by A. W. Exley
My hand itched for my blade; I wanted to sever her arm for touching him. All she had to do was nick his skin and my boyfriend would be her undead plaything. I wondered why she didn't. What held her back?
"Mother wants to talk to you about your future. Every queen needs a consort, and your blood makes you the perfect candidate," her tone lowered as though she shared a lover's confidence with Seth.
Seth held his position but arched one eyebrow. "Lady Jeffrey is a little old for my taste, but thanks for thinking of me, old girl."
Louise laughed. "Not for mother, oh no. We have such grand plans, and you are woven into them."
"Remember Alice," Frank hissed between clenched teeth. "We need to get to Alice."
"Her and no one else. This is a solo game." Louise pointed to me.
"Ella is not going on her own," Frank said. He couldn't help himself and he pulled his machete free of the scabbard on his back.
"Oh yes, she is." The mass encircling Louise rose as the vermin struggled to their feet. They were slow and cumbersome, but there were only three of us and at least a hundred of them.
Seth seemed unconcerned, but he must have noticed Jake was absent. I prayed a vermin hadn't grabbed him from behind. I squinted into the half-light but couldn't see his familiar shape within range. I couldn't really shout out to Seth, Hey, where's our other soldier gone?
Frank swore under his breath and he rocked on the balls of his feet. Seth put a hand out to restrain his half-brother. "Have faith in Ella. We have our own mission to complete."
Seth wrapped one arm around my waist and buried his other hand in my hair. Then he kissed me hard. A rough tangling of our lips and a scrape of our teeth, as though we were parting forever. The vermin's sibilant hiss started with Louise and rolled around us.
He pulled back and touched his forehead to mine. "Be safe, Ella. I love you."
"I—" I really meant to say it back to him. A thousand times in my head, I had admitted my feelings for Seth, but those blasted words wouldn't make it over my twisted tongue.
A sad smile touched his lips. "Tell me later, if you are so inclined."
So inclined? I loved him—truly, madly, deeply. I just couldn't articulate that under pressure.
"How touching. You do take your philanthropic work so seriously, your grace," Louise spat out as her minions likewise made the noise of a colony of cats spitting up hairballs.
Philanthropic work? I was no charity. Jealous woman wouldn't know true love if it speared her through the chest. Which gave me an idea, perhaps I could stab a few holes in Louise to see what happened, and then go rescue Alice.
"Hurry, Eleanor. Alice is ever so lonely and vulnerable over there." Louise laughed and then took Seth by the arm, as though they headed through to dinner.
As Frank walked past me, he whispered, "Hard to say those words, isn't it, when you realise how much they mean and how important someone is."
This time I was the one left swallowing air like a goldfish; no retort would spring to my tongue because he was right. He didn't need to rub it in, though. I let out a sigh, touched my sword hilt for luck, and refocused my mind after the turmoil Seth's words had created.
I've taken a lot of difficult walks. Turning my back on my mother's grave after her funeral. The one from the local policeman's cell to the smithy to dispose of those first few vermin. The walk from the kitchen to the stables the night of the ball.
Taking one last look at Seth and stepping into a vermin ocean was another long walk to add to my tally. They parted before me, as though Moses had raised his staff. They reformed behind me with slithers and groans, closing me in. I could only move forward, not back.
Getting back out with Alice would be problematic. Not to mention I might also have to now rescue Seth and Frank. I hoped Jake was using his connection to his brother to send an emergency message. We needed Lieutenant Bain to charge down the tunnel with reinforcements before it was too late.
14
A legion of vermin now separated me from Seth. He, Frank, and Louise were surrounded by a guard of the undead, which marched them onward to their audience with Elizabeth. Splitting up was never part of our plan, but we would have to make do. I would find Alice while Seth and Frank tried to learn more about Elizabeth's plot. Then, I added an extra step to my plan—stuff Louise in a crate and ship her off to the War Office. They could consider her an early Christmas present.
