THORNE BEGAN FILLING up the bag they had brought with them, his large hands scooping up coins and gems, while Adrian sifted through the glittering pile, searching for a specific object.
The chest was supposed to hold something else, something so important that Valtak had insisted he be the one to look for it. He could still hear the man's words echoing in his mind: "You'll know it when you see it."
How absurd. I have no idea what I am looking for, so how do I find it?
Adrian's heart racing was racing as the pressure of time bore down on him. Then, just as his patience was about to snap, his fingers tingled. He couldn't explain it - almost as if something was calling to him. His hand dove left into the pile, and he felt a magnetic pull even before his fingers closed around the rough wood.
He pulled it free and held it up to the light, squinting at the small wooden figurine. It was nothing impressive. No more than a palm sized carving, clumsy and uneven, the edges rough and unrefined, as if made by a child.
But yet, it radiated a pull he felt in his bones.
"What are the odds this isn't what we came here for?" Adrian muttered, inspecting the figurine closely.
"This?" Thorne's voice was laced with disbelief as he stuffed another handful of gold into the bag. "This ugly thing's what we're risking our lives for?"
"Yes. And the gold's not bad too." Adrian's voice was barely a whisper as he stared at it, almost mesmerized. It seemed to hum with energy, and he could feel its weight pulling him, calling him.
What the hell is this? Adrian ran his thumb tracing the rough edges. For a reason he could not explain, he was sure of it. This was it - this was the thing they had come for, the thing they hadn't even known to look for.
"Can't you feel that?" Adrian was referring to the magnetic pull the object was giving off, but Thorne just shook his head.
"Guys, we need to go," Jax said, anxiety clear in his voice.
"That man is crazy. All this gold and he only wants what? A piece of dry wood?" Thorne said as he drew the drawstring of the bag close.
"Now!" Jax hissed again, his eyes wide with fear.
Adrian's head snapped toward Jax, the urgency of his words cutting through the haze of the figurine's pull. He pocketed the figurine and Thorne slung the heavy bag over his shoulder.
They crept toward the door, their footsteps soft as whispers against the polished floor. Jax was first through the door, scanning the hallway. "Clear," he murmured, beckoning them forward.
Adrian slipped out next, his pulse pounding in his ears. Thorne lumbered behind them, weighed down by the bag, but he was the biggest of all three, so he was the natural choice to carry it.
They moved in practiced unison, like shadows blending into the night. They were halfway down the hall when Adrian froze, his senses suddenly alert. From the stairwell ahead, the sound of boots on stone echoed, followed by laughter, and Adrian's stomach plummeted.
The guards were returning early.
"Shit," Jax muttered under his breath, his face going pale. He glanced back at Adrian. "What do we do?"
Adrian's mind raced. He knew if they were caught, he, more than anyone, would be the first to face the hangman's noose. One look at his eyes and they would declare he masterminded the theft and bewitched his companions.
Masterminded, yes. Bewitched? Debatable.
He glanced around, desperate. Then his eyes locked on a narrow arched window at the end of the corridor.
The window. The snow is sure to break our fall, but even if it doesn't, anything is better than being caught.
"There!" he whispered harshly. "We can jump down!"
Thorne nodded, and unsurprisingly, was already moving toward the window, but Jax hesitated. "Are you crazy?! It's three floors, Adrian - we'll break every bone!"
Adrian gritted his teeth, annoyance flaring at the foolish complaint. "It's either that or the noose. Move it!"
They sprinted toward the window just as the door to the stairwell creaked open. Two guards stepped out, and Adrian barely had time to flatten himself against the wall before they were spotted.
"Quick!" he hissed, shoving Thorne toward the window, who fumbled with the latch, his hands shaking. Adrian glanced behind them, and his heart dropped to his feet as the guards spotted them.
"Hey! You there!" one of the guards shouted, his voice booming down the hallway. "Stop!"
Adrian's heart dropped into his stomach. Thorne finally wrenched the window open, throwing the clinking bag of gold out the window first, before he threw himself down, without hesistation. He fell on his leg, barely keeping his yelp of pain in.
"Shit! I must've broken something!" He groaned.
Adrian followed, pulling himself up and gripping the narrow stone edge. "Come, Jax, hurry!" He called, his breath ragged as he balanced precariously on the ledge.
Jax was uncertain, caught between taking his chances on the stairway they had come in through, and a fate worse than Thorne's. He was never one to take risks like these, and he cursed his bad luck for being such a coward.
The guards were almost upon them. Adrian's eyes widened in horror as he realized Jax wouldn't make it.
"Jax!" Adrian called, a pang of desperation twisting his stomach.
Jax turned to him, his face pale with fear, then glanced back at the oncoming guards. He took a deep breath, steeling himself. "I'll distract them!" he shouted, panic thick in his voice.
Cold fear gripped Adrian. "Jax - don't!" he pleaded, but Jax was already running the other way, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the stairwell.
Adrian hesitated for a split second, torn between going after Jax and saving himself, but the guards were too close.
Damn him, damn that stupid coward for making me leave him!
"I'm sorry!" Adrian whispered under his breath, releasing his grip and falling to the ground. Pain rippled through his body, forcing out the breath from his lungs. His shoulder was hurting, but just as he had thought, the snow had broken the fall.
"Adrian, we have to go," Thorne said breathing hard.
He was right. They had to go, it was Jax's own fault for being such a coward and refusing to jump. But loyalty kept Adrian's feet plastered to the ground, as he anxiously looked about, praying Jax would appear any moment.
"We'll give him two minutes before we move." He responded.
Jax was running down the stairs and had reached the second floor. He was about to jump out the window that was much lower, safer, when one of the guards caught up to him and grabbed him by his hair.
"Got him!" He snarled, yanking Jax back through the window. "You're coming with us, thief!"
Adrian glanced up just in time to see Jax leaning out the keep's window on the second floor, fighting the large hands that were pulling him. Jax was staring at him, and he wondered if Jax's eyes were pleading to be saved, or for them to run.
And then, he was gone, his face replaced with the gruff face of a guard, who was screaming blue murder at them, as bells began to go off in the keep, ringing in alarm, their clangs growing louder and louder.
"I'm so sorry, Jax," Adrian breathed as he turned and sprinted after Thorne who was already ahead, the sound of Jax's struggle drowned out by the bells echoing from the keep. He hoped, with everything in him, that Jax would make it, but there was no time to look back.
If only he had just jumped, the stupid coward!
Thorne waited ahead and grabbed Adrian's hand as they fled for the safety of the tall trees ahead, the guilt of leaving Jax behind trailing behind them like a ghost.