"Long time, no see," Seth said to Leila. Leila gave Seth a defiant stare in response. She was still standing within inches of Argon and carefully she tested the length of the chain on her legs. Leila would not be able to kick him; so instead she stomped with her full force on his foot.

Argon yelped in pain and glared at her furiously. Leila laughed and waited for his reaction. Seth would not be able to stop Argon as he was twice Seth's size, and Argon was very mad. Three men jumped up from behind to restrain Argon.

"Employing a hot head now?" Leila asked the other courier.

"Feisty as ever, I see," Seth replied, moving closer but staying out of her range.

"So what's in this for you?" Leila asked. "Did he finally agree to let you have his daughter?"

Seth was surprised that Leila knew but tried not to show it on his face. "Do you think I need anything other than an offer to catch the famous ghost?" Seth had spent the last four years working in her shadow. Every time he went against and tried to beat her with an assignment, she was always victorious.

"So you are doing this purely for your own enjoyment?" she replied. The three men holding Argon down continued to struggle with the large man.

"That girl needs to learn some manners," Argon complained, straining to stand.

"And you don't?" Leila retorted spitting in his direction but missing. Argon growled, but he could not remove the men holding him down. More men approached Seth from behind. Confident that he had Leila restrained, Seth did not move away as they talked.

"We have three couriers following us and Lior is mobilizing their army," the first man replied.

"Which couriers?" Seth asked.

"Two are from Roger's company and one from Canor," the second man reported. Leila smiled. She had not seen Marx in a while. Marx would not pass up the opportunity to help her, especially if it meant beating Seth. Seth returned to the group of men sitting around the fire.

"Argon, keep your men here and distract anyone that comes this way. My men will keep moving with our prize. The sooner we get to Jahangir, the safer we will be," Seth said to his men. Quickly, half of the camp began to pack up. Seth returned to Leila.

"Seems Marx has plans to rescue you," Seth said as five men restrained Leila and began weaving the chains around her so that she could not move. She did not reply.

"Put her back inside," Seth commanded as they tied the blind fold back around her eyes. Gently she was lifted and laid down on the pillows inside the cart she had been riding in.

Leila sat in the dark and silence for the remainder of the trip. She had tried to loosen her arms, but her left shoulder was throbbing from whatever pierced her skin earlier. She could feel it was not making her sleepy like she suspected, but instead it was making the whole left side of her body weak. Leila could still move, but it took more effort than normal. It would be a waste of her energy if she continued to struggle. She did not like sitting in a room and not seeing it. Leila wiggled until the blind fold was off. Then she propped herself up against the pillows and wall and waited. Mobilizing his army, I wonder how Nalick is taking this, she thought.

Leila was in complete darkness. The windows were covered by thick shades that did not allow any light in the room. Softly she drifted off into a light sleep. Leila would need all her energy to get away for a third time from the castle of Jahangir, as each time she returned, he had made adjustments to better hold her.

After what Leila guessed had been almost two days with only brief stops along the way, she could hear noises outside her ride. Faintly people talked now outside her cart. As the days had progressed, Leila was getting weaker and weaker. As the ride yet again came to a halt, Seth conversed with the guards to the palace. The guards wanted to see her, but Seth would not let them. After the cart passed the gates, Leila followed the route in her mind leading them to the castle stables. The cart stopped, and the door opened. Leila adjusted her eyes. From sitting in complete darkness for days to the soft glow of the sun setting, the stables had a fuzzy glow. Two men gently picked her up and placed her on her feet. Leila felt a bit unstable and noticed her balance had also been affected by the weakness she was feeling in her left side of her body.

"It took longer than I expected, but to see the great ghost not as strong as normal is quite a treat,"

Seth teased. Leila adjusted for the difference in strength and stood eye to eye with Seth.

"I don't know what you did, but it still won't be enough to stop me," she glared at him.

