I had a massive headache when I next opened my eyes.

I was surrounded by my soldiers and the prisoners. Dorak was fanning me with a piece of rag. The dead lady spell was slowly dissolving into the air. One thing was certain: I had won the challenge.

I sat up, massaging my head. For some moments I remained quiet, my hardships of a few moments back still playing in front of me. A health vial helped me restore my mental and physical energies.

“So, the spell is lifted, right?” I asked Dorak, rubbing my neck. “You can rebel against the Smartians now.”

“The spell has been lifted indeed,” Dorak replied. “I am sorry, Lord, for I had doubted your abilities. But I was wrong. You are the king of the eviluns, you can do anything!” And turning to the prisoners, he raised his fist into the air. “Glory to the king!” he shouted. Everyone likewise pumped their fists into the air and shouted, “Glory to the king!”

I was lifted to the air in celebration, while the chant went on: “Glory to the King! Glory to the King!”

“All right, all right,” I said, liking the new optimism in the air. I gestured that I wanted to be put back down. “Truth be told, I didn’t know if I would win. But I did. And let’s all be thankful for that. I guess that’s why it’s important why you should try even if you are not sure of victory. But we aren’t done yet. We need to get out of here, kill the Smartians and rescue my friends.”

And that was my short speech. I could be a professional public speaker someday.

It turned out, the door which led out of the dimension could only be opened from the outside. Dorak had skipped telling me this detail earlier. I was thankful because it would have taken my focus away from defeating the lady spell.

We now assigned monsters at strategic locations near the door and waited for a Smartian to open it. The rest was up to fate. Neither Dorak, nor the other prisoners knew if the Smartians monitored activities inside the dimension. The Smartians were clever, and we were better off not underestimating them. They might even know that the spell had been removed. If they did, they would never open the door. We still crossed our fingers and hoped the door would swing open soon.

I was aware that Kiara was slowly regaining consciousness. The other soldiers with her were still comatose. Whatever the Smartians had done to sedate Kiara and the others was having a lesser effect on Kiara. I suspected that it had to do with Kiara being a human.

I kept observing Kiara through my mind and after a while I detected that she was quite awake. I contacted her.

“Kiara?” I said.

“Vicky… where are you?”

“First you tell me where you are,” I said. “Are you safe? Are those creatures near you?”

“I am safe, so far,” Kiara said, so that I felt like a weight had been taken off my shoulder. “I am on a bed, and the others are on beds too. We are in some kind of a cold chamber. There is only one of those creatures in here, though I can see more creatures moving outside the door. I think they are wrestling each other outside.”

“All right,” I said. “Stay calm. I have been told those creatures are going to… hurt you. But not today at least.” I refrained from telling her the Smartians’ sinister plans. “I am in a dimension of sorts with the other soldiers. We have found the prisoners too and we are with them. We are all safe. But there is no way we can get out of this place unless the door to here is opened from the outside. The creatures might open the door themselves to check on us, but we aren’t sure if they will.” And then a bulb went on in my head. “Do you think there is any way you can find the door and open it?”

If the creatures caught Kiara sneaking around the worst that could happen to her is they might sedate her again. She was in a position to take this risk.

“I might be able to take a peep into the corridor outside,” Kiara replied. “Let me see if there is a chance. The creature in this chamber is a few meters away from me. If it goes out I can make an escape.”

“Just be careful, all right?” I told her.

“I will be,” Kiara promised.

A few minutes later Kiara got her opportunity. I waited, biting my fingers.

“All right,” Kiara informed me. “I am taking a peep outside. Pray for me. Here I go.”

I waited patiently. I pictured Kiara moving towards the door of a blurry chamber on tiptoe. Around her my soldiers lay unconscious in beds, drooling.

“I have reached the door,” Kiara finally said, and I released a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. “Let me take a peep outside…”

A few heart beats passed.

“There are at least five of the creatures on one end of the corridor,” Kiara informed, “and on the opposite end there is a turn. I can’t see anything that resembles a door. I don’t even know how far away I am from the place where you are. Shit! I think someone’s seen me!”

My heart hammered in my chest as she said that. A few moments passed.

“Okay, I have come back to my bed,” Kiara said. “I have closed my eyes. I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I hear footsteps. I am lying absolutely still. I can sense a shadow next to me… All right, they have gone away. I think they hadn’t seen me at the door, after all. I just opened my eyes. The creature has left the room again.”

As she was speaking this, I took note that the intensity of her voice in my mind was just a tad less compared to when she had been at the door of her chamber. It also required more mental energy to keep up the communication with her, compared to when she had been at the door only a few moments back.

This could only mean one thing–Kiara’s door was closer to me than Kiara’s bed.

Could I use this somehow to guide Kiara towards the door of the dimension?

I told Kiara about my observation.

“That will be a big help,” Kiara said. “We will try it out, but I am still hearing footsteps outside in the corridor. Let’s wait.”