by Ainsley Shay
Lord Darenfys stared wide-eyed at me. Underneath the disbelief and betrayal was the love he thought he felt for me. I was sickened by it, by him. Both my hands held the dagger’s hilt. The dark angel would fall once again into the depths of Hell. His immortality was destroyed by a witch who loved him, his body killed by a girl who was cursed to hate him.
Before I could push the dagger deeper into his chest, I was pulled off. The Lord pulled the dagger out and it clattered to the floor. I was spun around and my arms pulled back hard. I cried out in pain.
Frantic guests ran from the ballroom. They scurried like rats to find safety. The room was almost empty by the time I could catch my breath and was turned around. Adelina was gone. I glanced around on the floor for the dagger. It, too, was gone.
Penemuel stood behind me. His grip pulled my shoulders back to the point of almost dislocating them. The Lord strode over to me. His swagger faltered only slightly from the stab wound.
“It pains me deeply to kill you. So, for now, until I decide something better, you’ll be taught how to obey.”
Blacwin and Chandler were poised, waiting for orders.
The rage I had felt was gone. It turned into feelings of dread and failure. I should have been scared for what Penemuel would do with me, but I was ready to die, again.
10
Penemuel dragged me all the way to the dungeon. Two other guards followed. There was no way I could out-maneuver his grip. He took every ounce of hatred he felt for me out on my body. I kept the shrieks of sharp pain and desperate cries locked in my throat.
The thought of the iron gate, trapping bars, heavy chains, and shackles made me want to scream.
“My Lord is bewitched and you—”
“Adelina was there tonight, at the ball,” I scoffed.
“Liar!” His fingers dug into my arms and I cried out.
“I’m not lying. I swear. She was the one helping me, she caused the distraction; all of the trays and glasses that crashed was her doing. Please. You have to find her. I don’t want to kill anyone.” That part wasn’t entirely true, I just hadn’t been very good at it. “Like your Lord, I, too, am bewitched. She has cursed me to only hate him. And worse, to break the curse, I am the only one who can kill him.”
We went lower and lower, down the narrowing, circular stairs. The stench of urine and vomit grew stronger the deeper into the castle we went. We arrived at the massive iron gate. Penemuel motioned for one of the guards to step forward. He did willingly and banged on the gate.
A dirty, hunched, old man came out of the dark corridor toward us. A set of large keys clanged against his thigh as he walked. His staggered movement was proof that he was drunk or injured. I took the latter to be true. The stone hall was dingy and reeked of putrid death.
“Ah, Penemuel, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you down here before.”
“I do my best to avoid this place.”
The old man took off the set of keys and sifted through them until he found the one he was searching for. He placed it in the lock and turned. The long iron bar across the door was released and he pulled the door inward.
Penemuel pushed me through without coming in. “This is as far as I go.”
“Thank God!” I said, falling to my hands and knees.
“You have brought me another beauty. What could this one have possible done to have the honor of spending the rest of her life with me?”
“She tried to kill Lord Darenfys.”
The old man’s hand went to his heart. “How dare you?” He backhanded me across the cheek. “You will pay, for the rest of your days.”
Days. I hoped it wouldn’t take that long to die. My eyes narrowed on him. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
I looked up at Penemuel and expected him to say something, tell the warden I wasn’t to be treated like that. But, he only smiled. He turned to leave, then paused. “Rift?”
The old man’s face beamed that the head of the guard knew his name. “Yes, sir?”
“Her stay here should be a short one.”
Rift’s pouty face scrunched, but he was not about to argue.
Penemuel was out of sight as he went back up the flight of stairs.
“Come on, girl.” He pushed me forward. Other scents had become stronger, rot and blood. Grimy hands reached out to me as we passed down the hall lined with cells. I tried to avoid the hands, as well avoid glancing inside the cells. I didn’t want to know who or what would surround me. Knowing that would only make the nightmares I’d have more real and vivid.
“Looks like you’ve done this before.” I hadn’t responded, “That’s good to know, less I have to do.” He smiled. His teeth were dark and broken. Moans and hacking came from one of the cells we passed. A man lay on his back in the middle of the floor, his arms outstretched to the ceiling. “Shut up!” Rift yelled at him.
It was difficult to avoid looking into the cells. I pried my eyes away, but they instantly peeked into the next cell we passed, and then the next. I stopped abruptly when I saw a female figure in one of the cells. “Come on! There’s no reason to stop,” he said, and prodded me in the back.
I gripped the iron bars and peered into the cell. She lay on her side with only a few strands of hay under her now frail body. Rift banged his keys on the bars. “Move it!”
I held on tight. I wasn’t moving until I knew for sure it was who I thought. The last interaction I had with her was when she sent me my mother’s broach. It was a gesture of kindness and possibly, a desperate way to ask for help. I hadn’t been sure. Carina lifted her head. Her hair was matted to her face and she could barely move.
“How long has she been here?”
“There is no time down here, pretty girl.”
He was right. I remembered the horrible feeling of never knowing if it was day or night or how many days had passed.
“Carina, can you hear me?”
