The Crimson Bride

Chapter 12: ???

Grace was currently washing dishes in the kitchen when Barnaby and another steward, Thomas entered.

"You, come with me." Barnaby spoke in a demanding tone, causing Grace to look at Thomas with dismissive gaze.

However, she dried her hands and complied. As much as she hated Barnaby, it wasn't worth losing her job over an argument.

Barnaby led the two to the entrance of a gated off cellar. "The master requests a Chateau Petrus Pomerol 1985."

"And he needs both of us to get it?" Grace furrowed her brow as she questioned the older man. 

"Mr. Thomas here has a pension for alcoholism. I want you to go with him to keep him out of trouble."  The other man looked down in embarrassment as Barnaby unlocked the gate and opened it for them.

Once they ascended the stairs, Grace gave Thomas a supportive pat on the shoulder. "Honestly, what is that guy's problem? He had no business ratting you out like that."

As they continued on, they were unaware of the older man locking the gate back before leaving. He brought three fingers to his lips and whispered a chant as he walked.

It was hard to see down in the dusty old wine cellar, even with lights on, so Thomas pulled out matches to use. Grace had her phone and used the flashlight. "I'll go this way. We'll cover more ground if we split up."

After agreeing, the two went their separate ways. Grace found it hard to read the labels, even with the extra light she had. She also couldn't shake the feeling that there was something breathing down her neck.

She was very on edge and checked behind her every now and then. She checked behind her once more but found nothing. When she turned to return to her search, Thomas was right there in front of her, startling her.

"Ah! Thomas! What the hell?" The man laughed and lifted his hands as Grace nudged him. "Come on, I was just playing around. I'm trying to keep my mind off of slipping a sip out of one of these fine wines. Kind of a shame that they're just put down here to gather dust, y'know?"

"Thomas, get serious. Do you think getting drunk is worth getting fired?" He shrugged at Grace's question. "I guess not. But that's why I'm trying to keep my mind off of it."

"Fine, but we would get out of here faster if we found the right bottle. So come on, let's get back to work." Thomas nodded and headed off again.

While Grace continued her search, she felt something playfully tug her hair. "Thomas, cut it out." She was confused however when she found the boy wasn't there.

After a few minutes Thomas called for Grace, and she walked over. "I found it. It's towards the back there." He pointed towards the spot that was labeled for the wine. "Alright, hold the light for me, please and I'll get it."

Grace handed him her phone so he could give her more light while she reached in for the bottle. She grabbed hold of it and tried to pull it out, but it had gotten caught. "I can't get it. It's stuck."

She tried pulling a few more times but then she felt something grab her wrist. She gasped and tried to pull away but whatever grabbed her was stronger than she was and pulled her shoulder deep into the shelf.

Grace screamed in terror as it felt like something was trying to pull her arm off while Thomas looked on in horror, unsure of what to do. 

Grace saw another figure behind Thomas; however, she could barely speak from how terrified she was. Whatever had her finally let her go and she could do was back away in utter shock as Thomas' neck was snapped.

Grace had hit something behind her in her attempt to escape, but it wasn't a wall. She looked down at the foot beside her and slowly up, seeing nothing but a veiled figure looming over her.

She opened her mouth to scream but the figure quickly moved and removed her jaw with a swift movement of their clawed hand. The girl fainted from the sheer amount of pain she experienced, and the figure promptly picked her up and chomped down into her blood-soaked throat.

While the one figure gorged on Grace's now lifeless body, the smaller figure carried Thomas' corpse out of the cellar. Barnaby was waiting at the top of the stairs with a few other more experienced footmen.

There, the figure placed the young man's corpse into a sack that one of the footmen was carrying. "We will put this in the storehouse for later. Please, go enjoy your meal." Barnaby urged the figure to return downstairs while the footmen tied off the sack and lifted it with combined effort.

The figure nodded once before making their way back to the cellar. Barnaby closed his eyes briefly, as if to compose himself and then led the men to the storehouse.

With the fresh corpse, they were able to finish the preparations for the party that night.