Slowly, she slipped down the rope, releasing her weight one inch at a time. It seemed to take forever before she felt the hard stone beneath her. She stood on shaking limbs and glared up. She’d forgotten one thing—the rope! There was no way for her to retrieve it!
She uttered a curse under her breath then looked down. She was still three stories high. Jumping was entirely out of the question. The French doors behind her were shrouded in darkness and covered with heavy drapes. She placed a shaking hand on the door handle and tried it. The door creaked open and she was abruptly reminded of the night she’d stolen her way into Marius’s apartment. That hadn’t produced anything pleasant. She just hoped she had better luck this time.
The room was completely dark. She felt the adjacent walls for a light switch, but found none. As her eyes adjusted, she saw the outline of a large bed and a circular mirror that sat atop a tall dresser. It appeared that she’d entered a very elaborate bedroom. She could also see a door. With careful steps, she crossed the wooden floor and pressed an ear against it. Silence.
She opened it and peered down a dimly lit hall before making her way cautiously past three more doors that appeared to be bedrooms. The hall ended in a set of tall, arching doors. On either side, two wall sconces glowed with candlelight. She braced a hand against the heavy, elaborately carved wood and pushed.
The room on the other side was unlike anything she could have imagined. It was a huge chamber with a high, arching ceiling supported by four thick pillars that reminded her of the Roman Colosseum. As she neared the polished mahogany banister that went around the entire third level of the room, she could see the intricate mosaic tiling of the floor far below. It depicted a horned dragon being slain by a mighty angel. A series of tall candelabras positioned at intervals around the room cast light on the image, granting it an ethereal appearance. Mounted on the walls of this great chamber were weapons, many of which looked to be hundreds of years old. To her right, high above everything, was a large oval stained-glass window.
Alexandra glanced back down the hall from which she’d emerged. Passing through the room seemed to be her only option. She pushed the door to its original position and looked around the third level for a doorway of some sort. At one end there seemed to be light flickering from a stairwell, and she headed in that direction.
She had taken only two steps when a loud creaking noise echoed in the chamber. Her attention was drawn to the ground level where a door swung open. At the first sound of voices, she dived to the floor.
“It is nearly 3:00 a.m. I do not understand how you allowed her to slip away from you. It was your duty to guard the door!”
“She is a witch, my lord,” came a weaker voice.
“She is the Descendant. She may possess some remnants of ability, but her powers are not so profound that she can perform such a spell. I want her found—search this entire estate if you must. And when you find her, bring her to me.” Lord Drakon sounded outraged.
Alexandra chanced a look below and could see two figures. One was a massive gargoyle, a Goliath. His hair was streaked gray and he wore a long emerald cape that trailed the ground behind him. The other was a short, thin man.
Another entered then. Nicholas, she knew. She recognized the long braid in his hair.
“Father, our guests grow impatient. When will we conclude this? Have they not found her yet?” he asked with annoyance.
Lord Drakon stalked toward one side of the room. “Not yet, but we will prepare for the sacrifice nonetheless.” With one powerful sweep of his hand, he cleared a stone slab of all the weapons that had been displayed there.
Sacrifice!
Alexandra knew they weren’t talking about a lamb. They were talking about her! She was the sacrifice! She was going to be placed on that stone slab and…what? Stabbed? Beheaded? Disemboweled?
She took several deep breaths and tried to remain calm. Lord Drakon had said it was nearing 3:00 a.m., which meant they all had several hours before they became stone. If she could just avoid getting captured until dawn then she would be free. She would deal with whatever transformations were waiting for her when they manifested.
Nicholas was ranting. “Imbeciles! How does a woman simply disappear from a locked room three stories above the ground?” He was pacing the floor. “Such incompetence! I will simply have to find her myself.”
He turned to leave, but his father stopped him. “Nicholas, I want her alive. You must remember, her only crime is having Necesar’s blood in her veins. She will be treated humanely.”
Nicholas nodded then stalked out of the room.
Alexandra eased her head away from the rail and pressed it to the cool marble floor. She was pretty sure that it was only a matter of time before Nicholas realized that she’d escaped up to the roof. And when he found her makeshift rope, it would lead him directly to her. She couldn’t wait around to be discovered.
The sound of Lord Drakon leaving echoed in the room and she refocused her attention on the light around the bend. That has to be a stairway! She stood and made her way toward the light.
It was a stairway, all right, with wide and beautifully fashioned steps covered in bronze-colored marble. Despite her circumstances, she couldn’t help but admire the splendor of the entire place. When Marius had told her that his family was wealthy, he hadn’t been kidding.
She began her descent slowly, pausing every few steps to listen for any noises that would indicate a threat. A huge tapestry on the wall in front of her portrayed a tall and majestic castle cresting a green hillside.
At the bottom of the stairway was a room with three tall peaked doors on one wall. She swallowed. The consequence of opening the wrong one could very well be fatal. Deciding not to waste time choosing, she moved toward the one nearest her and pressed her ear against it. She could hear only silence beneath the rapid thumping of her heart. When she turned the handle, a breath that she hadn’t been aware she was holding escaped her lungs. She was back in the oval chamber, but this time she was on the second level. She looked up and could see the spot where she’d been hiding. She was peering at the ground floor and contemplating the possibility of jumping when the double doors at the top slammed open. The vibrations shot throughout the entire room, rattling the huge metal chandelier and surging along the wooden banister. The tremors shot through Alexandra’s fingers and she leaped backward.
