He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Forty Eight

"You won't get away that easily!" Jared bellowed from somewhere not too far behind us.

"Especially when you two are the main prize!" Jeremy greedily added, making his presence known as usual.

The hallway seemed a hell of a lot longer now than when we first came down here and it was proving difficult running in a floor length ball gown to say the least. I held as much of the train up with my bloody hand as I could, whilst still holding on to Zachery's with the other.

"Keep running Audrey Rose! We're almost there!" Zachery tried to reassure me through rugged breaths as we were approaching the steps I still couldn't quite believe this part of the hotel existed, right underneath the laundry room. I have lived here for so long, explored every last bit of this building, but this place was the true mystery at Hotel Victoriana.

The scent of the fire was beginning to fill the air, burning my nostrils with each inhale I took. The smoke was beginning to become noticeable too, as it glided elegantly across the floor and danced around us, brushing our senses.

We got to the steps which brought us down here and I could see that the hidden hatch door was still open, presumably from when Zachery came down here. This would save us time, as Jared and Jeremy were gaining on us fast. We bounded up the steps two at a time, with Zachery lunging through the hatch in an instant so that he could assist me afterwards.

"What do we do?" I asked, not knowing the answer I wanted to hear from him. I knew that for us to stay alive, we had to close the hatch, but with that came the inevitability that the fire would spread much too quickly for Jared and Jeremy to have a fighting chance of getting out alive. I knew they didn't deserve it, but I couldn't bring myself to sentence them to their deaths down there.

"We close the hatch-" Zachery began.

"What?! And leave them down there?" I interrupted, too soon it would seem.

"As I was saying... We close the hatch, get out of here and get some help to extinguish the fire and restrain those two. How does that sound to you, Kitten? Or do you need time to think about it?" His sarcasm cut through me, reminding me of how little time we actually have, and I'm wasting it. His eyes were soft and understanding, but I knew that he was getting impatient.

"Yes, of course." I admitted in defeat as we closed the hatch and locked it tightly. The moment we did that, it was like the world had been lifted up off of both our shoulders, and we were finally able to breathe a little easier. Apart from the smoke fumes lingering around in my lungs.

We were safe from them. For now at least. Right now we had to go get help, from anyone who was willing to listen to the ridiculous story we were about to tell. Who is going to believe us? What gives us any more credibility than Jared, a long standing royal guards, and Jeremy, the King's youngest son?

"Who do you trust?" I asked, trying to hide the concern from my voice as best I could, when all I was thinking about was whether anyone would listen, and whether they would think it was us...

"You. And Giles. But I prefer your company, to be honest." Zachery spoke very matter-of-factly, still being able to add in some flirtatious banter, even on the tight time scale that we were. Maybe it's a nervous coping mechanism for him; all I know is that he put my racing mind at ease, and manoeuvred the nerves into my stomach instead. Damn this man.

"I trust Nerissa and Pierre. So we have three people who will believe us and help. Nerissa and I can attempt to put out the fire, and you boys tackle the men down there, how does that sound?" I offered as we were approaching the lift. We may not have much time, but we had enough time that we didn't need to run everywhere now. Thank God. No body in the history of the earth has ever been able to adequately run in a ball gown. Let alone escape a secret basement on fire. I guess I'm definitely one of a kind then.

"We can discuss the logistics of the plan once we have recruited the others. I don't feel entirely happy with you and Nerissa alone with a blazing fire, in highly flamable clothing..." He spoke as he trailed his eyes up and down my dress, cheeks beginning to gain more colour. "You're welcome to take it off for the heroic event though, how does that sound?" He finished, as the corner of his lip began to curl into a devilish grin.

I tried to keep a straight face, but I was losing the battle as I could feel the dimples begin to appear at the corners of my lips. "Thank you, but no thank you." I said with impeccable manners, raising my eyebrows and fluttering my eyes at him as I walked past and opened the lift gate. We needed to get out of here, to somewhere safe, and somewhere where us two are not alone in the dark light...

Zachery chuckled and wiped the perspiration from his brow with his palm. Even after being down in this hell-hole, he still looked a vision. My thoughts were cut short, as whilst we were closing the lift doors, we heard a crash which sounded like cracking wood, then excessive coughing which followed.

Finally, we saw them. Jared and Jeremy staggering out of the laundry room, trying their best to get to us before the lift set in motion.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Zachery held his hands behind his head, pacing back and forth in the small space.

"Come on!" I joined in, stamping me feet on the floor of the lift, spinning around aimlessly and pulling at the bars like a child who was having a temper tantrum. I was powerless.

Again.