Page 112 of A Fearless Heart
Yes, there was the warmth of a body, and the hiss of breathing too long contained.
Cady reached forward and grabbed the figure before they could move away.
“Who’s—” the person hissed in surprise.
She shouted back, “Arcadia ego!”
Cady’s breath was ragged as she clung to the figure, afraid to let go lest she be lost, wandering in the darkness.
The figure wrested itself away from her grip, and there was a bright flare of sparks as they dragged a flint against the walls. A tiny flame leapt and danced, and a moment later it resolved into the steady glow of an oil-burning lamp, blocked by the silhouette Cady just accosted.
She didn’t have time to let whoever it was recover. She launched herself at the figure, with no skill but more rage than she’d ever felt in her life. The figure pushed at her, but Cady clung to it, clamping her arms around the body and letting a scream rip though her.
The figure grunted, and made a different move, lifting Cady up and pushing hard to unlock her arms from his neck. Then in the lantern light, she saw a silvery flash. A knife.
Propelled by pure instinct, Cady darted backward into the shadows.
“Come here, I won’t hurt you,” the figure lied.
Cady saw the flash again, but as she took another step back, her foot struck a rock and made her fall with a cry and a clattering of stones.
The disturbance sent several rats dashing outward into the open space. Cady covered her head with her arms, shaking as one rat actually ran onto her and over.
The figure reacted with similar disgust, nervously slashing at the creatures with the hand that held the knife. His movements were wild, too wild, and as one particularly big rat danced around his feet, he tripped and went down. He yelled in pain, more pain than a mere fall should do.
“Cady, what happened?” he said, sounding uncertain. “Cady, come here.”
“Why should I?” she asked, sure it was a trick.
“Cady, I need you. After all I’ve done for you, will you just stand there?”
“Turn around,” Cady ordered.
The figure turned slowly on his side, and features became clear. A very familiar face indeed.
“Mr Addison,” she whispered. With horror, she saw something dark at his front. Blood?
“Dear little Cady. What are you doing down here? I thought you were afraid of the dark.”
“I am. But I was more afraid to fail.”
“Fail? But there’s nothing to fail at. Let’s go back into the open air. There’s nothing for you here. Come, Cady. I’m in trouble.”
Yes he was. The more Cady looked, the more she saw how his face was creased in pain, how he held one hand tight to his torso. When he tripped, the knife must have twisted in, and he fell on top of the blade.
“I won’t help you out till you tell me what I need to know. You took Gabe down here. Where is he?”
“Look for him yourself. Though by the time you find him, it will be too late.”
Her heart seemed to stop beating. “What?”
“Fear-stealer, life-stealer, doesn’t matter what you call it. I gave it to him, because he deserved it.”
“You didn’t.” It wasn’t possible! She was so close!
“I did, and since you’re more concerned with him than me…” He took something from his pocket and brought to his mouth, then flung it away. Glass clinked in the darkness.
“Mr Addison, did you just take clephobine?” she gasped.
