Page 10 of Beneath the Flames
“Is this where you kill me?”she asked.
I couldn’t help but snort.“Don’t be ridiculous.”
She studied me for a moment before staring out the windshield again.Her hands were clasped tightly together in her lap.“Then where are we?”
Let’s just get this over with.
Before she could ask again, I was out of the car and at her side, about to haul her toward the cottage.
“You’ve seen too much,” I repeated.
Her lips turned down into a scowl, and it looked like perhaps she would put up a fight after all, but then she…shut down.The expression wiped from her face, and I watched as she forced her hands apart, her palms settling over her knees.
It struck me as odd that this girl was being kidnapped, brought to a strange place against her will, and yet had the ability to act completely indifferent.How was that even possible?
I grit my teeth, shaking the questions from my mind.It didn’t matter anyway.The sooner we got out of here, the sooner I could get away from her.I quickened my pace, pulling her along with me, a quiet grunt escaping her as she struggled to keep up with my long strides.The tall weeds overgrowing the walkway up to the house tickled my ankles, rocks grating beneath my feet as I hurried us both toward the house.Just as my shoe thudded on the wooden porch, her arm slipped out of my grip.
I opened my mouth to scold her, prepared to carry her inside if I had to, but the panic in her eyes stopped me in my tracks.
“Please tell me where you’re taking me,” she said, taking another step away from me.I hoped she didn’t make a run for it.It was far too hot to chase her down, and I wasn’t above using my magic to stop her from escaping.
Hopefully it wouldn’t kill this time.
The thought had me running a frustrated hand through my hair before fixing my eyes on hers.
“You saw what I did.”It wasn’t a question.
The girl hesitated.“I don’t know what I saw,” she replied.
“You can’t stay here after seeing…that.You’ve seen too much, and I can’t risk you sharing what happened.”
Her brow twisted in confusion, head angling to the side.“Ican’t stay here?What do you mean?If you’re worried about me telling people about your golden death rays, I won’t—”
“Stop talking,” I snapped, cutting her off.“You’re coming with me, and that’s the end of it.”
“Please, my family, they need me—”
Crossing the distance between us, I grabbed her arm and led her inside the cottage, her words dying in her throat.Inside it was dark and musty, dust covering every surface in a thick layer.The few pieces of furniture were so rotten that it was a wonder they could even be recognized.A strange sensation began building in my stomach as I dragged her into the house.We rounded a corner and found the stairs that led beneath the house.
“What—”
The girl cringed as I sent a warning glare her way, which effectively shut her up.I led her down the stairs, careful of rotten boards.The overwhelming scent of mold and damp stone filled the air as we descended into the dark basement.
When we had creaked our way to the bottom, I felt more than heard the sudden intake of her breath, her steps faltering when she saw what awaited her.
In a place like this, she probably expected to see a mess, moldy boxes that had been abandoned years ago or junk piled in the corner, like the rest of the cottage above us.But it was utterly empty aside from a giant silver arch on the far wall.An arch I had left there nearly a century ago.
If anyone were to accidentally stumble across this place and find it, the arch would simply appear as some sort of decoration.Utterly plain and without access to magic, it was only that: decoration.I stalked closer to it, and it instantly responded to my magic, the inside of it beginning to glow.Instead of a stained, disgusting wall inside of it, a swath ofsilver filled the opening, rippling like small waves.
The girl gaped at it for a moment before she turned away like she was going to make a run for it.I acted before she could move, grabbing her upper arms and thrusting her toward the portal.
Panic filled her expression as she lost her balance and fell toward the arch.“No—”
She didn’t get to finish as I shoved her through, falling in behind her, and we tumbled into a void of darkness.
The first thing I noticed was the cold.Bitterly cold air pierced through my skin like tiny daggers.Every inch of me trembled, and my summer attire of a tank top and shorts did nothing to warm my bones.Wind whipped against my body, so frigid that it felt like ice was creeping up my skin, as if it, too, were ravenous for warmth.
Where am I?This feels like winter in Minnesota.
