Nightfire | The Whispering Wall #1

Sixty Six: An Attack

Nova had only come into close quarters with a Death once, and it wasn't an experience she was keen to repeat.

She left the room, only hesitating briefly at the thought that Harkenn would expect her to stay where she was. Descending the stairs again revealed the castle to have transformed from tranquil quiet to a hive of frenzied activity. A bitter wind blew through the halls from the open front doors, and teams of soldiers were wheeling the castle's stocks of wood into the foyer. She wasn't so stupid as to try and get outside to speak to someone on the defences – even in a state of emergency Faellian would find time to punish her for that – so she rapped smartly on the shoulder plate of the nearest soldier.

"There's a Death approaching the gatehouse," she said. The soldier blinked, uncomprehending. Whether the shock in his aura was because of her or because of what she'd said, she wasn't sure, but she clicked her fingers in front of his gormless expression. "Are you listening? There's a Death at the gate. Has someone sent for Unspoken?"

"T-the lord has," the soldier said, then seemed to realise he'd been cowed by a slave. He turned away and started barking instructions to his team, and Nova allowed herself the tiniest pinch of triumph.

She hovered in the foyer for a moment, unsure what to do but reluctant to head back upstairs like a good little slave and wait it out. A thought came to her, and then she was hurrying towards the servants' corridors. The maids would be on lockdown, and Grace would be in her room alone. She would wait it out there. She tried not to think too hard about why she wanted to go there, told herself it wasn't because she missed talking to the otherworld girl, and certainly wasn't because she wanted to make sure she hadn't changed her mind about being friends.

It wasn't the time, after all.

She tried to hurry without running. The guards all looked too distracted by the crisis to pay much attention to her, but they would if she looked as guilty as she felt. She clutched her chain tight to her body. Her skin prickled and buzzed with the ambient magic and the freezing wind. The corridors were empty, but she heard chatter behind closed doors and more than one case of hysterics.

She was almost more hesitant to knock on Grace's door than she had been to knock on the lord's, but she made herself do it. At first, there was no response. She almost turned around and left, but then a thin voice said, "It's open."

She stepped inside. Grace stood by the hearth, hands clasped in front of her. She was still in her nightdress, and visibly shivering.

"Nova," Grace said, in barely more than a murmur, "You shouldn't be here."

"Everyone's distracted," Nova replied. An odd feeling came over her. It was like falling into an icy river where there was supposed to be solid ground; somehow she'd still been hoping Grace would be happy to see her. Stupid, again. She'd ruined that herself.

"No," Grace said, more insistent, "You don't understand, you need to go."

In her distraction, she hadn't noticed the second presence in the room, and by the time she had, the door was shut and locked and there was a knife at her throat.

"I don't like unfinished business," Ethred's Angel spy hissed in her ear, and she cringed at the rasping Caelumese. His breath was sour and he stank of sweat. He probably hadn't been able to find a way out of the castle since the guard had been alerted to his presence.

Her mind went blank with panic when something warm trickled down her neck. Grace stifled a whimper.

"Here's what's going to happen," the Angel hissed, still speaking in their tongue, "You're going to find me a way out. And when I am out, you will not tell anybody I was here."