“Yes,” Vanessa began. “But—”
Sam interrupted Vanessa’s sentence by slamming his elbow into the glass. It cracked, then shattered, pouring glass all over the stone floor.
“Where’s Braden?” Graeme asked.
“He got caught,” Sam said. “We need to get out of here.” He glanced behind him. “Now!” He turned and ran out of the room, holding the crown.
Graeme and Vanessa followed after him.
“Something isn’t right,” Graeme said.
They ran after Sam into the main foyer, and then out the front door. They followed him into the courtyard that led to the drawbridge.
“Sam! Wait!” Graeme called. But his words fell on deaf ears.
Then Sam stopped, turned, and pulled the lever that would close the large iron gate. The metal creaked downward. Graeme cursed. They weren’t going to make it in time.
“What is he doing?” Vanessa asked through labored breaths.
“I believe we’ve fallen into a trap,” Graeme said. “Hurry.” And she did; he couldn’t fault her for not trying. She wasn’t slowing him down that much, but they’d never reach the gate in time.
Sam stood there watching them, holding the crown in one hand and pulling the lever with the other.
“You’re a bastard,” Graeme said as they reached the gate. It slammed closed, locking into the stone floor, trapping them inside the courtyard.
Sam simply smiled.
And then it all made sense. The Raven stepped out onto the path at the edge of the drawbridge and walked slowly toward them.
“Graeme, is this your lovely wife?” The Raven asked, a deadly smile on his lips.
“Go to hell,” Graeme said.
“No introduction? Pity.” The Raven directed his attention to Sam. “It’s time.”
Sam turned to follow, but he couldn’t move. He yanked on his leg, but it wouldn’t budge. He was caught. “I can’t move,” Sam said.
The Raven stopped. “What do you mean, you can’t move?”
Sam jerked his leg again, but he was firmly trapped. “My leg is trapped. My boot is caught on something in the drawbridge mechanism.” He continued pulling on his leg, his movements becoming increasingly frantic. “It’s stuck.”
“Give me the crown,” The Raven said.
“Don’t do it, Sam,” Graeme warned. “He’s only using you. When it serves him, you’ll be dead.” Graeme paused before adding, “Is that what happened to Braden? Did The Raven tire of his service and kill him?”
“That idiot never worked for me,” The Raven spat.
“Open the gate and we can help you,” Graeme said to Sam.
The Raven didn’t wait for further negotiation. He simply walked over to Sam and elbowed him in the nose. Blood exploded from the man’s face, and he howled in pain. The Raven ripped the crown out of the man’s hand, then ran off the drawbridge.
As soon as he stepped off, the bridge started to move. The chains creaked and gears shifted. Sam yelled and grabbed at his leg.
“Graeme, what’s happening?” Vanessa asked. “Can you stop it, stop the bridge?”
Graeme searched all around the gate and the stone wall surrounding it, but found nothing that would enable him to stop the bridge. “It must be inside the castle. Someone inside there has closed the bridge.”
The closer the bridge came to Sam, the more he yelled.