From where she stood pressed against the wall, she could see a very disgruntled-looking Nicholas with a uniformed butler in his company.
“Check the second level!” he told the elderly man. “I’ll check this room. She could not have gotten far.”
Alexandra’s stomach clenched. She had to get out of here! She had no chance eluding Nicholas, but if she moved fast, there was a chance she could outrun the old geezer.
The man nodded and moved to do Nicholas’s bidding while the gargoyle spread his wings in preparation for flight. Alexandra eased back into the hall. She could hear the old butler’s crippled steps as he limped down the stairs.
She took only a moment to listen at the second door before rushing inside and pushing it shut. She found herself at the top of another stairway and she quickly ran down. At the bottom, she entered a familiar hallway and she realized that she must be near the main entry foyer, but she wasn’t going to leave April behind. In their fury over losing her, the gargoyles might very well decide to sacrifice her friend instead.
Adrenaline raced through her and she hurried toward the first door across from the stairway. She was about to open the door when a shuffling noise behind her forced her to turn around. The old butler’s eyes widened and a toothy grin leaped to his face when he saw her.
“There you are!” he exclaimed and began hobbling toward her.
Alexandra gasped and raced down the hall toward a set of double doors. She was certain that the old man wouldn’t be able to catch her, but he was quite capable of raising an alarm. And raise the alarm he did. His crackly voice reverberated through the hall as he
screamed after her.
Alexandra burst into the room and went crashing into a solid wall. When she hit the floor a sharp pain shot up the back of her skull and blackness filled her vision. It was short-lived, however, and when her eyes opened she had a clear view of a beautiful arched ceiling. Looking to one side, she saw that she had returned to the oval chamber. She groaned painfully as a shadow fell over her. In that instant she realized that the wall she’d crashed into wasn’t really a wall. It was Nicholas!
Chapter 20
Marius ignored the pain in his wrists as he wrenched at the chains that bound him to the wall. He could tell that they were made from a very strong alloy, perhaps titanium. Had they been of a more inferior metal he was certain he would have broken free by this time. In the dim lighting of the cellar, he could just make out his mother, sitting quietly a few feet from him. For the past several hours she’d remained silent. He understood that she must feel helpless and ashamed—helpless because there was nothing she could do to aid him and ashamed to witness her family’s deterioration to such a state. And so, in silence she’d remained, no doubt contemplating the lasting result of the entire ordeal.
He hadn’t resigned himself so easily. He was determined to save Alexandra. It was nearing midnight and he was certain she was still alive, for had she been killed the curse would have been lifted. He couldn’t understand the desperation that was overtaking him. It was as if a part of him was in jeopardy and he was willing to risk everything to alleviate it.
With renewed determination, he yanked away from the wall again and yielded the same results. His deafening roar shook the entire room, rattling the floorboards overhead. The chains were just too strong. They’d been placed in the cellar in the early 1900s to bind members of his family who would have used their abilities to create mayhem in the city. If one gargoyle was being hunted, then they were all in danger. Certain measures had been a necessity to assure the survival of their clan. During the last one hundred years such punishments had become unnecessary, as the many wayward youth of his family had achieved maturity. Nevertheless, the shackles had remained.
Marius fell to his knees and smashed the floor with his fists in frustration, causing a miniature quake in the stone beneath him. Each passing hour had brought him closer to insanity and he was quite ready to chew off his own hands—anything to be free. As his gaze searched the darkness, he had a thought. The wall behind him was made of stone. If he could shatter the foundation he would be able to free himself.
Without wasting another moment, he was on his feet and charging forward as far as the chains permitted. Then, with all his strength, he slammed into the wall behind him. The room shook and he could hear the sound of the wall cracking.
The noise drew his mother’s attention and she stood. “Marius, stop this before you bring the ceiling down upon our heads!” she demanded.
He flexed his shoulder. “If that is what it takes to get me out of here, then so be it.” He charged into the wall a second time. The force of the impact sent him sprawling to the floor.
Lady Amelia moved to his side and knelt beside him. “It is nearly dawn, my son. It is too late,” she said sadly. “It is not too late!” Marius forced himself to stand. “She is still alive, and I am going to save her from this madness. I need her.”
His declaration shocked him and he met his mother’s knowing gaze. He realized that he couldn’t deny it any longer. Yes, he needed Alexandra. She’d opened his eyes and brought joy into his life. He couldn’t imagine returning to the bland existence he’d been maintaining before. The mere thought of losing her filled him with desperation. He loved her.
Chips of solid rock crumbled away after his third assault, and Marius turned to assess his handiwork. He could feel a filtering of cool air and knew that he’d penetrated the exterior wall. Victory began to stir within him, fueling his next assault. When he rammed the wall again, stone went flying and a gaping hole appeared. He peered through and could see the stables in the dim moonlight. He brought one heavy boot up and kicked away the stubborn remnants.
