Kael was suddenly in front of me, his face inches from mine. His voice cut through my fog, "Harper, stay with me."

Finding something to pick the locks on my cuffs from Madeline's selection of tools, his hands fumbled to release me. Even when the bonds slid from their place on my arm, I could feel their pressure on me. I knew they were truly still there.

I had to tell him. It wasn't fair to have him rush to help me if he wasn't changing my outcome in reality. I questioned the clarity of my thoughts, but still felt obligated to expose my true situation. I didn't move when my bonds slid off. "Kael," I whispered. He looked up at me with concern, but I shook my head. I could scarcely feel my dry lips as they moved.

"It doesn't matter. This isn't real. It's just me and Madeline." I gave a weak smile, hoping not to hurt his feelings after all he'd done. "Thank you, but it doesn't matter now. It's too late. It's just me and Madeline."

I no longer could hold up my head and let it fall. I had never felt so weak.

"Harper, it is me," he said fiercely. He knelt down and lifted my face until it was parallel with his.

"Me and Madeline," I whispered, staring forward through glazed eyes, "that's all. This isn't real. I'm so sorry." I choked on a sob that wasn't coming. There were no tears to shed.

He pulled me toward him, wrapping my good arm around his neck as he secured an arm around my waist. His hold felt so safe and strong. Letting my subconscious win, I offered no further protest. I was surprised to see the wretched chair recede further and further from us. As we walked to the rope it swayed slightly, in and out of the light.

I tightened my hold on his neck. Slowly, methodically, Kael twisted the rope into secure knots around his waist and mine. He gave two short jerks on the rope and somehow we began our ascent. Once off the ground, I felt my weight tug on his neck and tried to grasp tighter but it was no use. I had no strength beyond a loose hold. My torso began to fall backward. His face contorted into a grimace as he pulled me back toward him. My body was pressed tightly to his side. I wasn't going to fall.

We were six feet off the ground when I felt a hand grasp my leg. I tried to call out, a feeble attempt that was hardly audible. The effort required every ounce of energy I had left. At last, I was being pulled back to reality, when only seconds ago I had nearly escaped. I looked down, into Madeline's garish face. Her gun was pointed up at us. Her hand clenched my foot. In her rage, the gun shook as she spoke.

"Enough," she breathed through clenched teeth. Black hair was matted in fresh blood at the side of her face. "Drop her now, Kael," she commanded.

Our assent slowed with the added weight. Perspiration from Kael's temple fell to the crown of my head. Holding me alone had been torturous. With Madeline, I knew it would be seconds until I fell back to the reality below.

"Let go, Madeline," Kael gasped, his tight hold on me unwavering. He reached under his shirt and removed the diamond he'd hidden in Agatha's shed. Even in the darkness it sparkled, reflecting off the faint moonlight in the dimness of the tower.

"You have it!" She exclaimed, reaching for it, faltering in her grip.

Kael glanced at his watch, hesitating. Madeline's eyes locked onto her prize. I felt the arm around me tighten, crushing me against him. The next second an explosion tore through the tower, starting at the base and sending a cloud of smoke billowing up toward us. Madeline ducked her head, trying not to breathe in the fumes. Another explosion sounded. Our rope swayed as a draft gusted upward, and the fumes began to burn our lungs and eyes. I could see flames building below us. The stone walls succumbed to the explosion as large pieces of the infrastructure began to crumble into the abyss below us.

"Give it to me!" Madeline shouted. "Or she dies now!" Madeline raised the gun toward me.

"As you wish," Kael tossed the stone with force. It knocked the gun from her hands, and the jewel disappeared into the smoke.

"You fool!" Madeline shouted. She looked below frantically, considering her options. She glanced back at us.

"Go, Madeline. It won't be buried until the next round of explosives," pausing Kael glanced at his watch then warned, "You have three minutes." All color drained from her face. She looked down, briefly considering before she let go, dropping into the clouds of black smoke.

With Madeline gone, the rope began to move faster. Three minutes didn't seem enough time to reach the top, but finally we did. Glancing up I could see the ledge, hear the wind whistling over the top. Below us, black fog covered roaring flames.

Kael reached the top, pushing me up first. Our rope was attached to a motorized clamp near the ledge. I rolled over to my back, unable to muster the energy to stand. Kael reached his second hand over, struggling to pull himself up to the ground. I reached my hand toward his but felt devoid of any energy to help him. He had scarcely climbed over when a series of three deafening explosions shook the ground beneath us. Stones fell away from where we had been seconds ago. The edge of the yawning opening grew closer to where I lay as rows of rock succumbed to the explosion's force.

Pushing up with my elbows, I wanted to run but my body refused my mind's urgent commands. My limbs felt heavy and lifeless. As the ground beneath me began to disappear, I felt the ground give way beneath me.

Instead of being lost to the flames however, I found myself several yards away on a patch of grass. Kael released his hold on me but left a hand on my shoulder as he caught his breath. His concerned eyes searched mine.

"Ok," I whispered in an attempt to reassure him. Noting the blood covering his shirt and half his face, I looked away. Recalling his stab wound, I frowned. How had his face become so completely covered? I shuddered, wishing I could ask him, but lacking the strength to form the words. I had never felt so weak, so incapable. We sat like this for a few minutes, regaining our breath, thankful that we were alive.

Kael's hand still hadn't moved from my shoulder. I looked down to see my own shirt was blood soaked. A stain was spreading from my shoulder where I realized Kael's hand was holding pressure on my wound. I looked back at Kael watching me intently. The blood on his face and shirt was mine. Gray spots began to form across my vision. I would be unconscious soon.

A stranger's voice called, "Hey!"

The heavy tread of a large group vibrated in the ground beneath me. Brought out of my stupor, I saw an armed team approaching us. Weapons drawn, they continued to shout at us.

"Hands up!"

"Get them up!"

They moved in until they had surrounded us. I blinked hard against the gray spots in my vision and turned questioning eyes to Kael.

His hand remained on me, but he raised the other in the air.

He called out, "We're not armed!"

When they neared, two members of the black garbed team reached down and pulled him to his feet, away from me. I felt his hand lose contact with my shoulder, bringing me to the sharp reality that he was leaving me.

"Kael!" I screamed. My voice returned with a rush of adrenaline.

Two men came toward me. Their faces obscured by a protective shield, only their eyes were visible behind the glass. Hard and unsympathetic, they pulled me up to my feet, every inch of me aching with the effort. I moaned even as I tried to move forward, toward the only face I knew. Bloody or not, I needed to see him.

"Kael!" I cried again.

The men on either side of him held him fast, pulling him backward into a swarm of identical black clad soldiers.

He was yelling something to me. I heard "ok" and "safe."

In our current situation, those words didn't seem appropriate. We were being torn apart by these soldiers who had little knowledge of our recent brush with peril.

Pressure on my shoulders made me cry out in pain. I was forced into a seated position briefly before being pushed down onto a gurney. An oxygen mask blew into my lungs. I took a deep breath, glad for a measure of relief. At that moment, a woman's face appeared over me. She was nothing like the others. Immaculate in a gray suit, her brown hair was tied back from her face in a low ponytail.

I was lifted off the ground. The woman walked as I moved, watching me. "You're safe now, Harper," she said. She reached down and squeezed my hand repeating, "You're safe."

*****

Another close one! She certainly knows how to get into a tight spot. Who is this new team? Is Harper really safe??

*****