Wings of Shadow (The Underground Trilogy) (5 page)

As they reached the door, Lord Killian’s voice rang out, “It was a pleasure, as always. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, dear Meghan.”

With the reminder of her continued torture, the tears flowed even harder. Shade and Chaos followed them the short distance to her room. All of that effort to escape, and she had gone only a few feet.

Stepping into her room, she noticed an enormous blazing fire. Kiernan lowered her gently into the armchair. She felt even more trapped by the flames.

He reached for her hand and unwound the linen napkin. Looking at the deep gash, he cursed. He took the strange blue bottle from his upper pocket and spread salve across the wound. The bleeding stopped within moments. Kiernan reached into another pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, gently wrapping the wound. Meghan felt her eyes becoming heavy. She fought to stay alert, but was losing the battle.

Kiernan gathered her in his arms and took her to the bed. She didn’t have the strength to protest. Was it the blood loss or the aftermath of her body being marinated in stress and fear that made her so tired?

The last thing Meghan remembered was the blanket being pulled up around her, and the saddest of voices saying “I’m so sorry” again and again.

~ 4 ~

Meghan felt the lightest brush against her neck, then another feathery caress along the bottom of her toes. The brushing became more intense, tickles spreading from her neck to her toes. Her eyes flew open. The tall boy with whom she had danced the previous night was perched on the edge of the bed, holding a long blue feather that flickered against her left foot.

“Wish?” She clutched the covers, drawing her legs underneath herself. The thumping of her heart distracted her from the light caress of the feather as it touched her neck again. “Stop! Leave me alone!”

He jumped backward with an expression of pure befuddlement. “But tickling is great fun. Why weren’t you laughing?”

“You were trying to tickle me?” She stared at him and then looked away quickly. He was still wearing only those leather breeches, leaving the rest of him very exposed. “Why?”

He leaned forward with the feather, trying to reach her belly. “This morning needed a little silliness, and I was getting bored. What other reason is needed?”

Meghan snatched the feather from his hand. “Not fun at all, when you’ve been attacked, cut open, and bled.” She shredded the feather, little blue fluffs flying across the bedspread.

“Oh,” he said, looking more closely at her neck and wrist. “Well, you needn’t worry about that with me. I’m not a bloodsucker. I’m not even a mosquito. Get it? Mosquito, bloodsucker?” He held out his arms and circled the room, buzzing, then fell to the floor, roaring with laughter.

Her heart slowed a little. She still had no idea who was friend or foe, but she couldn’t imagine the silly, giggling boy as a threat. “You said you were bored. How long have you been in here?”

Wish scratched his head. “Well, I don’t quite remember. You were sleeping when I first came in. And I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a drink of tea, since the pot was still steaming. After that, things began to blur.” He spun around repeatedly.

She needed to keep him focused. “Wish, why are you in my room?”

“I know that answer! I am your knight in shining armor, ready to rescue the poor damsel in distress.” He bowed, losing his balance and falling to the floor.

“Um, don’t knights usually wear more clothing?” She couldn’t imagine him rescuing anything in that state. But her heart had given a little leap at the beautiful six-letter word:
rescue
.

The door opened a crack. A pretty face peeked in. “Hurry! Shade will be back any moment. I barely convinced him to leave his post. The promise of my dance card being his tonight was the only thing that tempted him to fetch me a latte.”

“A song for my Raine: Shade is smitten by the pretty maid; he asked for a dance, looking for romance. When the attention does fade, out will come his blade,” Wish sang, reaching a high note on the last word.

The door opened, and the girl slipped into the room, carefully easing the door shut. Her eyes were fixated on Wish, who still lay on the floor singing. “What is wrong with him?”

Meghan shrugged. “I have no idea. Is he drunk?”

Raine shook her head, her long black hair gliding from side to side. She was the girl from the dance last night and still wore her plum-colored, velvet wings.

“He was sober an hour ago when he came into the room. He is not drunk.”

Raine began to examine the contents of the room carefully. When she came to the teapot, she sniffed it. “Bloody Faeries! They’ve added something to the tea.”

“Poison?” Meghan kept peeking at the door. It was unlocked and so close.

Raine sniffed again. “No, ‘tis some sort of drug. Human-made from the smell of it. The effects should wear off eventually, but we don’t have time to wait. You need to leave now. Shade must be on his way back.”

Meghan felt sluggish. Her mind tried to catch up with the conversation. Raine certainly had an odd way of phrasing things. “Leave? You’re helping me leave?”

“This is the bloody problem. Wish needs to help you escape. He knows the back passages better than anybody.” Her violet eyes widened. “Lord Killian would kill me if he caught me helping you escape.”

“What do I do? Where do I go?” The other side of the doorway, the side that whispered freedom, called to her. Her need to flee was overwhelming.

“Hurry! I’ll get you to the entrance of the hidden tunnel. Wish is going to have to guide you from there.”

They supported Wish, holding him on each side. Once in the hallway, Raine closed the door, latched the deadbolt, and peered down the corridor. Every time Wish opened his mouth to speak, Raine clamped her palm over it. They wove in and out of the maze-like tunnels until they reached an enormous framed painting. Scenes of the evolutions of different species were depicted on the canvas. Raine reached behind the frame, and Meghan heard a small click. The frame swung open, revealing a hatch built into the stone wall.

Wish kissed Raine on each cheek. He opened his mouth as if to sing another song, but Raine pushed him through the hatch before he could make any noise.

Before joining Wish, Meghan turned to Raine. “Thank you for your help.”

“You should be thanking me for the sacrifice I’ll be making tonight. Can you imagine promising the entire night to Shade?”

