Luna of Rogues

Part 12 - The Spark

Up above is a drawing of Skye Llewellyn by LittleLoneWriterGirl!! Full props and go check out her profile / harass her if you want :)

Rhys and I took advantage of the time to mind-link. We were thinking up escape plans, and believe me, we had more than a few ideas. None of them were very likely to work though, or involved unnecessary detours to rip Brandon's throat out.

When we had finally given up hope of breaking out by willpower alone, I considered other options. "You said Leo wouldn't be helping Brandon willingly. What leverage could he have against him?"

"I couldn't say for sure. But best guess? Brandon has his mate," Rhys replied slowly. "So he can't help us without risking her life. Forget that option."

I frowned. "Not necessarily. We just need to let him know we can help."

I picked up a small stone, with difficulty. The chains were cutting into my wrists, and hot blood trickled down my hands. I used the stone to scratch at the pillar behind me. Half an hour later, I had managed to manoeuvre enough to write a message. The only trick now was letting Leo see it without the other guards noticing.

Why didn't we just use the mind-link? When you mind-link, anyone in the vicinity can tell. The guards didn't stop Rhys and me communicating because they didn't care. We were trapped and at their mercy. But if we talked to Leo, they would definitely get suspicious.

After a few hours sat in the sun with no escape, I could feel the skin on the back of my neck burning. Even in autumn, with winter fast arriving, it was still a hot day. Then the Moon Goddess must have been feeling generous; Leo arrived to supervise our transfer to a temporary cell block.

He wouldn't make eye contact with me. There was none of that earlier indifference, now that Brandon wasn't around. It confirmed what I already suspected. He wasn't Team Brandon, but at the moment, he wasn't on our team either. That needed to change.

"My father trusted you," Rhys told Leo roughly. "This is how you repay him?"

Leo didn't make any attempt to answer him; he just unlocked my chains from the pillar and pulled me up by my cuffs. He was letting me get close enough to break his neck, unwittingly or not. It was fortunate I didn't want to. While his back was turned, Rhys winked at me.

"Get up," Leo ordered Rhys, who smirked and stayed where he was.

"Don't I get unchained first?" he asked innocently.

"I don't trust you. Stand up then we'll see." Leo was being sensible, but it played right into our plan.

Rhys shook his head. Leo was forced to try to pull him to his feet, while still holding onto me. As he leant over, Rhys kicked his legs out from under him and I pulled away at the same time. He overbalanced, but he didn't let go of my cuffs. I got dragged down too and landed half on top of him.

"Oops," Rhys said bluntly.

Leo was lying in the perfect position to read the scrawled writing on the pillar. By his sudden stillness, I knew he had seen it.

We can protect her.

As soon as Leo had hit the ground, the guards had sprung into action. They worked Rhys over enough to put him off trying anything else, then dragged him away. I looked innocent in the whole thing because I had ended up on the floor as well. Leo knew I had pulled him over, but he didn't mention that to the guards. I took that to mean he believed the message.

Once Leo had picked himself up, he scowled at me. It was a mask, though, because I could see a spark of hope in his eyes. He pulled me up for the second time, and handed me to the guards, who were none too happy with him.