Page 77 of Treasured

The seventh cell on the right was my destination.

A soft, feminine song reached my ears. At first, it sounded like a children’s lullaby, but as soon as I made out the words, a chill ran down my spine.

“Night is here; death has come; betrayal is in the air.” A crazed laugh, and then the singer started again. Her voice swelled as I approached. She shouted, “Night is here! Death has come! Betrayal is in the air!”

This was the witch I sought.

Perhaps she had already lost her mind.

I frowned. That wouldn’t do me any good. I needed her.

I stopped in front of the cell and placed my hands flat on either side of the enclosure. The witch’s back was to me, her greasy brown hair falling almost to her feet. Her clothes were little more than rags, and her frame was skeletal as she hopped from one foot to the other.

She sang, “Night is here, death has come, betrayal is in—”

“Enough!” I kicked the door. The bars rattled, and her refrain stopped, dissolving into crazed laughter as she turned around.

“You came. I knew you would.” The witch grinned, twirling a white femur bone through her fingers. Was it from an animal or another inmate? Noticing where I was looking, the prisoner banged the bone on the floor. It split in two.

Forcing myself to remain calm, I clenched my fists. I was here for a reason. I couldn’t let her madness deter me.

The witch studied me, her gaze unnervingly piercing, and she cackled. “You need me.”

Wondering exactly what I was getting myself into, I nodded slowly. She was right. I did need her. Turning to the guard, I said, “Release her.”

The vampire gaped at me. “Your Majesty, Koleta is a powerful—”

“Release her!” I shouted and slammed a foot down. “I will not ask again. Do your job or consider this prison your new permanent abode.”

Keys clanked together as he pulled them out hastily. “Of course, My Queen.” His fingers trembled as he sought the right one, trying several in the lock.

Koleta laughed. “Night is here, night is here, night is here.”

The door unlocked, and the witch stumbled towards me. I grabbed her arm roughly, making no effort to be gentle.

Now, the other prisoners seemed to come to life.

“Your Majesty!” one yelled.

“Take me, too!”

A whisper, “Please.”

“Death is better than this place.”

Ignoring them all, I dragged Koleta behind me.

“Night is here; death has come; betrayal is in the air,” she sang in that irritating voice.

Up, up, up, we went. The witch babbled on and on and on, repeating the same three sentences. The moment we were out of Ravenwood Dungeon, I shadowed us into a small study on the castle’s first floor.

“Night is here, death has—”

I slapped my hand against Koleta’s mouth. “Enough of that,” I hissed, my nails digging into her face and drawing blood. “I get it. I’ve been betrayed. The question is, can you help me?”

Koleta was a powerful witch. Her imprisonment by King Renwick, the vampire who’d held the Eleytan throne before me, had begun a century before my Making. She’d been caught participating in several nefarious activities before being placed in the cells beneath Castle Sanguis.

The witch tilted her head, her eyes taking on a knowing gleam. “So it’s true. The humans have rebelled?”

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