Her head lifted a little more, but her eyes never opened. The effort became too much and it fell back to the dirt floor. My hands slipped down the bars to my side. I called her name again, but she didn’t respond. Rift prodded me down the corridor, deeper into the dungeon. After seeing Carina weak and broken, I stopped glancing in the cells.
Rift opened the last cell on the left. To my right was a stone wall. I was grateful not to have another prisoner to stare at. Being the good little prisoner I was, I willingly went to the cell, “Here we go. This one I saved just for you. It’s not every day a devil-child who tried to kill my Lord lands on my doorstep. So, you get the suite.” I pulled out of his reach and walked in on my own. Three stone walls and one lined with iron bars. He made an extra effort to slam the door. Like the door that led into the dungeons, he slid the large key into the lock and turned it. It clanged and its finality echoed throughout the wretched corridor. I knew, without a doubt, I would die here.
“Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll go fetch you a squatting bowl.” Rift grumbled and chortled as he walked away.
I was reliving my nightmares. And this time I wore an even more uncomfortable dress. I wanted to untie the back so I could sit and breathe simultaneously, but I didn’t dare give Rift any indication that I wanted more than just to die as quickly as possible. Without Lily’s help, I’m not sure I could even do it.
Lily. Just the thought of her made me sick to my stomach.
Furious, frustrated, exhausted, and conquered, I thought of everything I’d screwed up and all of the people who would die because of me. Lily. Her innocent, sweet face would forever linger on the edges of my waking thoughts. They took her dignity, her tongue, her life. Her death was a casualty of the bigger picture. Also, I invited her death as an end to all of the craziness. To me, more than anyone else, she would be remembered as a sweet girl who deserved nothing more than to be happy. I had to believe she was in a good place now; it had to be better than here, a place that would honor her bravery and loyalty.
Sleep, I told myself. The more I slept, the more pain and torment I
would avoid.
I woke to find my squatting bowl and the inevitable cup of blood.
“Wake up, my pretty. You have a guest.”
Lord Darenfys waited until he was just outside my cell to crash the back of his fist into Rift’s face. “She will be spoken to only with respect. You will address her as “my Lady.” Have I made myself clear?”
Rift cupped his face and said. “Yes, my Lord. She tried to kill you—so—”
“You are by far from being a jury.” The Lord looked up to the ceiling and pondered for a moment. “The only one who gives judgments at Skelside is me. And it will suite you well to remember that. Or you may find yourself on the other side of one of these cells.”
“Yes, my Lord.” Rift scurried to his knees and crawled away like the cockroach he was.
Lord Darenfys slowly turned toward me. “My Love, you look absolutely dreadful. I wish I could trust to let you out, I do miss your company, greatly.”
I sat up and scooted to the back wall. “Can’t you just kill me?”
He looked thunderstruck. “And why would I want to do that. I love you with all of my heart.”
I shook my head and the tears came. “No, you don’t, not really.”
“Don’t tell me what I feel is not real!” His voice boomed throughout the dungeon and I shuddered.
Defeated, I said in a small voice, “I can’t love you. Just like you have no choice but to love me, I have no choice but not to. The only feeling I can feel for you is hatred.”
“Together we can change that. I will do anything to make you happy. You’ll see.”
Then die, so I can be freed from this world. I nodded.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, if that’s what it takes for you to see how much I care for you and want you here with me, for always, at Skelside.”
I slumped forward. It was useless. Adelina had made sure of that.
“Maybe, if you behave, I’ll bring you a present when I return.”
Even in my painful memory of dying in here, the only present I wished for was death.
11
The Lord had come day after day to see me. Each time the visit was short and without any “presents.” Rift brought my cup of blood each day, scowling as he left and cursing me under his breath. I did not drink it. I sat on top of the thin layer of hay and curled in on myself. The hours of sleep was making me delirious. At first, glorious memories of Blacwin overwhelmed me. I smiled and my lips cracked. The taste of blood lingered on my tongue. I pushed the cup of blood away and some of it spilled into the hay, staining it. Then, horrid thoughts of Blacwin and Chandler filled my head. Who had they become? What had they become? I hadn’t known how much I had lost them until the ball. Chandler’s fear of returning to Skelside was so understandable now. He had known what they would do to him when he returned. My heart had ached when we told him that we were coming to Skelside. Now, it ached because we would never leave.
The stifling air was made heavier with loss and regret. I knocked over the cup of blood and watched, mesmerized by the flow as its darkness oozed and spread like lava over the dirt floor as it inched toward me. Shuffling sounds from down the corridor grew louder. Clanging keys echoed off the walls then Rift was in front of my cell. His mouth turned down and his eyes moved to the cup on its side and the dark puddle next to it.
“Again! For the angels that fall, that was perfectly good blood you wasted!” He cursed and went back down the corridor. He returned with a fresh cup of blood, slid it through the bars, and pushed it to me with a stick.
“Where is she? I want to see her now!” A woman’s shrieks were deafening, bouncing off the walls of the dungeon.
“What the—” Rift left to see what was going on.
“Where is she?” she cried out.
“Who? And what right do you have to see anyone?” Rift asked.
