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The Feri Light
Chapter 22
Despite saying yes to Logan's offer, Wren and I didn't join the party that evening. For one, it was packed with juveniles. And two, to put it mildly, Wren was still grieving. The idea that he would soon lose his father was still weighing on him terribly. He wasn't the only one. Kane, too. When he wasn't interacting with others, he was aloof, looking lost.
To keep them both busy, I had to come up with an activity that would distract them or drown them with exhaustion. A task like breaking Caleb out of the dungeon.
'Just teleport him here like you did Wren,' Kane said.
Good suggestion, but one which I won't attempt any time soon. 'I can't. To teleport someone I need a vast amount of energy. Feri light is scarce in this place already. And I don't want to deplete my core before the upcoming fight.'
Wren nodded his agreement. 'Besides, we're breaking out five people.'
'Five?' Kane asked. I gazed at Wren questioningly. I wasn't aware we were planning a mass breakout.
'Caleb, Ferard, Doug, Scar and Brodie,' he replied. If he expected us to know about these extras he was wrong.
'Who are all these people?' His brother asked.
Wren nonchalantly scratched his head. 'They're friends I met inside. They would be of use since they're wolf-shifters too.'
Kane seemed to be satisfied with the answer. He nodded in approval. I wasn't getting it.
'Why are they so important to us right now?'
It was Kane who answered. 'We're the only wolves here, Rye, and I'm not at a hundred percent.'
Still, there was Goran and his clan. But I shouldn't be surprised. Wolf-shifters trust each other more than they do others from outside the pack.
'Wolf-shifters work best in a pack. We'll be better off with one of our own,' Wren added.
I didn't know that. Although, I should. I've been living with wolves for almost a year now.
'When do we leave?' Kane asked.
'Now, is a good time as any,' Wren said.
Thirty minutes later, the three of us were squatting on the ledge overlooking the prison. The inmates appeared to be calmer than the last time I was here. They huddled around numerous little fires to keep warm. I saw one guy roasting something small on a stick, probably a rodent. There were quite a few of them around.
Wren pointed to one of the makeshift tents, telling us that's where we would find Caleb and Ferard. The good news is, it was close enough to the overhang. The bad news is, we won't get to them without being noticed.
'Is it just me, or do there seem be a lot of guards around?'
Wren and I glanced at the gate. Sure enough, there were two dozen guards hanging around. They were standing in a huge circle as if planning for a raid or something. To further prove my point, more than two of them held those noose poles I've seen dog catchers use in the human realm. I have a feeling something is going down. I relayed my fears to the boys.
'It might be, atsa, but we are here now and we're not going back without our friends,' Wren said as determined as ever. Kane agreed with him. It looked like they made their minds up and there was nothing I could say to stop them. That was how stubborn wolf-shifters can be.
A few minutes later, Kane found us a way down, but it was Wren who took the lead.
Scaling down the ledge was a frightening experience for me, but for the brothers it was a piece of cake. I guessed having partial night vision helps. There wasn't any fence when we reached the bottom. I guess it makes sense since there's nowhere to go if a prisoner tries to escape. As quietly as possible, we trudged closer to the tents. Some guys by the fire watched us with curiosity but they didn't say or do anything to impede our progress. But one did murmur something to another. Whatever he said didn't alert the brothers, so I kept quiet.
'You guys get Caleb and Ferard to the overhang,' Wren said. 'I can smell Brodie and the others two fires down. I'll go get them and meet you there in ten minutes.'
Kane nodded, but I wasn't too sure of this plan. By the time I opened my mouth Wren was already walking away.
'Come. There's nothing you could say that would stop him now,' Kane told me. He dodged through the opening of the tent. I paused to stare at Wren one last time. I don't know but I felt something wasn't right. Sighing, I joined Kane inside.
'Rye!' Caleb said pulling me into his arms. His bone crushing hold was chocking me to death. I tapped his back for him to release me. I was breathing deeply when he did.
