Hidden Huntress
Page 53
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We both stared at the statue for a long moment, then Chris set down the lantern. Bracing his feet against the granite of the next tomb, he shoved against the lid. It didn’t budge. Digging the heels of my boots into the slippery ground, I threw my weight against the slab as Chris pushed. Stone ground against stone, loud even over the wind, but the top of the tomb inched sideways, then it stuck. No amount of pushing moved it any further.
Panting hard, I retrieved the lantern and tried to angle the light into the narrow crack, but I couldn’t see anything. “Hold this,” I said, passing it to Chris. Then I took a deep breath, and slowly eased my hand into the narrow gap. My pulse throbbed loud in my ears, my breath coming faster and faster as I eased my arm deeper into the tomb.
“Anything?”
I shook my head. The stone scraped tight against my skin, but I pressed my weight down and my arm abruptly slid in another few inches, my fingers punching through ancient fabric and into a ribcage.
A shriek forced itself from my lips, and I tried to jerk back, but I was stuck. Chris grabbed me around the waist and heaved me up, but the fabric of my dress bunched and caught. I tried to pull my fingers from the skeleton, but my wrist wouldn’t bend enough, and the body shifted and moved with my jerky motions. “Get me out!”
He lifted me clear off the ground and pulled. Fabric tore and pain lanced through my arm, but then we were both tumbling back into the snow.
“What was it?” he demanded, eyes on the gap as though he expected a creature to rise up through it.
“A body.” My voice was shaking, and I rubbed my sore arm with my other hand.
Chris’s eyes shifted to me, and he was quiet for a long moment before saying, “City living has changed you.”
I flushed at his sarcasm, climbing to my feet.
“Write the names and dates down,” Chris said, going to the far side of the tomb to push the lid back into place. “Maybe once we find them all, we’ll see a pattern.”
I nodded uncertainly as I scribbled the names and dates on the back of the map with a pencil. “Let’s go find the rest.”
As the night progressed, we found tombs or graves matching all but two of the markings. One lay far to the south of the city, and the other was the location within the castle walls.
It was nearing the stroke of midnight when we pulled our horses up outside the Regent’s castle. Or at least as near to the castle as we could get. The Indre River roared its way down to the ocean, the bridge leading over it to the island gated, and the walls on the far side guarded by men, marked by the glowing braziers they used to keep themselves warm.
I’d gained entrance so easily yesterday, but tonight the castle’s fortifications did their duty. “She has to be here,” I said through chattering teeth. “Every other location has been a corpse – it has to be her.”
“It’s not proof,” Chris said, shaking the map in my face. “There’s the mark located outside the city that we need to investigate, and besides, for all we know, there could be another corpse hidden somewhere in the castle.”
The snow spun and danced on the wind, the tiny white flakes mesmerizing. She was in there. I knew it.
“Cécile!” Chris shouted my name. Disorientation made me dizzy, and I shook my head, trying to clear it.
“Get away from the gate!” someone shouted. I looked up and saw a soldier in one of the guard posts pointing at us. Though I had no memory of moving, I was now most of the way across the bridge, the guards in plain sight. Fleur shied toward the edge of the bridge, and I clung to her frozen mane, afraid if I lost my seat I’d topple into the icy waters below.
Then Chris was next to me, hands reaching for the reins of my spooked horse.
“Sorry,” he shouted. “She’s drunk. I’ll take her home. We don’t want any trouble.”
“Get away from the gates or I’ll have you both thrown in the stocks for the night.” He and one of his fellows started toward us.
“Stars and heavens,” I swore, snatching up the frozen reins and digging my heels in. This was the last thing I needed. “Come on,” I shouted at Chris over the wind, and together we cantered through the city, our horses’ hooves sliding on the slick cobbles. When we reached my mother’s street, I pulled my horse to a stop. Her ears were pinned, and she sidled uneasily beneath me, snorting out puffs of mist.
“What happened to you? You looked as though you were in a trance.”
I tucked one numb hand into the pocket of my dress, trying to warm my fingers enough to use them. “I’m not sure. I was so certain she was within the walls, and then…” I broke off. “The promise took hold of me.”
Sliding out of the saddle, I handed Chris the reins. “Are you certain you’re all right to be alone?” he asked. “What if it happens again?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said quickly, wishing I felt half as confident as I sounded. “I need to get back before my mother realizes I’m gone.”
Wrapping my cloak tightly around me, I started walking down the street.
“Cécile!”
I turned back.
“Be careful. If she was willing to kill all those women, then…” I knew what he’d left unsaid. What’s to stop her from killing you?
What was stopping her from killing me?
