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Part I
Chapter 1
As I climbed out of the tower window, I rubbed my swollen lip and winced from the sting. My back pinched from the whippings I’d received last night, but I didn’t stop. Today, I was breaking free. I would risk everything to escape my captor. To gain freedom. To stop the insanity developed over the past eight years from eating away at my mind.
The sun dipped behind the horizon of trees, smearing the sky in bloody streaks. In the distance, the bastard who beat me each time I left the tower sailed through the sky. But he also attacked anything that came near the tower. His stone wings flapped, and his hideous gargoyle mouth gaped open. He dove toward birds picking at the food I’d placed near the woods yesterday for a distraction so I could escape. Besides, I’d left enough food scattered in the field for dozens of disturbances as more animals would be drawn to the scents.
My stomach churned and my hands shook, but I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. I scaled down the makeshift rope comprised of bed sheets tied together.
The witch with purple eyes who had shoved me in the tower eight years ago had never returned to check on me or even bothered to barricade the only window on the tower. Why would she when she’d compelled a freaking gargoyle to watch over me? I was clearly a nobody and she probably forgot about me. Then again, she’d made sure I had food magically appear in the tower as if she intended for me to sit there for eternity. I’d attempted to escape so many times, each ending in beatings and me getting tossed back into the tower. I hated her, and one day, I’d get my revenge.
Hurry. This is your chance,mysubconscious repeated in my head, like she always did. Reminding me of my mistakes, what I should do, and other nagging things. But this time, she was right about getting a move on. The voice in my head had been there ever since I was thrown into the tower. I called her my make-believe friend, but I wasn’t stupid and knew it was my twisted mind dealing with my loneliness. Yes, I spoke to myself and my mind responded, but she offered me a sliver of company. Anything to stop the insanity of being on my own.
I scrambled out of the window. The bag on my back bounced about as I jerked downward.
Behind me, the gargoyle glided toward the tower’s roof, and I froze. Sweat drenched my skin, and my shirt clung to my skin as I trembled. My arms ached from holding on, but if I moved at all, he’d see me. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying he’d leave and go kill some deer in the forest or something.
Stone fragments cascaded down from the roof, and I opened my eyes.
He vanished out of sight, and I slid down in haste. But at once the fabric slackened in my hands, and I fell, my arms flaying outward. A yelp pushed against my throat. The rope fell out of the window, along with the table I’d tied it to. I hit the enormous shrubs with a thud, the air in my lungs gushing out. I groaned. The material landed on me in a heap, and I covered my head with my arms. The table fell inches from me. A loud crack of wood sounding as it broke into dozens of pieces.
My heart raced, and breathing seemed an impossibility. A shadow fell over me, and I rolled beneath the bushes. My skin prickled as I pictured the monster coming for me, striking me until I writhed in my own blood.
But nothing came.
I peered out from my hiding spot to find the gargoyle rushing after more birds. So I scrambled to my feet and careened around the tower. Stubs of ruins dotted the field, and I leaped over them, the wind ripping at my clothes. I pushed the bag strap up my shoulder, my ridiculously long hair stuffed inside.
Never stop. This is your chance.
My pulse pounded in my ears, and goosebumps crawled up my legs. I looked back. No sign. The creature would be distracted long enough for me to put distance between us.
On a previous escape, I’d run into someone. A magic caster who’d agreed to create an incantation to finish off the gargoyle, but I’d had to collect it from her home. It had come with a hefty cost of ten thousand gold coins, which could buy a small mansion. Of course, I didn’t have the money, which I had made clear to the witch, but I’d guaranteed her I’d repay her in installments. Otherwise, she’d come for my blood. If her spell worked and got rid of the gargoyle, I’d be free from my prison, meaning I’d take any job to earn the money I owed.
I burst into the thick forest. The gargoyle would find me soon enough. He always chased me down after a while, and I figured he somehow sensed wherever I went. Hell knew how, but I despised the notion of being connected with him in any way. And now, I needed time to reach the witch’s home. Dread squeezed my lungs because last time I’d dealt with a witch, I’d ended up trapped in a tower. So could I trust another magic caster?
Night fell over the woods, and I jumped over a dead log and dodged a low-hanging branch. When I finally reached the track in the forest, I swung left and darted. My lungs burned for air. Around the next bend, I spotted the back of a carriage. My ride.
It stood near Ghost, a tiny town only open at night for anyone who dared to venture into the depths of the Darkwoods. No one lived here, as it was an entertainment center for those looking to gamble, get drunk, or find a woman for the night.
But I’d also discovered that the carriage traveled here from Tritonia with deliveries of rum. The black vehicle already rolled forward, the wagon covered with a tight canopy, and the back flapped open. Perfect. I pushed forward, but they moved too fast.
“Wait!” I called out, running after them. “Please, wait!”
The cart vanished into the shadows, and I cried out in frustration. Stopping in the middle of the track, I gasped for air, and my stomach somersaulted.
He’ll come for you. Keep moving.
I scanned the empty woods behind me, and I trembled. Ahead was the tiny town, huddled amid the lush green trees with basically two main businesses: a tavern and masseuse house. So I rushed forward when another carriage emerged from behind the tavern. Laughter belched out from inside the building.
Two terrifying black stallions pulled the covered carriage. Each had two red horns on their brows and snorted fire. No rider guided the beasts. I shuddered and recoiled.
Dragon horses. Larger than the average beast, they were fast, and once they learned to follow a path, they traveled it without stopping for anyone. I’d read about them in books because the witch who had locked me up had a sense of humor. They’d filled the tower with furniture, magically-generated food, clothes, and walls full of books. Maybe they’d figured if I was away from the world, I might as well read up on it.
Move. Get ready.
“Yes, I know.” I rushed along the path where it merged with the town’s path and waited behind a tree.
The moment the cart passed by, I leaped up into the back, where the covering flapped in the wind. Dimness greeted me inside, and I scrambled forward on hands and knees as the carriage bounced beneath me. Empty wooden boxes were tied to the edges of the carriage, so I pushed myself into a corner and curled up, hugging my knees. I prayed the gargoyle hadn’t sensed me leave yet and we’d travel fast enough to avoid the monster… at least for longer than ever before.
