Fearless Warrior: Isaacson Trilogy Book Two

31

"Psst..." Gunnar whispered sharply from the shadows under the staircase. He stepped out into a shaft of moonlight and waved his hand, "Esmund, we're over here."

Esmund scurried over, ignoring the woman at his side who began humming a jaunty tune as she glided in a zigzag pattern across the vast expanse of the lobby floor. As Esmund drew nearer to his brothers, his eyes widened.

Three women in similar attire to the strange woman he'd spent the last several minutes with huddled beside Ulric.

"You two have been busy..." he murmured, giving Gunnar a questioning look.

Gunnar quirked a brow, "They're the ones who let us in." He motioned to the two shortest women who gave clumsy curtsies, "They've said they'll help us, but that one there," he pointed to a woman next to Ulric who remained quiet, although her face gentled when she met Esmund's gaze, "won't allow us to go upstairs yet."

Compared to the third, the short women were uncommonly plain and appeared to be mirror images of each other. They had dark brown hair and were of the same short height and thin build, barely reaching the middle of Esmund's chest. One had a shock of white hair at her right temple; the other had it on her left.

The one on the right waved and smiled, "Theadora is my name." She pointed to the woman beside her, "This is Dorathea. We're twins."

"You don't say?" Esmund muttered. "Elsie mentioned you."

Theadora's eyes brightened, "Did she?"

Esmund nodded.

"You're awfully handsome," Dorathea waggled her eyebrows and rubbed up against Esmund's right side, lowing her voice to a husky murmur, "We're both unmarried if-"

"He's already spoken for, Dora," Theadora pulled her sister away and gave her a stern look before smiling sweetly at Esmund, "Ingrid said you're here to kill the witch."

"No," Dorathea said with an emphatic shake of her head, "they're on a daring rescue mission to save their true loves."

"And," Theadora declared triumphantly, "kill the witch."

Ulric rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

Esmund glanced at his brothers and bit back a grin, "Indeed, we are." He looked at the woman beside Ulric, "Are you Ingrid?"

She swallowed and gave a hesitant nod but remained silent and turned her attention back to Ulric. She was taller than the other two women and had long hair, the color of soft moonlight, which seemed to glow from where she stood in the shadows. She held herself just far enough away from the other women to remain included and yet not close enough to have any physical contact with them.

Her features were hauntingly familiar, tugging at faded memories from long ago that remained just beyond Esmund's grasp. Her eyes remained fixed on Ulric as she scooted nearer to him until they were only five inches apart.

Ulric glanced down, holding unnaturally still as his eyes met hers. A strange look passed between them for several moments before Ulric tore his gaze away and stared straight ahead, clenching his jaw.

"Is no one going to ask me my name?"

"Marigold," Theadora hissed, "your name is Marigold...happy now?"

Marigold smiled and nodded.

"Thank goodness," Dorathea huffed as she crossed her arms. "Now we can get on with what's important."

The screams from above ended abruptly, sending shivers down Esmund's spine. "What are we waiting for?" He took three steps away from the group but stopped when Marigold laid her hand on his arm.