of the emaciated man, and his heart went out to Maquesta, who he knew was suffering horribly. Fritz nodded to her.

"Kof, see if any of those keys will release Sando from the garden!" Maq said. "She's in a small cave, near a statue of a centaur."

Koraf retreated from the chamber, and Maquesta and the minotaur lord walked between the pillars toward the far doors. Fritzen and Vartan followed close behind. Lendle hurried to catch up; he carried the cage with the tiny elephant in his left hand. By the time they reached the last pillars, Koraf had returned, the small shadowperson cradled in his arms.

"She's blind," Koraf said simply. "Carrying her will be easier."

Maquesta nodded toward the door and jabbed the heavy spear at Attat's side. At that instant, one of the minotaur guards rushed forward. Vartan heard his hooves pounding over the marble and whirled. Though the guard was weaponless, he had his head down and was charging like a maddened bull.