The Third Kingdom

“You’ll find out soon enough. Now, I said get up.” Dora smiled in that terrible way she had. “But don’t get your hopes up. I promise you, you are not going to like where I’m taking you, or what is going to happen to you there.”

CHAPTER

83

As the woman came across the room toward her, Kahlan heard footsteps running at the far end of the hall. Then, in the distance, she heard a heavy thud. Dora didn’t seem to notice the footsteps, but then, before she reached Kahlan, she heard the thud.

Kahlan heard people running out in the hall.

The Mord-Sith turned just as people flung open the heavy door as they burst into the room. Kahlan was astonished to see three bare-chested men with shaved heads and smeared with whitish ash charge through the doorway. Their eyes were circled with black. It was a frightening, otherworldly sight.

Dora’s Agiel spun up into her fist. The three men leaped for her without pause. The first caught the Agiel in the center of his chest. He let out a clipped cry before falling dead.

The other two crashed into the Mord-Sith, taking her off her feet and to the ground right in front of Kahlan. When Dora landed hard on her back on the stone floor, it knocked the wind from her in a loud huff.

With lightning speed, one of the two men, to Kahlan’s horror, used his teeth to rip a massive piece out of Dora’s throat. Blood gushed in great gouts as the man tore at her like an animal. The second bit into her face, raking his teeth over her cheek, pulling off a mouthful of flesh, gulping it down.

Dora’s feet kicked weakly as her life’s blood pumped out of the gaping wound. She couldn’t breathe. She stared up at the ceiling in shock.

The eyes of the first man, his whitish face smeared with blood, turned up toward Kahlan, as if suddenly noticing her for the first time there on the floor.

His head lifted as he growled like a wolf seeing prey.

While the other man feasted on the still-moving Dora, tearing at her with his teeth, the man who had ripped out Dora’s throat suddenly sprang over the downed Mord-Sith toward Kahlan.

She had been expecting it. With lightning speed, as he dove in on top of her, Kahlan whipped the chain around the man’s neck, spinning him around in the process.

With a grunt of effort powering her muscles, she planted her boot between his shoulder blades and gave the chain a mighty yank. The chain suddenly snapping taut crushed his windpipe. He clawed at his throat as he struggled to gasp for air.

The second man, seeing what was happening, immediately jumped over Dora to attack Kahlan.

As his full weight flew toward her, Kahlan kicked him square in the face, crushing in his nose and left cheekbone. He was stopped cold, clutching both hands over the gushing wound. The blood flooding back into his throat immediately started drowning him.

He fell blindly, rolling over on his back, writhing on the floor, struggling in vain for air. Without a moment’s delay Kahlan used the heel of her boot to hammer his face as hard as she could. It broke his fingers, but it also crushed in the more fragile bones in the center of his face. She used her boot twice again in quick succession, battering his face, until he went still.

The first man, still tangled in the chain, had finally suffocated and was hardly moving any longer. Kahlan panted, catching her own breath.

She could hear people racing up and down the hall, searching the other rooms. She knew that at any moment they would find her chained to the wall. She knew that if she was to have a chance, she had to get away.

She could see the key to the manacles hanging from Dora’s belt. Kahlan unwound the chain from the dead man and tried, but couldn’t quite reach the key with her fingers. She switched positions, throwing her legs out instead because they would have a longer reach. She stretched the chain to its full length and was able to get her boot over Dora’s middle.

With all her strength, she pressed down on her foot to keep hold of the body as she struggled to drag the woman closer. She needed the key off Dora’s belt or she was going to be killed and eaten while still chained to the wall.

With grunts of effort, she made jerking pulls. She kept at it until she had dragged the Mord-Sith closer. The pool of blood helped make the floor somewhat slippery and the black leather Dora wore also helped her slide a little easier in the blood. At last she had pulled the dead weight close enough to be able to snatch the key from the belt.

As she heard people running up and down the halls, and distant screams and pleas for help, or mercy, Kahlan fumbled frantically with the key, trying to get it into the manacles.

At last the iron on one wrist sprang open. Kahlan shoved the shackle off her wrist and went to work to open the other. With one wrist free, the second was easier and she quickly got it open. She tossed the chain aside and ran to the door.