Page 54 of Daughter of Secrets


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“Whoever lived here was really well hidden,” Olivia said.

Mihai led them though high, wet grass to an old well at the center of the abandoned village. It was made of round, grey rocks and was maybe six feet wide. It was surrounded by a patch of grass, most of which had grown as high as the well itself.

Using his rifle to split the grass, Mihai stepped next to the well. He took a short peek inside and then looked at the two. “Not many know this, but this well,” he said, placing his gigantic hand on the stone edge, “is the real Well of Death. The other wells are just fakes.”

“Well of Death?” Olivia asked and turned to Christian, who took a step toward the well to have a closer look.

“There is an old story about a well called the Well of Death,” he explained, looking down the stretching darkness. Olivia joined him, leaning over the edge. It looked endless. Olivia could feel the cold rocks pressing against her legs.

“The story goes that a long time ago, there was a group of Turkish war prisoners who were ordered to dig a well. They were promised their freedom in return.” He placed a hand on its wet rock wall. “They dug night and day, eager to be freed and return home to their families. But after they finished, they were all thrown inside.”

Olivia gasped. “That’s horrible!”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s rumored that some of them survived the fall. You could hear their cries from the bottom of the well for months, living off the water from the well and insects. Until the winter came.” His words were slow and intense. He shook his head and stared down the well. The foggy air around them had grown still. No rustling grass, no chirruping insects disturbed the woods.

“People believe that even now you can hear their cries if you look down the well and listen closely.”

“Really?” Olivia whispered and placed both hands on the well, staring down into it.

They became quiet, watching the dark depths and picturing the agony of being trapped down there. The more they stared, the more the silence seemed to crack. Suddenly, a rustling noise coming from the woods startled them and they each let out a gasp. They jerked around to see a deer coming to an abrupt halt in the grass and turn on the spot the moment it saw them. Chuckling nervously, and with relief, they leaned against the well. Suddenly Christian pushed himself off, his eyes darting left and right.

“He’s gone!” he said.

Olivia turned around and saw that Mihai was no longer with them. “Where’d he go?” she asked, circling the well as if she might find the man squatting behind it.

“Mihai!” Olivia called out for him, but Christian rushed over and grabbed her by her arm.

“Not a good idea. The woods are filled with bears. They are aggressive right now to protect their cubs,” he warned.

In silence, they marched the grounds of the old village, but Mihai was gone. Christian kicked up a pile of dirt and grass.

“Where the hell did he go? He knows the woods can be a dangerous place without that rifle to scare the bears off.”

The woods seemed even more silent now. The trees seemed to bunch together, drawing in closer around the village, almost as if they sensed the absence of Mihai—the armed person who knew the way back.

Olivia looked up. The clouds were getting thicker, darker. “Should we wait here for him? Maybe he’ll coming back for us.”

Christian shook his head. “We can’t stay here, it’s not safe. We have to find our way back.”

She peered around and frowned when she saw the fog settling in. Christian noticed it too, cursed under his breath. Then he led the way back down the path of parted grass and out of the opening and back into the woods.

“The damn trees all look the same,” Olivia said as they took a path that looked somewhat like the one they’d come from. “I didn’t even notice how many paths there were when we first came out here.”

“They are not human paths but animal trails.” His voice softened. “But don’t worry. We’ll find our way back . . . someday.”

She looked up at him with a faint smile.

He smiled. “Besides, if a bear shows up, I could easily distract it with my succulent flesh while you run away.” He rubbed his arms, and Olivia covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud.

“I’m pretty sure you won’t taste all that good.”

He gasped and pointed at himself. “You kidding? This is Romanian man-meat at its finest! You haven’t tasted me, that’s why you’d dare to say that.”

She blushed and exhaled. Her fear had been replaced by something else.You haven’t tasted me.

Christian slowed and came to a halt. The path they were on split into a fork. Standing in front of the two different options now, he looked around scratching his chin. Then he pointed to the one on the left, confidently. “That way.”

They’d only walked for another minute or so when the strong, meaty smell hit Olivia’s nostrils. It smelled like cat food, strong and fishy. She stopped and looked at Christian, who turned around with a puzzled look on his face.

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