Chapter 30

30

Farryn

Warmth hit my face, and I squinted against a bright beam of light. My cheek slid across something hard, cold and wet, and I opened my eyes to a stack of books.

Huh?

Lifting my head from the table separated my cheek from the pool of drool beneath it, and I looked around to find I’d fallen asleep in the library.

The lantern had long flickered out, and a sharpness in my jaw had me massaging away a painful stiffness there. I wiped the drool from my face onto the sleeve of my robe and pushed to my feet. The gray, dishwater sky outside the window portended another gloomy day, and the chill already clinging to my skin told me it’d be a cold one, too.

I hurried back to my room, leaving the books on the table and hustled to get into some work clothes. Opening the armoire showed three new dresses hung there.

More dresses.

“This really is hell. It has to be,” I muttered, tearing one of them from its hanger.

The only time I’d ever made a point to wear dresses growing up was for funerals and Aunt Nelle’s poker parties, when she insisted on it, because all the ladies who attended wore them, like some secret, poker prude cult. Groaning at the length of the thing, which reached well past my calves, and the uncomfortable leather boots that didn’t match, at all, I raced out of the bedroom, skipping breakfast, and ran to the stable.

Garic stood in my place, chopping meat with a frown, and I began to wonder whether, or not, it was an actual frown, or a permanent feature of his face. “You’re late.”

“I know, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I’ll take over.”

He handed me the cleaver, which I took with some reluctance. Dear God, what breed of dogs ate half a deer carcass every day?

“It’ll happen again. Because your generation don’t care about nothin’ but themselves. You’re selfish. All of you.”

“Is this how it’s going to be every day with you, Garic? I’m just curious.”

Mumbling in a growly voice, he limped away.

All three mongrels stood to attention, tongues lobbed in a weird smile, while I hacked at the flesh that didn’t exactly cut like butter. By the time breakfast was over, I felt dizzy from the toil. Hunger, I guessed, though my desire to eat after all that chopping had fizzled. After disposing of the bones, and what I deemed were inedible parts of the animal, I discarded it into the pit.

Looking over my shoulder showed Van Croix talking to Garic, but his eyes were on me the whole time. Heat rushed to my cheeks. Wave, my head urged.

Lip peeled back with disgust, he looked away, making me regret the gesture.

“Somebody has a hangover,” I muttered to myself, and that was when I caught sight of a bloody meat chunk dangling off my sleeve by a strand of fat, or a tendon, or something white and utterly disgusting. “Ugh!” I shook my hand over the pit, jerking the meat into motion. At the sound of a snorty chomp, I jumped back on a scream, found Cerberus chewing the meat he’d just severed from my sleeve. “So gross. So motherfreaking gross!”

One more glance back showed Van Croix had left, thankfully.

After their meal, I took the dogs for a walk around the property in an effort to shake off my hunger. A glint in the grass captured my attention, and I turned to see a strange golden shell lying there, its shiny surface gleaming beneath the overcast sky. I reached out to pick it up for closer examination, and at the slight movement, I squealed, drawing my hand back.

Two small antennae slowly uncurled, at the same time as spindly legs raised the shell up off the grass. It scuttled around to face me, two big beady eyes staring back at me.?Beneath them, sharp teeth gnashed together, and I jumped backward. The bug took flight, making a strange clicking noise as it buzzed overhead.

I flinched with its proximity, but thankfully, it flew off. Once again, I was reminded that this place, with all it’s odd little creatures, definitely wasn’t Chicago. A strange sensation tickled the back of my neck, as I stared after it toward the dark, hedge maze.

Stony-faced cherubs stood guard at its entrance, tugging at my curiosity as we neared. In its archway, a single flower that’d somehow managed to survive the dip in temperatures bloomed on a ravaged vine, which had since browned and curled. Reaching out a finger, I only just brushed its petal, and the flower snapped shut, coiling into a tight bud. Skinny tendrils entwined around it, sealing the flower into a tight cocoon.

I stepped past the vine-covered threshold to where the surrounding hedgerow enclosure stood a good ten- to- twelve feet in height. Impossible to see over. Still, the lure of a puzzle was too enticing to ignore. I’d always been fond of them, and the one before me held the intrigue of secrets and mystery. It dared me to find my way out.

Right hand to the wall.

