Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series by Christopher Williams

advantage of the situation.
    Grabbing Thomas’ pack, Flare quickly opened it and looked inside. He wasn’t sure what he hoped to find, perhaps a knife that he could use to slice his bonds. He dumped t he pack on the ground and began pushing the contents around. The first thing he came across were some provisions and spare clothes. He quickly shoved them to the side with barely a glance. Next, Flare was surprised to see the spare clothes from his pack, they had been taken from him when he had been captured. He paused only a moment before one of the attacking creatures screamed and urged Flare onward. He didn’t even risk a glance to see how the battle was going. Shoving his own clothes to the side, Flare’s heart sank as he saw the remaining contents of Thomas’ pack; two small prayer books.
    There was another scream and Flare did look up this time. He raised his eyes just in time to see the last monster fall to the ground. Thomas was standing with his back to Flare and it appeared that the monsters hadn’t even managed to touch the monk. Jordan was another matter. The guard’s left arm was a bloody mess and it hung loosely by his side. There were also several bloody slashes across the guard’s chest and some deep cuts on his face and neck. It was surprising that the guard was still standing.
    Frantically, Flare thought of going for one of the guard’s packs but he seriously doubted he had that much time. He began casting his eyes back through the contents of Thomas’ pack when he heard Jordan ’s voice.
    “Sir! The prisoner!”
    It was at that moment that Flare’s eyes fell on his clothes that Thomas had confiscated. When he pushed the clothes away, they had rolled apart and revealed something wrapped u p in the middle. It was the old and rather worn pouch that Flare had found in the mountains. It was so much more than just a pouch though. It was a doorway . Without wasting a moment, Flare dove for the pouch. Fear seized him, fear that he would be too slow, fear that Thomas would stop him. His heart was pounding and his breathing was frantic.
    Flare landed hard on the ground and grabbed for the pouch. He could heard a muffled cry and he knew it came from Thomas, but he didn’t bother looking. He flipped the cover open and slipped a finger inside. There was a blinding flash and the ground seemed to drop away from beneath him.

Chapter 8
     
     
    Flare hit the ground and rolled over in pain. Damn floor was awfully hard, but that wasn’t surprising since it was stone. It took a moment to realize that he had escaped Thomas and the other agents of the Church and then he began to laugh. His laugh quickly degenerated into a cough and he cut off. The pouch was a doorway and led to this castle. A powerful wizard had used his craft to transport a castle to a place in between the worlds. The reason was simple, while time did pass for those at the castle, they did not age as long as they were in between worlds.
    He opened his eyes and it took several moments before the wall in front of him came into focus. He was still staring at it when a woman’s voice spoke from behind him.
    “I did not think it would take you this long to return.”
    He wasn’t quite sure but he thought there was a hint of anger in her voice. Rolling over, Flare looked up into the face of Diana. Her husband had been the wizard responsible for this castle, but he had died centuries before on a trip back to the normal world.
    Diana was an attractive woman. She was around forty years old, with some slight wrinkling around her eyes. Her hair was long and luxurious, a beautiful brown. Some of her natural beauty was missing now, as her features were twisted in anger. She wasn’t even looking at him, but instead was staring at a spot on the wall.
    Confused, Flare wondered what he could have done to anger Diana. She had seemed happy and content when he left her last time. Then a thought occurred to him. When he had left here last time, they had just slept