Free The Awakened: Book One by Jason Tesar Page A

flinch before something hard slammed into the back of his skull and everything went black.

Chapter 6
     
    Adair was vaguely aware of being dragged across a smooth floor.  He felt the sensation of his legs, from the knees down, sliding on a hard surface.  He could hear the footsteps of the men that were on either side of him, half carrying him by the shoulders of his tunic.  The fabric was cutting into his skin.  There was an elapsed period of time between this realization and when he regained his vision.  As soon as he opened his eyes, the sight of his own reflection in the marble, four inches away from his nose, caused a shooting pain in his head.  He quickly shut his eyes, but his temples pounded, making it difficult to concentrate on anything but the pain.  He tried not to make any sound or movement as he winced.  The pain gradually lessened into a dull ache, emanating from the base of his skull, spreading down his neck and into his shoulders.  He decided to risk opening his eyes again and found his vision to be blurry.  Even through the blur, the sight of the intricate black marble veined with silver streaks passing beneath him was too much.  His head began to spin.  He shut his eyes and darkness returned, a welcome retreat for his overwhelmed vision.
    “Is this the one?”  The voice seemed loud in the surrounding silence.  The two men had stopped dragging him and were talking with a third man.  There was a pause before the reply, probably for some gesture that Adair couldn’t see.
    “He made it close to the outer wall.  We almost didn’t know he was there until it was too late.”  Adair was listening intently for any information he could glean from this.  He could feel a slight tug on his right shoulder and his captor continued.  “He started to run through the reef , but we got him.”  There was another pause and Adair wished he could watch this conversation from somewhere other than where he was now.  There was much to learn, even from people’s body language.
    “Take him to the end, last cell on the left,” said the third man.
    Good, only one guard so far.   He took note of this as a matter of habit, knowing that any information of his surroundings would be useful at some point.
    Without another word, the two soldiers continued to drag Adair down the hall.  He knew that they were going to put him in a cell, probably to be questioned.  There was no other reason to keep him alive.  But then my chance to escape is gone.   The thought of trying to get away from these two soldiers and the guard they just passed made Adair feel queasy.  He knew under normal circumstances that these two men would be no match for him, but the third man, coupled with the probability of blacking out from the exertion, made the situation very dangerous.  But he had no other options.  As these thoughts were sluggishly making their way through his head, he felt the soldiers drag him around a sharp corner, turning to the left.  Once out of site from the guard behind them, Adair seized the opportunity.
    The men were carrying swords at their right sides; the scabbard of the man on the left had been knocking into his arm the whole time.  He listened to their steps to get the timing and suddenly reached both arms around the back of the soldiers’ legs.
    The two men tripped over their own feet, sprawling onto the floor in front of them and losing their grip on their prisoner.
    Adair pulled his feet underneath him and pounced on the back of the soldier to his right, pinning him to the ground.  He reached down to the man’s waist and grabbed the hilt of his sword, attempting to rip it from the scabbard.  It stuck at first, the awkward angle not allowing it to come free.
    The soldier on the left was quicker than Adair had anticipated, already gaining his footing and pulling his own sword free.
    Adair somersaulted forward over the soldier beneath him while keeping his grip on the sword.  It came free and Adair