by A. W. Exley
So that was her grand idea. After Alice and I crossed back to the main cavern, her minions were going to tear us apart. Another of her plots foiled. If I was keeping score, she was definitely losing. Now it was time for her to lose the entire game, not just one hand.
"No matter, you won't be leaving my domain alive." Elizabeth waved an arm in the air and the vermin within the stone circle shuffled forward.
"But Step-mother, I've come to clean house, just like you wanted me to do."
I picked off the first vermin, the one with its head on backward, and with one swing, sent it back to Hell. The body dropped to its knees and the head emitted a gurgle as it rolled into the dark. Of course it never saw the blow coming; it was looking the wrong way. Arms reached out along the ground but were trodden on by the next vermin to step forward.
"Did they touch you?" I asked Seth as we watched the vermin reform.
He kept his gaze on the decomposing creatures who had once been active members of our community. "No. Apparently Elizabeth was waiting to dispatch you before performing some ceremony that requires me."
I didn't like the sound of that. What exactly were Elizabeth and Louise's intentions toward Seth, and what sort of ceremony? Those questions could be asked once we carved out some time.
Frank kept Alice behind him but didn't help, his attention focused on protecting the woman whose heart he had broken. A machete was impractical for dispatching vermin, though. His choice of blade was made for hacking, and it would take two or three blows to sever a head or limbs. I preferred to stick with Seth as my regular dance partner.
The duke took the other side of Frank and Alice, and swung his claymore to lop the head off a vermin from the far left. If we both worked from the outward edge in to the middle, we would soon have body parts scattered over Elizabeth's court. We would just have to watch out that our ankles weren't scratched by hands recently separated from their bodies and scrabbling in the dirt. Heads rolling around posed a potential problem, but Alice could knock them out of the way with her croquet mallet.
The other creatures shuffled closer together, perhaps intending to overwhelm me. I snorted; the idea was as preposterous as being outrun by a turtle. All the while, the icy damp from our swim crept up my body. I was so cold my teeth ached, but at least the activity would warm me up and dispel the shake in my bones.
I danced behind the wall of vermin and picked off the next one on the end. My blow severed its head, but lodged in the neck of the one standing beside it. I had to pull the sword free as the whole line swung around to face me, which left them exposed to Seth. Hopefully they wouldn't bend in the middle and turn into an angle. A straight line made our work easier.
Louise hissed and narrowed her gaze at me. She took a step toward me as I finished off a vermin with its head dangling by the spinal cord. I kicked the head out of the way, telling myself it was just a squishy football. Elizabeth put out a hand and restrained her daughter. Ah, motherly concern. Louise had no weapon, not that she could use one anyway. I looked forward to slicing off her hands when she tried to slap me. She didn't need arms to be of value to the War Office. Briefly I wondered what was the minimum size I could whittle Louise down to, and still keep her talking for the army lads. A head and a torso?
"You always were a stupid girl, Eleanor. I command a legion of faithful servants who obey my every command. Even if you behead these few, there are many more to replace them. There is no escape." Elizabeth prodded her footstool that had slumped in the middle. The vermin arched its back to raise her feet up again.
Shapes moved in the dim blue light. Clothing rustled, feet dragged over dirt, and the moan developed a questioning pitch. As though the seething mass of shadows detached from the cavern walls and asked a question of its queen, How can we serve you?
Elizabeth ordered her troops to rally to her and vermin shuffled to form a barrier around the stones. In the low light, it was impossible to tell how many obeyed. A hundred? A thousand? Even a slightly-charred victim of the grenade joined the others, holding its still-burning hand aloft like a torch. They were an ocean that flowed from a central point, all the way back to merge with the walls. Just like the thorny plants on the island, I didn't want to stray too close to this hedge.
My hands tightened on the sword hilt and I removed another head. Admittedly, my rescue plan wasn't that well thought out. We had expected to sneak in, grab Alice, and sneak out. We knew it was a trap, which was why we had Lieutenant Bain on standby with more firepower. But we hadn't counted on Louise still being desperate to get her hands on Seth. We formed a triangle with Alice at the centre as we discussed the escalating situation.