I also needed to tell Seth how much I loved him before the day was over. I wouldn't have him going home after this adventure thinking I merely liked him. I needed to grab him by the collar and spit out the words carved in my heart. Assuming Elizabeth didn't carve it out first in some final macabre confrontation. No, I couldn't think like that. We would triumph over her. Somehow.
By the light of the glow worms, I made my way to the underground river. The water flowed like molasses on a cold morning, as though it was in no hurry to go anywhere. A narrow stone bridge reached from main cavern to the island.
"Alice!" My voice returned as a faint echo, and a wash of laughter seemed to reply. I waited for Alice to answer, rush out of the trees, and save me the trip over the black water. Bother. What was she doing over there? I couldn't understand why she hadn't just left when no vermin were looking—unless she couldn't leave. Ice water slithered through my veins. What sick game was Elizabeth playing?
I glanced over to the standing stones, but they were too far away and the light too murky for me to make anything out. Elizabeth must be over there, so how was she watching my rescue attempt? By using other eyes. Which meant there were vermin about that I couldn't see in the dark. Better stay on guard.
I placed one foot on the stone and bounced on my toes. It seemed firm underfoot. It wasn't quite wide enough for two feet side by side and I took one slow step after another, my arms spread out as I sought to keep my balance on the beam. Mirror like water reflected the glowworms from above and it appeared as though I walked over the little insects. At last I jumped to the other side and breathed a sigh of relief that the bridge hadn’t arched its back like a cat to shake me off.
I stood on the edge of the island and surveyed the garden. The trees laced their branches together and held me back. They had no foliage, just a jumble of twigs. A closer inspection showed thorns at least three inches long bristling along each limb, ready to catch and scratch at anyone that passed. It reminded me of some monstrous cousin of the hawthorn hedges we used on the farm to keep livestock contained.
Deformed trunks dotted the cavern, as if a vermin tree had infected them. Would a scratch from an undead tree turn a person, or did undead trees only infect other trees? If such a thing could exist.
That prison made of trees kept Alice contained. I had my sword, but I didn't want to blunt the blade chopping firewood. On the other hand, I couldn't burn it down until I freed Alice. Assuming she was still alive in there, she wouldn't appreciate me setting her alight.
There must be a way through in order for Alice to be in there. Unless it was a joke by Louise and she wasn't in here at all. What if Alice is already dead or Turned? the scared voice in the back of my head whispered. Elizabeth had no use for her alive. I bit my knuckles and drove the thoughts away. I had to assume my friend was alive, probably dirty and hungry and in dire need of rescue.
I paced the outer edge examining each part of the hedge, seeking a way into the grotesque maze. All the time, I tried to ignore the overloud tick in my mind, counting down each second we had left. There! My patience was rewarded. Two trees didn't quite touch and created a narrow alleyway between them.
By ducking, I darted between, careful not to snag myself against the reaching thorns. The path opened up once past the main barrier and revealed a strange sight. A vermin reclined on a large boulder with a flat top. This one wasn't as decayed as the others, and it bore a resemblance to Mrs Linton. I peered closer in case it was Elizabeth in her transformed state. Its body was distorted and inflated, and it appeared as though its legs were fused. It remi
nded me of a gigantic caterpillar, but with less legs or hair. It wasn't Elizabeth, it lacked her predatory intelligence in its dull eyes.
I wondered if Elizabeth had overthrown another queen and claimed her castle and followers. This one looked like a banished monarch, cast far away from everything else. It growled as I approached and small arms waved in the air.
Was it supposed to be a guard or some sort of sentinel? It wasn't doing a very effective job, nor was it particularly scary. It seemed more ludicrous than terrifying, unless you had a caterpillar phobia. The hideous creature could be Elizabeth's eyes, relaying events that it saw from within the nightmare island.
Elizabeth knew I was there, it didn’t matter if the creature noted my passing, but could I be bothered dispatching it? I would have to climb up its rock perch. There didn't seem to be any chance of it reaching me, unless it slid off its boulder and squashed me flat. No, the hideous caterpillar could just stay up there and watch.
