Heir

Chapter 4, Scene 2

Leitha sat in the library at Ebonwood Castle, curled up in her favorite armchair. It was midnight, and the room was dark except for the warm, orange glow from her candle. She sat staring at the open book in her lap, but her mind couldn’t make sense of the words on the page. In the distance she heard somebody calling for her. It was a tiny voice, barely audible. When the voice came again she recognized it as that of her young friend, Odette.

The studious woman set aside her book and rose to go see what Odette needed. The girl had been in terrible pain from the burn she received to her arm a couple of nights ago, but it looked as if she would recover. When Leitha left the library she became perplexed. Their collection of books had extended beyond that one room. Books lined the walls of the corridor, making the pathway cramped. She walked through the narrow area, holding her candle ahead of her. She heard Odette again, calling for help. This time she could hear the desperation in the nine-year-old’s voice.

Leitha emerged into the castle’s great hall, and was stunned by what she found. The rows of books stacked atop of each other, which had lined the walls of the corridor, extended into the great hall. The pathway between them turned abruptly right, blocking her view of the great hall, except for the vaulted ceiling. The ceiling was lit with a bright orange glow that danced and writhed. It looked as if the room were illuminated by some great fire at its center.

She heard Odette again. Now she realized the girl wasn’t just calling for her, she was screaming for help.

Leitha flew into action, her maternal instincts driving her forward. She dashed down the pathway between the rows of books, which were stacked high to form veritable walls. When the path split, she chose the route that looked as if it would take her closer to the center of the great hall. When that path split, she made her choice again by the same logic. The path split two or three more times before Leitha found herself facing a dead end. Panic seized her. How had she become trapped in this maze? She could still hear Odette screaming. She sounded as if she were in great pain. And, there was something else. On the very edge of her perceptions, Leitha thought she could faintly hear a sinister chuckle.

Crossing her arms in front of her face, Leitha threw herself against the wall of books directly before her. The books gave way, allowing her to tumble through them, before cascading down on top of her like an avalanche. She found herself in another corridor, running perpendicular to the one she had just been in. She was close to the center of the chamber now, and the source of the glow that illuminated the room. She pushed through another wall of books, and came suddenly upon the most horrifying scene she had ever beheld.

Odette lay on the stone floor, thrashing about and screaming at the top of her lungs, while she burned alive. Her entire body was engulfed in flames. Leitha wanted to do something – anything – to help the girl, but it was as if she were paralyzed. She tried to move, but not a single muscle would respond. She couldn’t even blink. She watched helplessly as Odette’s hair and clothes disintegrated in the flames, as her flesh charred and blistered. And, amidst the flames, Leitha thought she saw a face – a horrible, grotesque face – laughing mockingly at her.

Leitha awoke suddenly from her nightmare. She sat bolt upright in her bed, gasping for air. The atmosphere in her bedchamber felt unnaturally warm and oppressively thick. For a moment a faint smell of smoke assaulted her nose. She could tell it was already well past sunrise by the way the bright daylight filtered in through the curtains of her windows.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Leitha swung out of bed and began dressing herself. She exchanged her nightgown for a deep red dress and tied up her blond hair in a tight knot at the back of her head. As she washed her face she examined herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red. It was obvious she hadn’t been sleeping much the last couple of nights.