28.

We're simply shadows of the night, swallowed by the forest. My heart thrums in my chest. It's just Elias and me, we can't rely on the others and we're seriously outnumbered. We cannot be seen. A light crawls through gaps in the foliage, staining the earth, inviting us closer to the castle.

Elias leads us, holding his hand up to halt me every few seconds before pressing on. He can move much quicker, we're not that far from the castle, but he's careful. Each step is slow and calculated. He knows which leaves will crunch beneath his feet, which trees won't block his form. His arm is stained red to the elbow and his slender fingers were, only moments ago, holding a heart. He's a lethal predator. And he has his eyes set on the prey.

Elias leads us around the back of the castle, out of view from the front entrance. He crouches down in the shrub and examines the stone castle stretching high above us. It's the side my bedroom was on. The ledge of the window juts out—the window I escaped from twice. If I could get down, I can get myself back up.

Elias gestures for me to crouch beside him. Energy thrums through my body, it's hard to sit still, but I know we have to wait for Eric, Cassia and Malik to cause a distraction—not something big enough to worry about, just something to draw their attention.

Humidity hangs in the night air. The strands of hair that escaped my braid hang at the sides of my face, frizzy from the warmth. Sweat beads at the back of my neck. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Elias fiddling with the dagger sheathed at his ankle. I'm glad we have the shadow with us, but it isn't as reassuring as it should be. Only Elias can use the shadow. I have no defence against immortal hollowers. And they have a vendetta against me. We can't get caught.

"When I tell you to go, start climbing," Elias murmurs, mouth close to my ear. His breath brushes down my neck. "Try to get to the window ledge. I'll wait down here."

I try for a smile, but it's wobbly. "Leaving me to do all your dirty work?"

"Somebody has to catch you if you fall. Unless you'd rather I go up—"

"Wait down here at first," I say. He's right. A fall for him may leave bruise. For me, it could break my neck. I lean forward on my toes, eyeing the castle wall. The stones jut out in uneven patterns, like somebody has poked half of them from the other side, and thick vines choke the towers.

Elias leans forward, eyes narrowed, listening for something I can't hear—Eric's signal. The tension builds in my shoulders as I bounce on my toes, adrenaline raging across my body. Each second ticks by like an hour, the silence filled with tension.

"Now."

I spring off the ground, sprinting to the wall and starting to climb. Moss grows in between the stones where I put my hands, burying beneath my finger nails. The first few metres are easy, the vines are thicker at the bottom, and there are more footholds. I crane my neck to look up; I'm only halfway. My upper arms shake but I press on, body aching in protest. Climbing up is definitely harder than climbing down.

I lift my left foot to another jutted out section, but the stone is covered in moss; I slip, a small yelp escaping my mouth as my nails dig into the vine above my head, my legs flailing around. Before I can fall, I manage to steady myself on another foothold, pressing my stomach against the stone and squeezing my eyes shut before looking down. My body shakes, breath ragged.

Elias looks so far away, his eyes burning through the night, arms out, ready to catch me if I fall. His mouth opens, lips mouthing something I can't hear. I nod. I'm okay. Taking a deep breath, I try again, more careful with my footholds. Finally, I reach the window ledge and heave myself up. Like the hollower said, metal bars have been haphazardly shoved to fit the window frame. They're slightly crooked, made for a more rectangular space, but they're not bolted in. The room on the other side is dark, I peer through. The bed is half made, as if someone has been sleeping in it, but it looks empty.

I look down to Elias and nod. He starts towards the wall, clambering up. Wrapping my hands around the bars, I shove, steadying myself on the window ledge and trying my best not to look down. It budges only slightly, the metal scraping against the stone and making an awful grating sound. I cringe. It's better if I just shove it at once instead of slowly. With one final push, the bars budge. They fly inside the room, clattering against the floor. I freeze at the loud noise, pressing my body tightly to the window frame in case somebody outside the room heard.

By the time I've counted to 10 in my head and nobody has come, I let out a breath of relief and swing myself into the room, careful to avoid standing on the metal bars. The room is almost the same as I left it aside from the unmade bed. But there's something different—a strangeness to the air, an unfamiliar smell. It doesn't feel right.

A hand brushes my shoulder and I jump, turning to face Elias. "Sorry," he murmurs, brushing past me and further into the room. He looks around. "Looks like someone's enjoyed their stay."

He hasn't been here for months, and now that he's finally back, there are intruders in his home. Elias walks over to the closed door, pressing his ear to it.

"Anybody out there?"

He waits a few seconds before responding. "Not in the hall. Let's go."

He pulls the door open quietly. I step through it, into the hall. A hand around my wrist halts me. Elias stares down at me, eyes serious. "Get your dagger out," he says.

I frown. "Elias—"

"They might not all be immortal. Get it out."

I do as he says, gripping the hilt and holding it in front of me. He nods in approval, stepping past me to lead the way. As I follow him, the dagger shakes in my hand. What if we killed the only hollower here who was immortal? Or is Elias right, will there be more like him helping out hoping to get the serum? I'm not sure I want to know the answer.

We move through the hall slowly. In all my time here, the halls were empty and still. Elias, Cassia, Eric and I were the only ones who lived here. Only a few times did I run into people in the halls, and even then, it was usually Bastian or Aaliyah, and on the rare, unfortunate occurrence, Harrison. But this is a different kind of silence, a cloud of tension hangs over our heads, brewing into a storm.

We're on the second floor. The hollower told Elias that the villagers are being on the ground floors—the prisons and the training room, maybe. That makes this more difficult. Both sections of the castle have one entrance and no windows. There's only one way in, and it's guaranteed to be heavily guarded.

