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NO!
The Voice seemed to have figured out what was happening. Too bad it was too little, too late. Macey directed their combined powers around them, knocking the Voice’s men to the ground with the combined lethality of water and electricity.
They probably didn’t survive, but she also didn’t really care. She’d heard and seen enough, both in pers
on, and from what Luch had said.
It wasn’t until the surge of magic began to fade, that she noticed the slight stinging sensation on her lower back. This time, she didn’t wonder what it was about. It was more painful than the marks she’d received from sex, but she was hardly complaining. Izban hadn’t seemed like the sharing type anyway.
Her clothes were wet and the courtyard ground had turned into one giant puddle. She hadn't even noticed she'd summoned that much water.
Now what? Her shackles had gone and she was free to run, but where to? There were two doors leading away from the courtyard: one was the door her jailor had brought her, the other straight opposite. It looked more inviting. Wherever it led, at least it wasn't to the dungeons.
Macey began to run towards the door, expecting Amber to follow - but when she reached it, there was no sign of the redhead behind her. She looked back and saw Amber standing still in the same spot, tiny bolts of lightning flashing around her wrists. She was wavering, reaching for something in front of her that wasn't there.
Then she collapsed.
Macey ran back, cursing herself for not checking on Amber first. The girl had been in captivity for far longer than herself; of course she wasn't well. The exhaustion of using so much magic at once must have been too much for her frail body.
Luckily, Amber hadn't passed out completely. She was lying on her side, her eyes open, but obviously too weak to stand.
"I'm sorry," she whispered faintly, but Macey shushed her.
"Do you know the way out of here?"
"I think so." Amber groaned. "But it's hard to know what was real and what wasn't."
"It's better than randomly running around this place. Imagine running as fast as you can, how long would it take?"
"The main gate isn't far from here. Maybe two minutes? But I can't walk, let alone run."
Macey ignored that last statement. "Do you think you'll be able to hold onto me?"
Amber frowned in confusion. "You don't look strong enough to carry me. Better leave me here and get out while you still can. I'm sure the Voice will be back soon."
Macey chuckled. "Believe me, I'm strong enough. But don't tell anyone. And be quick, I can only hold my breath for so long."
Amber looked even more confused now, but Macey didn't have time to explain. Instead, she showed her. She shifted.
Shifting outside of the loch was hard, but there was enough water on her clothes and the ground for her to manage. It was painful, though, but she couldn't think of any other way of getting Amber out of here.
When she had fully shifted into her kelpie form, she knelt down beside Amber, nudging the girl to climb onto her back. This was the first time anyone who wasn't a kelpie was going to ride on her. It was a shameful thing to do; kelpies were incredibly proud creatures. But this was an emergency and if she was lucky, nobody in her family would ever find out.
That's when she remembered her brothers. If the two men in the dungeons even were her brothers, but it was too much of a coincidence.
She huffed. Get Amber out first, that was the priority. Then go back and get her brothers. Somehow. A problem for a later time. Right now, her problem was that she was having to hold her breath and already felt a slight sting in her lungs. Kelpies weren't made to be out of water for long. That's why the legends of kelpies pulling humans underwater to eat them were bollocks. Kelpies couldn't keep their heads out of water for long enough to first find and then attack a human. Besides that, they were vegetarians.
Amber climbed onto Macey's broad back and clung to her mane. As gentle as she could, the kelpie got to her feet and began to move towards the door. When she was sure Amber had a good grip on her, she broke into a run, following the girl's whispered directions.
From the courtyard they entered a long, dim corridor that led into another, even dimmer one. On and on they ran, around corners, through doors. There were no people to be seen anywhere. Macey found that very strange, but she didn't have time to ponder on that, nor on the fact that the Voice wasn't talking to them anymore or trying to keep them in his grasp.
No, she was focused on not breathing.
Her kelpie lungs were better than her human ones, but by now she was quickly running out of oxygen. Finally, they exited the building they were in and entered another drawn out courtyard. At the end was a gate.
It was closed.
Nonetheless, Macey continued to gallop towards it. Freedom was so close.
