He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Thirty Five

If it wasn't for Pierre, Nerissa would have never of given up with her interrogations. Luckily for us, Pierre was slightly more easy going, and realised that now was probably not the best time to do so. Nerissa meant well, and was excited for what she saw, but I was still processing the evening myself. So, when she was asking question after question, I simply couldn't answer in words, only smiles, which made her ask more questions.

Once Pierre twirled Nerissa around under his arm and began to whisk her away somewhere, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and holding her close; Zachery gave him a small but appreciative nod, indicating his gratitude for the freedom.

I couldn't decide whether I should say something to Zachery about the kiss, or whether I should just carry on as if it didn't happen. I chose the latter of the options, purely because the lobby was filling up pretty quickly and I still wanted to explore a little, before the event begun.

Tonight was a night where Zachery had some degree of freedom around the hotel. The doors were guarded at all times, with only those who had an invitation allowed to enter, along with the staff. This meant that his guards weren't having to follow him everywhere constantly, as there was a supposed safety in this royal event. I believe that Giles would be sitting with us for dinner in the ball room, but until then, he could walk around freely without being watched. This meant that this would be our only chance to have another look at the hidden entrance in the laundry room - and tonight it would most definitely of been used.

"Shall we go have another look downstairs whilst we have a spare moment?" I asked Zachery, not really intending for him to answer, as I had already made up my mind for the both of us. He reverted his gaze back to me and cocked his brow, seemingly lost with what I said.

"Is that code for something else? Or are you genuinely wanting to go back there, right now? Oh, I do hope it was code..." He sighed as if lost in his own thoughts, knowingly glancing down to me waiting for a reaction to his crude joke.

"Shall we get the important stuff done first, then see what happens, eh?" I said, intentionally trying to feed his ego to see his startled reaction. I wasn't disappointed. His face went from classic Zachery smugness, to completely baffled.

"Did I just hear that correctly?" He asked slyly. "That sounded like a promise, to me..." He added in a husky whisper, sending a shiver down my spine. I couldn't control how he made me feel, even though I didn't want him to have this effect on me, he truly does.

"Come on, let's go before it gets too late!" I instructed, quickly changing the subject, for fear of enjoying it too much. We have a purpose for tonight, I can't let either of us be distracted, as that could potentially cost mine or Zachery's life.

Zachery did not try to antagonise the situation further, and allowed my change of subject smoothly. He followed me as I led him towards the hallway which led to the rickety old lift; the rickety old lift that always led us to eerie encounters and leaving us feeling uneasy. There was silence between us as we walked but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence in the slightest. We just both knew that we were heading towards something that would leave no other option than to speak, so we were making the most of this peaceful moment. Even if it was tainted with the suspicion of what was ahead.

Just like before, he opened the shutters for me to enter first, before following me in and closing them, causing a rusty screech to echo around us. It was as dark as ever, with only the candles lighting the space between us. I was concious of my gown, not wanting to get it dirty from all of the dust down here, as I was not about to waste nearly seven hours of getting ready, for it to be ruined by the basement. Luckily, the warm amber light emanating from the candles showed the glistening gown still completely in tact, no dirt to be seen.

I don't know what we were expecting to find down in the basement tonight, but I had a feeling that we had to check it out before the night fully began. We could maybe see if that trap door had been used today, or if there was any more blood like Zachery said there was before.

"Are you ready for this, Kitten?" Zachery said, through the clambering sounds ricocheting off of the metal shutters and hollow cave around us.

"Depends on what we find, really. I can handle most things, unless it will ruin my dress. That's a big no no this evening. If whatever we find will ruin my dress, unfortunately you're on your own, pal." I replied, manipulating my reoccurring nerves into awkward humour.

"Good to know. Thanks for the warning." Zachery rolled his eyes and smiled, which lit up the dull lift entirely, making everything glisten just like the jewels on my dress.

We reached the basement and both stepped out, looking around the silent and still hallway. It was just as bleak as it usually was, still as cold and still as messy. I took a deep breath in through my nose, filling my chest out with as much oxygen as I could manage. I began to walk towards the laundry room softly, trying not to disturb anything that may or may not have been down here, whilst keeping my distance from anything remotely dusty, which was practically everything. I resorted to holding my skirts up just above my feet so that it didn't drag across the floor, I was getting slowed down by stumbling over the sheer length of the dress as well as simultaneously trying to divert it around all of the obstructions.

When we reached the laundry room, we stood outside and listened before opening the door. It was silent, other than the regular pipework noises through the walls. I opened the door as normally as I could, without too much hesitation and without too much haste. I thought that if I acted normal, everything inside would be normal. If anyone was in there, I could justify my presence. Never mind the fact I was wearing an extravagant ball gown.

Zachery was right beside me, mindfully looking around, inspecting everything around us. His mind was so quizzical, always wanting to know the answers.

We both peered in to the dark laundry room that was now entirely in view. I'm not sure what we found was the answer Zachery was looking for however. It was quite the opposite. I was looking for answers also, but not like this.

There we both were, frozen in time. We couldn't go any further into the room. We wanted to look at whether the trap door had been used since we were last in here, but what we found was so much worse. We didn't even need to enter the room to see the remains of what must have been a brutal struggle. The shelves which held the laundry were mostly knocked over, with sheets flung all across the room as if they had angered someone.

This wasn't the concerning part. What stopped us both dead in our steps, was the fact that every one of the white sheets that were held in this room... Were now completely covered in blood. Dry blood that was almost black, as well as fresher blood, that was a bright crimson.

"Zachery, we need to go. We can't stay down here... With this..." I tried to speak normally, but it came out more like the squeak of a mouse. He held me in response, holding my hand firmly as we began to head back.

"Come on, quickly." He said as he began walking faster back towards the lift. I was doing a speed walk just to stop myself being dragged along. My heart was pounding and my breath was getting more strained as we finally reached the lift. The hallway itself was not that long, but after seeing all of that blood, it seemed like the lift had moved to the other side of the hotel.

We rushed into it and closed the shutters as quietly and quickly as we could manage, before setting it in motion. We waited for the lift to begin to move, with it murmuring into action slowly. We were holding our breath, when the lift finally began to get itself into gear and hoist itself upwards. We were on our way back upstairs and far away from that massacre.

Then, there was a loud smack of a door being slammed shut. I knew that sound. It was the laundry room door.

All the colour drained from my face. My blood went ice cold. My breathing stopped. Zachery saw my face, and knew exactly what that meant.