Seth chuckled waving his hands in the air to dismiss her comment. "Trust me. This stuff can stop anyone. Even you, my dear." Seth motioned and several men held her arms and legs as Seth checked to make sure she was tightly secured. Leila just stood still. He was being extra cautious but he would eventually let his guard down and she would find her opportunity to leave. Seth again wrapped the blindfold around her, but little did he know she didn't need her sight to navigate this castle. Leila felt someone pick her up because she was wrapped so tightly there was no way she could walk. After the person weaved through various passageways of the castle, he finally stopped. The man carrying her then set her down in the middle of a room. Metal doors clanked locking shut. Someone's hand removed her blindfold.

Leila opened her eyes to find she was in a large cage within an ornately decorated room. She turned her head to face Seth. He was grinning ear to ear.

"I really would like to see the famed Leila get out of this one, but I have better things to do with my time. Here," he said while throwing clothes inside the cage. "Once I unlock you, change into these. We want you to be presentable when I take you before the king to get my reward."

"So, if I leave before you present me, then you won't get your reward?" she asked.

"Trust me; you won't be leaving so soon." Seth smiled.

"What if I don't feel like changing?" Leila asked haughtily.

"If you are not changed by the time I return, I will dress you myself," Seth replied. "Now be a good girl and just change." Leila glared at him. She would dress herself as the thought of him touching her disgusted her as much as meeting with Jahangir.

"I can't change if you don't unlock me," Leila said as he turned to leave.

"I almost forgot. Too bad though, I was looking forward to changing you," he smiled and unlocked all the locks but made no effort to remove the chains.

Chapter 19.

Seth left the room, but the guard that had carried Leila in still remained. She quickly unwound the chains, freeing herself. Leila tested her strength as she stretched and found her left side was still weaker than normal. Gazing around the room, the window was the best way to leave, if she could actually scale the walls; Leila was three to four floors above the ground. Leila looked at the clothing before her and changed into the thin dress. They purposely gave her a dress that would be too cold for the weather outside. It was the end of winter, and though they did not have snow in Samael, the nights got bitterly cold until summer time started. As Leila turned back around, the guard was sitting grinning ear to ear from the peep show.

"Can you come here a moment?" Leila asked him sweetly. The man moved closer. When he was within arm's reach, Leila grabbed his head and banged it against the bars. The man slid to the floor, and she removed his keys. He had several identical keys, each of which would unlock the cage. She removed a key and placed the keychain back around his waist. The free key she quickly hid in the closest pillow. She then gently walked back to the man and slapped his face a few times. He woke with a start.

"You tripped and hit your head," Leila told the man. Men always believe sweet, innocent stories. He seemed confused but did not disagree with her. "I was going to see if you could get me something to drink," she said sweetly. The man nodded.

The guard stood and walked out of the room which provided Leila an opportunity to quickly unlock her cage. She walked to the window and looked down. Under normal circumstances, it would be easy to scale down, but with the numbness on her left side, she doubted it would be that simple. Before she could make her decision, the door opened. Seth walked in the room.

"Having second thoughts?" Seth asked. If Leila was feeling fine, she would have already been out the window and down a few floors. "Now that you are dressed, would you care to join me?"

Leila was not going to be able to leave quite yet, so she walked back to Seth. She held out her arms to be locked back up. She would need to think of another plan, but it would be easier after everyone went to bed. They had to sleep sometime. Leila had rested for two days which meant she was not tired enough to need sleep. Seth locked her hands together followed by her feet. She could not walk very easily, but there was enough chain to allow her to shuffle. Seth continued to grin like a conquering hero.

"Well, let's go get you your reward, though from what I hear, she will be very disappointed." Jahangir's oldest, and unwilling, daughter was the prize Seth wanted. Leila figured of anyone in the castle, she would be the best bet to help Leila escape. Leila walked behind Seth as two men each held her arms as she walked. Seth did not want to take any chances of losing her while transporting her. Once Leila was inside the royal chambers, Seth posted two guards at each door and window. Seth then chained her feet to a rod in the middle of the room, unchaining the rest of her.

