Chapter 9 #2
I remain frozen in the dark hallway, unable to pull myself away from the door, and I hear the lock click into place.
Fucking. Asshole.
I lift my hand but fight the urge to slam my fist against the wood and demand he let me back in. Instead, I turn on my heels and stride down the dark hallway toward Silas’s room. I won’t be going back to mine anytime soon. The thought of blood staining the walls isn’t what I need now.
I arrive at Silas’s door, the Prince of Darkness’s childhood bedroom, and I can’t help but let my thoughts take over.
If I had told myself a year ago that I would be standing here, I would have laughed.
I reach for the jeweled door and open it, stepping into his room. The dim lighting casts shadows throughout the empty space. Each flicker of the candles jolts my senses, making me feel like I’m doing something wrong. Like I’m not welcome here.
I move to the sitting area and stand before the crackling fire. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, trying to calm myself. Our arrival has already been a disaster, and I don’t see the rest of the trip going well at this rate.
A faint sound from in front of me makes my eyes snap open.
A familiar, haunting creature stands tall in the fireplace. The same thin body wrapped in a black cloak floats before me. Its hollow, soulless eyes pierce into mine, and I jump back, fearing I will never get used to its abrupt arrivals.
“I’m getting tired of you scaring the fuck out of me,” I snap at the creature.
It remains frozen, lingering.
Always studying me.
“Hopefully, you are here to help me?” I ask. “Because if not, I’m seriously not in the mood to be haunted right now.”
If anyone were to walk in, I would look completely insane, arguing with a creature made of pure darkness.
“So?” I ask again, pushing aside any fear I have toward it. “What do you want?”
The creature moves out of the fire, its black cloak dragging on the ground.
“Care…ful,” its low, hissing voice says, moving through the room like a fog.
“Sorry,” I say. “I’m in a piss-poor mood.”
It moves toward the door, leaving ash in its wake. It pauses and cranes its long neck in my direction, clearly waiting for something.
“Are you telling me to follow you?” I question.
The creature moves through the door and vanishes into the dark hallway.
“Come,” it growls.
I’m going to fucking regret this.
I rush to the door and fling it open, stepping into the hallway.
I catch a glimpse of the black cloak vanishing around the corner ahead of me.
I sprint into the obscurity, the winding corridor seeming to stretch on endlessly.
I barely keep pace with the floating creature as each step draws us deeper into the dark castle.
The flickering candlelight dims, as if the castle longs to be enveloped in darkness. Faint trickles of water echo around the stone walls, and a musty scent tingles my nose.
I round the last corner and come to a halt.
A blank stone wall stretches silently before me.
There is no door or window—only the impenetrable surface looming overhead.
The creature is gone, and I feel like a fool for having chased it into the depths of the castle.
A lone sconce hangs on the wall, and I approach it cautiously, pressing my hand against the rough stone.
The air around me grows heavy and oppressive, and the silence around me feels unnatural—as if the wall is holding its breath.
The stone sends vibrations through my body, causing me to jerk my hand back.
The black veins on my hands tingle as I slowly raise my eyes to examine the wall.
I cautiously lift my hand, anticipating another zap, but this time, the wall seems to shift against my touch.
Something is telling me to turn around, but the darkness within me whispers, open.
“I’ve lost it. I’m about to talk to a fucking wall,” I say aloud, knowing no one can hear.
I glance over my shoulder, and the awareness of being completely alone in the darkness sends a cold chill up my spine.
“Open,” I whisper, pressing both hands against the hard wall.
My veins dance in response, the black vines growing toward my elbows, and a shadow slithers from my palms between the stone cracks.
Yet, nothing happens, and I’m left standing with both hands on the cold wall, like an idiot.
“Yes. I’ve lost it.”
I turn, defeat guiding me away from the wall, resigned to return to Silas’s room. I round the corner when I sense something pulling me from behind. I spin on my feet with my fists raised, prepared to fight the invisible creatures that haunt Andorwood.
Instead, the wall changes.
The rough stone begins to shimmer, and some deep urge pushes me toward the wall. I squint my eyes in disbelief. Everything within me screams to turn away, not to move forward, but my curiosity gets the better of me. Always.
This can’t be happening.
I approach the cold stone wall, hesitating to touch it because of the sheer fear coursing through my body.
I hear something down the hallway toward the central part of the castle.
The same unnatural feeling I experienced in the castle courtyard washes over me, and my eyes widen.
The invisible Andorwood guards must be lurking around the castle, doing a final sweep.
If they find me while I’m alone without the protection of the Nastrondes, who knows what will happen?
Panic rises in my chest as I glance around.
“Run,” something ancient and familiar whispers in my ear. “Follow your instincts.”
I rush toward the shimmering wall and extend my hand—hoping it will stop me from slamming my face into the stone—and the vibrations electrify my entire body.
The air is cold, yet I press on, allowing the magic to engulf me.
The wall begins to consume me, and I slam my eyes shut, whispering a silent prayer that I haven’t walked directly to my demise.
The world halts, the air tightens, and I feel as if I’m being compressed into nothing.
I try to scream, but there is no air available to leave my lungs. I claw at my throat, feeling like I’m suffocating.
The vibrations cease, but I keep my eyes closed.
The air is filled with dust, and the smell of aged paper and worn leather surrounds me.
I’m deep within the castle of Andorwood, a fortress cloaked in shadows and total mystery, and I truly don’t know how I got here.
The air has returned to my lungs, but the panic doesn’t falter.
You can do this. You are Briar Blackbyrne.
I wish I could convince myself I was brave, because right now I want to pass out from fear. My heart races, my palms begin to sweat, and a lingering terror fills each of my cells.
I slowly open my eyes, and my jaw drops.
Where the fuck am I?