Forsaken (The Night Children, Volume 1)

Chapter 13

“Hello? Cain?” she called, feeling panicky and alone. Her voice echoed through the silence, and there was no response, no sound of anyone coming to her rescue. Had Cain sent her out here? If not, surely he’d seen what happened- he’d been standing directly behind her! “Can anyone hear me?” she tried again. When there was once again no response, she decided to take matters into her own hands and began walking, only managing to travel a few feet before she heard a soft, rhythmic thudding, like feet running swiftly on soft turf. Spinning around, she saw a girl barreling towards her. As she drew closer, she realized that it was a young woman, no older than twenty-two or twenty- three. The woman carried two small bundles in the crooks of her arms, taking care not to jostle them. Astra called out to her as she passed but the woman didn’t seem to hear or see her, because she kept on running, black hair flying whipping out behind her like a flag. Deciding that her best bet in getting out of the trees was to follow someone who at least looked like they knew where they were going, Astra took off after her.

Amazingly not out of breath, she managed to follow the woman out of the woods and was surprised to find herself back in the courtyard of the mansion. Trailing behind the seemingly oblivious woman, they approached the front door. Astra held her breath as the woman knocked softly on the door, expecting her brother to open the door, furious at her for disappearing. Moments later, the door slowly crept open to reveal a shadowy figure, but Astra was ripped away from the scene before she could see their face.

“You okay?” Cain asked amusedly. “Spaced out for a minute there, didn’t you?”

Astra blinked at him, clearing her blurry vision. “Wh- What just… never mind.” She didn’t know why, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him what she’d experienced. Stepping out of the shadows of the house, she suddenly felt woozy, tipping over into Cain’s grasp.

“Whoa, you must be really tired,” he said, letting her lean on him as he guided her back inside. “Lie down and try to rest a bit. I’ll come get you when your Gaidrian comes back, I promise.”

Astra mumbled something incoherent, and drifted off breathing in the warm scent of him, dust, and old silk fabric.

When Astra was shaken awake, the first rays of light were peeking through the curtains. As her eyes adjusted, she found herself looking in the face of a ghastly, decrepit-looking old man. Before she could register what was going on enough to be alarmed, the old man smiled gently. “Master Gaidrian is waiting for you in the library. Follow me when you’re ready- I’ll wait just outside the door.” He added the last part matter-of-factly, like he had been warned that she might run away. After he’d stepped out, she pulled herself stiffly out of bed, mindful not to knock the still sleeping Runt off the bed. Since she hadn’t undressed the night before, she just strolled out the door and followed the elderly man down the stairs. “You’ll have to excuse the mess,” he said apologetically as she coughed from the cloud of dust that her hand swept up on the staircase railing. “I’m far too old to keep the place up like I used to, and the Master of the house won’t trust anyone else.” He didn’t offer any more information, and she decided that it was best not to ask, so instead she followed him until they made it to the library where, sure enough, Gaidrian was sitting splayed across a velvet armchair.

“There you are. Come sit, we have a lot to talk about” he said simply. Turning to the old man, he added, “Thanks Alfred.”

“My pleasure Master Gaidrian.” With that, he turned and took his leave.

After a moment, her brother patted the chair next to his, indicating that he wanted her to sit. Once Astra was settled, he sighed dejectedly.

“You probably hate me right now, huh?”

“Well, I’m not exactly pleased about the way you’ve been treating me,” She admitted, sinking down a bit in her chair, unused to being able to speak her mind and actually have someone listen.

He nodded and bit his lip nervously. “I know and I’m sorry, but I had to keep you safe. I just got you back, I wasn’t about to let them take you.” Astra’s gaze softened, but before she could verbally forgive him, Ian stood up, extending a hand to her. “Come on. There’s someone you have to meet.” As he led her through the vast library, Astra was able to really admire the hundreds upon hundreds of books that lined the shelves. Just as she was thinking about how many years it might take her to get through them, her brother pulled her into the far corner, where a small bookshelf was built into the wall with a piano sat a few feet in front of it. Gaidrian sat on the piano bench, fingers poised over the keys. “Don’t freak, okay?” Not knowing what he was referring to, Astra just nodded. Looking anxious, Gaidrian hit a few keys, and then nothing. A few seconds later, a rough, grinding sound surrounded them. The bookshelf began to rattle and suddenly slid away to reveal a dimly lit tunnel.

And just when I was thinking that this place couldn’t get any more cliché, she thought.

“This way.” Her brother began the dark decent, and she followed him before she had a chance to think about it too much.  The going was slow, because the steps were uneven and the lighting too dim to see much else except her brother a few feet in front of her. Finally they stepped out of the stairway and into a huge chasm. There was a ridiculously high-tech looking computer in one corner, an array of fancy, expensive looking cars and motorcycles in the other, and on a platform in the middle was some sort of large, black aircraft. Astra heard a strange rustling come from the ceiling above and had to stifle a gasp. What had to be at least a thousand black bats hung from the rafters, their gleaming black eyes looking down on her.

“What are we doing down here?” Astra asked cautiously.

“There’s someone you have to meet,” he said again, leading her closer to the weird computer and paying the lurking bats no mind. As they drew closer, she realized that there was someone sitting in the chair in front of the computer. Gaidrian pushed her towards the person, whose back was turned to them. “Astra, meet Bruce Wayne.” The chair spun around to reveal an older man, probably in his late fifties or early sixties. He was stout and muscular, especially for his age, and he assessed her with eyes that she knew had seen things that’d make her squirm. “Our grandfather.

dun dun DUNNNNN! Guys omg this took me forever to rewrite (since it was deleted the first time). I hope u like it, so please comment and vote what you think. Your comments and votes are what keep me motivated! Love you guys!