The sky faded into darkness as Shailyn and the two younger slave girls, tensed and ready, listened for sounds in the night. They huddled together, chained to the wall out in the cool night air. When the guard finally started snoring, they looked at each other in relief. Shailyn knew it was time. Adrenaline pumped through her body as she motioned to the younger girls to get ready. They hadn't attempted to escape in the past, but this master was lazy and short on guards. Earlier in the night, their master had stumbled off to his chambers and locked himself in. He was no doubt in an unconscious stupor from his indulgences.

Shailyn scanned the area. It was a good thing they had been chained up outside that night, to the side wall of the main building. The added complication of sneaking out of the house would have made their task a lot more difficult. She pulled away from the wall as far as her chains would let her go, and strained to look around the corner of the building. The sentry, the only one on duty tonight, had dozed off by the gate of the walled-in courtyard. A breeze stirred his cloak but didn't wake him from his exhausted slumber.

Shailyn glanced over to the two slave girls beside her. They seemed so young and vulnerable as they grasped each other's hands for support, eyes wide with fear. She could tell they hadn't been slaves long. With their brown hair, golden eyes, and tanned skin, they looked like the people of the desert, so they would easily blend in with the population if they could escape to the next city. Shailyn, with her golden hair and fair skin, would stand out more, but there was nothing she could do about that. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. The girls smiled back shakily, clinging to each other.

With a nod, Shailyn grabbed the metal ring that held all three of them to the wall and concentrated hard to access the magic coursing through her body. She squeezed the metal tight as she sent a measured blast through her hands and into the ring. The jolt shot through the binds of the younger girls, who jumped and exchanged shocked looks. Shailyn pulled the melting ring free from the wall. A strange smell wafted from the metal. She stifled a groan as her energy drained slightly from the action. She freed herself, helped the other two discard the chains that threaded though the rings on their cuffs, and then they all crept towards the gate.

As they progressed through the courtyard, the younger girls stood guard while Shailyn moved to scout ahead. She motioned for them to wait a moment before slipping around the corner where the snoring guard slouched against the wall. Without hesitation, she dispatched the man and leaned him slowly back against the wall. A small sigh escaped her lips as she thanked the higher powers that her strength hadn't waned entirely. She carefully took off his cloak, which lay over him, then slipped his sword from its sheath, and untied his money pouch from his belt. She turned back and signaled the other two. When the girls rounded the corner, she handed the small pouch to one of the girls and the cloak to the other. Shailyn took a moment to tie the guard's sword around her waist before moving on.

They peered around the corner briefly before moving into the shadow of the wall. We're lucky this bastard of a slave owner lives on the edge of the city, Shailyn thought as they crept down the street. All three scurried from shadow to shadow until the city walls came into view.

"Now to find horses--or better yet, camels," Shailyn whispered to her companions. Their quick look around proved fruitless. She motioned to the other two to follow her. They stayed as close to the city walls as they could until they saw a gate in the distance. Shailyn could hear the nervous, quiet panting from the girls behind her as they ran. Their hushed footsteps were the only sound that broke the stillness of the night. Just as she was about to lose hope of finding transportation, the smell of manure filled her nostrils. Shailyn followed the smell as she led the girls to a small stable only slightly out of their way. She motioned for them to wait, and then peered inside the stable. She could make out two horses and a goat tied up. She went back outside and whispered to the younger girls to saddle up the horses. Shailyn kept watch outside the door as the others went about their task.

She allowed herself to take a breath as she scanned the top of the wall for sentries. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted shadows moving in the distance. Her adrenaline spiked and she drew her power and sent it out into the surrounding area. At first she "saw" nothing, but caution made her wary. She took another look at her surroundings and suddenly shadows seemed to shift all around her. She knocked twice on the stall behind her to alert the two that they were out of time. Shuffling came from behind her as the two moved the saddled horses out of the stable.

They were almost to the side gate when shadows once more caught her attention. They had no time to react as armed men emerged from all around. Shailyn cursed as she counted eight guards closing in. She drew her sword and urged the girls closer to the gate. The men lunged at her as the two youngest scrambled onto their horses. The world became a blur around her as she sliced a path to the gate with her stolen sword. She screamed for the girls to flee before turning back to her attackers. Calling forth her energy, she sent a burst of power towards one guard and knocked him to the ground. Whirling around, she met another attacker from behind, landing a deadly blow to his unarmored neck. She turned just in time to see another guard with sword raised toward her. She stretched her free hand out and sent a blast of energy towards him. The force of the blast threw him backwards into the wall. The sound of hoof beats fading told Shailyn that the young girls had made their escape. Relieved, she hoped they could make it to safety.

In her moment of distraction, one of her attackers closed the gap between them and attempted to grab her. She instinctively shot out another burst of crippling power but gasped as the effort left her even more drained than before. She stumbled as the guard fell to the ground in front of her. A groan escaped her lips as she looked to the remaining four. It was then that her body started to falter. Only four? She cursed to herself. I used to be able to take down ten before weakening! Another groan escaped her as she struggled to raise her sword. She managed to block a swing thrown by the man in front of her but the exertion left her already strained muscles useless. She couldn't stop the tears from escaping as she dropped limp to the ground. It was over. She had failed. Her only hope was that the other two would make it to freedom.