He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Fifty Two

We began to walk out through the double doors, staying close to the side as herds of people began to rush past us in large groups. We were forced to huddle together as we inched our way out of the ballroom and through the lobby.

Nerissa and Pierre seemed to be doing a grand job at their assigned task, because the majority of the guests were now passing through the lobby and into the front lawns flawlessly. There were a few muffled cries of panic, but there was no more commotion caused by the jolly lady or any of her peers.

The last ones out of the ballroom were Zachery's parents, alongside their guards. I quickly caught a glimpse of them before we turned down the corridor, but that was all it took for me to see how distraught Zachery's mother was. Violet was such a lovely lady from the moment I met her. All throughout dinner, she made me feel welcome and she showered Zachery with affection. I could tell all she wanted was to make sure he was okay, but I presume the protocol for her guard was to forbid this until everything was over.

His father seemed concerned, but nothing in comparison to his mother. I suppose being the King, made it impossible to be able to show your real emotions in public freely. He had to be conscious of his appearance constantly, fairing better by hiding everything behind a strong mask, for risk of speculation and controversy. Watching his father try to console his mother, pained inside without showing it to the world, was like looking at an older version of Zachery.

We were all cautious as we trod carefully across the hallway to where the entrance to the lift was; the entrance to the end of this; the entrance to the fire and evil.

Soon, all of the guests had evacuated the building, leaving the hotel eerily quiet, allowing us to hear our own unsteady breathing. We all noticed the change in atmosphere, which led Giles to turn to us and give us a reassuring nod. No words were spoken, only hand signals indicating to listen, be quiet and move ahead.

As we got closer to the lift, the silence was extinguished by the faint crackling of fire. The roaring of the flames was still very much contained within the basement, however, this building was old, so I wasn't entirely sure how long it would stay that way.

I could feel the rising heat as we reached our destination, not only from the fire's feverishness, but from the blood rushing to my head at what I saw.

Everyone stood there in the same paralysis as I did. I could hear the blood thrashing in my ears, ringing in pure agony as I turned to look at Zachery, who wore a horrified expression amongst his flawless features. Giles, on the other hand, looked as if he was handed a challenge, to which he gladly accepted.

The lift was at our floor already, and it was empty.

Where have they gone? Where could they go? I thought to myself. Jared and Jeremy had unfinished business, and from what I have understood of those two gruesome creatures is that they would do anything to achieve their goal, no matter how brutal.

I was screaming inside. My chest was heavy and full of anxiety, no matter how hard Zachery was squeezing my hand. I felt that it was his way of consoling me as well as steadying himself.

"I have an idea of where they may have gone." Zachery suddenly and unexpectedly announced.

Unfortunately, I had the same idea, and I didn't like it.