The Winter Sun

Chapter 20

Lach's head throbbed as shock pulsed into his veins. He couldn't keep his eyes from that forever horror-stuck face. Nausea riled up in him, but before he could let the content of his stomach right here and there on the cold, crunchy ground, grunts rose into the clear night.

Lach's head snapped to the side. A few silhouettes were progressing in the snow, silver glistening from their body reflected by the moonlight. Soldiers.

The shaken stableman slipped his way onto his feet and raced towards them as best as he could with his worn-out high-ankle boots plunging into the snow. The unforgiven cold bit his cheeks scarlet, and a haze of rash breath came out of his mouth. Despite the trembling of his legs, they transported him with strength and stamina he wasn't aware of possessing until that very moment.

He reached the adjacent wall of the castle, and the silhouettes quickly shaped into royal guards. Nighttime gatekeepers.

"Guards!" Lach screamed, his voice reaching them before his body could. He waved his hands over his head like a drowning man seeking help. The three men turned their heads to him, their hands grabbing the handle of their swords. Lach kept screaming despite the burning of his lungs. Someon- Someone was killed!" His feet kicked onto something hard, and his hands and knees rubbed into the biting snow. He hissed.

Before he could go back on his feet, another silhouette appeared behind the three guards. Two red dots glowing instead of his eyes. The newcomer drew a sword from its scabbard, and Lach froze as he watched the man swing the weapon in the air. The first guard had no time to counterattack as the glistening blade sliced into his throat. He fell like a rag doll, and the other two grunted in rage as they drew their swords.

They attacked simultaneously, but their blades rang as the attacker struck back, his sword stopping each blow without even moving from his place. The guards reenacted, but what Lach saw then made his neck veins pulsate. The attacker caught another blow with his bare hand. Stuck in fear, the guard hadn't had time to process before a punch rose him from the ground and made him land back with a crack. He turned toward the other guard, who started running away, but he launched a blade to his back, and Lach witnessed the blood profusing from his mouth before he fell down like a ragged doll.

Lach couldn't move, couldn't blink, or even lift his fingers from the crystalized ice burning his skin. No, all he could do was stare at the lifeless bodies. His eyes panned up, and two glowing orbs stared his way.

He sucked in a breath and crawled backward until his back hit an icy hard surface -one of the statues scattered across the vast garden. His back flattened against the cold white stone. He jerked his chin up, and the white eyes of the late Queen looked down. He glanced away, peering behind the statue. The man disappeared, and one of the doors was left open.

He glanced around. Silent whiteness welcomed him. He took a breath and propelled himself back on his feet, not without stumbling once or twice -his bone still jittery with the memory of what he just saw. Who was that man? And why was he attacking the castle in the first place? What if he wasn't alone? An icy feeling sank into his stomach. What if they were all inside?

Lach looked over his shoulder. The stable's windows were dark. Only its silhouette haunted the white snow. His heart drummed. He could take one of the horses and leave before the entire place was taken over. Deer-like eyes flashed through his eyes, and the melodious laughter besieged his chest. His lips pressed together. He couldn't leave like that. Not without trying-

"All the entrances are taken." A voice rose.

Lach's body tensed, and he slipped into a shadowed corner, near the open door. One man had came out of the door.