Grimmstead Academy: Submission
Page 22
The basement, of course. And, of double course, the door was open.
Midnight went into the black doorway, heading down the stairs without a problem since cats were much better at seeing in the dark than humans. I stopped when my feet hit the edge of the darkness, and I leaned in, peering down. A rock formed in my throat; I couldn’t swallow, and I could hardly speak.
“I’m not supposed to go down there,” I whispered.
Did that stop you before? A low, rough voice entered my head, causing me to shiver and moan. Victor. Victor was behind this. Shouldn’t surprise me, and yet there I was, shocked to hear his voice so suddenly. Come to me, Felice. Come.
As if agreeing with the voice, I heard Midnight meow from the base of the stairs.
Crap. I shouldn’t…and yet, knowing this, my feet still drew into the darkness, still walked carefully down the steps. My eyes were slow to adjust to the darkness, and I spotted Midnight near the wall, after the poor cat let out a sneeze.
He stood beside a lantern.
Right.
I picked up the old-fashioned lantern, turning the small knob on its side and watching the fire inside flare to life. It was almost magical, how easily the flame appeared, with no help whatsoever. Midnight trotted away, deeper into the basement.
My feet picked up the pace, the lantern lighting the way. My ears picked up on a low, repeating sound, and that sound only grew the deeper into the basement I went. Almost like I walked into the pits of hell willingly, blindly. Only a fool would walk past the gates of hell and want to keep going, further, deeper. I passed the crates and old paintings, the one of Victor among them. He felt so close to me, and yet he wasn’t here.
I rounded a corner, trailing after the cat. The sound grew louder and louder until I realized what it was: my own heartbeat, speeding up in my chest. A nervousness grew within me, multiplying as I came upon the depths of the basement, where Lucien had locked Bram and Koda up. The chains still hung on the walls.
Midnight meowed, drawing my eyes to its position near the crack on the floor. Resting just in front of its paws was a knife. A kitchen knife.
My eyebrows came together, and I slowly lowered to my knees as I set the lantern down. I reached for the knife, my fingers curling around it slowly. It felt warm, like someone had just been holding it before me, but that couldn’t possibly be—I hadn’t seen anyone else down here besides Midnight. Just me and the cat.
The moment my eyes drew to the deep crack, that was it. My gaze was locked on it, and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t look away, couldn’t pull away. I could do nothing but stand and extend my injured wrist. Like a robot, like something else was in control of me, the cool air around me suffocating and stifling.
My extended arm turned, my bandage facing upwards. With the hand grasping the knife, I tore the bandage off in one quick motion. I didn’t wince, didn’t grimace. I was not in my own mind as I brought the sharp edge of the knife to my wounded wrist, not able to stop myself from what I did next.
What I had to do.
Blood.
It was always in the blood. Victor had told me. This was what he needed from me, and I would give it whether I wanted to or not.
The knife came down to my wrist, and with one hard slice, I cut into myself, so deep the blood was instant. So hard and so fast the pain didn’t even have the chance to register in my head.
The blood oozed off my wrist, curling around my skin and dripping, falling into the crack in the floor. My vision grew hazy, and I shut my eyes. Time mattered not as I stood there, bleeding out into the depths of Grimmstead. My head grew faint and my knees gave out, but still I held my sliced wrist above the crack.
This was it. This was why I was here.
This was where I was going to die.
Hey there, reader! So glad you stuck around after the huge cliffy at the end of Introduction. What can I say? This series just screamed cliffhangers. But fear not, as I’m hard at work on book 3, so I should have it out soon. If you’ve got time, please leave a review. Readers spread the word about books better than the authors themselves do.
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Be on the lookout for book 3, Grimmstead Academy: Defiant Rebellion, coming soon!