He looped the chains around his fists and yanked his arms forward. The huge bolts that had secured them in place tore from the wall with such force that they flew across the room and struck the opposing surface, leaving dents.
“You are free!” his mother exclaimed.
Marius looked at the lengths of chain that remained attached to his wrists. There was no way to remove them now, but that was the least of his concerns. He needed to find Alexandra and halt whatever ceremony was taking place.
He took a moment to kick in the wall that held his mother’s chains. Turning to her, he memorized her image in the dim light. Defying his family was going to be no task easily accomplished. In fact, it could very well result in his death. He was prepared for that.
“Do not regret this night, Mother, or the choices you made within it. Your love has given me more strength than you know,” he said solemnly.
She frowned. “Do not speak like this, my son—”
He raised a hand, silencing her. “I must go. Time is running out.” With that, he ducked through the gaping hole he’d created and disappeared into the night.
Chapter 21
Alexandra twisted her head away from the flask as the old woman tried to force the contents into her mouth. She was strapped to the stone table in the oval chamber with her hands bound above her head. She struggled uselessly, heaving and straining against the steel binds.
After being knocked to the ground, she’d put up quite a fight with Nicholas, who’d been in no mood for games and had subdued her quickly. Then he’d told her that Marius had been captured and was being held in the cellar. That news had crushed her. The knowledge that Marius had been imprisoned by his own family because of her was unbearable.
The woman placed a wrinkled hand over Alexandra’s mouth and pinched her cheeks together so that her lips were forced open. “You must drink this. It will cloud your mind and you will feel no pain.”
The flask tilted and Alexandra felt the warm concoction trickling over her lips. She pressed the tip of her tongue behind her teeth to prevent the liquid from entering her mouth. She wasn’t about to lie still and let this old hag poison her!
As she continued to struggle she could see Lord Drakon moving around the table to face the throng that filled the room. He stood above her, a great and hulking creature whose horns rose high above his head, curling like those of a ram’s. At the apex of his wings, two sharp talons glinted in the light from the candles and a mane of silver hair fell over his shoulders. The long cloak he wore was pushed back and fastened with a golden clasp. Bracers of the same material encased his wrists, and she noted the long silver scabbard he balanced between his clawlike hands.
For a moment their eyes met, his reflecting victory. Then he looked to the old woman who was still busy trying to drug her. “That is enough, Gertrude,” he ordered. “Her will is strong. Allow her to die with that honor.”
The woman retreated immediately, bowing low. “As you wish, my lord,” she croaked.
Alexandra turned her head to the side and spat the putrid brew from her mouth. His words rang in her head, one word clamoring the loudest—die! Her eyes bolted to the long knife he held again. This was really happening. She couldn’t believe it. In modern-day America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, she was going to be sacrificed on a stone slab. They might as well have had a witch hunt and burned her at the stake in Times Square.
“You’re insane! Let me go!” she screamed. She turned her attention to the mix of gargoyles and humans who were waiting anxiously for her death. “Do you think you can get away with this? This is murder. I hope you all rot in hell.”
When the doors to the great chamber had opened and all the guests had poured in, Alexandra had been astonished to see just how many gargoyles were present. There had to be at least twenty. They were all different in appearance—not all of the Drakon bloodline. Perhaps many of them had been servants in t
he castle who’d had the misfortune of being present when the curse was laid. They were all in various states of undress and she imagined it would be difficult to accommodate their wings comfortably into any manner of clothing. The women wore mostly loin cloths and severed tops, while the men wore pants and some cloaks. The humans among them looked like old money. They wore furs and diamonds and had that stiff-lipped demeanor that only aristocrats were capable of pulling off.
Her outburst stirred the room into a chorus of angry grumbling. The word witch was uttered several times, passing through the crowd like a foul odor.
Lord Drakon raised a hand to silence them and spoke for her ears alone. “Watch your tongue, girl, if you do not wish for a tortured death. There are those among us who would not hesitate to tear you limb from limb.”
She scowled up at him. “As if having a knife plunged into my abdomen is not torture enough,” she spat and continued struggling.
He focused on his impatient guests. “My people, our lives have been torn for centuries, wasted in hiding, in waiting.” His voice echoed into the ceiling. “On this night it shall end. We have gathered here to at last sever the curse of the witch Necesar. Before you lies the final descendant—last in her bloodline! Her death will free us!”
There was a loud cheer as he pulled the knife from the scabbard. Alexandra struggled harder, turning onto her side as she tried to squeeze her hands through the shackles.
Lord Drakon would have continued speaking, but the two huge double doors that served as the entrance to the oval chamber swung open, slamming against the walls behind them. Everyone turned to see the slender female silhouetted there.
Alexandra looked at the female gargoyle who seemed to have captured everyone’s attention. With her back straight and her head high, she advanced through the throng that was quickly parting for her, lowering their heads respectfully. She wore a long silver garment with splits running up both sides, exposing her slender thighs. Her long gray hair fell about her in a wild and enchanting cascade and her wings were folded against her back like a cloak.
Heiress to a Curse Page 20