White Roses a.b

chapter 34

A great shudder coursed through Ashley as she stared at the enormous beast. Though it had terrified her in the glen outside Hatta’s shop, it had been too dark then to get a clear look at the beast. But now it towered over her, all claws and scales and rolling muscles. She could see the saliva clinging to its fangs. She could smell its rotted breath.

‘Ash, back away, slowly,’ Andy whispered.

The beast fixed its burning eyes on them and hissed. Ashley stumbled back and Andy shifted, putting himself between them. ‘Run.’

She gripped the railing, but her body wouldn’t move. The Jabberwock crawled towards her on its massive limbs. Steam hissed from its nostrils.

With a gurgle in its throat, the Jabberwock leaped forward, jaw unhinged. Ashley screamed. Andy braced himself.

There was a screech and a storm of black feathers. A drop of ink fell from the sky – Raven, fast as a dart, plunged his beak into one of the monster’s ember eyes. The Jabberwock screeched and reared back on its hind legs. When it dropped back to the ground, the entire theatre shook and Ash could see that one of the embers in its eyes had been extinguished. Charcoal-tinged blood leaked down the right side of its face.

With another roar, it swiped its claws towards the sky, but Raven was already out of reach, beating his wings against the theatre’s ceiling.

‘Now! Go!’ Andy yelled, holding his sceptre like a weapon. He leaped on to the stair’s balustrade and dashed towards the beast like running up a slanted tightrope. The sceptre twirled. One leather boot pressed off a marble statue. He rolled in the air, landed on the back of the monster’s long neck, and grabbed one of the spindly whiskers that grew from its head as if he were gripping a leash. Jest yanked the monster’s head back. The Jabberwock screeched and bucked, but Andy held firm.

Ash trembled, still rooted to the stair.

Raven darted again, aiming for the second eye, but the Jabberwock careened away, batting Raven back with a flailing claw.

‘Ash! Run!’

She managed to tear her eyes away and spin around, but she had taken only a step when her toes caught on the voluminous fabric of her gown. Ash screamed and lurched, felt herself falling, crashing down the stairs in a tangle of satin and petticoats.

Her ankle snapped.

Her scream was lost in a torrent of shrieks and the thunder of footsteps. The lobby filled with guests fleeing the theatre, surging down the staircase, lobbing themselves over the balcony rails, flooding towards the exit. Ashley curled into the pillow of her gown, her vision white with pain, and hoped not to be trampled.

‘Costello?’

She looked up through her cascade of tangled hair and spotted Chester a few feet away, his back pressed against the same pillar she’d hidden behind.

‘Chester! Help me – my ankle – I think it’s—’ She swallowed back a sob.

Nostrils flared, Chester took a step towards her, but was halted by another piercing cry from the Jabberwock. He glanced up and paled. After a moment of indecision, he shook his head. ‘Not even you’re worth it, Lady Costello!’ he yelled, before turning on his heels and bolting towards the exit along with the rest of the stampeding crowd.

‘Chester! Come back here, you knave!’

But he was gone, lost in the chaos.

Locking her jaw, Ashley rolled on to her back, trying not to disturb her ankle. The sharp pain had turned to agony, but she didn’t see any blood.