Shadowcry - By Jenna Burtenshaw Page 0,38

but I know how much you would like to kill me if you could. You could take your revenge against me, right here and now, but you know what will happen if you do. Without me, the blood within your veins will slow and die. Your body will wither and what is left of your soul will be sealed inside your rotting bones, unable to live and forbidden to die. Your world will be silent. Your name forgotten. My wardens will bury your worthless body where it will never be found, and the only battle left for you to fight will be against the worms as they slither upon your skull and feast upon your eyes.”

Silas stood unflinchingly before her, neither of them willing to give the other an inch.

“You already know that there are far worse punishments than a simple death,” said Da’ru. “The half-life of the veil is a torturous place, and immortality lasts a long, long time.”

Silas glanced in Kate’s direction, just once, so quickly that she might not have noticed it. He relaxed his shoulders a little, and the tension in the room lifted as it looked like he was about to back down.

“Return to the chambers,” he said to Da’ru. “I will deliver the girl. Assemble the council and tell them we shall perform the first procedure tonight.”

“The council does not waste its time upon empty promises. She should be ours already.”

“Leave her to me,” said Silas, bowing his head a little and taking a small step back. “Trust me, my lady. Everything is going according to plan.”

Kate backed away from the door. Silas knew she was there! But she couldn’t leave. Not with Edgar still somewhere in the building. She ran as softly as she could back between the display cases. The boy was searching upstairs; he mustn’t have found Edgar up there. Then she remembered the footsteps in the cellar. The second door was still hanging open, waiting for her.

The steps beyond were tight and cramped, leading down into a huge dark space broken only by pillars that held the main floors up. Sunlight crept in through flat windows squashed against the ceiling, but it was still too dark to see anything near the middle of the room. Kate followed the wall, staying close to the light, and walked past high tables stacked with specimen jars; some empty, but most sickeningly full. There were birds, frogs, fish, spiders, beetles, and flies, all dried and pinned to stands inside the green glass, or drowned in thick choking liquid that kept them preserved against time.

Something rattled on the other side of the enormous room.

Kate froze.

“Edgar?”

Her whisper was lost in the darkness.

Stuffed birds hung down from the ceiling and old feathers covered the floor, their spines crunching beneath her feet as she followed the edge of the table toward the noise. Then the sound came again.

A line of doors was set into one of the longest walls. They looked like storage cupboards, each one hooked shut upon a rusted latch, but one of them rattled hard as she made her way toward it. A length of wire jutted out of the space between the door and its frame, and Kate could hear someone talking to himself on the other side.

“Edgar?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

“Kate?”

Kate unhooked the latch, the door swung open, and Edgar—who had leaned against it to listen to her voice—flopped straight out onto the floor.

“Ow! You could’ve warned me!” he moaned, trying to stand up. His wrists were tied behind his back, and Kate knelt down to free them. “How did you know where I was?”

“Shhh! They’ll hear you.”

“Silas . . . left me in there!” said Edgar. “I was almost out, though. That latch would’ve given in eventually.”

“We have to get out of here,” said Kate, helping him up. “It’s not just him anymore. There’s a woman here. I think it’s the councilwoman. She’s right upstairs.”

“Da’ru is here?”

Kate clamped a hand over his mouth. “Yes. Not so loud. I know the way out. So just follow me and keep quiet.”

Edgar nodded and she let him go. “Lead the way,” he whispered.

Kate followed the tables back toward the cellar steps, trying to ignore the eerie faces of the dead creatures glaring out at her from the jars. The silence was frightening, and she was just about to say something to break it when Edgar grabbed her arm.

“Kate,” he breathed. “Stay still.” But it was too late. Kate looked over to where the steps