Stolen Songbird

Page 2

I jammed my spurs into Fleur’s sides and she reared, hooves striking out and knocking away Luc’s hand. “Hah!” I screamed and plunged down the road at a gallop. Sensing my terror, the horse ran faster than ever before, ears pinned back. But Luc’s stallion was bigger – if I kept to the road, he’d catch us easily. A game trail appeared ahead, and I swung down the path.
Branches tore at my hair and skirts as we leapt over fallen trees and crashed through the underbrush. I let the mare have her head, concentrating on staying low and keeping my seat. Behind us, I heard the big horse’s hooves thundering against the ground along with Luc’s curses and vile threats. We were nearing the Girard farm. Ahead, the break in the forest was visible, and beyond lay their fields. “Chris!” I screamed, knowing I was still too far for them to hear me. “Jérôme!”
A glance behind showed Luc in fast pursuit. He was near enough for me to see the fury written on his face. I could not let him catch me. I would not. Then a branch smashed across my chest, launching me backwards. Fleur disappeared from under me and I was falling, my eyes fixed on the sun filtering through the green leaves of the trees.
Then, nothing.
CHAPTER 2
CéCILE
A grey-furred foreleg was all I could see when I opened my eyes, my body bouncing up and down with the trotting motion of a horse. The pommel of a saddle dug painfully into my stomach and my head felt like a hundred angry giants were trying to hammer their way out. Where was I?
I squirmed, but I couldn’t move far. My hands and feet were bound to the horse, my mouth gagged.
Luc.
Terror surged through me like water through a broken dam, and I thrashed and jerked about, trying my hardest to get free. The stallion shied sideways and I caught sight of thick forest.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Luc’s voice was companionable, as though we were out for a ride in the park. “He has the unfortunate habit of going over backwards when he spooks, and that wouldn’t go well for you.”
I froze.
“You’re probably wondering where I’m taking you. I’d love to say, but unfortunately my associates have placed a number of restrictions on me.”
Tears of frustration ran down my forehead as I painfully craned my neck to look up at him. He smirked and patted me on the bottom. “You didn’t really want to go to Trianon anyway, did you? The stage girls are all just highly priced harlots, and you never struck me as that sort of girl. Better suited to the Hollow than the big city.”
My head dropped, and I rested my cheek against the horse’s shoulder. Bile rose in my throat and I struggled to keep my stomach contents down. If I threw up while gagged, I’d choke on my own vomit. Think, Cécile! Think!
“Here we are.”
He dismounted, and I stared at his hands as he untied the knot binding me to the horse. When the tension on my legs gave, I kicked out hard, catching him in the face.
“Damn you!” he howled.
I slid to the ground, landing with a thud. Seconds later, a boot caught me in the ribs, flipping me over. I yelped against the gag, my gaze fixed on Luc’s bloody face. My wrists and ankles were still bound – the best I could do was roll into a seated position.
“You can make this easy, or you can make it hard,” he hissed, wiping his nose with a filthy handkerchief. “Either way, you’re coming with me.”
“Where?” I managed to make the word audible around my gag.
He jerked a blood-smeared chin forwards and I looked over my shoulder. Forsaken Mountain loomed menacingly above us. Its glittering southern slope was sheer as a knife slice through butter, the broken half a crumbled slide of rock stretching down to the ocean. I felt my eyes widen. Old men always talked about treasure troves of gold lying beneath the fallen rock, but they also said the mountain was cursed. Treasure hunters had a way of disappearing when they went poking in amongst the rocks and, for every story concerning a man gone missing, ten more speculated on those who’d taken him.
Luc left me gaping at the mountain while he led the horse over to a rough wooden paddock. I clawed at the knots binding my ankles, but they were tight and my fingers were numb. Luc was unsaddling the animal now, distracted. I tried to crawl on knees and elbows, but quickly realized it was a waste of time – I couldn’t move fast enough and my legs left obvious marks in the dirt. Crouched on my knees, I reached up and pulled off my gag. Taking a deep breath, I screamed, my voice thundering down the mountainside. The horse squealed and leapt away from Luc, galloping to the far side of the enclosure. I screamed again, praying there would be someone near enough to hear.