I grab Elias' arm as we stop in front of his office door, looking at him with questioning eyes. He nods, I can talk. "How are we going to get to them?"

"There are people on the bottom floor, by the entrance," he whispers. "We'll have to listen, wait for an opening." If we get one.

I nod, swallowing my doubts. I'm about to move forward when Elias snaps, grabbing my arms and yanking me inside the office. "They're coming." He presses his ear against the door, turning back to face me with alarm. "Get in the cupboard."

"What?"

The door handle twists. Elias doesn't wait, he grabs my shoulders and shoves me in the cupboard, pulling the doors shut behind him just as voices fill the office. Low murmurs I can't make out, or maybe that's more due to the fact that all my senses are focused on the fact that Elias and I are pressed against one another. The cupboard wall presses into my back, my front is pressed against Elias' so close my nose touches his chest. I gulp, not daring to look up.

I strain my ears, the voices becoming clearer, muffled by the door and Elias' body.

"They're on their way," a man says, footsteps hammering against the ground. "The whole place is destroyed."

"Send Travis to greet them and update us," a woman responds. Cynthia. Elias' body tenses against mine. His breath brushes the top of my head, hitching slightly. Without thinking, I reach for his hand, intertwining our fingers hanging by our sides. Elias' hand tenses for a few moments before he squeezes mine back.

"Travis has gone to meet the clan coming from the south."

"Then send Gale."

"Gale is... She didn't make it, Cynthia."

There's a heavy pause. I hold my breath, as if they could hear it through the door. In my left hand, the dagger, in my right, Elias. Both feel like they're burning.

Finally, she replies, voice dark. "I'll go myself."

"You can't," the man protests. "We need you here in case—"

"I'll be back before dawn," she says. Something rustles in the office as Cynthia paces around, footsteps dangerously close to the cupboard. I squeeze my eyes shut, resting my head forward, on Elias' chest. His heart hammers at the same rapid beat of my own. "In the meantime, get the prisoners ready for tomorrow morning."

"But—"

"Do we have a problem, Darren?" Cynthia barks.

There's a thick pause. "No."

"Good. I hope everything is in order when I get back."

A few more words are exchanged before the door is opened and they both leave. I finally lean my head back, looking up at Elias. His eyes burn into mine, but before I can say anything, he opens the doors and steps back, creating space between us.

"She's leaving," I say, watching as he paces over to his old desk. "This could be our chance." Elias rifles through the papers on the desk, eyebrows furrowed as he holds one up. I stay standing by the cupboard, my fingers still tingling where they touched his. "What's that?"

"A map of some sort, of where, I don't know." He turns it over, opening his mouth to continue when his face goes white. "Get back in the cupboard."

"What?"

"Someone's coming."

I don't think twice before stepping back in. But Elias is too far away, by the time I've pulled the doors shut in front of me, someone has walked into the room. They huff beneath their breath and I sigh in relief. Elias is hidden. But I'm not so lucky. Before I can blink, the cupboard doors yanks open. A man stands in front of it, eyebrows furrowed in frustration. When he sees me, he leaps backwards three feet before righting himself.

I freeze.

"What the hell?"

Over his shoulder, I can see Elias. He's standing against the wall, peeking out from behind the opened door. The dagger weighs a ton in my hand. I could slash his throat, drive it into my chest, but one thought stops me—if he's immortal, I'll ruin everything. Before I can act, he scowls. "How'd you get out of the prisons?"

He doesn't recognise me.

An idea pops into my head. I curl in on myself, sliding the dagger back into its sheath in my boot, where he can't see, and crumble at his feet.

"P-please, sir," I cry, "I was just hungry. I was looking for some food and I—"

He kicks me in the stomach. I double over, trying to catch my breath and looking up. Behind him, Elias emerges. I recognise the deadly look in his eye. He raises the shadow, inching closer. While the man standing over me inspects his hands, I send a frantic look at Elias, shaking my head. No. He pauses.

"I'm sorry," I choke to the man. "P-please don't kill me."

He grabs my arm and pulls me roughly to my feet, staring into my face. Behind him Elias is poised, ready to attack. I pray he doesn't move. The man drops my arm, a smile spreading across his face.

"I'm not going to kill you," he says, dragging me to the door and throwing me out of the room. He stands in the doorway. "But after tomorrow, you'll wish I did."

In the corner of my eye, Elias stands behind him, the man completely unaware of the deadly presence behind him. "Please, take me back to the prisons. I won't escape again."

He scoffs, grabbing my arm and roughly pulling me away, towards the staircase. My heart thumps, a combination of hope, adrenaline and fear. As we move I glance over my shoulder, Elias stands in the hallway. His expression looks torn—he doesn't know whether to let me go or go for the attack. I nod my head at him. I can do this.

When Elias slinks back into the shadows, lowering his weapon, I feel a mixture of fear and triumph. Because I've been caught, there's a chance someone down in the prisons will expose me, but there's also a chance I'll find Aaliyah, figure out what's going on. I'll have until dawn, when Cynthia gets back, to escape. But the thought that warms my stomach has nothing to do with finding Aaliyah. Elias let me go. He trusts me. And I won't let him down. 

~

DISCUSSION:

1. Do you think Milena's plan is a good or bad one?

2. What do you think Cynthia wants the prisoners to be ready for?

3. What do you think might happen next?

Ah guys one month until Creatures of the Night comes out in paperback. I just got a box full of author copies and cannot stop smiling. They're so beautiful!