"Please try to be presentable," Seth whispered in her ear as the main door opened.

Jahangir was an old man, fat and balding from age. He already had three wives and over a dozen children, some as old as Leila. Using the countries taxes, he had spent many resources tracking her down and trying to keep her in his castle for the past ten years. Leila figured that with all the chasing he didn't have much time for anything else and believed the rumors that claimed many of "his" children were not his own blood. Leila gave the man a disgusted look as he approached her. She stood tall and proud as he circled her. As he stopped behind her, she could hear Seth approach him. Together they whispered amongst themselves. Jahangir moved back around and faced her. Jahangir smiled as if he won a contest; Leila just glared back at him.

"Welcome back, dear child," Jahangir said. "I hope they were not too rough in getting you here." Leila did not respond. Talking to him was not worth her time.

Jahangir moved closer and picked up her arm. Leila tried to contain her disgust from being touched by him. "Such a barbaric custom. I bet it hurt a lot. I am sure my doctors will find some way to remove it." Leila still did not reply. Leila knew enough from her previous encounters with Jahangir that he had a short temper. As weak as she already felt, Leila did not wish to test his temper.

"I am surprised you are not thanking me," Jahangir said smugly. "I thought I was doing you a favor by rescuing you from Nalick. I hear he is such an appalling king even his own people fear him." He was trying to bait her to respond, yet she kept quiet. Jahangir moved close enough for her to feel his breath on her face.

"We have been making preparations since we knew where to find you. The wedding will be in two days," Jahangir said as he looked down the front of her dress. "And I can't wait." Leila was ready to gag but kept her thoughts to herself. Nalick would not wait two days to rescue her, but she also didn't want to start a war. Jahangir walked away as he was not satisfied with the quiet Leila that stood before him. With a wave of his hand, men surrounded her and locked her back up to take her back to the cage.

"Until she figures out there is nowhere for her to run to, keep her locked in that cage," Jahangir ordered. Jahangir knew, as well as Seth, that Leila probably already had a plan to run away. "Also, don't unlock her."

Outside Jahangir's room Leila commented to Seth, "No prize yet?" Seth was upset.

"That is none of your business," Seth replied.

Once she was locked back in her cage, Leila sat down to evaluate the situation. She was still locked in more chains than she wanted to deal with, but chains were never problem. The problem was the weakness in her left side that was slowly spreading to the right. As the guards changed, Leila noticed something seemed different. In the dim light of the room, she could not see the face of the guard, but he seemed familiar. Seth gave checked on her one last time before he headed to his own quarters for the night.

"Do not go near her, for any reason," Seth ordered the guard; the guard nodded. Once Seth left the room, the guard sat down opposite of Leila and stared at her.

Leila knew the eyes of the guard, but she could not remember where she had met him before. She continued to stare at him as she began to work her hands free. The man stared back knowing full well what Leila was doing, and he made no move to stop her. Leila looked to the window and could see most of the castle had gone to bed. The guard noticed also. Slowly, the guard stood, blocked the door with his chair, and approached her.

"How've you been kitten?" the man asked as he unlocked her door. The familiar voice made Leila immediately stop worrying.

Leila smiled and leapt to her feet and tried to hug the man. "Marx," she said, "it has been so long." With her free hand she playfully batted the fake nose he had on. The man hugged her back. It had been a long time since he had last saw her, but in his eyes, she never changed. Leila was still as beautiful as the day he first met her.

"Let me undo these for you," Marx said turning her around and finishing unlocking the chains. "We will need to wait here a little longer. The outside guard change will not be for an hour or so." Leila nodded and quickly searched the room for her old clothing.

"Have you seen anything of mine?" Leila asked.

"I got here too late. They already took everything away hoping that it would discourage you from going out in the cold. Little do they know, you like the cold." Marx strategically moved more of the furniture to block the door. "We shouldn't be disturbed tonight, but if so, I'd rather not have to draw my sword."

