by Eliza Tilton
“Stop. Stop.” Leo grabbed me from behind and dragged me away.
“Let me go! We need to get out!” I twisted in his grip, but he held me tight. “I don’t want to die.”
Leo leaned into me, resting his chin in the crook of my neck. “We’re not dying in here. I’ll get us out . . . I . . . swear it. I do. You ain’t dying down here. No matter what.”
I twisted to face him and threw my arms around his waist. He held me tighter, hugging me tight to his chest until both our sobs melded into one painful note. We gripped onto one another in desperation, crying for the death we just witnessed and the fear of our own.
“What do we do?” I asked. “I’m scared.”
Leo cleared his throat before answering. “We follow the tunnel to your place.”
“Mine?”
He broke away and handed me a handkerchief from his pants pocket. I took the cloth and wiped my face.
“Yes. I can get us back there.”
I blew my nose and crumbled the handkerchief up. He took the cloth and shoved it back into his pocket, not bothered by the fact I dirtied the fabric. “Are you sure?”
He placed a hand on my cheek. “Do you trust me?”
Soot streaked his face, displaying the lines of tears that passed. Leo and I had spent little time together, yet I knew with all certainty Leo would do everything in his power to keep us alive. “Yes.”
“Then I need you to stay here for a few minutes.”
“What? No! You can’t leave me. What if there’s another quake and we’re separated?”
He swiped a hand through his dark hair. “I’ll only be a minute.”
“Why can’t you take me with you? Please, don’t leave.” I threw myself at him, terrified to be left alone. “We shouldn’t be separated.”
“I need to get a few things, and it’s not safe. The beams here are sturdy. They’ll hold the rock. I’m coming back.”
I was too scared to let go.
With a soft touch, he pried my arms off his neck and brought my hands to his lips. “Everything I do from this moment forward is to protect you.”
He kissed the blood on my knuckles, and I yearned for that kiss to be somewhere else.
“Go, but please hurry.” I shooed him away, ignoring the strange sensation in my stomach and realizing the longer I pleaded, the longer we were in danger.
Without another touch, he spun around and ran into one of the tunnels. I stepped back against the wall, using it for support.
Leo’s gone.
I’m alone.
His father is dead.
If another quake happens, I’ll never see my family again.
Chapter 12
Leo
Numbness filled my mind.
Pa dead? I couldn’t wrap my thoughts into anything that made sense. How? Why? What went wrong?
I ran to my hideaway, knowing making another bargain with Shifty would change everything, but I didn’t care.
“Shifty!” I screamed, anger replacing sadness, rage making me whole. “Shifty!”
The lantern in the room swayed, and a rush of cold swept the area.
“No need to scream so loudly.” Black mist swirled in the center of the room, yellow eyes peeking out of his corporeal form. “You shouldn’t be in the mines. It’s dangerous.”
I stormed through the mist, and Shifty reformed by the table.
“Why didn’t you help him? You said you would keep him safe. You lied to me!”
Shifty transformed into his human form. I’d only seen him do it once, on the day he saved my life. The transformation used a lot of power and would weaken him for a bit. Tall, white as bone, and with hair almost the same color, he resembled any human, though his eyes remained that haunting yellow color.
“Since you were a boy, I have watched over you, protected you.” Shifty stepped closer until we were two feet apart. “I would not see you harmed.”
“But you would see those I love die?”
“There is still a way to save your father.”
“What do you mean?” I didn’t want to believe Shifty and his shady promises.
“You will need to collect the components I asked, and we will perform a powerful spell . . . one that will grant you a piece of my power. You will need to submit to my demands and pledge your loyalty to me.”
I gripped the back of the chair in the room, squeezing the wood. “How does that save my pa? How can I trust you?”
“You will have the power of life and death in your hands. You have no other choice,” he whispered, coldness blowing out with every word.
“I can’t perform some ritual right now. Arabella and I are stuck here. I need you to guide us to her place.”
His brow narrowed, and he rubbed his hairless chin, examining me like a cat would a mouse . . . right before he ate it. “Very well. I will lead you and your beloved Arabella to safety. In return, you must do as I say, no questions.”
“I will.”
“I’ll need more than just your words, little one.” Shifty smiled, and it sent a shiver of dread to my bones.
I pulled out the knife in my pocket and then sliced the blade across my palm. The cut burned as I squeezed my fist closed and remembered the instructions needed to seal our deal. “I, Leonardo Azzara, swear on the blood of my forefathers I will perform the ritual to empower you as long as you stay true to your words: save Arabella and me from this place and save my father’s life.”
Blood dripped from my hand and sizzled when the red drops hit the ground. Shifty groaned.
Nausea rolled in my stomach. I wondered if the warlocks that summoned and bound Shifty made the same agreement . . . right before Shifty slaughtered them.
“Well done. Now, we may go.” He shifted into black mist and swirled around the ceiling.