Luc sprinted in my direction, but I managed to howl for help one last time before his fist caught me in the cheek. I toppled backwards and he grabbed my dress, hauling me upright and hitting me again. My face throbbed, my vision hazy.
“Quite a set of lungs on you!”
I tried to crawl away, but he snatched up the rope binding my legs and dragged me down a slope, my skirts riding up around my waist. Sitting on my bare legs, he unbound my ankles and retied the rope to one of them. Then he flipped me over and untied my wrists, leaving them free.
“You need to be able to swim. It’s the only way under the mountain.” One hand grasping the bodice of my dress, he tore it down the front, brushing aside my arms as I attempted to fight him off. “Don’t worry, Cécile. They were specific that your virtue remain uncompromised.”
“Who?” I demanded. “Who are you talking about? Where are you taking me? Why are you doing this?”
He shook his head. “You’ll learn soon enough.” Taking hold of the rope attached to my ankle, he hauled me into the icy pool of water lying at the base of the rocks. I had to start swimming or risk drowning. My breath came in great heaving sobs, my terror building to the point I thought I might drown myself and save Luc the trouble. He must have noticed as much, because he swam back and snatched hold of my arm.
“Pull yourself together, Cécile! I didn’t drag you all the way up here so you could cry yourself to death. Now on the other side of this rock is a cave. To get inside, you must swim down about four paces and slip under the edge of the rock. Do you think you can manage?”
“This is madness,” I croaked.
Luc dove beneath the surface. I barely had the opportunity to take a deep breath before the rope binding my ankle jerked me under. The rock was slimy under my hand, and seemingly endless. I swam hard, the rope slack enough now that I could kick. Where Luc was, I couldn’t say. What I did know was that his grip would keep me down here until I found the opening or until I ran out of air.
Bubbles trailed from my lips, floating freely to the surface. My lungs burned, desperate for breath. My heart hammered faster and faster. The pressure of the water overhead built until my ears popped. Then the rock disappeared, leaving me disoriented and grasping about in the darkness.
I found the edge of the rock. But as I slipped underneath, the water thickened like glue for a moment, holding me in place for precious seconds. My skin tingled as though I stood on the top of a mountain in the middle of a thunderstorm, lightning crackling down all around. Shuddering, I struggled through and pressed upwards.
The rope pulled hard on my ankle, flipping me upside down. Hands grabbed hold of my wrists and my head broke the surface. I sucked in sweet life-giving air. The darkness was absolute. Grasping about, I found a rock protruding from the water and I clung to its slick edges, afraid to let go.
I felt the icy cold of the water on my body and the rough stone beneath my fingers, smelled the stagnant damp air, and heard the faint splashing of Luc as he paddled towards me. All my other senses combined seemed insignificant compared to the loss of sight. I shivered, waiting.
“Are you all right?” Luc’s voice broke the silence.
“No.”
Tension radiated between us and I cursed every decision I’d made that had led to this point. If only I’d galloped straight home, or fought harder, or had bloody well watched where I was riding, then maybe I wouldn’t be here.
But I was here. And a morbidly curious little part of me wanted to know why. “You owe me an explanation,” I said.
“Aye, I reckon I do,” he said. “But first let’s have some light.”
I listened as he scrambled out of the water, fumbling around in the darkness. Then the sound of a flint being struck and the faint glow of flame, as welcome to me in that moment as a hand plucking a drowning sailor from stormy waters. Carefully, I climbed out of the pond and made my way towards it. Luc held a burning splinter to a storm lantern. When the wick caught, he turned it up high, illuminating the cavern with its blessed glow.
We were in a small cave of sorts, rock encasing us on all sides. Apart from the watery entrance we had come through, the only exit was a dark tunnel leading away from the water. There were no signs of treasure, gold, or of anything other than a pile of supplies and the lantern, which Luc had obviously brought on a prior occasion.