Marx had always been more of a pacifist. Leila often wondered how he stayed in the job for so many years. What she did not know was that he stayed just so that he could run into her from time to time.

"Here," he offered her some food.

"What about the other guards and Seth?" she asked.

"And the guards all looked a little sick earlier. I think they need me to fill in all night long. I assured them I was feeling fine and up for the job. And well, I don't think Seth will be awake any time soon," Marx smiled.

"You didn't," Leila said. Marx winked. Marx was the only other person Roger trusted with the medication that would put Leila to sleep. Even after Roger used it on Leila, he would always brew a special tea to wake her back up. Even the smallest dose could keep a grown man asleep for days. Seth would not be waking any time soon. It was the pacifist in Marx coming out again.

Leila sat next to him with their backs on the door. "So the whole Endika kidnapping thing was your idea?"

Marx nodded. "I was quite far into the North Country when I got the news a courier had been caught by Nalick. When I heard the woman escaped and then walked to the gate and asked to be let back in, I knew it was you. Why'd you go back if you already escaped?"

"Kay was inside. I thought I got her out, but then she got caught again as I was on my way out," Leila explained while eating the bread he had given her.

"You're the only courier I know that has enough guts to actually tell someone you escaped and wanted to be let back in. By the time I made it down to the palace in Lexia you had already headed north to visit King Godfrith. I lost track of you for a few days and before I could pick your trail back up you were back in Lexia." Marx had spent the last four years trying his best to follow her trail. She was always gone in a flash, and he knew this time would be no different. While they were friends, they worked for different governments and would always be kept apart. Marx used the little time with her to put to memory every one of her movements as it would be awhile before he would see her again. King Endika would not be happy when he was late again on assignment by being diverted to help Leila. "So once the opportunity came to get you out of there, I tried. I agreed to work with Endika, but there was no way I was really going to give you to him."

"I figured that much. I was almost temped to meet you, but Nalick would have been worried," Leila explained finishing the bread.

"When I heard you went back on your own, I knew you didn't need my help, so I finished out my own assignment and headed home. I was in Dria when I heard the news Jahangir and Seth were going to take you from Nalick. I sent a scout to follow Seth and then came directly here. You know you could take a little bit of time off between being caught. It would make my life easier." Marx had been in love with Leila for many years and would do anything to help her. Leila playfully punched Marx.

"Is he a good man?" Marx asked seriously.

"Yes," Leila replied without looking into his eyes. She had always felt the love Marx had for her, and did not want to hurt his feelings.

"Does he love you?" Marx asked gently forcing her to look in his eyes.

"Yes," Leila wanted to look away, but she could not. In Marx eyes she saw happiness, not pain as she expected.

"Do you love him?" he asked letting go of her face. Even Marx didn't want to really know the answer.

"Yes," she said barely loud enough to be audible.

"Then, I guess I should get you back to him," Marx said standing and looking over the windowsill. "It is almost time." Leila stood behind him. Marx turned around to Leila beside him. His heart raced. He had not been as close to Leila as he was now for years. "All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy," he explained as he gently touched her face wanting to give her one last heroic kiss.

Leila looked into his crystal blue eyes. He was telling her the truth. "I know. I just didn't want to hurt you again," she said quietly. She turned from his gaze. Leila looked over the edge of the window. Leila still didn't know if she had enough strength. Marx could see the worry in her eyes.

"You can't hurt me by being happy." Worry was still etched on her face. "Is something wrong?" he asked. He had never seen Leila hesitate before.

"My left side seems weaker than normal. Seth put something in my back on the left side, and it has been getting weaker ever since," Leila explained. Since Marx was also risking his life to save her, she was not about to lie to him. Marx turned Leila around and looked at her back.

"There is something here, right under the skin," Marx said moving his hand over the spot. "Roger will have to take it out, but first we need to get you out of here."