'Hold your excitement, tiger. You're hurting the poor baby,' Ferard sniggered. He was on the floor with a huge guy between his legs. Kane shook his head in disgust. For once I found myself agreeing with him. I've never met a slut like Ferard. It's like he has a perpetual itch in his backside that can never be reached.
'Get up Rust. It's time for you to leave,' he said to his lover.
Not bothered by us, the guy protested. 'I'm not done yet.'
'Yeah, but I'm done.' With that he pushed the guy off of him. Rust cursed, pulled up his pants and heatedly tramped out of the tent.
'Who spit in his food?' Ferard joked.
Only Caleb laughed. Kane still had the disgusted look plastered on his face.
'You're the biggest slut I ever met,' I told him.
'Why thank you,' he said as if I just paid him a compliment. 'Where's wolf boy?' He said while he got dressed.
'There's no time to waste. We have to get out of here,' Kane sternly said.
The four of us exited the tent and quietly rushed back to the overhang. We were halfway up the wall when we heard a loud snarling sound.
'It's not Wren,' Kane told us.
I didn't need him to tell me that. I knew Wren's growl anywhere, but I knew how Wren's mind works. If one of his friends was in trouble he would try to help. My heart skipped a beat. Without realizing it, I was climbing down.
'Where're you going?' Caleb asked.
'Rye, no,' Kane interjected. 'I'll go get him. You get the others up there.'
I trust Kane. If someone could help Wren, it's more likely to be him. Despite his tough act, I've discover something about Kane. He loves his brothers more than he pretended not to. To him family means everything, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to follow us in Koff when he had the chance to get as far away as he could. So, yeah. I trust he'll have Wren's back. However, I won't shake the uneasiness until I have him in sight.
I scaled down behind Kane as fast as I could. The other two followed closely behind us.
There came more snarls. This time I heard people jeering and cursing. That made us move faster.
We followed Kane through the crowd that had gathered near the gate. We pushed through until we were standing at the forefront. I saw guards dragging a tough looking guy by the neck out of the gate towards more guards. I quickly scanned the scene for Wren. I couldn't find him.
'What's going on?' I heard Ferard asked a fellow inmate.
'The guards came for prisoners to fight in the arena tomorrow. They've just dragged a shifter. Now they're attempting to grab his friend.'
I don't know if it was at the mention of shifter or arena, Kane snarled and rushed past us towards the first guard he saw. He assaulted the guy to the point I thought he killed him. A guard came to help his comrade. Kane fought him off too. But soon more guards descended on him. All around me cheers erupted.
It was all so confusing. I couldn't think straight.
Then I saw Wren.
His face was contorted in anger as he attacked the guards that surrounded his brother. Together with another guy, who I presumed must be another wolf-shifter, they fought the guards off Kane. Even more guards rushed in.
I moved to go help but Caleb grabbed me. 'Rye, No!'
I brutally turned in his arms to ask him why not, when he nodded towards Wren. My atsa had four nooses around his neck but he was not struggling. He was glaring straight at me. He seemed to be telling me something, but I couldn't figure out what. Then suddenly, he was being led out the gate. Kane and two more guys followed in the same manner.
They were gone. And I didn't do anything.
'Rye, let's get out of here,' Ferard said pushing Caleb and me through the crowd.
Like a zombie I followed them. When we reached the overhang, I couldn't move.
'Rye, come on,' Ferard urgently said. 'We can't stay here. The guards might spot us any minute now.'
Still I didn't move. Then Caleb got into my face. He roughly held my shoulders between his palms.
'Rye, listen to me. Wren and Kane did what they did on purpose.' That got my attention.
'Why would they allow themselves to be taken like that?'
'Can't you think of any reason why?' He said.
In seconds I replayed the whole scene through my head. Shifters dragged in to fight in the arena. Then the inmate said shifter and arena... oh no!
'The arena! They wanted to get to the arena!'
'Why would they do that?' Ferard asked.
Their father. They know he dies in the arena tomorrow because I told them so. They want to get close enough to him. They want to help him.
Oh, Wren!
...........................
End of part 22