Bodil.

  "Aadi run! Run now!" I kept yelling at him to get out the collapsing tunnel. "RUN!" I screamed as the walls caved inwards, Aadi was running hand in hand with a small child. The same girl that was swallowed by the fire in my vision.

  Fire was flowing from the ceiling chasing them down the tunnel as the walls caved it. As though the mountain itself was angry they were leaving. "RUN! Aadi, Save her!"

  I opened my eyes to find myself face down in the dirt, my hands tied behind my back. My head throbbing in pain, and my eyes burning. As I breath in my chest felt heavy causing me to cough. "Kara?" I coughed as I spoke. My throat was dry and it made my voice crack. "Kara?" I asked again. I hoped she was okay. Everything happened to fast at Tao's I wasn't sure I remembered it all. A group of men burst into Tao's house after we arrived as if they were waiting for us. They caught us off guard and attack us. I don't remember reacting, or having a chance to for that matter.

  I pulled myself up to a sitting position and started to twist my wrists around to loosen the knot. I have had years of practice releasing myself from being tied up by Uri and his wife. It only took a few minutes before I was free. Rubbing my sore wrists as I looked around. I was in a large iron cage like some sort of animal. My cage was in a barn. There were other cages next to my own, and I could hear goats and maybe some horses huffing. I wasn't sure as my head was swirling each time I moved. "Kara?" I called out hoping she would answer me. "KARA? I yelled loudly. Nothing. She didn't answer me. I was unsure if I was relieved or not, if that meant she was alive... or not.

  I crawled over to the edge of my cage and tried to look around. A pile of hay. Water buckets. The walls of the barn were old and looked weak, if I could get out I could maybe kick my way out and be free to run. "Is anyone here?" I asked. "Tao? Sigris? Are you there?" No one answered me back. Damnit. I concentrated and managed to create fire in my palms, magic was incredibly convenient. The fire did exactly what I wanted it to do. Slithering from my hands and curling around the rusty iron bars, heating them. I created more fire snakes and sent them crawling and heating the bars. Eventually my patients paid off and the bars started to crumble and melt into a hot pile of iron leaving a hole large enough for me to crawl out of. I waited for the iron to cool, the last thing I needed was to trip and fall into hot iron. I didn't want to waste a moment so I called out once again, loudly hoping someone would hear me. "Tao? Tao are you there? Wake up! Tao!" Listening to see if by chance I was right and he was there and maybe just unconscious still.

  I carefully crawled out of my cage and out into the open barn room. I waited a short moment to see if I would be caught now that I was outside of the bars. No one came. I felt it was safe enough to move over to the next cage to check it. Carefully and silently I stood up and walked crouching to my neighbouring cage. Empty. I checked the next, and it was empty as well. Great. I was alone and that meant I was on my own for getting out of here as well. I quietly moved to the door and peaked around the corner to see where I was going to go next. The barn was small, a couple of stalls stood between me and the barn door. I stepped out of the room, staying low to the ground I crept my way over to the next stall. I looked the cracks in the wood to see what was in there. A sleeping pig. I moved to the next one. Two men stood practically hanging against the far wall, their hands chained above their heads to a hook in the wall. I couldn't see their faces, but I knew that it wasn't Tao or Sigris. One of the men looked as though he was dead. He didn't move, and I couldn't see him breathing like I could the other man. The one that I could see breathing had a wound on his chest. He was dressed in only pants. His body bruised and looked like he had been tortured. He lifted his head slightly, "You should run while you can." He said in a low whisper.

  I didn't respond to him. I wasn't going to give up my chance to leave. I didn't move either, I didn't want him to know where I was.

  "If you're not going to leave, then at least untie me and so I can get the hell out of here." He said in a growl.

  I stood up and quietly stepped up to the stall door. It was only locked with a board. I could let him out, save him. But should I? I looked at him again though the cracks in the wood of the stall door. He was a younger man, and looked strong. Would he help me if I asked him?

  I pulled the board off the door as quietly as I could and placed it on the floor. I pulled the door open quickly just incase it made some kind of noise. The man's head shot up and locked eyes with me. "You should have run."

  I walked over to him without responding to him and started to pull on the chain to free it from the hook. The chains were locked around his wrist, but I could at least help him lower his arms. The hook was higher then I could reach and I tried to find something I could stand on to reach it better. The chain was stuck in place and needed to get a better grip to get it down.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The man watched as I looked around the room. After a moment looking at Tyr, debating how much strength he actually had. "Think you can handle it if I stand on your legs?" I asked him.

  He nodded his head still confused. "Why are you helping me?"

  I ignored him and stepped on his leg holding onto his shoulder for support. I was about to reach up enough and lift the chain up and off the hook. The mans arms fell over my head and on to my shoulders causing the two of us to fall. I pushed his arms off of me and rolled away from him getting to my feet as quickly as I could. The man laid there not moving for a moment obviously relieved. "Thank you." he said as he started to stand. "You could have left me."

