Page 32 of Knave

“No.” The word wobbled between them and she looked over his shoulder to where the Jabberwocky now snarled down the stairwell, clawing at the walls with its thick talons in an attempt to fit its body through. “I was wrong, Ferris. These aren’t the tunnels.”

The muscle in his jaw tightened. Looking around again, his gaze fell on something white.Bones.Scattered across the ground, gouged by teeth and claws. He registered the old, faint scent of blood. The pile of dead leaves and sticks off to the side and the scattered trinkets.

“Okay.” He inhaled slowly, trying to keep his concentration despite the beast clawing its way into the narrow stairwell. The Ruby Heart Palace had a few places like this too. One where Rav dumped the remains of his experiments, which were then carted outside by unlucky guards. Another that had held humans before they were brought up to feed vampires during parties. They had been tossed inside from a chute at the base of the palace. “It’s okay. Trust me. Tell me where we are and I’ll figure a way out of this.”

“There’s no way out.” Her voice cracked, barely audible over the continued roars of the beast hunting them. “I’ve heard tales about this that I didn’t believe were true, but I think this is where they kept the Jabberwocky when they managed to trap it.”

“Trap it…”

“The Red Queen had supposedly caught the Jabberwocky once long ago, kept it in this lair to try to tame it but it escaped. The tale Ever told me said the Red Queen wasn’t able to trap it a second time, but she had fortified it just in case.” Tears welled in Mouse’s eyes as she stared up at where the beast was. “There’s no other way out.”

“Fuck that,” Ferris growled. He ran his thumbs over her cheekbones, wiping away the tears. “There’s always more than one way out.”

“There’s not.” She grabbed onto his wrists. Held on tightly. “There’s not, Ferris. I know there’s not. I… I can’t…”

There wasn’t another way out of her cell. He pulled her close and held her against his chest. “We aren’t there, luv. I’m here with you and wewillget out of this. I’ve got you.”

“Ferris,” she sobbed. “Please.”

His heart cracked, his head frantically searching for a solution. He’d punch his way out of this place just like the animal threatening them if he had to. Mouse would never be trapped or feel this way again. Not if he could help it.

“Shh,” he whispered into her ear. “It’s okay.”

It was not okay. But he would take the burden of knowing that from her.

The door to the lair flew down the stairs as if the Jabberwocky was calling him a liar. Mouse shook in his arms while the beast slammed into the stairwell over and over.Fuck. He saw nothing. No way out.Think, think, think.

A low, frustrated grunt poured out from the monster. Then stone blew inward. Blasted down the stairs. And the Jabberwocky tumbled into the underground room, the floor shaking.

Ferris shoved Mouse behind him and pushed her back. Kept himself between her and the beast.

“Shit,” he hissed. They were so extremely fucked. “Mouse, hide,” he urged. She could disguise herself in the leaves, maybe. Or when the Jabberwocky attacked him, she could run back up the stairs and escape. His pulse thundered, but he held onto the rhythm of it, letting it lead him into the readiness of battle. “Leave me as soon as you get the chance.”

“I’m not leaving you,” she said, clutching the back of his shirt.

He opened his mouth to argue when the monster rose to its full height, its hulking shadow crawling across his body. Ferris backed away and it advanced. Snarling. Thick saliva dripped from its jagged teeth.

“Nice monster,” he tried. “You don’t want to eat us.”

It opened its jaws wider, as if to say itvery muchwanted to devour them, and took one step closer on those massive furred feet. The ground shifted. Another step. Prowling. The ground cracked beneath its weight. The beast paused and narrowed its orange eyes.

Something was wrong. The lair was built to trap it and yet…

Ferris sucked in a breath. The royals had fortified it to keep the Jabberwockybettertrapped. What if this wasn’t the real lair? What if they’d set this up with the trinkets and the nest as bait? What if the real lair was beneath…

“What’s wrong, pretty beastie?” Ferris taunted. He could be wrong—very wrong—but if he was, they weren’t any less fucked. “Not so hungry after all?”

The Jabberwocky snarled and took two more slow steps. The ground caved in with a loud crunch, dragging it down. Panic flashed in the Jabberwocky’s fiery orange eyes as it fell, clawing at the air to save itself. Ferris sucked in a shocked breath, expecting the creature to fly back up at him and Mouse. But crumbling chunks of stone smacked against its wings, preventing them from opening to save itself.

Ferris breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Mouse. An unreadable expression filled her wide eyes. “We have to get out of here,” he said. They could skirt around the gaping hole in the floor and flee before the beast freed itself. With any luck, they could be halfway to Ivory before the fucker escaped.

Mouse nodded and he spun, holding her tightly by the hand. The ground wavered with each careful step they took, threatening to crumble. Then, before it could truly register in Ferris’s mind, the threats became reality as a crack ripped through the room.

The floor gave out beneath him, tearing him away from Mouse. He shouted for her, but she was falling too. Spiraling. Both of them tumbling through the air. He stretched out in a desperate attempt to reach her, but she was too far.

“No! Mouse!” His body slammed into the bottom of the rocky cavern moments before hers, then boulders smashed down between them like a wall. “Mouse! Mouse, can you hear me?”

He shoved up from the ground, feeling every broken rib, as he pounded at the rubble. Behind him, the Jabberwocky stirred.

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