Page 64 of Serpent and Shadow

I tried cautiously to move it again, and again, it didn’t budge.

I would need magic to move it. I would probably need magic to climb over the top, given how high it was and the way it fit against the stone. I hadn’t quite made up my mind to do it yet, though. I wanted a better idea of where I was, and what sort of chimaeras might be in place.

I looked down, and saw I stood on a thick rug, green or possibly blue, which explained at least some of the musky and dusty smell, not to mention the rat droppings.

Through the same small crack I’d used before, I got a bare glimpse of the larger room. The space was as dark as where I stood, so it didn’t help much, but it definitely gave me a sense of being in an underground space, given the lack of windows.

Well, and light.

There was almost no light down here.

There wasn’t even artificial light, or magical.

I dug my fingers into the crack and again cautiously tried to push. I pushed harder when the massive piece of wood didn’t move, throwing my entire weight behind it, but got nothing. I didn’t let myself give up for a few more minutes, but it was useless.

The thing probably weighed a ton.

I leaned against the stone wall until my breathing gradually slowed back to normal.

I fought to think.

I’d phased. I must have phased.

Why here though? What was I doing here?

No alarms had gone off. Maybe it would be fine to use my magic.

It didn’t feel fine, though. It felt like that would be a very bad idea.

I clenched the muscles of my jaw and shoulders, not trusting myself to not cry out in frustration, as I continued to stand there with nothing but debilitating silence. Despite that silence, I didn’t feel safe. That could have been claustrophobia from being trapped, but it didn’t feel like that’s all it was.

However I’d ended up here, it definitely didn’t feel particularly useful. I leaned my arms and head against the back of the wardrobe, fighting to breathe.

Think, Leda. Think.

“Who goes there?” a voice demanded.

It erupted from only a few feet away, so loud and near, my heart stopped.

Luckily, instinct had me freeze. If I’d jumped, gasped, sucked in a breath, or even just shifted my boots on the rug, he definitely would have heard me.

For it was unquestionably a male voice I heard.

Suspicion filled his words next, along with a harder malice.

“Whoever you are, come out now, or I’ll kill you where you stand!”

A red-tinted light burst into life near the crack between the stone wall and the wardrobe. I let out a gasp, unable to squelch it in time.

Luckily, the sparking light made a hiss that was louder.

Even so, I froze once the gasp left my lips.

I stared without moving at the flickering red light, which now filled the entire length of the crack on the left side of the wardrobe. I stared into the illumination, no longer able to see anything past it. Then a bulging eye pressed itself to the other side of that crack between the stone and the wood.

It stared at me, and I saw it widen even more.

“Witch!” the voice snarled. “Witch, I see you there! No point trying to skulk and hide now!” Triumph mixed with disquiet in his voice. I saw that eye twitch from the conflict between the two emotions. “How did you get yourself wedged in there, little witch? Are you employed by the family?” His voice darkened. “Or did someone send you here to spy and scamper like a little sneak? Not very wise, if so. Not very wise––”