Her tone deepened. “My sister, and I have every right.”
Adelina? I thought.
“There’s no sister of yours down here. Now, get out of here or I’ll make you a permanent guest.”
She screamed. “Let me in!” Metal clanged against metal as the iron door shook.
I got up and went to the bars, but I couldn’t see anyone that far down the aisle.
“What are you doing? Put that—oh unblessed—it’s you!” Fear cascaded throughout Rift’s voice.
“I’d rather not have to use this,” she said, as an undeclared threat.
The clang of keys and the creak of the iron door was evidence Rift let her in.
“She’s there—on the right,” Rift stammered.
Loud footsteps raced and then paused to look inside each cell. “If you killed her...”
“No! She’s not dead. The Lord has special plans for this one.” Rift said in defense. “Besides, I wouldn’t kill her, she’s too pretty.”
“She doesn’t look very pretty right now. Open this cell and give me your keys.”
“Right!” His laughter boomed off the stone walls. “Just after I’m knighted.” His joke met only silence. “You know I can’t give you my keys.”
“Listen to me slave, you can and you will,” she demanded. “Do you think I’m going to take the chance of you locking me in there?” Her voice was menacing and fringed with icicles. He must have given in. The keys rattled and were being rifled through until the noise ceased. The dungeon was quiet, with only the sliding of the key and the clank of the lock being disengaged. “I’ll take those,” she said.
I still couldn’t see them but I imagined Adelina kneeling over her sister. She never seemed to have cared for her, except when Carina was doing her dirty errands, but maybe I had it all wrong. We were all wrong.
“Carina, can you hear me?” Adelina’s voice was low. “Carina, come on, wake up.”
I heard nothing else for a few long breaths. Then, Adelina said in a louder voice, “What’s your name?”
“Rift.”
“That’s a stupid name, but it doesn’t matter. Listen to me; this is what’s going to happen. I am going to get food and water for my sister and then I’m coming back. I’m taking these keys with me so you won’t go off and tell anyone that I was here. Because if you do, I can guarantee you’ll be a permanent resident down here for being as stupid as your name. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my Lady.”
“Hmm... my Lady; I like that,” she said. “I’ll be back soon, don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“You’re going to leave the cell open?”
“My poor sister can’t even lift her head. I’m sure you won’t have to worry about her attacking you.”
My mind raced. “Adelina!” I called out.
“I know that voice, can’t be,” she said from down the corridor. The shuffling of feet grew closer until Adelina stood just on the other side of the bars. She wore the tattered gown of a servant. My thoughts tumbled until I righted them into some kind of order.
Her exotic eyes were full of humor. She held onto a slight grin. “Oh, my, it is you. I thought I may have been hearing things.” She placed her hands on the bars next to mine. “So, is this where the Lord is keeping his special lady these days?” She shook her head and tsked. “Or did he finally realize how useless you are to him?”
I wouldn’t let her shift the conversation to me. She was here for a reason, and even in my weakened state, I wanted to know what it was. Carina had made sure to follow through on Adelina’s wishes; now I was curious which one she had failed and brought Adelina to this dark and wretched place. “Why do you care so much about your sister now? What, do you have an errand you need her to run?”
“How I feel about my sister and what I have her do for me is none of your concern.” I would have missed the fleeting flinch that rustled through her if I hadn’t been scrutinizing her. It gave me satisfaction to know she had some affection for her sister, no matter how miniscule. “What your concern should be is finding a way out of here and finishing what you came here
to do.” She reached under her tunic and slightly shifted on her feet. I stiffened when I saw what she had retrieved. “And, you’re going to need this to do it.” Adelina handed me the sheathed dagger through the bars.
I didn’t move. My eyes found hers and they were fueled with determination. With hesitation and the fear of failing again, I took the dagger. “Let me out,” I said.
Adelina looked at her nails as if deciding she needed a manicure or not. Without even a glance in my direction, she said, “Not yet.” She was toying with me. This was her game, it had been since the beginning and she was going to make sure all the pieces moved in the exact direction she intended. “You’re not ready. You’re weak and your skills, well to put it in terms you would understand, they suck.” I should have been insulted, but I couldn’t argue; she was right. “I would have thought for sure one of your lover boys would have taken the time to teach you how to fight, defend yourself, or at the least, how to stab someone to death.”
Again, she was right. So, instead of arguing, which was what I really wanted to do, I nodded. I could only imagine what Rift was thinking and doing at the end of the hall. I hoped he hadn’t seen or heard the details of the conversation and exchange. “What do you suggest?”
Her mouth curved into a vengeful smile. “Drink the blood,” Adelina insisted.
I winced. She couldn’t possibly be serious. “I can’t. How do I know whose blood that is? And why? It’s disgusting.” I was arguing now. This had to be another one of her sick ways to get me to do what she wanted.
She nodded to the cup Rift had brought me only moments before. “I promise you, it’s the Lord’s blood. Thanks to me, he knows nothing but love for you, and wants you to have only the best.” She looked back to me. “I should know; I made him that way.” Her words were like a self-inflicted wound.
“I drank his blood with the wine.”