Page 53 of Heir of the Beast

She runs up to me and starts typing quickly. “Not quite yet,” Mort says as she glances around the room. “I was scared this was going to happen. I will find us transportation.

“But you need to get out ASAP, seeing how you are limited to only your human form. Go through that far door and take your immediate left, then up the small stairs and to your right.

“After you go to your right, climb the servant’s ladder and sneak into the laundry shafts. You will want to take a sharp left then right, then another left, but not the sharp left.

“Go down that long hallway and proceed to take your left three more times and keep going straight. That should bring you to the servant’s exit.”

I give Mort an ~are you shitting me?!~ look.

She exhales and frowns.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I will make it to the bottom floor and jump out the freaking window, in the old library in the east wing that is barely occupied. I know how to get there, I think.

“I did, after all, clean the chimney there for two days straight. Meet me on the outside of the window. It’s a bay window.” This is probably a horrid idea, but it’s the best I can come up with.

She bites her lip, then nods. “You go quickly. Stay in the shadows.”

I look down at my sparkling yellow gown. “I need a cloak.”

“On it.”

Mort leaves in killer bee form, and I stand here mentally preparing myself. My black cloak hides my gown, giving me more confidence. ~Now or never.~

I take off, being sure to stay in the shadows. I am thankful that the castle is dark due to being nighttime. Going through that many doors without being seen by anyone could not have been repeated.

I am sure I don’t breathe for a good three minutes as I run past the Grand Library.

Really though, it is not some secret ninja talent that I possess that gets me to the east wing undetected, but pure dumb luck. I hide in the shadows while a group of guards runs past me.

Closing my eyes, I jump out of hiding and turn a sharp corner, then gasp, clasping a hand over my mouth to keep in a scream. My heart is pounding as I look at a statue of a Garthorn warrior.

Just a statue.

Madness.

I hear voices, and my whole body stiffens. ~Code red~. I can literally see the east wing library from where I stand. Should I make a mad dash for the door?

Before I can decide, my legs are already sprinting to the library. It’s like when you choose to go for it when the traffic light is yellow, praying there are no cops around. It’s more instinct than anything.

If my heart beats any harder, it’s going to break my ribs.

As I turn the golden knob, in the back of my mind, I realize that I do not hear any more voices. I shut the door and take in a laboring breath, trying not to hyperventilate. I want to scream in relief.

I made it.

I am breathing hard as I survey the room~—empty~. I push myself off the door and run over to the large bay window. Mort must be there by now.

Jumping on the couch, I peer through the glass, the pane fogging with my rapid breaths. As my eyes scan, I suddenly hear distant whistling.

I pause with a frown, listening.

Tilting my head, I realize it’s coming from down the hallway where I just came from.

As the eerie whistling becomes louder, my whole body freezes in dread. The little hairs on the back of my neck rise, and my breathing escalates.

It sounds too calm, too self-assured for the frenzy of the castle.

~It can’t be.~

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