The Witch's Tower, Tamara Grantham [best ereader for academics TXT] 📗

if that didn’t happen?

“Well,” she clapped her hands together, all smiles now that we’d promised to help her escape. “Are you hungry? Let me prepare a meal.”

“We’re starving,” Drekken said. “And terribly thirsty, too. Do you have any elven ale by chance?”

“Elven ale?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps,” she answered hesitantly. “As long as it doesn’t loosen your tongue and cause you to play that ridiculous lute again. Follow me this way.”

“Ridiculous?” Drekken muttered as we followed her around the pile of coins to the far side of the dungeon. An arched stone alcove overshadowed us, and colorful blue tiles decorated this section. A sheepskin rug covered the floor. She sat on it and motioned for us to sit in a circle around her. We sat, though I wasn’t sure what was happening. I didn’t want to be rude, but where was the food?

She cupped her hands, and blue light glowed, growing brighter, illuminating the white feathers lining the outer edges of her gown. As the light warmed us, a spread of assorted meats, cheeses, breads, exotic fruits, and tankards of ale appeared before us. The smell of seared meat made my stomach growl.

“Eat,” she said, motioning to the food. No one argued as we placed food on our platters. Drekken grabbed the tankard, of course. I savored the sweet tastes of honeyed fruit, fresh bread, and tender meat. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I worried the food might’ve been poisoned or tainted with magical spells, but I was too tired and too hungry to argue. Besides, if Odette wanted to kill us, there were easier ways to do it.

“We need to leave soon,” Odette said. “When the sun rises, I’ll be transformed into a dragon. I’ll have to leave the caves again, which means we only have until morning to find the shears and set me free.”

“Where are the shears?” I asked.

“In the palace vaults. Escaping the dungeons will be dangerous. We’ve got to get past the ophiotaurus.”

“Ophio-taurus?”

“Part bull, part serpent. A deadly creature. But…” she glanced at Drekken. “With the help of your lute, no matter how dreadful it may be, we should be able to escape.”

“Dreadful? I beg to differ.”

“Beg away,” she said demurely, then stood, ignoring his glare.

We stood and walked toward a narrow stone-lined hallway. Raj walked beside me, and I felt grateful for his presence.

“It seems like we’re finally getting somewhere,” he said.

“I agree. We’re so close to the shears now. I can hardly believe we’ve made it this far.”

He took my hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad we made this journey together. I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone else.”

I almost had to pinch myself to make sure this was real. I’d never imagined a person making me feel so happy and loved—almost as if he were a missing part of myself that I’d finally found. But what did our future hold?

“Raj, after this is over with, assuming things turn out the way we hope…” I couldn’t finish. I hardly knew what to say anyway.

“Assuming things turn out the way we hope, will we still be together?”

“Yes,” I answered hesitantly, afraid of what the answer would be.

“If we get separated, I will make it a point to find you. I give you my word.”

He smiled, making my heart flutter. I supposed I wanted him to say more—that he would do more than just find me, but even those words gave me more hope than I’d had before.

We walked through a narrow corridor and stopped as it opened into a larger chamber.

“The ophiotaurus is in here,” Odette whispered. “This is the only way into the castle. Elf, get your lute ready.”

He frowned. “My name is Drekken Von Fiddlestrum—not elf.”

“Von Fiddlestrum? You’re from the Malestasian Isles?”

“Was from.”

“You left your tribe?”

“Not exactly. I was banished.”

“Banished?” she asked, eyeing him. “How?”

“That’s a story for another time, isn’t it?”

“Hmm.” She studied him. “I suppose we both have our stories.”

“Yes, that we do.”

They shared a look. Drekken cleared his throat, then slung his lute off his shoulder. He cradled the lute’s bowl, the painting of the flaming skull shining in the firelight as he played a simple tune.

We walked into the chamber. A giant of a beast rested in the room’s center. The muscular torso of a bull took up its front half, and the tail of a rough-scaled serpent comprised its back portion. As we entered, it sat up and snorted loudly. Its eyes widened as it focused on our group. Behind it I spotted a small wooden door.

