Braith strained to hear something, anything, outside of this room. Then he heard it, a muted scraping of feet, a muffled heartbeat coming from within the walls. Unfortunately, she was closer to the king than him.
But even worse was the fact that behind the soft sounds of Aria, he heard the relentless pursuit of someone else.
Chapter 10
Jack took a step toward the gate as Ashby breached the top of the wall. Ashby, loveable, affable, carefree Ashby grabbed hold of one of the soldiers and ripped him over the edge without one moment of hesitation. Apparently, there was a darker side to Ashby than Jack had ever suspected as he remorselessly tossed aside more soldiers.
David suddenly appeared beside him again. The blood from his seeping puncture was vibrant as it spread across his torn shirt, but it didn’t appear to be slowing him down yet. Another group of vampires ran past and slammed another giant tree into the massive gates. Though they were solid metal, and at least a foot thick, there was a wrenching that alerted Jack to the fact that the doors were starting to give way beneath the repeated force of the blows. For the first time hope flowed through him, they were going to get inside; they were going to do this.
Ashby ran across the top of the battlement, moving swiftly through the soldiers that tried to stop him. Ever whistling Ashby continued to toss them aside like discarded peanut shells. Realization settled over him as Jack finally understood what it was that had caused Ashby to become so ruthless. Melinda. She must be somewhere near, perhaps even in peril, and Ashby was going to do anything and everything he could to get to her. With the way Ashby was moving, Jack thought they should have just used an army of vampires that had found their bloodlinks and thrown them into the fray. He suspected they might have won already if that was the case.
Ashby disappeared from view as he leapt from the top of the wall. The guards stationed upon the battlements turned, their attention was divided as they sought to face the new threat from within the palace. Braith had arrived, Jack was certain of it. They’d made it into the palace and had succeeded in reaching the front gates.
A hush descended over the battlefield as for a poignant moment they waited to see what would happen. A loud shout erupted from within, a few of the guards on the walls broke ranks and ran away; others renewed the fight with fresh vigor as arrows began to fire speedily down on both sides of the walls.
David took a step toward the gates, the look of longing on his face tugged at Jack’s heart. Another loud shout echoed from within, flames and sparks leapt higher as something far larger caught fire. A few more guards slipped away from the wall and vanished over the side as a loud groan filled the air.
Jack became completely still as the groaning became louder. He had no idea what to expect, he was half certain that a mass of soldiers would burst forth to overpower them. The gates, bent and battered from the repeated blows they had sustained, moved agonizingly slow as they were pushed open.
Ashby was grinning from ear to ear as he stepped forward. His arm was wrapped possessively around Melinda who was tucked against his side. Ashby’s gaze skipped over the group before settling upon Jack. “Well come on you lazy bastard, there’s still more of them in here to play with!” he announced jovially.
Jack grasped hold of his sister and kissed her forcefully on the cheek. “Good to see you sis.”
“You too.” Though she was smiling sadness resonated within her eyes.
“Where’s Braith?”
Gideon’s face was drawn and tired as he stepped forward. He was coated in blood but didn’t seem to be relishing in the battle, instead he seemed far more reserved than Jack had expected. “He took a few soldiers with him and went after your father, and Aria.”
Jack swallowed the hard lump that formed in his throat as he turned to inspect the group surrounding him. He was acutely aware of the few people that were missing from it and so was David as he inhaled sharply. They were all damaged and tired, but there was still far more that they had to accomplish. “We need to get to them,” David said forcefully.
“Yes,” Gideon agreed. “Before they’re all killed.”
Gideon didn’t sound anymore convinced that it was possible than Jack felt.
***
Aria had no idea where she was within the convoluted mess of passageways that made up the inner workings of the vast palace. Her shoulders and legs brushed against the walls as she hesitatingly felt her way forward. She longed to move faster but she was worried about running face first into an unseen wall.
Her fingers brushed over the solid walls surrounding her as she fumbled to find an escape. Caleb must have originally tracked her into the other tunnel before realizing that she’d fooled him as she didn’t hear his cheery humming anymore, and he didn’t taunt her with calls of ‘here kitty.’ She could sense he was behind her again though, back on the right trail, and like a dog on the scent he was honing in on her.
She stopped as her fingers suddenly brushed over a wall in front of her. She was unable to understand why it was there; unable to grasp that she was now trapped between a wall and Caleb. “I smell fear on the kitty,” Caleb ridiculed.
She really just wanted to punch that guy. Taking a deep breath Aria forced herself to calm down; if she didn’t stay calm she would never get out of here. There had to be a way out, she was sure of it. She recalled Jack finding the secret lever that had revealed the hidden passage in the room she’d slept in as a blood slave, and she knew well the intricate traps and hidden releases that Daniel designed in the caves. Just as there was always a way out of those places, there was a way out of here; she just had to find it.
She had to bite back a scream of frustration as her fingers frantically skimmed over the smooth walls surrounding her as she searched for a lever or switch. It wouldn’t be so hidden that the servants couldn’t find it, so why couldn’t she find the damn thing?
Then her fingers caught on the small lever set at chest height; she pulled down on it and took a step back as the door swung inward. Light descended upon her, for a moment she couldn’t see again, but her eyes were quicker at adjusting to this sudden influx of light than they had been after being in the dungeon for so long. She was about to step forward when she saw what the open door had revealed.
Her mouth was suddenly as dry as The Barrens had been; her heart lumbered as she stared at the atrocious throne room the king cherished so much. With sinking dismay she realized she’d leapt out of the frying pan and right into the fire. “Boo.”