"I don't have time for you. Alice!" The longer we spent in that place, the madder I became, as though we inhaled insanity into our lungs.
I crept farther into the maze, and my feet no longer trod the earth of Somerset, but some twisted subterranean world. I followed a path cut between tortured trees and matted undergrowth. At times, I encountered a dead end and had to turn around and retrace my steps. Then, I remembered the trick of being a wall follower. By keeping either your left or right hand in contact with the wall, you shouldn't get lost and will eventually arrive at the exit. Assuming there was an exit. Not that I wanted to tangle with the thorny sides, but by extending one hand and keeping it close to the hedge, I could at least follow a consistent route.
The path seemed endless and the stretch before me identical to that behind, or on either side. All around, there was only tall, impenetrable hedge and brown dirt under my feet, everything washed a pale blue by the luminescent worms above. The tick continued in my head and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself screaming. I was trapped in a nightmare and couldn't awake. Just when I had convinced myself I was still at home curled up in my bed, the dense, cloying growth opened out to reveal one lone tree in a grove. It had two branches spread out like a headless person holding aloft their arms. Underneath, curled up on the ground, was a familiar shape.
"Alice!" Relief burst through me on finding her, tempered with the smallest shard of caution. I had found her, but in what condition—alive, dead, or undead?
Alice jumped to her feet. Her clothing was dirty and torn; her hair tousled and wild like Louise's, but her amber eyes were those of my friend, not a mindless vermin. She also clutched something in her hands.
"Ella?" She squinted in the haze and rose to her feet.
"Yes." I rushed forward and hugged her.
Alice sagged with relief against me and a sob worked free of her throat. "How long, Ella? How long have I endured this Hell?"
I stroked her tangled hair and my fingers plucked out a twig. "Nearly a week. We searched for you every daylight hour. Seth had the soldiers kicking over every stone looking for you."
"A week?" She shook in my arms. "I thought it closer to a month."
I pulled back and handed her a handkerchief to blow her nose and wipe her face. "Oh, Alice, what have they done to you?"
"Everything, and nothing," she whispered. She peered over my shoulder. "They tormented me until I was sure I’d gone completely mad. They keep coming for me, you see, and I cannot fall asleep or they will sneak up on me."
I reached out to stroke her hair and she jumped, as though she had forgotten I was there already.
"Are you really here?" she whispered.
"Yes. What on Earth have you got there?" Her palms gripped a long, slender object that looked like a rifle in the glow worm twilight.
She twirled a wooden stick with a thick rectangle prism at one end. "Croquet mallet."
How absurd. Where on Earth did she find a croquet mallet? Yet, when I cast around, the dead lawn that encircled the tree had squat metal hoops, and two more mallets rested in a shrub. Scattered empty sardine tins reflected back the soft light. Sardines would explain how she had survived. But I still couldn't believe a vermin hive saw fit to set up a croquet lawn. But if not Elizabeth, then who once played croquet around the tree? More questions cropped up in my mind, like who planted the maze and kept the hedges trimmed.
I shook my head. We were all going mad in this place. "You've been playing croquet?"
Alice shrugged and her head swung back and forth as she kept watch around her. "I couldn't find any balls."
As if that made a difference to the ridiculousness of the situation. I pinched myself, hoping I would awaken, but I either stayed asleep or this truly was a distorted version of reality.
"Why the mallet, Alice?" I hoped my guess was wrong.
She swallowed and her grip tightened on the wood. "Elizabeth sends one of her vermin in every now and then to terrify me and to lob another tin of sardines at me. The mallet keeps them at a distance. And their heads make up for the lack of balls."
Then she frowned and pointed to the larger balls dotted around the overgrown lawn. In the dim light I counted three lumps.
"I couldn't fit them through the hoops though, so I couldn't decide how many points I should get for trying. It seemed important that I keep score in my game."
