Page 79 of Stalk the Dark
“See you at work tomorrow?” Padma said.
“I’ll be there.”
Edwin pulled me into a hug. “Stay safe.”
“We’ll take good care of her,” Ordell promised.
“We should go,” Hemlock said.
I hugged Merry then Padma before climbing into the carriage with Ordell.
The horses whinnied, and we were off.
“It’ll be okay,” Ordell said. “We’ll be close by at all times.” But his attention was on the rapidly darkening sky, and I couldn’t help but think his hurry was related to more than getting to the castle before Ezekiel woke.
Matthew metus at the main doors and led us up the grand staircase onto the first floor, then up another set of stairs onto the second floor. He moved fast, as if he couldn’t wait to be done with us, and there was barely enough time to take in the many details molded and carved into the walls and ceilings of this ancient castle.
“You’ll be staying in the west wing,” he said. “Master had business to attend to but has instructed that your meals be served to your rooms tonight. You may dine in the main hall tomorrow.”
“What about breakfast?” Ordell asked.
I bit back a smile because there was no question as to his love of breakfast.
“It’ll be on the kitchen table between eight and ten in the morning. You may help yourselves.”
The carpet underfoot was threadbare and the candle holders fixed to the wall were tarnished. We passed several windows overlooking the courtyard, and from this height, I could make out the walled-off gardens and the stables where our carriage and horses were now housed. The chasm and bridge were dark smudges in the distance, melting into shadows that seemed to surround this space, as if the castle existed in a world all its own.
Goosebumps skated up my arm. Give me a good old-fashioned slash and stab scenario over a creepy walk through a graveyard, haunted house, or ancient vampire’s castle any day.
But despite the cold, gloomy vibe, there wasn’t a speck of dirt to be found. The banister had been clean and polished beneath my hand. The windows were clear of smudges, frames free of mildew…Someone obviously cleaned this place.
We turned onto a spacious corridor, and I caught a flash of movement at the bottom of it. “Who else is here?”
“No one else,” Matthew said with a shudder. “But I know what you mean. It’s creepy. Sometimes I feel like I’m being watched.”
“Do you have to live here too?”
“Yes, during the week. I’m allowed home at the weekends. My quarters are on the ground floor, thank goodness.”
“Why thank goodness?”
“Closer to the exit, he means, right?” Ordell said—the first words he’d spoken since getting out of the carriage, and he’d barely spoken to me on the ride, lost in his own thoughts, whatever those were. I’d never felt on the outside with Ordell before, even when we’d ridden in silence, but today there was a barrier between us that I didn’t quite understand.
“Something like that.” Matthew sighed. “I heard what happened last night with the fledglings.”
I lengthened my stride to come abreast of him. “Ezekiel told you?”
“No.” He shot me a sheepish smile. “But Dracul territory has its very own gossip vine. The coal delivery guy told me what he heard. And then Master came home in somewhat of a state and ordered three humans be brought to his chambers…I do not enjoy cleanup.”
“He drained them?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“And youlethim?”
He flinched away from me. “I’m his renfield. I don’t tell him what to do. I follow orders.”
“Like bringing him humans to kill.” I was momentarily speechless. “How could you?”