I nodded, and broke into a quick trot down the road to my home as Chris went off in the opposite direction. These dead women, whoever they were, had some connection with Anushka. And if I wasn’t missing the mark, I bet it had something to do with how she was achieving immortality. If I could only figure out the connection between them all.
Panting hard, I retrieved the lantern and tried to angle the light into the narrow crack, but I couldn’t see anything. “Hold this,” I said, passing it to Chris. Then I took a deep breath, and slowly eased my hand into the narrow gap. My pulse throbbed loud in my ears, my breath coming faster and faster as I eased my arm deeper into the tomb.
“Anything?”
I shook my head. The stone scraped tight against my skin, but I pressed my weight down and my arm abruptly slid in another few inches, my fingers punching through ancient fabric and into a ribcage.
A shriek forced itself from my lips, and I tried to jerk back, but I was stuck. Chris grabbed me around the waist and heaved me up, but the fabric of my dress bunched and caught. I tried to pull my fingers from the skeleton, but my wrist wouldn’t bend enough, and the body shifted and moved with my jerky motions. “Get me out!”
He lifted me clear off the ground and pulled. Fabric tore and pain lanced through my arm, but then we were both tumbling back into the snow.
“What was it?” he demanded, eyes on the gap as though he expected a creature to rise up through it.
“A body.” My voice was shaking, and I rubbed my sore arm with my other hand.
Chris’s eyes shifted to me, and he was quiet for a long moment before saying, “City living has changed you.”
I flushed at his sarcasm, climbing to my feet.
“Write the names and dates down,” Chris said, going to the far side of the tomb to push the lid back into place. “Maybe once we find them all, we’ll see a pattern.”
I nodded uncertainly as I scribbled the names and dates on the back of the map with a pencil. “Let’s go find the rest.”
As the night progressed, we found tombs or graves matching all but two of the markings. One lay far to the south of the city, and the other was the location within the castle walls.
It was nearing the stroke of midnight when we pulled our horses up outside the Regent’s castle. Or at least as near to the castle as we could get. The Indre River roared its way down to the ocean, the bridge leading over it to the island gated, and the walls on the far side guarded by men, marked by the glowing braziers they used to keep themselves warm.
I’d gained entrance so easily yesterday, but tonight the castle’s fortifications did their duty. “She has to be here,” I said through chattering teeth. “Every other location has been a corpse – it has to be her.”
“It’s not proof,” Chris said, shaking the map in my face. “There’s the mark located outside the city that we need to investigate, and besides, for all we know, there could be another corpse hidden somewhere in the castle.”
The snow spun and danced on the wind, the tiny white flakes mesmerizing. She was in there. I knew it.
“Cécile!” Chris shouted my name. Disorientation made me dizzy, and I shook my head, trying to clear it.
“Get away from the gate!” someone shouted. I looked up and saw a soldier in one of the guard posts pointing at us. Though I had no memory of moving, I was now most of the way across the bridge, the guards in plain sight. Fleur shied toward the edge of the bridge, and I clung to her frozen mane, afraid if I lost my seat I’d topple into the icy waters below.
Then Chris was next to me, hands reaching for the reins of my spooked horse.
“Sorry,” he shouted. “She’s drunk. I’ll take her home. We don’t want any trouble.”
“Get away from the gates or I’ll have you both thrown in the stocks for the night.” He and one of his fellows started toward us.
“Stars and heavens,” I swore, snatching up the frozen reins and digging my heels in. This was the last thing I needed. “Come on,” I shouted at Chris over the wind, and together we cantered through the city, our horses’ hooves sliding on the slick cobbles. When we reached my mother’s street, I pulled my horse to a stop. Her ears were pinned, and she sidled uneasily beneath me, snorting out puffs of mist.
“What happened to you? You looked as though you were in a trance.”
I tucked one numb hand into the pocket of my dress, trying to warm my fingers enough to use them. “I’m not sure. I was so certain she was within the walls, and then…” I broke off. “The promise took hold of me.”
Sliding out of the saddle, I handed Chris the reins. “Are you certain you’re all right to be alone?” he asked. “What if it happens again?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said quickly, wishing I felt half as confident as I sounded. “I need to get back before my mother realizes I’m gone.”
Wrapping my cloak tightly around me, I started walking down the street.
“Cécile!”
I turned back.
“Be careful. If she was willing to kill all those women, then…” I knew what he’d left unsaid. What’s to stop her from killing you?
What was stopping her from killing me?
I nodded, and broke into a quick trot down the road to my home as Chris went off in the opposite direction. These dead women, whoever they were, had some connection with Anushka. And if I wasn’t missing the mark, I bet it had something to do with how she was achieving immortality. If I could only figure out the connection between them all.