If I thought on the pact I made with old Shifty, I’d regret it and try to take it back—which wouldn’t help me now. My palm throbbed. I took an old bandana out of the drawer in the desk and tied my hand. Then I grabbed the lantern on the wall and filled the lamp with oil.
Holding the light, I headed back to Arabella. A song reached my ears, melodic and soothing. Damn, she sounds like a morning dove. I ran after the voice, sweat coating my body.
She sat on the ground, hugging her knees with her back against the wall. Her hair hung wild around her dust-covered face. Even still, she shined brighter than the damn sun, more beautiful than any woman I’d seen.
She’s worth it. She’s worth it all.
Her gaze met mine, and she rose to her feet, limping toward me with tears pricking her bright eyes. “Thank the Lord you’re alive!”
I wrapped my free arm around her waist and hugged her, breathing in her faint rose perfume. “I wouldn’t leave you. I never will.”
Shifty swirled near the ceiling, and Arabella dug her fingers into my back.
“What is that?” she asked.
“What?” She couldn’t see Shifty. No one could, unless he revealed himself.
“I don’t know. I just . . . I feel hot and terrified and . . .” her voice trailed off. “I’ve never felt cold and hot at the same time.”
I helped her forward. “Let’s get out of here. I got enough oil.”
She kept an arm across my shoulders, leaning into me for support. “How do you remember the way?”
The soft glow from the lantern illuminated the dark tunnel. I couldn’t see Shifty, but I sensed him. I could always sense him. “I have a good memory. It’s how I learned to read so quickly.”
The mines shook and we stopped, waiting for rocks to fall, but only specks of dirt dropped from the ceiling. We both coughed and, once the dust settled, continued on. This area of the mines closed years ago, after they hadn’t found any gems worth the time. All the passageways were still here, but no light and no guides to tell a
nyone where to go.
“You sing beautifully.” I wanted to keep her focused on our conversation and not on the tingling fear Shifty left in his wake.
“Thank you. Father says I could sing in theater one day.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know.” She paused. “That would mean returning to London. I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
Something told me London and those scars were connected. I’d only seen glimpses of them, but they reminded me of symbols and strange words, all etched into her skin while the ones on her arm resembled knife marks. “I wouldn’t want that.”
“Rufus likes it here,” she added. “Plenty of areas to nap in.”
I smiled as I pictured the old, shaggy dog and remembered how he’d almost crushed my chest. The smile disappeared. After today, my life would never be the same. The only speck of hope I could find was in Shifty’s promises. If I’d learned anything from those tomes he made me read, it was that the pact couldn’t be broken.
Was making a deal with a demon a mistake?
Was I foolish in thinking he could save anyone?
But he had saved me.
If Shifty hadn’t found me in that abandoned area, I would’ve died. Being a foolish curious kid, I had wanted to be just like my Pa, working in the mines. The area I had snuck into wasn’t steady, and before I knew it, the whole damn ceiling began crumbling.
Shifty grabbed my hand, appearing out of nowhere like an angel, except he wasn’t, and pulled me out of the rubble. A week later when I found the courage to return to the mines, I learned the truth about him.
Every worry and thought twisted into a knot I couldn’t undo. Pain throbbed everywhere: my hand, my head, my heart. I wanted to spend more time with Arabella, outside the mines, somewhere nice like the cliffs where we could sit and watch the waves and talk. I didn’t have close friends, except Shifty, and from what she said, she didn’t have many friends either.
She held on to me, and I could tell by her slow steps that she must have been hurting.
“How much farther?” she asked.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to say down here, but we’ll know once we hit that epicenter where I found you.”
She winced, and I stopped. “Let me check it.”
Without an argument, she nodded and hobbled to a sitting position. I kneeled in front of her and placed the lantern on the ground. Grime covered her lacy dress. She lifted it above her knee to where I’d tied my shirt. I undid the blood-soaked rag. The area around her cut bled an angry red. I pressed my fingers on her thigh, and she grimaced with each touch. The wound needed to be cleaned and stitched.
“You shouldn’t walk anymore.” Whitish scars surrounded her legs, circles within circles and stars. Lettering. It all looked chaotic yet expertly traced. I wanted to touch the raised skin and ask how. How could anyone do this to her?
“What happened to you?”
She flattened her dress to cover herself more, leaving only the area with the wound open. “It’s nothing.”
I took the cloth and rewrapped it on her thigh “You don’t have to lie to me. You don’t have to talk about it neither. I just . . .” I lifted my gaze to see her face. “I want you to know, I think you’re beautiful and you don’t need to hide any part of yourself, ever.”
Her lip trembled as her eyes brimmed with tears. “I don’t feel beautiful anymore. I used to. I used to love my life and everything in it, but when those men took me.” Her words ended in a flood of tears.
“Hey.” I scooted between her legs and grasped her face with my hands, wiping her tears away with my fingers. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I can’t imagine the horrors you endured.”
She closed her eyes, sniffling. “I wish I could just forget. No one lets me. My family treats me as this fragile butterfly who’s broken and if she’s set free, she’ll die in an instant.”
