Page 34 of Bound By Stardust
The trap door shut behind us and Drazhan handed me a round ball of light. “We have to stay quiet, just in case,” he warned.
I nodded, blade in one hand, heart in my throat. I would have felt better if I had stardust, knowing what it could do.
The path in the dark seemed to trail on endlessly. We came to a few crossroads, but Drazhan always knew which way to go.
At last, the air shifted, the scent going from earthy to that stench of rot and death. My insides curled at the memory of red eyes and molted skin. What horrors were we about to stumble upon?
Drazhan motioned for me to wait as he climbed a ladder. A faint glow came as he lifted a trap door then waved for me to join him. He disappeared above, and I hesitated before reminding myself that the Masters were monsters, and I had joined Drazhan’s cause to bring them to justice.
Up the ladder, I found myself in a large kitchen, quiet and empty. Abandoned. Because it was night or for some other reason?
Goblets were strewn about, and an overturned bottle of wine dripped into the floor, the puddle like a stain of blood. I lifted my chin. It was time to free the chosen ones.
We moved down the silent halls, our steps loud in the quiet, but I couldn’t shake the sense that we were being watched. No bodies lay on the floor as I expected, and the torches that lit up the halls were still lit. Had they taken the dead and fled?
Then came a sound, like a stick striking the ground. We were at the great hall, which had once been so vibrant with life and full of song. I peeked in the doorway, almost surprised to see the darkness of the room.
A cold voice came, weaving through the velvet blackness. “So, you thought to cause us harm, to destroy us with stardust. Come. See what you have wrought.”
Lights came from everywhere at once. I sucked in a deep breath, wanting to flee, but my feet were stuck to the ground, staring in horror.
Blood covered the walls, ruining the murals and tapestries. Even the chandeliers, glinting with crystals, were stained red, giving an amber glow to the lights. A demon stood on the stage, withered and bent with age, and around him was a sea of unmasked demons.
Despite the light, their bulbous eyes glowed. Fangs glinted in the light, and those who had tails swished them, eager for a fight. I gulped, bravery gone as I stared at their mishappen appearances. Some were missing fingers or toes, and there were others with chunks of their bodies missing, even faces half-rotted away.
The effects of stardust. Drazhan had greatly damaged the Masters, but he hadn’t been able to kill them all. The remnants stood tall, waiting to finish us off.
They weren’t the only ones in the room, for golden cages full of the Chosen lined the walls. They must have been drugged, for they stared out of empty eyes or lay sleeping.
“You’ve come to free the humans, haven’t you, Drazhan? You didn’t count on us finding a cure for stardust.”
A cure? No. Not possible. The one weapon that was supposed to save us was rendered useless. Otherwise, how else would the demons be standing before us? My little knife was laughable.
“Run,” Drazhan’s command came in my ear. “I’ll distract them. Get back to the tunnels, as far away as possible. Run.”
My numb feet sprang to life. Spinning on my heels, I dashed back the way we’d come. Behind me came a roar.
“Seize them!”
I raked my mind for answers as my feet pounded the floor. The still-healing wound in my side ached from the quick movement. I glanced behind me, heart pounding as the demons poured out of the hall and surged after us like a storm.
The fae. How did the fae beat the Masters? I had fae blood, but it was useless without the secret. The words on the scroll came dancing back:…they laid their hands upon the Masters and damned them.
I must have made a wrong turn because I couldn’t find the kitchen, or the trap door. Suddenly, Drazhan was at my side. “This way,” he said, and we burst out of the palace.
Once again, I found myself fleeing down the garden path while they chased after me, but this time, there was no hope, no remedy. They’d discovered how to protect themselves against stardust, which meant we’d failed.
If they caught us, they’d kill us.
Cold air slapped my face, but I only imagined the putrid breath of those demons, claws flaying skin from bone and curved teeth devouring all.
Something warm dripped down my side. Blood. My wound had re-opened. Pain spread from my side up my spine, and my breath turned labored, my steps slow and dragging.
I pressed my hands against my side until they were slick with blood, and the realization dawned on me that this was the end. I wouldn’t escape, and Drazhan should have a second chance. This was his moment, his vengeance, yet somehow, we’d both failed.
My feet slowed to a stop and my shoulders sagged. Dimly, I heard Drazhan shouting. “Asira, come on. Just a few more feet. You can do this!”
My vision swirled and then cleared as the volley of shouts roared in my ears. I lifted my bloody hands from my side and a stillness came over me, a surge of determination.