"It would seem we have a slight numerical disadvantage," Seth said as he struck out and lopped off a head with his claymore.
I always teased him about that blade. It was ugly and inelegant, but you couldn't argue with its effectiveness.
"I now regret that we didn't send the flamethrowers in first." My gaze was drawn to where the tunnel opened into the cavern. I kept expecting to see Bain and the troops, but then how would they know we needed urgent help? Jack had gone topside to say we needed more time. Only Jake would be able to get a message to his brother, but he had disappeared when we encountered Louise.
"In military terms, we would say the current situation requires a re-evaluation of our plan of action." Seth kept his gaze on the group before us, although we had reduced their numbers by picking off from the outer edges and there were now only seven wedged tight, arm in arm. One brandished someone else's arm, must have gripped too tight and pulled it free of the socket.
"He means we stuffed up," Frank muttered.
We circled, blades extended, ready to remove whatever limb came within our reach. But we were humans locked in an inhuman battle. Vermin didn't sleep, they never tired, and they could simply keep throwing numbers at us until we dropped. How much longer could we keep them at bay? The odds didn't look good. The wave of decomposing bodies pressed closer. Soon they would reach us, and with only three of us wielding blades, they would crash over us and pull us under.
My gaze ran over them, trying not to think of them as men, women, and children but as mindless automatons, mere puppets controlled by Elizabeth. They had no idea what they did … except that one, who had just winked at me.
My mind stuttered and ran back over the wall of bodies. They were in varying stages of decay. Some no more than skeletons wrapped in rags. Others looked more recent. I found the one who winked. He seemed fresher than the others, his cheeks plump as though he had departed life recently.
His appearance was ragged and dirty and his face vacant. I must have imagined it. Then, he did it again. A deliberate, cheeky wink. I scowled and then registered that he wore an army uniform, caked in dirt as though he bathed in a mud puddle—but there, in the middle of the vermin, was Jake.
If he truly could communicate with his brother, then Jack knew we were in a tight spot and, hopefully, Lieutenant Bain and an armed squad were not far away. We didn't have to endure for as long as I had originally thought. All I needed to do was buy a little time and ensure Alice was safe, before all Hell erupted. We still needed to find out what exactly Elizabeth was planning with her legions of undead. World domination seemed obvious, but finding out how would be convenient.
"During your little tête-à-tête, did you happen to find out how she plans to take over England?" I asked Seth in the barest whisper.
"Not yet. She seemed rather obsessed with watching you suffer," he muttered.
"What do you propose, Elizabeth? I thought you still wanted Seth for some purpose," I shouted over my shoulder, to keep her talking while we whispered of our own plans.
Seth shook his head. "Must you remind her of that?"
Elizabeth stared at her black nails. I couldn't decide if she was playing bored or contemplating a manicure. "The duke does have a part to play, so I will humour you just this once. You and Seth stay here, and I will allow the other two to leave."
&
nbsp; Allow them to leave? I expected her to add, if they can. Elizabeth’s offers usually came with a lethal hook. I was no lawyer, but surely I could barter a better deal than that.
Seth struck off another head with a particularly good stroke that sent the removed object flying out of the circle. "We can fight our way out, Ella, we only need to hold them off until Bain arrives and pick at her for information."
"Alice is not a fighter. There must be a way to get her to safety while at the same time letting Elizabeth think she has won." If an all-out battle was about to happen in the cavern, I wanted Alice far away from the devastation. My heart ached with my need to protect my friend. There was nothing I wouldn't do to make the people I cared about safe. Even Frank.
"Safe passage out of here for three, and then you can torture me as much as you like." If I had her alone, she would start talking. Elizabeth loved a chance to rub salt into my wounds. Only if she believed she had won and I was squashed under her heel would she reveal the true extent of her scheme. Personally, I would lay money on her wanting to move into Buckingham Palace.
