Shadowbook

Chapter 25: Dark Shadows

We crept through the musty dungeon, our footsteps echoing on the cold floor. The silence was as present and eerie as it had been in the Labyrinth. It was quite like a labyrinth itself, with passageways and corridors branching off of the main hall. We could just barely hear the sound of water dripping through the walls. A strange draft came through, chilling us even through our folds. "Find a path leading up," said Jasmine. "That should get us out of here."

"From whither does the draught come?" Astor asked.

"We should follow it," I said. "If there's a draft, then there must be a door or window somewhere nearby."

Eventually, we ran across a staircase that led up to a door. The door led out! "Good luck, Nyx," said Senka, giving me a hug. "I promise we'll come back if—if anything happens." My friends joined her in a group hug. To my slight surprise, Jasmine flung her arms around her brother. Orphe stood in the dark, hanging his head. The horrible truth that I might not come back alive sank in my chest. We said a silent goodbye, hoping it wouldn't be the last time.

Astor and I quietly walked down another corridor. His presence wasn't as comforting as it had been. I felt so scared, like the feeling of being alone in the dark in the middle of the night, only worse. It felt like being alone in the dark, worried that you were going to be attacked at any second. I heard Astor sniffling softly. "Are you okay, Astor?"

"No," Astor whimpered. His voice sounded high, thin, and childlike. "I want to go home. It took everything I had to not follow them out the door..."

"I don't know why they did after having gone through the Labyrinth..."

"'Tis for the best," said Astor. He paused, and then said, "I am extremely unnerved that Abaddon has not shown himself yet. 'Twould not be so frightening if we met him right inside the entrance to the cave!"

After more quiet walking, we came across a huge stone door with what looked like claw marks all over it. As we got closer, we heard a faint laugh coming from behind the door. We froze, and then, panicking, we ran. In utter terror, I lost Astor. "Astor!" I called. "Astor!"

I took the Shadowlight out of my folds, finding myself in a large stone room that was empty except for a person's body, lying against the back wall. Cautiously I walked toward it, terrified of what I might see...

My worst fears came true.

Astor was lying on the cold stone floor, clearly dead. He looked as beautiful and peaceful as he did in his sleep, his lips parted and eyes closed. A trickle of blood dripped from his slack mouth, which made him look vampire-like. His outer folds were gone, and only a few thin layers covered his body. One wing was extended, and it was bent at an odd angle.

I screamed in agony. I let out a long, mournful wail that drowned out all sense of time and reality. I'd never heard such a sound made by anything, let alone myself. I opened my mouth and screamed louder, higher. I never seemed to run out of breath. I don't know how long I screamed, but eventually I collapsed and sobbed. Who knew our love would start as Cinderella and become Romeo and Juliet?

That broken wing was the saddest thing in the whole world. I screamed again.

I ducked under my folds, hoping that this was all the most horrible nightmare of my life, hoping that I would just wake up. Then suddenly, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world: another horrified, sorrowful, enraged scream.

I lifted my head and stared at Astor's body. I felt my heart seize up again, but somewhere, in a distant room, I could still hear him shrieking...