Marx gave Leila his hand. "Squeeze my hands," he directed. Leila in turn squeezed both of his hands. The look in his face confirmed what she thought. Leila was not just weak on her left side; she was slowly losing muscle control.

"I don't know what he did to you, but the quicker we leave the better. Would you be able to hold onto me?" Marx asked.

"Maybe," Leila replied amazed that he wanted to scale the wall with her on his back.

"Then, let's go," he said while climbing out the window. Leila followed. Once outside the room, Marx moved closer to Leila. "Climb on." She obeyed. "Now just don't let go."

Marx moved down the wall as quickly as he could with her on his back. As couriers they weight trained extensively and her size was not a problem but more of a balance issue. Leila used all the strength she could to hang on as Marx was not only scaling the wall but worrying about her at the same time. Her shoulder ached and the numbness was spreading. Leila closed her eyes and pressed her face into his back. Marx tried to hurry as he could tell this was straining her. At the half way point, Leila could feel her strength completely failing.

"I'm, going to slip soon," Leila said to Marx. Leila looked down in the night darkness and could make out the faint outline of the ground. "We are almost close enough that I should not get hurt," she said judging the distance. She did not want to let go, but it was becoming apparent that would not be an option at this point. Marx began to move faster which only jarred her grip and make her use more strength to hold on.

"Just hold on a little longer," Marx begged, feeling her grip loosening. Leila tried but it was no use.

"Sorry," she said as her hands slipped. Leila adjusted herself during the fall, landing on her right side in an attempt to compensate for her weak left side, but as she hit the ground, Leila realized that was a mistake. She heard a cracking sound coming from her lower leg while stumbling forward. In the darkness, something ripped across her upper right thigh before she hit the ground; she felt warm liquid trickling down her leg. It was too dark to see the damage. Marx quickly was at her side.

"Are you all right?" he asked trying to help her stand up.

"I think I broke my leg," Leila said, not even attempting to stand on it, but trying to stop the excessive bleeding.

Marx scooped her up into his arms. Even though excruciating pain rushed through her body, Leila remained silent. Quietly he moved from shadow to shadow until he was near the castle wall. Marx set Leila gently on the ground so that he find the entrance. Marx felt his hand across the wall tapping every now and then. Finally he found the spot he was looking for and he moved a few pieces of the wall opening a hole in the base of the wall. Leila watched as a part of the ground moved to expose a staircase. Marx picked Leila back up and continued down the stairway. Once they were at the bottom, Marx set her down to close the opening. Leila watched around her. She had not known about the underground passageways. It was not much brighter below than it was above, but Marx seemed to know his way around.

Marx found a torch and lit it. He brought it near and handed it to Leila. Leila looked around at the stone lined walls. They were just as old as the castle. How could Jahangir not know about this? Leila wondered. Leila looked back at Marx who was now kneeling to examine her leg. He moved her blood soaked dress to expose her leg. It was bleeding much more than either of them expected. Leila watched his face to get clues to as to how bad it was. Marx kept his face passive and Leila knew that meant he was hiding something. Marx removed his jacket and wrapped it around her. She had not noticed her body shivering from the cold.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Marx then took the knife out of his bag and quickly ripped a piece off the bottom of her dress. He wrapped it tightly around her thigh. "This should help stop the bleeding for now, but we need to get you to Roger." Marx picked her back up and continued through the passage ways. Even though she was eager to see where they ended up, she simply could not keep her eyes open any longer.

Less than an hour later, Leila awoke leaning up against Anatolio. Leila did not know when she had fallen asleep, but now Matthew and Ian, fellow couriers for Roger, were busy trying to stop the bleeding in her leg. Leila looked around the makeshift camp as far as her weary eyes could see, but she did not know where she was.

"How are you feeling?" Leila asked Anatolio remembering that he had not been there to protect her and thus must have been drugged. She could not see the couriers working but she could see Anatolio.