Page 62 of A Touch of Poison
Bastian started towards it, but I grabbed his arm. I tapped his shoulders, then pointed out the width of the fireplace—or rather the lack of it. His broad shoulders would never fit, and Elthea had said the box was on a shelf hidden inside the chimney.
He scowled at the narrow opening, but that didn’t make it any wider.
I pressed my hand into my chest and mouthed, “I’ll do it.”
His scowl grew sharper and he shook his head.
But he didn’t have any other choice. I raised an eyebrow and gave him a look.
On the other side of the wall, the Horror dug through rubble. It had to be searching for enchanted objects to feed on. Its rasping breaths came closer, like it was snorting against the back wall.
The purple stain coated my fingers fully now. Was that what it could smell?
We didn’t have long, and I didn’t have enough control over my magic to rein it in—not when I was worried about Bastian and terrified by what these monsters would do if they got hold of us.
I pushed past him and into the soot-streaked fireplace. He made a low sound of protest but didn’t try to stop me. I turned and raised my eyebrows at him. My hips and shoulders just about fit in—he would’ve stood no chance.
Brackets fixed in the wall must’ve once held grates for cooking on, and I made use of them as footholds. Hands braced on the blackened walls, I climbed up.
The narrow space echoed my breaths back at me, making them seem deafening in the darkness. No light filtered through from above—something must’ve blocked the chimney—so I felt my way.
It was an age before my fingers found the underside of a ledge on the front wall, just as Elthea had described. “Found the shelf,” I whispered as quietly as possible.
“Hurry up,” came Bastian’s tight response.
I slid my hand to the edge, but found nothing. Still, the shelf was deep. I reached for another foothold, toe scraping on stone before I found it. My thigh muscles hummed as I heaved up.
A high, clicking call pierced the air. It chilled my bones as my fingers found something smooth.
“It’s caught our scent,” Bastian hissed. “Get out.”
“Hold on. I’m almost there.” Right on the edge of my reach, I couldn’t quite get hold of it. But I had it. Almost. I walked it towards me, inch by inch.
Another call. This one sounded like a question.Where are you, tasty morsels?
“Katherine, we’re going.”
“No.” Just one more inch. “I’ve almost got it.”
The walls around me rumbled. Outside, something crashed. I grabbed the shelf, only staying up because there was no space to topple backwards.
More clicks, then a piercing screech.
I blinked in the darkness, breaths bursting shallow and tight. “Bastian?”
Nothing.
“Bastian?”
Every hair on my body rose. I didn’t dare call him again. Was I safer in the chimney or should I slip out and run? Where was he? Had the Horror got him?
I reached for the box, needing a distraction from the sudden and terrible quiet and images of Bastian being torn apart.
Something grabbed me.
24
Kat