Two of the dogs lagged behind me, while Cerberus took the lead, sniffing his way through the arboreous passages. I wondered if he’d ran through the maze so many times, he knew the way, or was simply humoring my attempt at escape.

Some paths held ancient looking archways, with creepy cherubs carved into their surfaces that seemed to stare at me as I passed. As I slipped beneath one, a shadow crawled over my skin.

Cerberus and I eventually ended up ahead of the other two dogs, who I prayed wouldn’t take a detour and leave me running this maze after them.

With a smile, I ducked out into the shrubs beside me, which was no easy feat with all the branches poking at my hair and skin. I whistled for the dog, watching him skid to a halt and trying not to giggle too loudly, when he twisted around, looking completely lost. Hand slapped to my mouth, I closed my eyes and willed myself to remain perfectly still, until the first prod of the dog’s wet nose against my skin left me belting out a laugh.

Tail wagging, Cerberus urged me out of the bushes, and the moment I stepped back into the path of the maze, a figure ahead of us sent my lungs clamping over my next breath.

The caretaker, Jesper, the man I’d sworn had been dragged off and eaten by the dogs, stumbled to the ground, trembling. His clothes were torn and tattered. Eyes bloodshot. I stepped cautiously toward him, curious of his condition, yet not entirely trustworthy after what I’d been told about him.

Cerberus let out a warning growl, and I rested my hand on his back to calm him, never taking my eyes off Jesper.

If the man were prone to attack, he certainly couldn’t have done so in his state, given the sickly pallor of his skin and the shivering that wracked his body. Without getting too close, I knelt beside him. The splotch of red at his coat had me pulling the fabric away to find bones sticking up where I imagined a ribcage to be.

A shocked breath sputtered out of me, and I pressed the back of my hand to my lips when acids rose into my throat. It was one thing to see such a gruesome injury in a photograph, but something else when staring down at the real thing. “I’m gonna get help.”

“The sun … will turn into darkness ... and the moon ... into blood. And the heavens ... will shake.” Words broken by unsteady breaths slipped past unhealthy blue lips. His eyes turned unfocused, staring beyond me, as if something stood there. When I turned, Cerberus was no longer at my back. I was completely alone with Jesper—a thought that sent a wintry chill up my spine.

Run away, the voice inside my head commanded, but when I turned back to Jesper, I caught the shine of tears in his eyes. The man was terrified of something.

“What did this to you? The dogs?”

“Not animal. Not human.” The shine of his tears gave an eerie flicker to his staring and set my teeth on edge.

“If you’ll release me, I’ll go find help. But I have to leave you here.”

“No.” At the sharp clutch of my arm, I sucked in a panicked breath. “The moon. Blood. Fire.”

“I don’t understand. Please let me find some help.” Against his grip, I twisted my arm to get loose, the panic inside of me escalating. “Let me go.” But no sooner had I spoken the words, the man’s eyes closed.

“Forgive … me father. For I have sinned.” He let out a long sigh of a breath, and the trembles stopped. The grip of my arm slackened.

“Oh, God.” Prying his fingers loose, I pushed to my feet and, on shaky legs, backed myself away. “No, no, no,” I mindlessly chanted. “Not dead. Not dead.”

A scent wrinkled my nose, acerbic and sulphury enough to turn the air to acid and burn my lungs. Hissing drew my attention toward where the hedge alongside Jesper fluttered with movement. A cold brush of fear hit the back of my neck, as I watched a long-nailed, gray hand reach out from the hedge into the path. It tensed as if weight-bearing, and the gray hairless crown of a head followed after.

Breaths hastening to the beat of my panicked heart, I backed up two more steps, as whatever creature it was emerged from the hedge. Not quite human, not quite animal, as Jesper had described.

Limbs paralyzed with fear, I watched its full form come into view and prowl toward Jesper. After dragging its nose across the man’s wound, it opened its mouth far wider than I would have imagined it capable, and bit down into his chest.

Jesper’s eyes flew open, a gut-wrenching scream echoing through the maze. Terror exploded inside of me, jerking my body into motion. I spun around and ran in the direction from which I’d come. Head muddled with fear and panic, I didn’t pay attention to the path ahead of me, and when I hit the first wall with no exit, the distress inside of me flared. I backtracked toward where I thought the main path had been, only to find I must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere again, as it ended on another wall of hedges. Aimlessly running in the other direction, I kept my eyes peeled for Cerberus. He was nowhere.

