“We may be able to escape through the dungeons,” he said. “There is a blocked passageway that I believe leads to the stairs near the waterfall. It is not my first choice as I can’t be certain where the passageway goes, but I know of no other way. Come to me tonight while she is sleeping.”
I liked this plan even less than escaping through the garden. “Kull, if we’re caught, she’ll kill you.”
His eyes searched mine. “Do you know of another way?”
“Could we try to go through the vaults again?”
“No. She doubled the guards after my sister and Maveryck escaped. It would be impossible to get inside.”
“Then I don’t know of another way,” I answered, wishing I could say the opposite. Was there something I hadn’t considered?
The music grew louder, the deep sound of the viola combining with other stringed instruments to create a tune that stirred the soul. Kull held me tight to his chest and leaned toward my ear.
“Tonight,” he said, “we escape.”
Chapter 9
Two wraiths gripped my arms tight as they led me back to my chamber. I didn’t fight them. Instead, I paid attention to where they led me and started to see a pattern in the castle’s construction. Halls were connected with arched alcoves, and we passed three large staircases, though only one led down to the floors below. I memorized the path back to the staircase.
When we arrived at my chamber, the wraiths locked me inside the room. I changed into a pair of pants and a loose-fitting shirt that I’d found in the room’s armoire. The clothing smelled musty, and based on the creases in the leather and the shirt’s frayed edges, I realized I must have been wearing someone’s castoffs, most likely someone who’d made a bad deal with the witch and now lived as a wraith in her castle.
I lay wide-awake in my bed, watching the moon rise over the mountains. Time passed slowly, and I felt I would go insane if I waited a minute longer. When the moon rose over the castle and out of view, I climbed out of bed, pulled on a pair of leather sandals that I’d also found in the armoire, and went to the door.
The wraiths had sealed it with a common lock, and I also felt an enchantment in the wood. I whispered a word of magic and stripped away the spell, but the lock was still a problem. I attempted to shove the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.
Inspecting the door latch more closely, I knew of only one way to open it. It wasn’t my first choice, and destroying the door would only make the guards realize I’d escaped sooner than I would like, but at this point, I was desperate.
“Ignite,” I whispered.
The latch warmed and then turned bright white before it melted completely. I snuffed out the flames as the liquid metal spilled over the wood. When I pushed the door open, the flames were gone, yet the harsh scent of burned metal filled the air.
As I stepped into the hallway lit only by moonlight that shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I felt grateful that the wraiths were nowhere in sight. I crept down the halls on quiet feet, keeping my back pressed to the cold stone walls as I passed an open room and then wandered through another hallway.
An eerie stillness clung to the castle. Moonlight transformed the stones in the walls and floors from a harsh gray to a soft blue. The sound of my footsteps echoed quietly. Keeping my hands fisted, I made sure my magic would be ready at a moment’s notice if I needed it. I tried to ignore the panicky feeling making my heart beat too fast.
It bothered me that the witch hadn’t restrained me more than she had. In fact, the only chains she’d bound me with were words. Her threat to kill Kull if I helped him escape played through my head.
After I found the staircase leading below, I took the steps down. In a few places, lit torches burned in sconces, but they weren’t bright enough to light the way entirely. Around each sconce I could make out carvings of winged, skeletal demons decorating the walls.
When I reached the bottom, I found a narrow hallway with a door at the end. As I unlatched the door and entered the dungeon, the temperature dropped, making goose bumps form on my skin. The smell of human waste pervaded the air.
I made my way past empty cells, some with hay covering the floor. As I neared one of the cells, I paused. My stomach heaved as I stared at the decomposing corpse of a male pixie. Backing away, I tore my eyes off the corpse and walked quickly down the hall, trying to erase the image from my vision.
Another door barred my path, and I opened the latch and entered a small room. I’d hoped to find Kull inside but found only more rows of empty cells. Where was he?
Just as I was ready to turn around and leave the dungeons for good, I noticed a door I hadn’t seen earlier. My heart quickened as I opened it and entered a large cavern.
Kull’s sword, along with several elven weapons, were arranged on the wall, reminding me of trophies on display. I went to Bloodbane and touched it gently, feeling the cold chill of its metal against my fingers. The room was dimly lit, but I was able to make out a table sitting against the back wall.
Someone was on the table, and as I walked closer, my heart plunged. Kull lay strapped to the metal surface. Slashes crisscrossed his bare torso, and blood dripped from the table and pooled on the floor. I went to him and grabbed his hands. His fingers felt freezing cold, and his skin was ghostly white. His eyes fluttered open and he gasped as he tried to speak, but his whispers weren’t audible. Soon, his eyes
