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|| X ||
I let my phone beep twice before hanging up.
Nikita takes a step towards me, her stance almost predatory. "You had a phone with this whole time and you didn't think to mention it?"
"I forgot, sorry. It didn't seem relevant at the time. Nobody answers the phone."
"Not even the police?"
"Not even the police."
Nikita holds out her hand out, palm-up. "Give me the phone."
I climb under stair to maintain distance between us. Even if it is useless, having my phone with me gives a sense of fake safety, an anchor of sanity to cling onto. "Why?"
"Call the police, what else?" She steps up. So do I. "Just give me the phone."
"I just told you. The police doesn't work here. Let me show you," I dial the numbers myself and show her the screen. "Listen."
Both of us face each other, quiet. The phone rings ten times before Nikita's shoulders slump in defeat. She run her fingers, her nails polished midnight black with green gems, through her strands of bronze hair.
"Fine," She drops her hand. "The police are not to be depended on. I'll keep that in mind."
She resumes walking downstairs.
"What about the Ruby Red Dining room?" I demand.
"If you want to go find your friends, go ahead. I'm not interested in anything else besides getting out of here."
Every survival instinct screams at me to follow her out of her. Nikita is logical and a quick-thinker, something that I need in this situation. I don't want to be separated from her. But I don't want to leave Blair behind either.
"There are others with Blair, you know?" I call after her. "She mentioned Lucille, somebody whose name started with a R -"
Nikita freezes.
" - a girl named Avery -"
"Avery?" Nikita whips around. Her earrings, shimmering, reel back and forth. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," I say, even though I'm suddenly doubting myself. "I'm sure."
One of Nikita's feet is already on the next step down.
Her face is blank as she considers the two possibilities: getting out or find the girl named Avery. She chooses the girl. Without another word, Nikita storms up, passes me on the steps, and continues going upstairs.
I don't know how, but she clearly knows where's she going.
Even though I empathize with the torment that Nikita must be feeling now, relief also runs through me as I follow her upstairs.
|| X ||
The doors on the sides of the staircase fade into yellow when we walk upstairs. Based on this pattern, Nikita told me, the red doors should be at the very top.
Somebody screams.
I stop. "Do you hear that?"
Nikita pauses.
Barely heard over the sound of the grandfather's clock ticking, a man lets out a muffled scream. I shuffle closer to a set of dusty gold doors. The man's yelling becomes louder. Shriller. More terrified.
It stops.
Nikita raises one eyebrow.
"Should we, you know," I motion to the set of doors. "Open it?"
"Why?"
"Somebody might need help," I suggest. "Somebody who knows the way out of here."
"If they knew the way out of here, they wouldn't be trapped in a room, screaming."
I appeal for Nikita's logical side. "Even if it's not, don't you want to see what we're up against? Or would you rather we walk around, constantly watching out for a threat that we don't know is there?"
Nikita raises an eyebrow.
Her emotional side. "What if it's Avery?"
Her fingers run over her silver earrings, smoothing the emerald gemstone. After a second, she gives me a brisk nod.
Is this a victory?
I'll take it as one.
I grasp the handles, which are shaped like spirals of flames, and swing open the doors.
We step inside onto the main balcony. On either side are twin staircases, with a red velvety carpet flowing on top of the bronzed steps. They lead to a ballroom so magical that I blink rapidly to make sure it's real. A sign, red marker written on white, stands at the middle of the balcony. The handwriting is horrible so I walk closer to read it.
WATCH OUT FOR THE FALLING CHANDELIERS
Somebody's sobbing.
I tear my eyes from the warning to focus on the ballroom. Nikita's at the edge of the balcony, her hands placed on the twisted railing. She watches the scene below us with a grim expression.
One of the chandeliers has already fallen.
Two people are trapped underneath it.
I turn my attention upwards, towards the chandeliers. There are six of them left, stretching from one wall to the other. They sway in back and forth in an eerie silence. Candlelight dances off the crystals that decorate their golden structures.
"This is really weird," I say stupidly.
"Yes," Nikita agrees. "This castle, in particular, is extremely weird."
One of the man climbs out of the broken arms of the chandelier. With dry sobs, he crawls over to one of the doors that's on the sides, blood trailing his broken legs.
I open my mouth, close it, then open it again.
"Hey!" I shout.
The man, wavy blonde hair thrown over his face, looks over his shoulder. His eyes widen with terror once he spots me waving and in quick, jerky movements, he starts ripping through the chandelier's broken arms to get away from us.
I take a few steps down the stairs.
"Hey, stop!" I shout again, cupping my hands around my lips. "Stay there! You're losing too much blood!"
The man, trembling from head to toe, grabs the doorknob. Twists it.
"I'm coming to help you -"
I glance at the chandeliers again, nearly blinded by their light. If that thing were to fall while I'm walking across to help the man, I'd be dead within seconds.
But with the amount of blood the man is loosing, he'd die within minutes. That doesn't stop him from swinging the door open and crawling outside. A faint breeze brushes his hair back. I call out for him one more time.
He doesn't listen.
The man, bleeding and broken, disappears beyond the door.
|| X ||
Things You Learned in This Chapter
1) Nikita has a friend.
2) The doors on the sides of the spiral staircase are color-coordinated with red doors at the top and violet doors at the bottom. Who knew a spooky castle could be rainbow-themed?
