by C. J. Archer
After another hour, I could no longer stand the boredom. I signaled that I was going out then slipped into the corridor. Someone had lit the torches in the wall sconces and the flames danced merrily in the drafts.
I found the hidden door that opened up to the service stairs by running my palm along the wall. Thankfully the torches had been lit in the service corridors too. I headed downstairs then in the direction that I hoped was north, although I couldn't be certain. The windowless passages used by the servants played havoc with my usually good sense of direction. I asked a passing footman dressed in palace livery which way to go but I didn't like the way he licked his lips as he looked at me, so hurried on. Thankfully he didn't follow. I came across two maids moments later, talking quietly.
"Can you point me in the direction of the guards' garrison?" I asked them.
"Who do you work for?" asked the larger one.
"No one. I came to tend to Lady Miranda Claypool."
"You're that woman doctor!" the thin one cried. "Is she all right? Will she die?"
"She'll be fine."
"Good. I liked her."
The big woman grunted. "I know a few what will be disappointed with that news. Some around here want her dead. Some would rather the king looked at them the way he looks at her."
"Well some ain't as pretty or as kind as her and ought to just piss off back to where they came from," the thin maid said. "I'll be glad when they're all gone again. They're lazy and rude. Fetch this, empty that…it's all they ever say, and me not even their own maid. That's just the ladies too. The men are worse. My arse still hurts from where that Deerhorn prick slapped it when I was trying to make his bed."
"You should have slapped him back," the big woman said.
"I would have but he looked like he could smack me from here to the other end of the palace."
"He can," I warned her. "Stay away from the Deerhorns, especially the sons."
"Thanks. I will." She pointed along the corridor. "Take this all the way. Turn right, then left, then right again. Go down the steps, through the arched doorway—"
"The second one," the thin maid said.
"No, the third. Then it's right, right again and left. Why?" she asked with a crooked grin. "Who're you meeting there?"
"Quentin, and it's not like that."
Both women chuckled. "We believe you," the bigger woman said. "If it were the captain, I'd have my suspicions."
"He has a lot of lovers?" I dared ask.
"Don't know. I meant you ain't the first one who's tried to find her way to his room in the night. Problem is, his chambers are next to the king's. It's impossible to sneak in without a dozen servants seeing."
"You tried, eh?" The thin woman chuckled and nudged her companion in the ribs with her elbow.
I continued on my way but became hopelessly lost when the corridor darkened. The torches in this part were not lit. I was surrounded by cool stone walls, a flagstone floor and wooden ceiling that creaked as someone walked above me. That's it! I'd forgotten to go down the steps.
I was about to retreat when I heard someone speaking. "How did he know, Hammer?" the man asked. "How did he know women aren't allowed into the medical college in…where is it again?"
"Logios." I recognized Captain Hammer's voice, drifting to me from along the corridor. He was still far enough away, however, that I couldn't see him. "It's an old city in Dreen where all the colleges are located, and the libraries. Perhaps he read about it. There's a book on the history of the Fist Peninsula in the palace library. More than one, in fact."
Why would the king need to read up on Logios? Everyone on the Fist knew of the colleges and how they didn't allow women. I could believe that these men, who may not be native to the peninsula, would need to read a historical text on the area to know such a thing, but it struck me as odd that they thought their king in the same boat.
"He doesn't read books. I know that for a fact." I now recognized the voice as belonging to Theodore, the king's valet. "He's worried the poisoner meant to target him and not the Lady Miranda. Can you reassure him?"
"Not yet."
The voices became more distant and I realized they weren't coming toward me after all. I went in search of them. I thought I almost had them but as I rounded a corner, I saw Theodore's back as he walked alone through a doorway. There was no sign of Hammer.
I took the other door. A faint keening echoed along the narrow space. I couldn't tell if it was human or animal, but it was certainly disturbing. My heart raced and every part of me wanted to turn back. But I was a healer and that sound could have come from an injured or ill person. It was my duty to check. Besides, Captain Hammer must be up ahead and he was no danger.
I crept along the dark corridor, feeling my way with a hand pressed against the stone. The keening sounded again. At first it seemed as if it was all around me, but as it faded, I could tell that it came from ahead. I sucked in a deep breath in the hope it would calm my rapidly beating heart, then pushed on.
Soon the pitch dark lightened to a dull gray and finally the flames of a lit torch banished the darkness to the shadowy edges on either side of a closed door. A padlock as big as my hand hung from the bolt. It was open.
Beyond the door, wood scraped and a metal chain clanked, but the keening had stopped. There were no other sounds. The silence closed in, as thick as a winter fog.
I reached out but the handle turned. My heart leapt into my throat. I don't know why, but I ran off back up the corridor.
I got as far as the corner when someone grabbed me from behind. I tried to scream but a hand slapped over my mouth. A strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against a solid chest.
"You shouldn't be here, Josie," Captain Hammer said in a low voice that stretched my nerves to breaking point. "You shouldn't be anywhere near here."
* * *
THE PALACE OF LOST MEMORIES is available to pre-order now. It will release on October 9th 2018.
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Also by C.J. Archer
SERIES WITH 2 OR MORE BOOKS
After The Rift
Glass and Steele
The Ministry of Curiosities Series
The Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy
The 1st Freak House Trilogy
The 2nd Freak House Trilogy
The 3rd Freak House Trilogy
The Assassins Guild Series
Lord Hawkesbury's Players Series
The Witchblade Chronicles
SINGLE TITLES NOT IN A SERIES
Courting His Countess
Surrender
Redemption
The Mercenary's Price
About the Author
C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She spent her early childhood in the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, Australia, but now lives in suburban Melbourne with her husband, two children and a mischievous black & white cat named Coco.
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