Page 71 of Decoy

With a wavering breath I faced where the shadows were thickest in my room. “Shadows?”

Though they remained as silent and lurking as shadows typically were, their presence shifted just enough to give me the sense they were listening, waiting in ominous silence for my plan.

I carefully selected my words. “I need to enter the royal treasury, but the lock requires the blood of a royal. Hypothetically, if you tasted the blood required, would your surrounding the lock allow the enchantment to recognize it and open the door?”

They stirred in a stormy cloud of energy that reached across the darkness to fill every dark corner of the room. Rather than sense their words audibly, their communication was imparted through thought, as if the shadows had slithered through my mind and influenced my thoughts to reflect what they wanted to say.

It’s your blood we want. I could almost hear the hiss in their angry protest.

A chill rippled up my spine. It took every ounce of composure to press forward. “Naturally I would offer something in trade.”

That intrigued them enough for them to consider my offer. Before I could think too carefully about my plan of persuasion lest it dissuade me, I withdrew my dagger and pricked my finger. I winced at the biting pain but otherwise betrayed no emotion as I extended my hand.

They immediately accepted my offer with creepy eagerness, coiling around my blood like vultures around a carcass. I did my best to remain still enough for the icy darkness to suck my blood…even being so thorough as to clean my dripping blade.

But this wasn’t enough to satisfy them. Their next order pierced the menacing night.More.

Fear seized hold, but I obediently sliced a clean cut across my palm and once more extended my hand, palm up in silent invitation. They immediately descended. It felt like they feasted forever, and I began to worry they wouldn’t stop. But eventually they’d satisfied themselves enough to withdraw with clear reluctance.

We accept your offer, but when the time comes…the rest of your blood is ours.

I was too desperate to give much thought as to what I was agreeing to. Tentatively hopeful that their caveat was a sign of their allegiance, I outlined my plan in a wavering voice as I shakily bound my cut to staunch my injury’s bleeding until I could locate some healing ointment.

“I’ll find a way to obtain a portion of the queen’s blood, then later meet you in front of the royal treasury.” Thehowstill remained a mystery, but I didn’t want to betray any hint of hesitation to such creepy sentients. They made no motion of agreement, but I wanted to believe I had their cooperation…at least for now.

Next came the trickier aspect of my plan. Thankfully, I discovered an opportunity to steal Her Majesty’s blood earlier than I anticipated when we sat together the following afternoon doing embroidery with a few other ladies of the court.

I was a dismal embroiderer, having ended my own training prematurely after my family’s title had been seized. It’d caused me all manner of undue embarrassment in the early days of this scheme, but now it gave me an excuse to scoot closer to the queen sitting on my other side.

“I wondered if you might be able to help me with this stitch.”

The queen reached for my embroidery. As I handed it to her, I jabbed her finger with the needle I kept covertly hidden beneath the cloth to create a small bubble of blood, just enough for what I needed.

I tried not to take too much satisfaction at her resulting wince lest it taint my immediate show of repentance. “I’m so sorry, Mother. Here, allow me.” I dabbed the wound with a handkerchief I’d prepared, soaking up the blood that I would later offer the greedy shadows.

She stiffened at the intimate address but maintained her strained smile. “That’s quite alright, dear.” She generously leaned closer to tutor me in the troublesome stitch, and sometime afterwards I was able to make my excuses and exit the parlor.

The shadows immediately descended, answering the scent of the blood I’d gathered like a hunting dog after its prey. When they had what they needed they withdrew back into the corridor’s corners, and I tucked the soiled handkerchief in my pocket until I could later find an adequate place to dispose of the evidence. All that remained was the plan’s final execution, which would have to be conducted in the dead of night.

Which was how I found myself with Luke long past midnight, my heart hammering in anticipation as I finally stood outside the door of the royal treasury.

“What’s inside?” Luke asked, not as cheerfully as he might have before the traumatic events of last night—that haunted look still filled his eyes, but at least he hadn’t lost his adventuresome spirit too much not to accompany me.

“A prophecy was given concerning my death. I’m hoping hearing it will offer additional clues for who’s after me, along with their motive.”

Despite the gloom still eclipsing his pallid expression, he seemed intrigued…until the shadows stirred, their subtle movement not sly enough to avoid Luke’s practiced attention. The moment they reached for me, he lurched forward, eyes wild with panic.

“Stay away from her!”

My careful calculations hadn’t accounted for Luke’s protective instincts, something I was still unaccustomed to after the years I’d endured with no one who cared for me.

“They’re not hurting me.”

My dismissive words weren’t near enough to convince him. “I don’t trust them, especially after they’ve taken such a pointed interest in you.”

“Perhaps their interest now has to do with the magic I need to access the royal treasury. Due to its secrecy, you need to look away.”

Though he remained wary, he didn’t try to interfere. He uneasily faced the other way and they formed against my hand. I rested it on the door, holding my breath as I waited. As I’d hoped, the enchantment recognized the queen’s blood the shadows had earlier consumed, allowing the door to open.

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