Page 96 of Once Upon A Haunted Castle
Chapter Four
Though disappointing, Senaradetermined it was most likely for the best Gavin had not been in his solar.
After all, girls ought not to wander the halls at night in search of single men. And it wasn’t as though he thought anything special of her as a mere servant.
Position and wealth might mean little to Senara, but it meant everything to Gavin. And she had nothing of either.
Still, Senara could not help the squeeze of disappointment deep in her chest as she made her way back toward the stairs. The air was prickly cold and left the hairs on her arms standing on end.
A cry sounded in the distance, a wisp of an anguished scream as if carried on a hearty wind. Though far off, the noise scrabbled over her nerves.
No, not so far away. Below.
Senara looked to where the stairs disappeared into a dark nothing. Anything could be in that nothing.
Her courage flagged for but a moment. Da would not be frightened of a noise. She may have left his sword upstairs, but she was never without his bravery. Or her dirk for that matter.
With the power of being her father’s daughter, she crept down the stairs with her dirk locked in her grip. On the first floor, the air was cold enough to nip at her nose and leave the bottoms of her feet chilled through the thick-soled slippers she wore.
The wailing cry came once more, louder though still distant, muffled almost. She followed the sound down the hall to where she’d been before where the cold stone had hummed against her palm.
The candle flame sputtered and set the narrow hallway bouncing wildly around her, but it did not go out.
Her breath fogged in front of her and hovered in a hazy white cloud. She stared at the frozen breath in wonder. While summer was not always warm, it seldom was ever so cool as to cause such a chill– especially indoors.
A grinding sound filled the quiet and mortar sifted down from the strange stone. Senara’s breath came faster and filled the air with white puffs.
Something was in there.
Holding her dirk in front of her with one hand, she carefully set the candle to the ground and approached the stone. Her heart was racing so fast, the point of her dirk trembled.
Be brave like Da.
She drew a deep breath and put her hand to the stone.
A howl of agony screamed around her, roaring in all directions at once. She jumped and tried to jerk her hand back, only to find her fingers were locked on the narrow lip of stone. Not stuck between the stones, but somehow adhered to the stone.
Be brave like Da.
The cries pitched into a continual wail that made her head ache as though it would split. She pulled hard at where her hand clamped the sharp edges of stone.
It gave the slightest bit.
She set the dirk aside, planted one foot against the stone wall, and pulled back with all her might using both hands.
Being brave was far easier when one faced potential victory.
The rock slid a bit more. With a great cry, she yanked hard and wrenched it free. The stone released from her fingertips and dropped to the ground with a clacking thunk. Everything went as still as her breath, which still hung in the frozen air.
A shiver of apprehension shot up her spine with such suddenness, she had only time to regret the loss of her blade before a gust of wind rushed from the gap in the wall. It blew with enough force to make her hair feel as though it were being yanked from her scalp. It was cold enough to burn.
The breath sucked from her chest.
Thoughts poured through her mind, memories that were not hers, and she was powerless to stop their onslaught.
Hope, eagerness, and brilliant warmth. Senara was filled with them all at once in a dizzying swirl until she realized she stood outside under a wide blue sky with the velvety softness of lush grass against her bare feet.
Nearby, there was a humble stone priory with an aged monk speaking to a young man with dark hair.