The ground rumbled, and I knew our moment was ending. “Whatever happens after today, know that those scars don’t define you, and one day you’ll be free of them.”
A smile replaced the sadness on her face, and she opened her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We still need to get out of here, and you shouldn’t walk.” I stood and leaned over. “Hop on.”
Glancing back, I noticed the sheer horror on her face.
“Walking will make it worse,” I added. “I’ll carry you.”
Her brow furrowed, and she stubbornly crossed her arms. “You will not.”
The temperature dropped, and the hairs on my body went rigid.
Shifty . . .
All stubbornness left, and she hobbled toward me. Her widened eyes let me know she felt the same as me. She bunched her dress and jumped on my back. I handed her the lantern.
“You better hold this.”
She took it, and I grabbed her legs, careful not to touch the area near her cut. Once I had a good grip, I started walking. The coldness dissipated, and as we wound our way deep into the earth, heat filled my steps. My muscles ached, my mind went numb, and I didn’t think of anything but putting one foot in front of the other until we reached the center. Arabella pointed ahead to the northern tunnel, and a tiny spark of hope lit my chest. We would make it.
Step after shaky step, I carried her through the dark, the dimming lantern our only light, and her soft body resting against my back. Arabella hummed, and it brought me a sense of comfort. I’d never heard anyone like her. She sang, and the notes reached into my soul, massaging it as if her voice was the answer to the loss tearing me apart. I wanted to listen to her forever and forget about today.
But I feared Arabella and I would end after tonight.
I couldn’t bring her into Shifty’s plans.
My whole life I’d waited to find a girl who would make me feel alive, not useless nor unwanted. Now that I’d found her, I couldn’t hope to keep her. It wasn’t fair.
The tunnel gave way into a wooden corridor. We followed it until we reached the stone steps leading to the hidden entrance to her home. Arabella slid off my back, and I leaned against the wall, catching my breath. My muscles shook. The weight of today slowly drained the energy from my body.
Arabella looped her arm around mine. “Almost there.”
Together, we stepped up and up. When we arrived at the top, Arabella banged on the door.
“Hello! Anyone there! We’re here!”
I knocked with her until we were making so much noise there was no way we couldn’t be heard.
“Miss Grace? Is that you?”
“Yes! Open up. It’s the knob on the mantle!”
I tugged Arabella back, and the door swung open.
“Oh, Miss Grace! We’ve all been so worried!”
The maid yanked Arabella inside, and I followed them into the sitting room. A single lit candelabra glowed light around us. Glancing at the windows, I spotted the full moon.
“Where’s my father?” Arabella hopped over to the couch and then fell on it, sighing.
“He came here, hoping maybe you’d return. When you didn’t, they all went back to town.” Nan dashed to Arabella’s side. “Are you hurt? Why are you limping?”
“Arabella needs help,” I said. “She cut her leg.”
“I’ll go fetch the medical bag.”
Nan ran off. I kneeled in front of Arabella, ready to say goodbye. She shimmied forward with a frown marring her pretty face.
“Don’t go,” she begged.
I took her hands in mine, wishing I could honor her request. “I can’t stay.”
“You can, please. At least until my parents come home.”
I kissed her knuckles, wishing they were her lips. “I need to go home. My mom . . . and my sister.” I couldn’t finish. I couldn’t say it out loud. I didn’t want to leave and face my family. How could I
even tell them Pa died?
Arabella leaned closer. “I can go with you. You don’t have to do this alone.”
Her sweet words nearly kept me here. If Shifty said my father could be saved, it meant he wasn’t dead, yet. I had to go back to the mines.
“Please?” Her breath blew against my face.
I straightened, mesmerized by the beauty in her light-blue eyes. I couldn’t navigate the emotions she sent through me. It was too much to bear, and my chest ached. “I have to go.”
She shook her head and fell forward into my arms. “No, you don’t.”
“Please don’t make this harder.” One tear fell. I swiped it off my face, angry she saw me in this state. Her body against mine crushed my will to leave. I wanted to hold her, caress her, kiss her until we both forgot where we were.
With her holding me, another tear fell, and another, until I couldn’t stop them.
“It will be okay. I know things will.” She whispered comfort into my ears, soothing my soul. “I’m sorry.”
When her voice quaked with emotion, I dug my hands into her sides, aching for her. I had to leave now. I let go of her and got to my feet.
Tears streaked her face, mixing with the dried blood and dirt. Everything in me wanted to stay, to wash away the day from her.
But if there was a chance to save my father, I had to go.
“When will I see you again?” Her lip trembled.
“I don’t know.”
“No, you must promise.” She jumped to her feet and immediately cried out in pain.
I caught her and held her steady. “Okay. Okay. Tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
I brushed her hair back behind her ear. “No, I’ll be there. I want to see you. I can’t just sit around and watch my momma weep.”
“Come to the gardens.” She placed her hands on my chest, and the skin she touched turned to flames. “We could read the diary. Together.”
“Okay.”