  "You are right, but now that I have helped you, I expect help in return." I said to him quietly. "Where are we?" I asked.

  "The mountain of mons." He said.

  "Who brought me here? Do you know of my companions? There are three of them." I hoped he had some news of them.

  "No, sorry. I don't."

  "Damnit. I need to find them." I was worried for Kara. "Do you know the name Kara?" I asked him.

  "Kara the seer? Yes, of course. Why would she be here?" He questioned me.

  "I was with her when I was attacked. Woke up here in a cage." I told him.

  "Can't say I am surprised. Things are not what they used to be." He stretched his arms and shoulders. "I'll help you get out of here, but I am not helping you find others. That will only get us caught and probably killed."

  "No, I can't leave without Kara, at least. She is family to me." I told the man.

  "Family? To Kara?" He thought for a moment. "What is your name, woman?" He asked.

  "Tell me yours first."

  He studied my face before answering. "Tyr. I am Tyr Vidarson."

  "Bodil. Now that we are friends, will you help me?" I asked.

  "Why do I feel that I am about to regret you saving my life, Bodil?" he said as he started to get to his feet.

  I pushed him on the shoulder causing him to fall back against the wall. "You may if you keep acting like an ungrateful child."

  He said nothing just smiled and got to his feet. "Let's go before they come back."

  "The walls to this barn are thin, with enough pressure we can probably break through them in the back room where I was." I suggested.

  "No, we will take the horses." He told me as he walked out the stall door and crossed the room without care.

  Pulling open the stall across the barn, a lonely horse stood grazing. "One horse then. Come one." Tyr said as he guided the horse by the mane out of its stall. "Good girl, yeah." He was petting the horses neck and keeping her calm as he guided her to the main door of the barn.

  "Get on." He told me, I followed his instructions, gripping her mane I pulled myself up onto her back and waited.

  Tyr pushed the large door open slightly and looked around to see if there was anyone near. He slipped out for only a moment and then returned pushing the door open fully. He came quickly over, and holding my arm pulled up onto our mare behind me.

  "Let's go while we can." He whispered.

  I held the mares mane and motioned her forward, guiding her to the side of the barn and then the back. Then Tyr gave her rear a shove and she ran towards the tree line. "What of my friends?" I called back to him.

  "Your friends are not here. I seen the seer's being taken to the mountain entrance before they dumped you. For now, we need to get safe." He told me.

  "Why didn't you say this before?" I asked as I slowed our horse.

  "Would you have believed me either way?" He asked me. "I swear to Ota, your friends are inside the mountain."

  Something about the way he said it told me he wasn't lying. I rolled my eyes, "Where is this entrance? Kara was here because the mountain is going to crack, fire water will flow from it." I told him.

  He was silent for a moment then said, "The village of mons is no longer, Bodil. The people are gone. How could Kara not have seen this?" He sounded confused.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean the people died weeks ago, and were thrown into the mountain by Williams men." He said.

  "William?" I asked. Tao had talked of a William as well. The man who gave him the heart of the mountain. "Who is this William?"

  "A man who can not be trusted." He said simply. He reached under my arm and started to gently pull back on the mare's hair, bringing her to a stop. He jumped off the horse and stretched his body. "I can't not tell you how nice it is to use my body in my own way." He said. thankful. "Again, thank you for helping me." His hair was long and dirty, hanging over his bare shoulders.

  "Why were you there, Tyr? Are you a slave?" I asked him.

  "No. I need some clothes if I am going to help you with your friends." He stated.

  "You will help me?" I asked surprised.

  "You helped me, I am in your debt." He said with a slight bow.

  I took my cloak off and tossed it to him, "Here, until we can find something else." Catching the cloak and swinging it over his shoulders he nodded to me.

  "Thank you, again."

  "How do you know this William if he is not trustworthy? Are you a thief? A sword for hire?"

  "Yes. I worked for with him for a while. But when it comes to the sacrifice of entire families, well that was a line I was not willing to cross. Some things are never forgiven." He cleared his throat. "Now, I have a question for you."

  "Fair enough. If I chose to answer it however is up to me." I told him. I was not one who likes to share things.

  "Why would you be separated from the rest of your people?" He studied my face.

  "You would know more then I would. I only remember men coming into the house I was in, everything after that only the gods know." I shrugged.

  "What men? Think about it, what did they look like?"

  Thinking about it I really wasn't sure. They all bore the same blue mark on their forehead. I touched the middle of my forehead, "The rune of Yr, here."

  "Yeah. You are not a seer then?"

  "No" I laughed a little, "No I am no seer."

  He nodded, "May I lead our way?" He pointed to the horse.

  I slid back on the horse allowing Tyr to climb in front of me. "I wish we had some weapons." I complained.

  "Are you not awakened at all, Bodil?" He sounded surprised. "I thought you had magic."

  "Oh, yeah but a sword solves problems just as well." I said.

  He laughed, "That it does."