Page 131 of Claim the Light
Behind me, the panthers move quietly, but they pull to a quick stop each time I turn to glare at them.
Finally, I reach the door to my freedom. It doesn’t have a handle. It looks like I only have to push it. I’m still gripping one of my wooden stakes and both of my palms are wrapped in the scraps of my mother’s clothing.
If only she were with me right now.
My eyes burn with tears I won’t shed. Grief is not for me, but rage is and I plan on using its heat to avenge her.
“This is for you, Mom,” I whisper, planting my free hand on the door and pushing it open.
I expected to exit the prison into darkness.
Instead, the brightest light streams across me, drawing a scream of pain to my lips. Dropping to my knees, I fling my arm over my eyes, desperately trying to see my surroundings.
All I can make out is an expanse of wood immediately in front of me.
As quickly as I can, I untie my mother’s skirt material from around my palm and wrap it around my eyes, trying to dull the brightness.
It helps, but it’s not a complete fix.
The brush of fur against my lower back and thighs makes me freeze, but then one of the panthers gives a soft grunt. I recognize the female’s voice. The side of her face bumps my knee—at least, I think it’s the side of her face. Then her head presses up beneath my right palm—the hand from which I took Mom’s skirt.
The other three panthers move around me and I’m completely at their mercy as one of them presses against my back, an insistent movement.
I rise up a little and the female rises with me, her head remaining under my hand.
She gives another soft grunt and then moves forward.
I stay where I am, but she comes back to my hand.
“Do you want me to follow you?” I ask, even though I know she can’t answer in my language.
She gives another soft grunt.
I have no other choice.
Around me, the air is so bright that even with the blindfold on, I have to keep my eyes closed. But my ears can hear just fine, and my sense of smell is also helpful to me.
So far, we’re alone in our immediate surroundings, but I sense the presence of other beings somewhere beyond us. The faster I can get out of here, the better.
The panther leads me to the right and then her head pushes upward. I don’t know what she’s trying to tell me until my foot hits a surface in front of me and I find myself sliding my foot upward to figure out what it is.
It takes me a beat to realize… it’s stairs.
Stepping upward, I shuffle forward, keeping my hand on the panther’s head while the other panthers mill around me, their bodies brushing my legs, urging me onward.
I lose count of the steps as we proceed higher and higher, but along the way, I also realize that the air I’m breathing is pure.
Fresh.
It’s filling my lungs for the first time and I fight the dizziness that comes with it, as if this good thing could be bad for me, even though I want more of it.
Finally, I shuffle forward and there is no ledge. I stop abruptly because my toes dip and it feels like I’m standing at the edge of something. I try to open my eyes to see what it could be, but just at that moment, there’s a sound behind me.
An opening door.
A voice. The same female voice I heard through the walls of my cage.
The panthers give urgent snarls.
