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Thor followed on Reese&039;s heels, Krohn behind hieway to his father&039;s chah a secret door, hidden in one of the stone walls, and as Reese held a torch, they walked single file in the crauts of the castle in a dizzying array of twists and turns They ascended a narrow, stone staircase, which led to another passageway They turned, and before them was another staircase Thor eas built into the castle hundreds of years ago," Reese explained in a whisper as they went, breathing hard as he clirandfather, the third MacGil king He had it built after a siege - it&039;s an escape route Ironically, ere never under siege since, and these passageways haven&039;t been used in centuries They were boarded up and I discovered theet around the castle and no one knohere I aer, Gwen and Godfrey and I would play hide and seek in them Kendrick was too old, and Gareth didn&039;t like to play with us No torches, that was the rule Pitch black It was terrifying at the tie with a stunning display of virtuosity, obvious that he knew every step by heart

"How do you possibly reet lonely growing up as a boy in this castle," Reese continued, "especially when everyone else is older, and you&039;re too young to join the Legion, and there&039;s nothing else to do I made it my mission to discover every nook and cranny of this place"

They turned again, went down three stone steps, turned through a narrow opening in the wall, then went down a long stairwell Finally, Reese brought theainst it and listened Thor came up beside him

"What door is this?" Thor asked

"Shhh," Reese said

Thor grew quiet, as he hunched over and put his ear against the door, listening Krohn stood there behind hi up

"It is the back door to my father&039;s chamber," Reese whispered "I want to hear who&039;s in there with hi, to the muffled voices behind the door

"Sounds like the rooful look

"You will be walking into a firestorenerals will be there, his council, his advisers, his family - everyone And I&039;m sure every one of them will be on the lookout for you, his supposedmob If my father still thinks you did it, you&039;ll be finished Are you sure you want to do this?"

Thor sed hard It was now or never His throat went dry, as he realized this was one of the turning moments of his life It would be easy to turn back now, to flee He could live a safe life soh that door and potentially spend the rest of his life in the dungeon, with those cretins - or even executed

He breathed deep, and decided He had to face his demons head-on He could not back away

Thor nodded He was afraid to open his e his mind

Reese nodded back, with a look of approval, then pushed the iron handle and leaned his shoulder into the door

Thor squinted in the bright torchlight as the door flew open He found hi&039;s private chamber, Krohn and Reese beside him

There were at least two dozen people cra, who lay on his bed; so were his advisers and generals, along with Argon, the Queen, Kendrick, Godfrey - even Gwendolyn It was a death vigil, and Thor was intruding on his family&039;s private affair

The atrave MacGil lay propped up on pillows, and Thor was relieved to see that he was still alive - at least for now

All the faces turned at once, startled at Thor&039;s and Reese&039;s sudden entrance Thor realized what a shock it must have been, with their sudden appearance in theout of a secret door in the stone wall

"That&039;s the boy!" so at Thor with hatred "He&039;s the one who tried to poison the king!"

Guards bore down on him from all corners of the room Thor hardly knehat to do A part of hirySo he braced hirab hi his attackers

As Thor stood there, he felt a sudden heat rise up within hih him; he raised one hand, involuntarily, and held out a paly towards them

Thor was amazed as they all stopped in mid-stride, feet away, as if frozen His pohatever it elling within him, kept them at bay

"How dare youhis sword "Was trying to kill our king once not enough?"

Brom approached Thor with his sword drawn; as he did, Thor felt soer than he&039;d ever had He siy within Brom&039;s sword, its shape, its metal, and somehow, he became one with it He willed it to stop in his mind&039;s eye

Broon!" Brom spun and yelled "Stop this sorcery at once! Stop this boy!"

Argon stepped from the crowd, and slowly lowered his hood He stared back at Thor with intense, burning eyes

"I see no reason to stop hion said "He has not come here to har!"

"That is what you suppose," Argon said "That is not what I see"

"Leave hiravelly, deep voice

Everyone turned as MacGil sat up He looked over, very faint It was clearly a struggle for him to speak

"I want to see the boy He is not the one that killed me I saw the man&039;s face, and it was not hiuard, and Thor relaxed hisat Thor warily, as if he were from another realm, and slowly put their swords back in their scabbards