Chapter Sixteen
ENEMIES
Edward and Bridgette rushed through the dark, twisting passages beneath the dungeon, trying to throw the Groundlings off their scent. Between vicious commands from the Four, Edward’s mind kept flashing back to his father’s cell. They’d left him there after he’d insisted that they go on without him, that he was too weak to travel.
If he dies, it’s your fault, the poisonous voices said. You left him behind, and when they find him out of his chains they’ll kill him. What a horrible son! Leaving your father when he needs you most!
Edward’s head throbbed. This time the voices were right. He hadleft his father to die.
The dank tunnel twisted left and Edward nearly slipped on a puddle of yellow slime beneath his feet. He gripped the wall for support, listening as he did so for any signs of pursuit. Straining his ears for the slightest sound, he tried to calm his rapid breathing.
“I th-think we luh-lost them,” he said after listening for a full minute and not hearing anything. Bridgette stood next to him, equally flushed.
“I hope we find your mother soon,” she said, gripping her sides. “I can’t keep this up much longer.”
Edward nodded in agreement. He wanted to tell Bridgette how much it meant to him that she was here with him. She’d followed him to the most dangerous place he could conceive of, helping him on what could still prove to be an impossible quest.
“Bridgette,” he began haltingly. She glanced up at him, still trying to catch her breath.
“Yes?”
Edward hardly knew what to say. There weren’t enough words to express what he was feeling. His heart beating rapidly, he leaned over and kissed her gently on her cheek. Bridgette blushed and glanced up at him.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“F-for everything,” Edward replied. Bridgette blushed again and flashed him a happy, somewhat confused look. Edward, trying to prevent the moment from becoming too awkward, cleared his throat and then marched forward, saying, “We better k-keep g-going.”
Edward and Bridgette continued down the passageway, each of them feeling their way through the oppressive darkness, their hearts buoyed by a new feeling of lightness. Bridgette knew that Edward liked her, and she liked him, too. She hoped that they would make it through this terrible journey and one day enjoy some happier times together.
Bridgette and Edward walked for what seemed like hours. The air around them grew warmer, becoming almost stifling as the path wound down. Sweat beaded on their foreheads. Edward was just beginning to wonder if they would ever find an opening at the end of the tunnel when the light around them began to grow brighter. Turning a corner, they saw an immense cavern in front of them. Two figures stood in front of an iron doorway. Flickering torches of green fire mounted in iron sconces on either side of the guards cast eerie shadows on their features. Edward knew immediately that they had reached the right place. Behind that door was the throne room, the place where the Jackal had imprisoned his mother.
But when Edward got a good look at the guards, his heart froze in his chest. He knew that seeing them should not come as a surprise. Of course the Jackal had chosen his fiercest henchmen to guard Edward’s mother. Edward had not seen the faces of his enemies since they had attacked him outside the village of Woodhaven. Edward had barely escaped the encounter with his life.
He hoped he would be so lucky this time.
The guards seemed as surprised as he was to see him there. The two exchanged startled looks.
“Why, what have we here?” the first guard drawled in a familiar voice that Edward knew all too well. “Well, I’ll be a snake’s granddaddy. We have a pair of unexpected visitors, Lilith!” Henry Asmoday ran a finger across his gray handlebar moustache as he glanced over at the frail-looking woman standing next to him. The woman, her eyes covered by dark glasses, lifted her head in Edward’s direction and sniffed.
Recognizing the scent, she bared her teeth in a sharp-toothed smile.
“Macleod’s come for dinner,” she whispered.