Constantine Capers: The Pennington Perplexity by Natalie Brianne (new ebook reader TXT) 📕

beam hit the ground in front of her. She was going to feel much better once the angered sounds behind her died down.

She picked her way through the tunnel, carefully choosing her footsteps as she wandered further and further into the depths. The goblins would have been cocky to leave the humans unattended. Jane was certain she would be discovered by goblin guards at any moment.

But she wasn’t. Instead after two corners she rounded a third to find the six men she had seen on the bridges. They were tied up hands to feet. These men weren’t going to be able to move if they tried.

She didn’t recognize any of them and she tried to squash the feeling of disappointment. Surely the men that she had came here with still lived. There would be no reason to kill any of them. They were strong able men. They were certainly capable of working in the mines for a good amount of time.

She bent down next to one of the men, setting the flashlight on the ground next to him as she worked the gag out of his mouth.

“What are you doing here?” He was quick to hiss at her, eyes wild as he looked past her towards the darkness. “This is no place for a woman.”

“I’ve been here for a while. I’m saving you.” She said.

She had forgotten how the men Above also thought that women were fragile. Only the men could work in the mines. Only the men could be strong. Apparently now also only the men could save people.

“Go girl, this place is not safe! How in the world did you manage to get down here.” He actually pulled away from her touch. “We’re too far gone for your help. Save yourself.”

“I don’t need saving!” She hissed at him. “Let me untie you and we’ll make our way out of here. At least let me give you a fighting chance.”

He flinched away from her once more. “No one is getting us out of here alive girl. There are others, deeper in the mines. If you think you can get us out, then go to them. They’re still healthy enough to make it.”

It hurt her heart to think that she was too late for these men. He was right though. Even if she managed to untie them before the goblins came to take them, it wasn’t likely they would be walking out of here on their own.

“Tell me everything you can remember. I will do what I can.” She said quietly, then listened carefully as he described every step of their journey. The other men were nodding off by the time he had finished and Jane knew it was unlikely they would get much more time.

Already the goblins were speaking louder, whoops echoing down the tunnel.

“Now get further into this cave girl. Follow behind them like you’re one of them and then disappear into the crowd.” It seemed the man was trying to save her even though he was the one that was tied up.

He winced, his bearded face creasing as he shifted. “Go on. Give us the honor of dying as heros. And whatever happens, you stay hidden.”

It was clear he wanted this, that the others also wanted this as well. The only thing Jane could do for these men was give them a final push of courage.

She bit her lip hard. “I don’t want to be the reason you die.”

“Don’t make us die for nothing, beauty.” He replied quietly.

There was just enough time for her to nod before she started to see the shadows stretch across the wall. Flashlight clutched in her hands, she clicked it off and managed to press her back to a stone that would hide her from their view.

She tasted salt water against her tongue as tears hit against her lips. These men deserved someone to mourn them. Their families would never know that it was not a swift death. That instead they had been worked to the bone, starved, and then murdered in front of hundreds of beasts. They deserved to have someone cry for them.

The men started shouting. The one she had taken the gag from swearing at the creatures that manhandled them. The others managed to shout through the wads of cloth in their mouths.

She counted to ten as the footsteps started moving away from her, heart thundering in her chest. The flashlight in her hands shook as she slowly turned to find that none of the lights had remained. It would have been smarter for her to anchor herself where she could have seen them if one had lingered. There was no reason for them to stay but these goblins were smarter than any human gave them credit for.

The click of the flashlight seemed too loud even to her ears. But as she shone it through the cave, there was no one lingering in the shadows.

Relief made her knees weak. It appeared that it was not her who was going to be dying today.

It didn’t take much to follow in the tracks of the goblins. She slid through the crowd until she stood at the back. She didn’t know what it was that pulled her to a stop at the opening of the cave. It felt as though there was a string at the very center of her being tugging her to turn and look back.

What she saw behind her made her want to run all the more.

It was Ruric standing at the head of the crowd. The human men before him on their knees staring out at the crowd with fear in their eyes. The goblins were jeering at them, calling out in their strange language and clacking sharp teeth at them.

In his hands she could see a wicked blade. Serrated on one edge, blinking sharp on the other, she knew this was a weapon designed to kill.

He seemed so apathetic as he looked at the men. What little expression she was used to seeing on his face was