Meghan threw her arms around Raine, and then peered into the hole. The opening began at knee-level, and she had to stretch her legs as she climbed into the tunnels.

*

The framed picture locked into place, and the weak stream of light pouring into the tunnel disappeared. Feeling around, Meghan found the oil lantern she had spotted moments before the door shut. Books of matches were tied to the bottom, and after a few fumbled attempts, a spreading light encircled her. Stone walls formed a cramped semi-circle, with a dark tunnel ahead. The passageway was low enough that Wish had to crouch, and the ceiling nearly grazed her own head.

“This will make for a grand game of hide-and-seek. Do you think they will find us?” Wish asked, clapping his hands.

“They can’t find us! We need to get out of here without being seen.” She considered leaving him, but knew the tunnels were complex. She grabbed his hand, pulling him behind her.

They moved as quickly as possible, given the tight quarters. As the passageway broadened, she picked up the pace, and fortunately, Wish followed her.

Relief flooded though her. She was really going to escape! She could spend the rest of her trip in London engaged in normal tourist activities.

And then, Wish began to sing. He not only sang, but bellowed the lyrics, which echoed through the tunnel.

She clasped her hand over Wish’s mouth. “Shh! They’re going to hear us.”

He continued singing, the words garbled against her hand. Her mind racing, she stomped on his left foot. It worked. The singing ceased, and Wish hopped around, rubbing his bare toes.

“What did you do that for?”

“Your singing was going to lead Lord Killian right to us. If he catches us, he will kill us. I know it isn’t your fault that you’re so loopy, but you need to focus.”

“No more singing?”

She began moving quickly again, lantern swinging back and forth. “Not now, anyway. When we’re free and safe, then you can sing as much as you want.”

The tunnel dead-ended into another corridor. She paused, looked both directions, and rubbed her hand over her face. She saw nothing to indicate which way she should turn.

Wish hummed to himself.

“Which way should we turn?” She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

He continued humming, swaying from side to side.

Placing her hands on each side of his face, Meghan said, “Wish, I need you to focus. Do you remember which way we turn?”

He didn’t even look. “Of course, the path out always goes to the right.”

“Where does the other direction lead?”

“Why, back to the Underground, silly girl.” He picked her up and twirled.

Megan’s breathing had slowed, and she had only the slightest hint of a stitch in her side. She turned to the right, hoping Wish had chosen the correct direction. He skipped ahead of her, still wearing his interesting turquoise wings. She struggled to make sense of this strange, underground world. Grown people, in costumes, alternated dancing and partying with dangerous games involving weapons and kidnapping.

Wish stopped directly in front of her, causing her to trip. His hand caught her before she fell. She listened, but no one seemed to be coming.

“We need to hurry.” She pulled on him, but he shrugged her off and reached into a rectangular niche near the top of the wall.

“We’d better go in disguise,” Wish whispered, pulling out a bundle from the hole. He dug around further and pulled out a pair of shoes and a large black cape. He donned them and began to skip down the corridor again with the package and lantern. The small circle of light swayed up and down in rhythm to his skipping.

Meghan hurried to reach him. Maybe Wish wasn’t useless. She hoped remembering the hidden clothing was a sign he would remember other important things.

Finally, the passageway opened into one of the large Tube tunnels. Meghan squelched her anxiety and began to make her way along the narrow edge, taking care not to stumble into the gap where the rails ran. Her fingers brushed against the cast iron bands which lined that section of the tunnel.

The metallic smell of the cast iron was so similar to the scent of her blood when it had dripped into the wine glass that she closed her eyes from the sheer force of that memory. Her body trembled, and her heart raced. She pressed against the cold metal wall, trying to force her feet to move, but they remained motionless, her body resisting her mind. A light suddenly shined in her face.

“Wish, get that lantern out of my eyes. I can’t see anything.”

His big hand grasped hers, holding it against the wall. “I’m afraid you aren’t going to like this.” He giggled.

The light shined more intensely, and a strong shaking sensation began, accompanied by an increasingly loud roar. A train zoomed past, so close Meghan could have touched it with a fully extended arm.

“Wasn’t that an adventure? I always imagine a hurricane roaring by.” He planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek. “We simply must have more adventures together!”

Wish continued to discuss new adventures, but she only caught brief snatches, as she focused her attention on not falling into the gap. Light filtered through the tunnel, and they made their way to a barely visible opening.

Soon, she could see a platform lined with people. Wish continued spouting thoughts about sky-diving, dueling dragons, and snorkeling.

She grabbed his arm. “Wish! Look at all the people. You can’t just appear on the other side of the tracks. Aren’t you supposed to be more secretive?”

He scratched his head, paused for a long moment, then scrunched up his nose. The people all moved to the far end of the platform, peering at something underneath a bench, almost as if he had created some sort of illusion.

Grabbing Meghan’s hand, Wish helped her across the gap and over the dangerous rails, while the crowd remained curiously engaged with the bench. They slipped into the station unnoticed. Wish relaxed his face, and the crowd dissipated.

“Did you…?” Her question lingered, and she shook her head. Of course, he hadn’t. The stress of the last two days was finally catching up with her, causing her to imagine things.

Studying the crowd, Meghan didn’t notice anyone from Kiernan’s twisted club. She hoped they had outfoxed Lord Killian.

She turned to Wish. “What now?”

He stretched, yawning, and sat on a nearby bench. “I think I shall take a nap.”

“No, Shade and Chaos could show up at any moment. Where should we go?” She tugged on his arm, pulling him to his feet.

“Train station,” he mumbled with another yawn. “Next Tube.”

Within moments, the next train pulled into the station, and she guided him aboard. “We did it! We left that crazy place!”