It shook its massive head, making the ring in its nose jangle. It stood, and its tail slithered around it, coiling. The bull roared, the sound nearly knocking me from my feet.

Drekken continued to play, and I prayed the song lulled the bull. I stepped along the edge of the room, the serpent’s thick body only inches from my feet.

The bull roared again and stamped its feet.

“Drekken, keep playing,” I muttered. I reached the door first and grabbed the handle, but before I could lift the latch, the sound of a string breaking echoed with a sour clang, and the bull roared so loud I was certain to go deaf.

The snake’s body hit my back, sending me sprawling across the floor. My companions screamed as the bull charged them. Raj had his sword out with swift accuracy, and the wolf charged the bull, snapping its jaws around one of the beast’s legs.

My head spinning, I did my best to catch my breath as I sat up, yanked my pack open, and pulled out the first vial I found. I read the label. Siren-song. It would have to do. As I opened the lid, its scream shrieked through the room, catching the bull off guard, and allowing my friends time to run to the door.

The snake’s loops tripped Odette, grabbing her. They dragged her toward the bull’s body. Drekken sprinted to the woman as the bull charged, but the beast knocked him back as it raced toward the woman.

Raj leapt at the bull, stabbing his sword into its hide. The creature bellowed, lashing out and hitting Raj to the ground. Raj got back to his feet in an instant. He unsheathed his knife and jumped at the bull, but the beast charged, nearly impaling Raj with its horns.

The bull reared up and attempted to trample Odette, but Drekken wacked the beast with his lute. The snake’s coils relaxed for an instant, and Odette climbed free. I yanked the door open.

“Run,” I screamed at the others. They raced through the door. I followed behind. As soon as everyone got into the corridor, I slammed the door behind us. We ran through the dimly lit hallway. My heart pounded as my feet hit the paving stones.

We stopped when we reached an open chamber. Breathing heavily, I tried to get my bearings. We stood in a circular chamber with a tall ceiling. Above us, moonlight shone through the blue glass of a skylight.

“Is anyone injured?” I asked, scanning our group.

“Nothing that will kill us,” Raj said.

“My lute’s broken,” Drekken said, holding up two halves of his wrecked instrument.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Can it be fixed?”

“Maybe. But it won’t be easy. If it’s even possible.” He sighed, looking with sadness at the broken wood. “Maybe I should’ve never left the dark lands.”

“Nonsense,” Odette said. “Not enough of our kind leaves the dark lands. You did a brave thing.”

“Brave?” he asked, quirking his lips in a curious expression.

“Yes. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Where do we go from here?” Raj asked.

Several hallways branched from the room where we stood.

“Yes, where do we go?” I asked, my voice quiet, though still echoing. It hit me then that we’d made it back inside the castle, and we were in danger of being discovered by my aunts—who would most likely kill us as soon as they found us. But we had no choice but to get the shears, escape, and do it before they discovered we’d left their dungeon.

“The shears will be in the archives in the topmost tower,” Odette said. “We’ll have to keep quiet. Although the sisters will be sleeping, there’s a small chance they’ll discover us if they’re awoken.”

“How do we get to the topmost tower?” Raj asked.

“Upstairs. We’ll have to find the stairwell. I’ve been allowed inside the castle a few times. We’ll find the stairs through this corridor. Follow me.” She walked to the hallway straight ahead. We followed, walking on quiet feet. The castle remained eerily quiet except for the sounds of our footsteps. The only light came from the windows. Milky white moonlight shone over the crystal cold walls and floors.

We got to another room where a staircase spiraled upward.

“This way,” the dragon lady said, leading us to the stairs. The steps were made of ice and sparkled faintly in the light. I held tightly to the banister—also formed of ice—though the steps weren’t as slippery as I expected.

The ice shone faintly blue, as if lit inside by magic. After climbing past several floors, we reached the topmost point, and stepped onto an open floor with windows ringing the walls. Outside, the snowy mountains surrounded the castle, looking ghostly in the moonlight in front of a backdrop