Page 76 of Mongrel
The wolf inside me likes the sound of that. So do I.
* * *
“Now what?”says Bowie. “We’re loose but stuck in this cursed room. Four guards, we can manage, but not without a significant amount of noise.”
“Well, we can’t stay here.” Janos glances toward the windows. “Sunrise won’t spare us in this chamber, and I’d rather not have to beg her for anything else.”
I study the space. We’re in a set of adjoining rooms. “Let’s see if there’s another way out.”
We leave the macabre cages behind and explore the suite. To my utter horror and surprise, just past the makeshift prison lies a proper bedroom, quite regal, with an enormous monstrosity of a bed covered in absolute piles of silks and furs. If this isn’t the countess’s bedroom, I’ll eat my tail. To think she lives so close to where she tortures her victims is horrifying.
The look on Bowie’s face says he agrees.
I peer out the window to find we’re high up in one of several towers. My stomach protests. I step away from the window. Jumping from here is not an option; it’s way too far to fall. Beyond the bedroom is a garderobe, and that’s all. It looks like there are no obvious exits besides the one under guard.
“Hellfire.” Bowie must have come to the same conclusion. “We’ll have to fight our way out.”
It’s not ideal. But two vampires and a werewolf against four humans is a fight we can win.
“We must prioritize speed,” Bowie says. “The less noise they make, the better our chances are of sneaking through the rest of the castle unnoticed.”
Janos nods. “According to Petru, the castellan, Benedikt Deseo, is our best bet at locating all the girls. Once we’re past the guards, he’s who we’ll need to find.”
How we’re going to find one man in this huge castle is beyond me. “I think I can sniff out Cecily. We can start with her and whoever she’s with.”
“We should split up,” Janos suggests as he plucks daggers from the wall of doom. “With any luck, Ivaz will have arrived and arranged wagons by the time we’ve found the girls.”
I have my doubts, but I keep quiet.Outis the first goal; we can focus onawayonce that’s been accomplished.
“What’s the plan to find each other again once we’ve split?” asks Bowie, accepting a weapon from Janos. “This place is huge.”
“Petru says the stable master, Daniel Vas, is safe, and the stables shouldn’t be difficult to find. Let’s meet there.”
I feel sorry for the horses already.
Janos hands me a blade. “If we’re forced to ground before we’ve found the girls, the earth will be the safest resting place.”
Bowie’s expression indicates his reluctance.
“You can take Andras with you.”
“You can?” I hadn’t realized that was a possibility, having imagined myself sleeping over whatever patch of ground Bowie chose. That would have been fine on our journey, but here on Csejthe’s grounds, it’s basically an X marks the spot. Vampire hides here.
“Yes, but it’s awful.”
“Hopefully, it won’t be necessary,” says Janos. “Let’s go. Me first, then Bowie. Andras, stay out of the fight if you can. We should be able to subdue them without you.”
I don’t argue. I hate to fight, but I’ll be ready if they need me.
We line up at the door. My nerves are alight with anticipation. I grasp the handle and mouth, “Ready?”
They nod, and I yank open the door.
Janos races through, Bowie at his heels.
The brawl is lightning fast. A silent strike from Janos to the throat of the first of four men. The bleeding guard’s lips form a silent scream as he goes down. Janos finishes him with a squelching stab of his dagger.
Bowie strikes a second man before he can raise an alert. An arc of blood sprays from the sliced artery.