"No." Seth spoke quietly from my side, his grey gaze turned to flint at my side. "I stay."
"No!" Alice elbowed me in the back. "I'll not leave you here with that evil cow."
"Agreed," Frank said. "We all stay."
"Then you all die, only to be reborn as my devoted slaves." Elizabeth waved her hand, making a circular motion and the outer ring of vermin became to shuffle inward.
The idea of being her slave for all of eternity made my stomach rebel and I swallowed down bile. I'd use one of Seth's grenades to blow us all to tiny pieces before I let that happen. "I accept your offer, if you allow Seth to escort Alice and Frank to the next chamber. Otherwise, we will keep reducing your numbers."
The wide smirk returned to her face as the game turned in her favour. "Very well."
I dropped my katana and let my shoulders slump. I wanted Elizabeth to believe she had victory within her grasp. We needed to play for time and figure out how to capture her in order to learn of the vermin’s true purpose in returning from Hell. I would sacrifice myself if it meant learning how Millicent deMage, Seth, and all the different strands were woven together.
I gripped Frank's arm and looked him in the eye. "Frank, you will take Alice to safety, and for God's sake man, tell her how much you love her."
He pulled me into a brief hug and whispered in my ear, "Don't forget to tell Seth the same."
Then I hugged Alice and brushed a strand of hair from her tear-stained face. "You need to get top side and out of these soaking clothes. There is no point in you surviving this to succumb to flu."
As soon as I said those words, the itch leapt back into my head. I had just stumbled onto something about the influenza pandemic without realising it. I wanted to scream; I needed a couple of quiet hours to unravel all the tangled ideas in my head.
"I can't leave you here alone." Her voice wavered and tears brimmed in her eyes. I could never resist Alice when her bottom lip trembled, but in this, I wouldn't be moved.
"Go. I created this situation, and now I shall remedy it."
Louise stepped forward and gathered up our weapons and then, one by one, skewered a vermin with each blade. The creatures gurgled and then dissolved back into the mass, taking my beloved katana with them. I tried to keep my gaze on the one with the leather bound hilt jutting from its chest.
"I'll want that back later," I promised under my breath.
Seth stroked my face. "I will be back. Then we will end this together."
Louise made a gagging sound and I hoped she choked on her tongue.
Then, the circle of vermin broke into half and then formed itself into two smaller circles. One bubble escorted Seth, Frank, and Alice away from the standing stones and toward the tunnel. The other circle drew tighter around me.
17
I stood alone, surrounded by vermin. Hopefully the others would meet Lieutenant Bain in the smaller chamber and dispose of their undead guard. I tried to remember how many soldiers had emerged from the back of our single truck. Fifteen, perhaps? Not enough to turn this tide, my mind whispered.
Fifteen men had to be enough, because there was no alternative with the rest stationed at the big house. The men could send Alice toward safety and the outside world before they launched an attack on Elizabeth. All I had to do was stay alive until then. Death would not claim me today. I had things left unsaid to Seth, and things not yet done, that I wanted to grab with both hands.
Animated corpses drew closer to me and I shied away. I could use my time pretending I was dicing vegetables in the kitchen, or try and draw more information from Elizabeth. The creatures herded me toward the altar, where they flowed around the pile of stones to surround their queen. They left me standing before Elizabeth and then stepped back.
"Kneel," she said.
My back stiffened and a sharp refusal surged to the tip of my tongue, but I bit it down. We still played our game, and I needed a convincing bluff so she didn't know about the trump card I held. She had to believe herself victorious so she would lord it over me. If I started fighting her, it would distract her attention. As much as it pained me to do it, I knelt.