The fear gripped my lungs, squeezing the breath out of me.

“Help! Someone help me!” Every muscle in my body shook, my throat dry and hoarse. “Someone, please!”

A shadow swooped overhead, but quickly passed before I could get a glimpse of it.

Twisting around, I ran through the maze, swiping at the vines and leaves that seemed to reach out for me. I hit another wall, and at that point, I knew I was well and truly lost.

Not a sign of the dogs. Nothing remotely familiar to let me know whether, or not, I was on track to the exit. And whatever had flown overhead earlier left me feeling like a trapped mouse.

Something rustled the surrounding foliage, and I backed myself toward the dead end behind me.

That harrowing, hissing sound skated down my spine.

The hedge shivered with movement.

Cerberus?

More snarling, and what sounded like a scuffle in the next row over.

Every nerve ending flared with fear, while I contemplated whether to run. A screeching sound echoed around me, followed by a sharp yelp.

Not a dog, a human.

“Jesper?” I whispered, cautiously stepping toward the place I’d seen the rustling of the hedge.

Edging closer, I noticed what looked to be a black substance dripping from one of the leaves onto the white gravel path. On closer examination, it had a reddish tint, like dark blood. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I padded quietly by, trying to see through to the other side, which, of course, I couldn’t.

Something gripped my ankle, and I let out a scream. Looking down showed a bloody hand wrapped tightly around it, and on instinct, I kicked at my captor to break myself free.

From the hedge, emerged the blond I’d met the other day.

Remy.

“Wait. Just … wait.” Pain laced his voice as he crawled from the hedge and pushed to his feet. Once he was upright, I could see the dark-reddish blood at his flank where claw marks marked the path of torn flesh.

“Are you okay?” he asked me, as if I weren’t the one standing there bleeding out.

“You … you’re …. That looks bad.” I pointed toward his injury. “It looks deep.”

“Just a scratch.”

“The caretaker, Jesper. I don’t know for sure … but …. I mean, I think he’s dead. I’m fairly certain.” Head still heavy with chaos, I fought against a stiff jaw to relay what had happened.

“I didn’t see anyone. Searched the maze. Something attacked me,though.”

“No, he was there! I saw him. His … ribs … they were … bent. And that thing ….

God, what was it? It looked like it was … eating him?”

“No idea what it is. And aside from some blood, I didn’t see any caretaker.”

I stared down at the blood on my hands and dress. Jesper’s blood. Not mine. “I didn’t imagine it. I saw it.”

“I’m not arguing with you, princess. I’m just saying, I didn’t see him.”

Still puzzled, I grimaced at the grotesque possibility that the creature had eaten him. Entirely. A lump rose to the back of my throat, and I swallowed it down. Shaking the thought from my head, I turned my attention back to Remy. “We need to clean that cut. It’ll get infected.”

“We?”

“Well, I’m guessing you can’t bandage it yourself, unless you know acrobatics.”

“I’m pretty flexible.” The wink he shot back at me felt wildly out of place among the fear still rattling me from the inside out.

As we headed back toward the entrance, Remy leading the way through the maze, I stole glances over my shoulder, my neck stiff and prickling every time I stared down the long path behind us. Along the way, we were greeted by Cerberus, who trotted toward me, the sight of him an absolute relief. Nero and Fenrir trailed after him.

The hedges opened at the entrance, and at the mouth of it stood a dark and intimidating figure.

Van Croix.

With his one good eye, he looked past us into the hedge, as we approached.

I craned my neck to make sure that thing hadn’t followed us. “Mister Van Croix, something attacked us. It attacked the caretaker, Jesper.”

“The one you said my dogs had mauled?”

“No. Yes. But he said something else hurt him. It’s somewhere in the maze. I’ve seen this creature before.”

“She isn’t lying.” Twisting, Remy lifted his shirt from over the glistening wound beneath, the sight of which sent a flutter of nausea to my stomach.

Unmoved, Van Croix seemed to study the wound for a moment. “I’d like a word in my office, Miss Ravenshaw.”

“I … offered to help Remy clean his wounds.”

Brow quirked, Van Croix shifted his jaw, his gaze darkening as it flitted toward Remy, as if in warning. “Very well. I’ll have a look in the maze, while you … tend his wounds. And I trust you’ll be in my office afterward.”

“Of course.”