Page 105 of Apathy
He winced at the tone of my voice and dragged one hand over his face. “You’re gonna hate me, but you need to know before you get out of this room.”
“I need to know what?” I yelled.
“You are not a Blackwood.”
What?
What did he just say?
“That’s ridiculous.” I scoffed. “Of course, I am.”
“No, you’re not, darling. Your mother was a Red Maiden, just like those girls in the forest that got you here.”
“A Red Maiden?”
The sound of something breaking on the floor came from outside of the room, and his head turned toward the source, immediately tensing.
“We don’t have enough time now.” He suddenly turned to me. “But I’ll tell you everything you need to know later.”
“But—” I protested as he stood up.
“Just remember, you are not really a Blackwood. Not that it matters now, but still. It might make this night a little bit easier for you.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Kane?” I asked and stood up after him, slowly regaining my strength.
“Who am I if I’m not a Blackwood?”
“I don’t know, Sky. I know that your mother was killed when you were barely four years old, but that’s all I know so far.” He moved away from me and started heading toward the door. “Just remember.” He stopped. “Don’t fight him.”
“Who?” I asked, but he was already moving away from the room. “Kane!” I ran toward him, only to be intercepted by four ladies in red cloaks. “Get out of my fucking way.” I tried sidestepping them but there was no use. Four of them together were much stronger than me, and in less than a minute, they held my arms on each side, and started leading me through the narrow hallways, illuminated only by the candlelight, flickering over the walls.
We took a swift turn to the left side, entering a completely different hallway.
A hallway whose walls were lined with thousands of skulls, spanning from the ground all the way to the ceiling.
I knew where we were, or at least I knew the stories.
Winworth’s catacombs.
I tried pushing against them, but whoever they were, they weren’t budging. Unlike the girl that entered my room, these four still wore their masks, their hair hidden beneath the hoods of red cloaks.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, hoping I would get an answer, but it never came.
Their fingers dug into the skin of my bare arms, and I was certain that bruises would appear sooner rather than later.
Unless you end up dead, my consciousness reared its ugly head.Maybe they’ll kill you like all those girls before you.
Oh, fuck off.
We soon entered a wide chamber shaped in a circle, where candles lined the floor, showing the path toward the door leading into another room. I heard them then, the voices chanting inside.
Latin I couldn’t understand. Voices I didn’t recognize.
“No, no, no, no.” I thrashed against them, pulling them from one side to the other. I saw stairs on the right side, and if I could just reach them… If I could just run to them… But my body locked down, preventing me from moving any further, when he came into view.
Sinister, unmoving, the golden mask that haunted my dreams and my days. With that black cloak hiding his body, he stood at the entrance, staring at me.
All four of them went down on their knees as soon as they noticed him, while I stood there paralyzed, looking back at him.