Sharp rocks dug into knees as I wondered what she would do next. As I waited, my attention wandered to her vermin footstool, unmoving as it crouched on its elbows and knees. It looked fleshier than the others, but I guess one with exposed vertebra wouldn't have been very comfortable on her delicate ankles. Was it a coveted job to be her footstool? Did vermin fight over who got to prostrate themselves at her feet, or did they roll what was left of their eyes and draw straws (fingers?) for who had to do it?
Elizabeth leaned one elbow on a pile by her side that looked like a stack of books being used as an armrest. "Well, isn't this like old times. Louise and I sitting in the parlour while little Eleanor scrubs at our feet."
The old days were gone, and I had removed her taint from our parlour. Elizabeth's words no longer held any power over me, but she hadn't realised it, even after all that had happened. My gaze drifted to the footstool again. Perhaps she intended for me to replace it. I patted my jacket, hoping for a spare grenade and wishing Seth handed me more than one. Blast.
Louise circled behind me, prowling. I half expected her to snap at my ankles like a rabid dog. She was a scavenger, never brave enough to attack herself but waiting for a weakened victim that she could terrorise. I knew how the two of them worked. Elizabeth would throw the direct hits, and Louise would wait to gloat and bask in my pain after her mother had done the hard work.
"What will you make her do, Mother?" Louise moved in and out of my range of vision. At times, her disembodied voice came from behind me. "Scrub the entire cavern floor? Remove all the thorns from the maze? Polish the glow worms?"
The two of them still didn't understand concepts like loyalty. I would do all those tasks if the people I loved remained safe and far beyond their reach. There was nothing I would not do to stop their evil campaign.
"Perhaps make her watch as I claim Seth for myself? I cannot wait to taste his blood," the whisper came from behind.
That made my head snap up, searching for her. I would gouge out my own eyes before I watched her lips touch him. She laughed, a harsh cackle as her barb hit home.
"There is so much to come, so much that you are ignorant about. So much is beyond your understanding." Elizabeth smiled upon me with a cold gesture that patronised as much as her words.
For one moment, my heart stuttered and my mind froze. A nightmare played over and over in my head. What if Elizabeth issued the vermin an unheard command and they turned on Seth, Frank, and Alice? For all I knew, my friends were at that moment being savaged in the unseen tunnel. How would I continue if the Seth I knew never returned?
In that brief, suspended second, I glimpsed the soul-destroying terror of being at their mercy with no escape, and worse, with no hope. Even the sweet embrace of death would be snatched from me with one bite
from a vermin.
A cold shudder restarted my mind and heart, and I drew a shaky breath. I needed to stay away from the dark corners of my mind, they tended to draw me in and reflect back my worst nightmares. Focus, Ella, find out what she knows. Find the missing piece to complete this puzzle.
"If you are so confident of superior numbers, why are you hiding under the Leithfield estate? Why not take your army, march on London, and declare yourself England's true queen?" The words leapt over my lips before I could consider them. I really need to learn to shut up and stop giving her ideas.
The first true signs of life flared in Elizabeth's gaze. Obsidian sparkled as her eyes widened. Then she smiled, the indulgent look of a mother about to explain something to a particularly slow child. To me for once, and not Louise. "A good general always tests his opponent before revealing the full extent of his army. Small sorties allow you to take the measure of resistance and adapt your strategy."
She was stretching her wings, like a chick about to leave the nest. We had found her just in time, before she unleashed her terror upon Somerset. I glanced around and wished for more lanterns, or stands of tree trunks to set alight. I wondered at the size of her army.
At the first small catacomb, the tunnel had split in two. The other branch might lead to another cavern as big as this which held even more vermin, waiting for the order to march. How far did the network of tunnels and chambers run? And how many Turned were there in England? For all we knew, Somerset could be sitting on a monstrous hive that could flood the countryside.
"If you are such a mighty queen, why waste your time with me? Why don't you just kill me or Turn me?" I spat at Elizabeth.
She laughed and waved her hand. "Where would be the fun in that? Look at my subjects. They love and adore me. Their only purpose in cheating death is to serve me. To Turn you would be to offer you the same bliss, and that would never do."