“Well,” I said, wrapping my arms around my icy body. All I had on was a shift and boots, and the damp fabric concealed uncomfortably little. I hadn’t truly expected him to answer, but Luc had always been excessively proud of himself, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when he did.
“Of course, of course.” He leaned closer to me, the lamp casting shadows on his face. “It is the most incredible of things. I’d scarce believe if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
“Get to the point, Luc!”
He laughed as though something I’d said was beyond amusing. “You never did appreciate a good tale. So, fine, I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve found the lost city of Trollus.”
Silence hung between us for a long moment. I certainly hadn’t expected his motivations to have anything to do with a mythological city. “Do you think this is some sort of jest or have you lost your mind?” My voice echoed through the cavern. Mind… mind… mind… mind… We both flinched and looked about uneasily.
“The city wasn’t lost, Luc. Trollus was buried by half a mountain worth of rock.”
“Aye,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Buried, but not destroyed. At least not completely.”
“Impossible. Nothing in this world is strong enough to withstand the weight.”
“That is the best part.” He leaned closer to me. “Just like in the stories: they’ve been living here under the mountain this entire time!”
“Who?” I asked, afraid but desperately wanting to know.
Luc’s eyes reflected the orange glow of the flame, and he licked his lips, relishing the moment. “The trolls, Cécile. They’re here!”
“Fairy tales,” I whispered. “Stories told to scare naughty children.”
Luc laughed. “Oh, they’re plenty real and plenty monstrous. And happy enough for us humans to think they’re shadows in the night. Keeps people from troubling them and trying to steal their treasure.”
“Treasure.”
“Aye. Chambers heaped with gold and jewels.”
“If they dislike humans, why would they let you anywhere near their wealth?” I asked, discreetly taking stock of my surroundings. The pool lay directly behind me. If I caught Luc off guard and managed to get into the water, I might have a chance. I could hide in the trees until nightfall and then make my way to the farm, if my father didn’t find me first.
“His Majesty showed me during our… negotiations.”
“His Majesty?” With a maniacal laugh, I leaned back on the palms of my hands. The stone floor was sloped. If I threw my weight backwards, I’d roll into the water. “I didn’t realize trolls had royalty!”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “They are the ones who purchased you.”
I gasped. “For what?”
“With gold,” he said, mistaking my question.
“What do they want with me?” I whispered.
Luc shrugged. “With what they agreed to pay, they can throw you in a cooking pot for all I care.”
Because according to the fairy tales, that was what trolls did. Put you alive into a pot of boiling water and then gnawed your flesh until all that was left were bleached white bones.
I clawed my way back towards the pool, my fingernails tearing on the rocks. All I could think about was that I was being marched towards the most horrific of deaths. Nothing Luc could do to me could possibly be worse than being eaten. I struggled with single-minded purpose towards the pool, but Luc had a tight grip on my leash and I was no match for his strength. “Help!” My voice echoed off the water and the rock until it seemed I had a dozen doppelgangers, all of them taunting me with the futility of my screams.
Luc slapped me hard. “Shut your mouth, or I’ll gag you again.” One finger pointing towards the glowing lantern, he said, “Pick that up, and start walking.”
Hands numb with a cold that was far more than skin deep, I followed Luc’s order.
What I had thought would be a straight walk into the deep was anything but. Instead, a labyrinth of tunnels, crevices, and dead-ends lay beneath the mountain of stone. The floor was an uneven carpet of boulders and rocks, riddled with cracks that could break your ankle or swallow you whole. I took each step with caution, a kidnapper at my back, and the risk of a broken neck at every turn. My shift clung to my body, refusing to dry in the damp darkness and providing nothing in the way of warmth. The light from the storm lantern shivered along with me, casting strange shadows on the rock and setting my heart racing until I was convinced it would beat itself out of my chest.
At each intersection countless rough markings were carved or chalked on the stone. Some were clearly directions or warnings, but others were meaningless symbols. Logic crept past my fear, and I knew that if I had any chance of escaping, I’d need to know how to find my way.