Waiting For Sunrise - The Books Of Beginning AU

32. Into The Rain

The passageway was only a couple feet wide, and the only light came in short bursts penetrating the old walls. Abraham would sometimes whisper back to the children, warning them when to duck and when to step over a loose board or a hole. It was a good thing, too, because in the dark, the children could only make out the silhouette of the person in front of them - Abraham for Emma, Emma for Michael, and Michael for Kate. So they moved slowly through the labyrinthian corridors, left, right, up a few stairs, down many more, wherever Abraham said to go. This continued for ten minutes or so, until the passageway grew lighter and the photographer paused. He turned and put a finger to his lips, telling them to be as quiet as possible. 

It was a good thing that he did so, for when they rounded the next corner, they were met with the beautiful and cruel face of the Countess. She was not in the passageway itself, rather, she was in one of the mansion's many sitting rooms, staring through an oval window set into the wall between said sitting room and the passage. Emma couldn't help but gasp, thinking they were done for, and Abraham quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. 

Tense, terrible seconds passed, and the Countess just stood there, inches from the glass, not paying them a smidge of attention at all. She simply turned her head this way and that, and all of a sudden the siblings realized what was going on - it was a one way mirror that she was looking into. As if to prove their point, the Countess touched her hair admiringly. 

Abraham let out a soft exhale and motioned for the children to continue. They were about to follow that direction, when someone in the Countess's parlor began to speak.

"And what will milady do now, if her poor servant may inquire?" The Secretary, with his gray, grimy smile, struggled to the middle of the room while pushing a heavy drink cart. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he finally got the cart set up. He then set about pouring ice cold vodka into a glass, the yellow bird from before hopping along his narrow shoulders. 

Across the room, the Countess lounged in a plush chair, feet resting daintily atop a footstool. She said, "I will make a full report. I should have done so when the children appeared for the first time."

"Yes, yes, of course, an indubitably intelligent course of action," the Secretary said, bowing low as he presented the Countess with her beverage.

The one way window was directly across the room from where the Countess had taken a seat. The children could see all that occurred, without themselves being detected, and it was both thrilling and terrifying. Their hearts beat rapidly, echoed by the pounding of the rain against the roof.

"What is it, you sniveling little rodent?" The Countess questioned. "I know you're thinking something."

Waving his gnarled hands around and bowing three or four times, the Secretary said, "Just... no, impossible... it's not my place to venture..."

The witch scoffed at her servant's behavior. "Your place is to do what I tell you, you gnat. Now, what is transpiring in that putrid brain of yours?"

The siblings exchanged glances. This, they knew, was the true Countess. Alone with her manservant she was not concerned with acting the part of an airy noblewoman. Now her real manner was shining through - she radiated evil, and power, and a greedy, insatiable hunger.

Cavendish, the secretary, simpered like a fool. "Yes, milady, forgive my imbecility.  I was just inquiring of myself what exactly the Countess would report? That she had one of the Books of Beginning and lost it?"

"What report are they talkin' about?" Emma whispered to her brother. Michael just shrugged and made a shushing noise. Though he had spent a few days trapped in this manor with the witch, he had no inclination of what the witch and her secretary were discussing.