AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CLARA
In the fewminutes I spent with Cassius, chaos broke out in the main corridors. Servants scurry from one place to another in clotted groups.
I effortlessly meld into the back of a passing cluster, going in the right direction. As if by an unseen cue, screams erupt from around the corner, accompanied by snarls and horrible wet sounds. It takes a moment to process the sight of the monster that emerges a moment later.
A man dressed in the finest clothes, rings with glittering gems on his fingers, glistening red lips, and a decapitated head gripped by the hair in one fist. Burning red eyes zero in on our group.
He flings the head off to the side and stalks forward, relishing in the terror his approach inspires in any human who lays eyes on him.
The way swarms of humans stick together reminds me of a school of fish—using the whole in the hope that others will fall to the predator and give them a chance to escape.
I glance up, and it is the same horror on the two mezzanine levels overhead. A body tumbles over a balustrade. It’s impossible to tell if they were pushed or thrown. Witnesses yell and shriek. I shudder at the sickening sound the body makes as it hits the stone floor.
That sets everyone into a panic. I’m shoved from every direction, as the mass of people begin to fight each other, using whoever they can as a shield.
Cassius’s warning was more accurate than he realized.
Are the Vampires going after the humans because the wolves hid their scent? If so, I need to believe this is an unintended consequence.
I will never make it to Varin’s cell this way.
The vampire grabs a man from the front and tears into his throat. His scream is drowned out by wet gurgling.
Wanting to avoid the gruesome sight, I turn to glance behind, looking for a way out. Another vampire is heading this way. If he reaches us, we will be trapped, and no one will survive.
Demon shit.
Indecision stays my hand. I want to stay and fight—but even if I remain, I don’t think I could save anyone, most likely not even myself. My stomach rebels, knowing I have to abandon them.
I use all the strength I can muster to push past panicked arms and bodies shoving and bumping into me and inch closer to the wall. With stone at my back, it will be far easier to escape this tangled mass of bodies without fighting against the frightened push and pull from all angles.
Slipping away, I run for the stairs, taking them two at a time. I’m halfway up when the screaming grows more frantic even as it dies down.
I don’t look back. I can’t because I have to get out while I still can.
The silver ring on my finger burns, warning that Varin intends to hold me to our bargain. With a hiss of pain, I use my teeth to tug my glove off. I let it drop to the floor and begin prying at the ring, trying to remove it before the metal sears into my flesh. It doesn’t so much as budge.
I’m not sure I will even be able to get near the hidden passage I usually take. It might be too heavily guarded or more of the same massacre from below. So I go up to the only other way I know.
The third floor is empty of all inhabitants. Fear and suspicion quickly temper any relief. It’s quiet. The dim of the bloodbath fading as I continue to distance myself from it. The silence is eerie, with the heaviness of a graveyard.
With each step I take, I pick up speed until I’m running. The doors to Alaric’s rooms are wide open. I glance within as I pass. Furniture is upended and everything else not nailed down is in disarray. I don’t let myself think about what condition he might be in—I will find out soon enough.
I don’t bother checking to see if anyone else is nearby as I trip the hidden latch and slip into the musty passage. I wait at the top, letting my eyes adjust while I catch my breath and make sure no one tries to follow me through.
The door slides shut, muffling the sounds of death and surrounding me with a silence that is almost deafening beneath the rapid drumming of my heart.
I cover my mouth with my hands and smother a scream. Tears fall freely, and I do nothing to stop them, only swiping them away when they blur the way ahead. They are for everyone who has, or will, die today… for those I cannot save.
Humans and vampires. There is not a single life in this castle that has gone unscathed by Elizabeth’s brutality.
I press my hand to the damp stone and use it to keep myself steady as I venture to the lower levels. It seems like a lifetime ago that I first took this passage.
Twice, I almost miss the next narrow step, though I make it down without falling. I ball my hands into fists and close my eyes, taking a deep breath. If I become careless, I will not make it out of here alive.
I crack open the door at the bottom of the landing and strain to listen for any stomping boots or voices before carefully peering out. When there’s no sign of anyone around, I inch out, then race to Varin’s cell, slipping inside.
