Chapter 6 #2
Mortis staggered back, knife still trembling in his hand.
His chest heaved, eyes glassy with unshed tears.
He thrust an accusing finger at me. “You did this. You tempted me. You always tempt me. Flaunting yourself like–like—” His words broke into a wild laugh.
He raked a hand through his hair, gaze darting like a trapped animal’s.
“It doesn’t matter. They’ll never know.” His voice dropped to a frantic mutter, as though he spoke only to himself now. “Yes…yes. They’ll think it was the invaders. Her body torn apart… who would question it? No one. No one will know.”
Body? But I wasn’t dead. Though the psycho who stabbed me considered my demise a foregone conclusion. He continued to mutter on his way out the door. His footsteps faded, leaving only the echo of his madness behind.
I shook my head to clear the fog. There was some place I needed to go.
Heavy limbs jutted from my torso, and I forced my legs beneath me, shoving my exhausted body off the tile.
Pain ripped through my stomach, and I cried out, certain I was being torn in half.
Once I made it to my feet, I grasped the worktable to keep my balance.
Hot trickles ran down my hip, soaking into the lace and pooling in my boot. Think, Sera. Think. You’re the healer’s apprentice, after all. Yaga would be so disappointed in me if I bled out on the kitchen floor.
My fingers clawed at the absurd ruffles weighing me down. I tore a length free, the rip loud in the cavernous kitchen, then pressed a towel against the wound. My vision spotted, but I managed to wrap my torso, cinching the ends into a rough knot. It would have to do.
“There. See. You can do this.” I shuffled around the worktable. “Just get to the door before you collapse. Simple.”
I’d hardly walked two steps when the kitchen door exploded inward. Wood splintered, the metal hinges screaming. The slab of timber crashed to the floor, and I froze, every muscle locked in place.
Two skeletal faces pushed through the ragged opening.
“Curse my life,” I groaned, tears welling. “Just once…once could I catch a break?”
The first creature had to duck to clear the frame.
His shorter partner skulked closely behind.
Their leathery nostrils flared, predatory creatures tracking prey.
Daggered teeth clacked together, scraping out odd chirping sounds, communicating.
The smaller one dropped into a crouch, stalking in the opposite direction.
I backed away, hands out, fearful that any sudden movement could incite them to attack.
They’d blocked the kitchen door, leaving me with one way out—through the main hall—straight into chaos. Which meant, whether I liked it or not, I’d be the decoy Lady Richwell intended. Penelope would be delighted.
Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.
The sound rattled from behind. No! I darted a glance over my shoulder. A third creature, its vacant eyes glowing, crept down the stairwell, cutting off my retreat.
Flark! They had me surrounded.
I backed into the wall and winced, a short metal bar stabbing my hip. Eyes pinned on the creatures, I ran my fingers over the handle. My breath caught. The refuse hatch. The one the kitchen staff used to dump scraps. I’d have to be quick before they realized my intent.
I studied the beasts. Why they hesitated to attack, I hadn’t a clue. The larger one moved ahead of the other two. Preparing to grab me?
We’d see about that.
I wrenched the hatch open and hurled my ruffled body inside. Fabric rent, caught in the jam, and I slid down the chute, plunging into blackness.
The stench hit me first—rotting vegetables, rancid grease, and sour milk.
I launched free of the ramp, tumbling through space.
A scream dragged up my throat. Pain erupted, blazing through my abdomen.
I landed in a squelching pile of decomposing muck, gagging at the smell.
Gods only knew the kind of vermin that lived in such a place.
“Oh, that’s vile.” I crawled out of the wooden crate, planting my feet on the ground. Spots swam before my eyes, and I checked my bandage, finding it soaked with blood. Too much. If I didn’t stop it soon, I’d pass out.
Above, fists pounded the hatch. There was no time to rest.
I hobbled through the storage room, angling around crates filled with grain, gourds, and apples, until at last I staggered up a short set of steps to the exit.
I pressed my ear to the door, struggling to hear anything beyond my own harsh breaths.
Raised voices sounded from the other side.
Maybe someone out there could help me. I shoved it open and stumbled into bedlam.
In the courtyard, servants and townsfolk bolted in every direction, some wielding knives and broom handles like weapons, others too panicked to do anything but scream. The air was thick with smoke and the coppery smell of blood.
Not twenty paces away, four soldiers fought desperately against one of the blackened creatures. Steel clanged against claw. Sparks flew.
