CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CORPSE THIEVES #2
I watched the person with the lantern move ahead, growing smaller the farther he walked.
The center chamber dipped in the middle, creating a small indent where a silver sheet of water had collected.
Light from the lantern reflected as if a small sun were setting on a mirrored horizon.
It was strangely lovely for such a terrifying place.
Too bad the soft flames couldn’t take the chill out of the air or the burning acid out of my intestines. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to breathe normally until I was safely free from bats again. Rubbing my arms, I fought a full-body shiver that tangled its way under my unbound hair.
It wasn’t simply the temperature that was chilling. These tunnels, like the castle, felt alive somehow, haunted with spirits and otherworldly beings. I imagined a million eyes staring at me from gloomy recesses. Animal or human; I wasn’t sure which was more frightening.
Blessedly, the figures moved with a new fervor.
After briskly traveling through a few more dank tunnels, silver light edged the walls and ceilings of the last one, indicating an exit was near.
An owl hooted in the distance, its eerie call answered by another.
I remained in the corner of a tunnel set farther back, waiting for the cloaked thieves to steal into the night.
The air here was fresh and smelled of pine.
I wanted to drop to my knees and worship the frigid outdoors, but kept back, waiting for the corpse robbers to continue.
It didn’t take long for the thieves to exit into the moonlight, their prize dragging behind.
I watched each step I took, mindful of any leaves or twigs that might have blown in and would crack beneath my weight.
I scarcely breathed until I’d made it to the barrier between the castle and the outdoors, my fingertips trailing against the rough stone walls.
Peering from the mouth of the tunnel, I scanned the frozen world.
Tree branches twisted and creaked, annoyed by the intrusion when the human world should have been still.
Keeping my eyes locked onto the retreating forms, I crept down the earthen path, my nightgown pale as the snow-dusted ground beneath my cloak.
Flurries fell from the sky, light and silent.
Shivers gnawed at my bones through the thick cotton, but I kept my gaze fixed on the shadows before me, who were lurching through the woods with their mysterious bundle slumped between them.
There was no way I’d turn back now, no matter if the winter night bit through my clothing and punctured my skin.
I heard the heavy tread of boots stomping frozen earth and fell back a few steps.
A shadow flickered across the sky, dragging my attention away from the hooded thieves.
The moon cracked a half-smile, its expression mocking those who dared leave their warm beds to trespass in Vlad the Impaler’s forest of bones.
I wrapped my cloak even tighter around myself.
Stopping abruptly at the edge of a fork in the path, the figures appeared to be arguing over which direction to take as they carefully put down the shrouded body.
I squinted. There was something strange about its shape.
It was lumpy and smelled of… it couldn’t be garlic.
Memories of the victim from the train came to the forefront of my mind.
It very well could be garlic, though the amount they’d have to had stuffed the corpse with would be extraordinary if I could detect it from this distance.
My senses were good, but I was no immortal being.
I watched them pick the corpse back up and amble down the path. If the body had been stuffed with garlic, perhaps one of the thieves was the Impaler. Maybe he was working with someone else. Like Wilhelm’s bloodless body, this very well might be another staged strigoi attack.
I hesitated. Following corpse thieves into the woods was one thing; blindly pursuing someone who might have impaled two people was quite another. The scalpel I carried would be no match against the two men.
A twig snapped behind me.
I slowly turned around, pulse roaring in my ears.
Moldoveanu crossed his arms, staring down at me as if I’d gone and made his evening.
“Curfew has been imposed for all students. Yet here you are, marching into the forest as if it were your birthright, Miss Wadsworth.” I had half a mind to shush him, but I kept my jaw locked.
Moldoveanu jerked his chin toward a shadow that withdrew itself from the massive trees near the castle’s exterior.
My earlier nightmare sprung to life in the form of an arrogant royal guard.
“Escort her inside. I’ll deal with her disciplinary action in the morning. ”
D?nesti stepped forward, his glare powerful enough to make me wilt.
A rough hand was around my arm an instant later, yanking me away from the forest line.
I stared at D?nesti as he pulled me forward, wondering how on earth he’d been tasked with curfew watch.
Perhaps he’d been demoted for being so unpleasant.
“Wait!” I cried, squirming from his grasp.
I thrashed around until I faced the headmaster.
“A body was stolen from the tower morgue. Two thieves in hoods dragged it through here just moments ago. That’s the only reason I left my chambers.
” A muscle in Moldoveanu’s jaw twitched.
“See for yourself. They were right ahead of me. I think one of them might be the Impaler. The body smelled of garlic. They are—”
I blinked at the forest, eerily quiet as if it were holding its breath, waiting for Moldoveanu’s verdict. The owls didn’t even dare to hoot. I stared ahead at the undisturbed trail where the thieves had just been; no footprints were visible as snow fell with more abandon.
No sign of the figures I knew I’d seen or the body they’d taken. It was as if the forest were cleansing itself of wrongdoing, concealing a crime I was sure had taken place.
“Tell me. Does your imagination always run so… colorfully? Perhaps these ‘thieves’ you speak of were nothing more than kitchen staff, preparing for the morning meal. The excess food stores are located down that path, Miss Wadsworth.”
“But… I swear…” I hardly knew anymore. I glanced to where D?nesti had been hiding, but he wouldn’t have seen them from the corner of the castle. And if the excess food stores were down there, then he might not have paid much attention to servants doing their jobs.
The headmaster didn’t even bother looking in the direction I’d pointed out.
“Until further notice, you are on academic probation, Miss Wadsworth. This sort of erratic behavior might be acceptable in London, but you’ll find we take things a bit more seriously here.
One more word from you, and I will lose my remaining patience and send you from this castle at once. ”