Oh, Alice. I couldn't decide if she was being clever or was stark raving bonkers. I grabbed her in a hug, and held on tight. I never wanted to let go, but certain questions had to be asked. In the soft blue haze, it was impossible to tell if she had been bitten or scratched. What if this was part of Elizabeth's game, letting me find Alice and believe I had saved her, only to realise she was infected and I must dispatch her?
"What happened, Alice? How did you end up here? Did they touch you?" I bit my lip, desperate for her to say she remained unscathed.
She snorted and made a noise somewhere between a hysterical laugh and crying. "Mistaken identity, I believe. They were after you. They kept moaning, Ella, Ella."
I squeezed her tighter and screwed up my eyes. I mouthed a silent apology for being weak and letting Elizabeth leave our house and causing my friend so much distress. Another sin to atone for, and this time I would take great pleasure in wielding my sword against my step-mother to end her reign.
Alice shook with the sobs. "I tried, Ella. I really did try to escape them. I shot one, but there were four and I didn't want them to touch me. I batted at them with the rifle, trying to keep their hands off me. Two grabbed at it and tore it from me. They dropped a large feed sack over my head and dragged me away. Next thing I knew, they shoved me down a hole and everything went black. When I woke up, I was here, chained to a tree."
The chain presented a problem that I hoped had a solution. I glanced around, trying to find some way to release her. "We'll get you out."
"We?" She dropped to her knees and leaned her cheek on the top of the mallet.
"Frank and Seth have been captured by Louise. Jake, one of the soldiers, is also loose somewhere down here. Once I free you, we need to rescue the boys." Meanwhile, I investigated her unusual prison. A rusty padlock secured the chain, and it seemed I had three available options: pick the lock, cut down the tree, or cut off Alice's leg. I wondered which option she would prefer. I didn't want to damage the katana attempting either of the latter two, so picking the lock might be the best way forward.
"Frank came? I thought he didn't care for me." There was a haughty tone to her voice but the hurt was razor sharp in her luminous amber gaze.
I once thought the same thing, until despair over losing her drove the man to the edge. "Oh, Alice. He does love you, ever so much. He's been quite demented with worry for you."
"Well, he should have said it then, instead of ripping my heart out and laughing." She sniffed and turned her face from me, but I saw her wipe her eyes.
"I have had that conversation with him. I do believe he will remedy that situation as soon as he sees you." I couldn't judge him harsh
ly anymore, not after my treacherous tongue refused to say the exact same words to Seth. But Frank had a broken heart to somehow mend. Alice had spent the last few days sitting here on her own, thinking she was unloved and abandoned.
I knelt on the ground next to her and laid my hands over hers. "It's up to you whether you forgive him or not. You are the only one who can judge the sincerity of his words. Or better yet, let his actions speak for him."
She huffed. That was probably all I could do for Frank. He was on his own with his particular love problem. I had my own to worry over. "Don't suppose you have a bobby pin about you somewhere?"
She patted her hair, her fingers combing through tangled curls. She dug deep through the mess. "Ah. Found one." She pulled the wriggly piece of metal from her locks and handed it to me. "What are you going to do?"
I gave her my best serious look. "I can either pick the lock or chop off your leg."
Her mouth fell open while she considered the options. "Pick the lock. Otherwise you will have to carry me. I don't suppose you have any food about you? I'm famished and I never want to see another sardine again."
I bent over the lock. "Sorry. We have an array of explosives but no food supplies. We thought we would be in and out rather quickly, but we ran into Louise."
"Should have bought one of those horrid motorcycles and run her over," Alice said.
I had limited experience in picking locks, but I knew the mechanics and had attempted it once or twice over the years. When Elizabeth was being cruel and locked away the tea, I would retrieve it for Magda. I had to manipulate the pins until they all depressed and released the bar holding it shut. Simple really. Any ten-year-old on the streets of London could do it in seconds. It took me a bit longer due to being rusty. I also needed to hold my tongue in just the right spot in my mouth at the same time as I twiddled the bobby pin.