Clutching my side, I lurched toward them. “Help me!” My voice cracked, more croak than shout. I forced my arm into the air, waving. “Over here. Help!”
One of the men glanced in my direction, his eyes widening. “Lady Penelope?”
“What?” I frowned, forcing my legs to move beneath layers of thick ruffles.
“My lady!” the man shouted. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with your father.”
“My father?” I looked down at myself. Right. The dress. I was disguised to look like their precious heiress. Someone they’d sworn to protect.
If they discovered the truth, would they still help? Or skewer me for daring to play princess? Same as Mortis. Did I risk it?
Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.
The sound sliced through my indecision. I twisted, heart crashing against my ribs. Three of the flesh eaters crept from the shadows. Their red eyes leveled—not on the soldiers—on me. Flark. It had to be the blood. Why else would they single me out?
With the manor overrun, there was nowhere left to hide. My gaze snagged on the courtyard gardens—the labyrinth. I knew its twisting hedgerows better than my most popular nausea recipe. There was a chance I could lose them there.
Ruffled skirts bunched in my fists, I tore across the blood-soaked ground. Each footfall was a dagger piercing my side, but slowing meant death. Come on, Serafina. You have to keep moving.
As I stumbled through the hedge-lined entrance, tears wet my eyes.
I’d made it. Towering walls of foliage wrapped me in their embrace, the sharp bite of evergreen filling my senses.
Cool shadows and neatly trimmed turf muffled my steps.
I veered right, as I had in the past. Speck and I had played tag in here at least a hundred times.
The sound of his laughter lingered in the rustle of the leaves.
Dearest, Speck. My chest ached. Please let him be alright. I offered a quick prayer. Surely he was safe in his field, far away from all of this. If I survived, we could still leave this place together.
My hand pressed against my stomach, sticky warmth soaking through the makeshift bandage. Those coins I’d saved for our future were so small now, pitiful against the enormity of what hunted me.
I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision. But the hedges twisted unnaturally, weaving into shapes I didn’t remember. I should have crossed the fountain at this point. Instead, the walls pressed tighter, the paths warping around me.
When I turned, my heart lurched. Behind me, a broken trail of red sacris flowers bloomed. Their tiny heart-shaped blossoms marked my path like breadcrumbs, their petals glowing faintly in the gloom. Same as they had the day of my birthday, when the mark burned into my flesh.
“Not this again,” I groaned. “I cannot deal with such madness right now.”
The flowers trembled, stirred by a phantom breeze. Tiny leaves chattered in the swaying hedge. A shiver rolled down my spine.
“This way, Daughter,” whispered an ethereal voice.
My pulse stuttered at the sound. Daughter? The word coiled around my ribs like a snare. I was no one’s daughter. I clenched my fists, jaw tightening. And yet my chest ached as though the voice had come from inside of me.
What sorcery was this?
The air shimmered. A golden spark hovered ahead, no larger than a firefly. Its soft light flickered in time with my racing heartbeat.
“Hello?” my voice rasped with weakness and pain.
“This way.” The glowing spark whirled, then darted down the next tunnel. Whether it was real or a hallucination, I couldn’t say.
A hysterical laugh pushed from my lips, my side aching in protest. Follow a mysterious light into the unknown? Why not? It wasn’t the craziest thing I’d done today.
I hefted my skirts off the ground with shaking arms and stumbled down the path. The light led, and I followed. Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. The golden guide twisted through the hedge-walls, always just far enough ahead to pull me forward.
All at once, I broke free of the twisting maze. Open ground lay before me, moonlight spilling across the world beyond the labyrinth.
“I made it.” The words dragged up my throat on a ragged gasp. Relief shivered through my body, the sensation cut short by the white-hot pain that seared my side. I pressed a hand to my sodden bandage.
Where was I? I knew the labyrinth better than any other servant or nobleman alive. Together, Speck and I had mapped every shortcut and dead end. But this stretch of ground? It didn’t exist on any of my maps.
Branches snapped behind me. Lumbering footsteps pounded the soil.
No! I fought the urge to sob. How did they make it out when even I had gotten lost? Could it be they were following my scent…or something else?
Regardless, they wouldn’t find me docile prey. I’d run until my legs gave out. Fight until my heart beat its final pulse.
I staggered forward, trudged along the path, forcing one foot in front of the other. All I could do was keep going. Keep going. Keep. Going.