Page 42 of Crimson Shadows
Corvus counts down, “Three... two... one... Now!”
We sprint forward, ducking and weaving as jets of flame erupt around us. The heat is overwhelming, and I can smell singed fabric as a flame catches the edge of my sleeve. But there’s no time to stop. We keep running, guided by Corvus’s keen vampire senses and my own growing instincts.
Just as we reach the end of the corridor, a final burst of flame shoots out directly in our path. Corvus grabs me and pulls me down into a slide. We skid across the stone floor, the flames passing harmlessly overhead, and tumble into the next chamber, him on top of me, crushing me with his weight.
For a moment, we lie there, panting, staring into each other’s eyes. His lips are millimetres from mine, and I let out a little gasp. His gaze drops to my mouth and lingers for a heartbeat. A jolt of electricity runs through me. But then he blinks, and the moment passes. He quickly rolls off me and stands, offering a hand to help me up.
“You okay?” he asks, his voice a bit rougher than usual.
I nod, trying to ignore the lingering coolness where his body had pressed against mine. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit singed.” I examine the scorched edge of my sleeve ruefully.
Corvus reaches out and gently touches the burnt fabric, his cool fingers brushing my skin. “That was too close,” he murmurs, then seems to catch himself and steps back.
But our reprieve is short-lived. The room around us begins to shift. The floor tilts sharply to one side, then the other. The walls seem to rotate, the ceiling becoming the floor, and vice versa.
“What the hell?” I gasp, struggling to keep my footing as the room spins around us, making me want to vomit from motion sickness.
Corvus grabs onto a protruding stone, anchoring himself. “The gravity’s shifting! We need to adapt quickly!”
As he speaks, the ‘floor’ we’re standing on suddenly becomes a wall. I start to fall, but Corvus reaches out, catching my hand. We dangle there for a moment before the room shifts again, and we scramble to find purchase on what was previously the ceiling.
“This is insane!” I shout, my mind struggling to make sense of the constantly changing orientation.
“Don’t think about it!” Corvus calls back. “Just react! Trust your instincts! You have a strong vampire in you, Adelaide. Let it take over.”
Taking a deep breath, I try to let go of my preconceptions about up and down. I relax and will the vampire inside me to take over. As the room continues to shift, I move with it, leaping from wall to ceiling to floor as gravity realigns itself.
Corvus and I navigate the chamber like a bizarre dance, leaping and twisting, sometimes catching each other, sometimes using the momentum of the shifts to propel ourselves forward. It’s dizzying and exhilarating, and by the time we finally reach the exit, I’m not entirely sure which way is up anymore.
We stumble into the next corridor, slumping down as we wait for the world to stop spinning.
“Mind if I vom?” I blurt out, closing my eyes and clutching my head.
“Only if you mind if I do,” he retorts.
Before I can respond, the air around us shimmers. Suddenly, we’re surrounded by multiple versions of ourselves, each pointing down a different branching path. “Not again,” I groan as we get to our feet.
“This way!” they all shout simultaneously, their voices a perfect match for ours.
I freeze, unsure which way to turn. “Corvus?” I whisper, reaching for his hand.
But when I look, there are multiples, each urging me down a different path. Panic starts to rise in my throat. Which one is real? How can I tell?
“Adelaide,” they all say, “trust me. This is the right way.”
I close my eyes, trying to block out the visual confusion. I think back to what Corvus said earlier about trusting my instincts. Taking a deep breath, I reach out with my senses, trying to feel for the real Corvus.
Near me, I hear a faint pulse, a familiar scent, and a pull in a certain direction. Without opening my eyes, I reach out and grab a hand. “This way,” I say firmly, pulling the real Corvus down one of the paths.
As we move, I hear the illusions shattering behind us. When I finally open my eyes, we’re alone in a normal corridor for once.
Corvus looks at me with something too soft for my liking. “How did you know?”
I shrug, feeling a bit surprised myself. “I felt it. Something about the others didn’t feel right.”
He nods slowly, a wicked smile curving up his lips. “You know me, Dollie. I’m touched.”
I punch him on the arm as hard as I can, then yelp, shaking my fist out. “You’re a douche, you know that?” I snap.
