I clapped him on the shoulder, thankful. “And the gates?”
“I opened them just enough for you to slip outside. As soon as you’re gone, I’ll close them behind you.”
“Thank you, Ludovico,” I said, sighing with relief and giving him a brief hug. “I’ll find a way to repay you one day.”
Ludovico smiled shyly. “No need, my lord. Just stay safe and get as far from the castle by morning as you’re able.”
“I will. Tell Annette thank you for me. And …” I hesitated. “Tell Henri that I’m sorry. Blanche too.”
Ludovico nodded once, and I turned to slip out through the castle gates. I gave one last look around the courtyard before I ventured outside. The doors closed behind me, and I ran from Udolpho, stumbling over rock and debris, until I reached a cusp of nearby pines. There, under the shadow of the trees, I looked back one last time upon Udolpho Castle, its terrible, imposing stature, and turned into the darkness of night to disappear.
I seemed to walk for hours before my feet began to ache, but I tried not to dwell on it. I kept a steady pace, using the light of the moon to guide me. I stayed on the main path for now, although if I detected any sign of pursuit, I would need to cut into the woods. But no matter what, I would have to cross the gorge ahead, and the only way I knew to do that was through the covered bridge we’d used on the journey in. That would be the one point where I could be ambushed easily, as I had to utilize the structure. Once I was past that, I could go in whichever direction I wished, and likely evade detection.
My breaths came out in puffs of white clouds as the temperature began to drop with the night’s progression, but I remained alert and eager for the trek ahead. Freedom was upon me, and I only needed to press on to realize it.
I could do this. I could escape. No asylum. No threats. No Montoni holding my life in his hands. I was going to leave all that behind, just as soon as I managed to leave this part of the country behind.
A wolf howled, long and mournful, into the night, earning the response of several of its kin. I shuddered at the sound as I became aware, all at once, of the sounds of the woods. When I’d imagined fleeing the castle, I hadn’t considered that I would not only be on my own among the elements, but I would have to contend with a wilderness that consisted of hungry creatures. I closed my eyes as I recalled the hand I’d found a week into my stay at Château le Blanc. A bear attack, if the gendarmerie could be believed. Even if I suspected Hargrove as its owner, I couldn’t dispute the danger of traveling the country alone at night, defenseless.
I felt as if I were being watched suddenly, and I paused to gaze back into the woods from whence I came. I saw flashes of things in the night, but nothing clearly enough to give shape, if I saw them at all. Nevertheless, the impending dread I felt pushed me to quicken my pace. My imagination was surely driving me to see things that weren’t there, but my instincts screamed at me to run, run, run.
The wind whipped at my hair, and I stumbled as I hastened along, suddenly emerging from the woods to find that I had reached the covered bridge.
I nearly sobbed in relief as I ran for the sanctuary of the structure on trembling legs.
Something growled behind me in the woods, and I looked back over my shoulder to see yellow eyes staring back at me from the shadows of the trees, eyes that bored into me with rage and promise.
I nearly collided with the wall of the bridge, and twisted inside so that I was under the roof, a feeling of safety rushing over me. I let out a deep breath as my heart returned to its normal pace, but as I gazed back out the way I’d come, I couldn’t help but feel that I was not out of the clear. The covered bridge wasn’t a shelter at all, really. Animals likely used it to cross the gorge themselves. Any illusion of protection I felt was merely that—illusion. I had to press on, until I reached the village at the very least, if I wanted to find any sort of true safety.
Having caught my breath, I turned and walked across the bridge, the wooden planks creaking beneath me. Now that the sky was blotted out overhead, an inky blackness gathered around me. Up ahead, I saw the moonlight resume beyond the bridge, but something about the darkness suddenly made me uneasy.
A scraping sound resounded behind me, and I stopped, turning back the way I’d come, expecting an animal, a bear perhaps, to be standing in the doorway, but nothing was there.
“Get ahold of yourself,” I muttered, adjusting the bundle on my back. I shook my head and proceeded.
I stopped as a series of thumps drew my attention overhead. It sounded like something was on the roof.
Swallowing hard, I tilted my head to listen, but the sound stopped. A trickle of sweat collected on my forehead and dribbled down my nose, where I swiped it away with an irritated gesture. I had the impression that I was being stalked. Something was playing with me. But that had to be a ridiculous irrationality.
I continued up the tunnel again and was met with the accompanying sound of thumps overhead. I picked up my pace, as did the noises, keeping up with me until I was running outright. But then they stopped.
I paused, just fifty feet from the other side of the bridge. I cocked my head. “Hello?” I felt stupid for calling out. If it was an animal out there, did I expect it to respond?
But I did get a response, of a sort. Thick claws tore into the side of the bridge, splintering wood under the force of the blow.
I squealed and sprinted to the other side of the bridge, as if safety magically awaited me there. A mere few feet away, a dark figure leaped into my path, crouched low and menacing. I stopped short and stared, eyes going wide, my breath dying on my lips.
Covered in black fur and staring at me with glowing yellow eyes was a demon. Its ears were long and pointed, its muzzle resembling that of a wolf. As it drew itself up to its full height, I realized that it stood well over seven feet and was heavily muscled beneath that pelt of fur. Its hands curled into fists, razor-sharp claws digging into its palms as it stared me down. While I watched with horror, the beast opened its jaws, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth meant for nothing but tearing flesh from bone.
I stumbled back until my back collided with the side of the bridge, my arms stretching out as if to assure myself that what I was looking at was as real and solid as the wall. Then, the creature raised its head to the sky and loosed an unearthly howl that sent my whole body into a shocked tremble.
I was going to die. I was staring at a monster, and I was going to die.
As its head returned to assessing me, I swear its muzzle twisted into a smile.
I didn’t dare move as it regarded me, but the moment it took a step in my direction, I flung myself back the way I’d come, across the bridge, faster than I’d ever run in my life. My pack fell from my back, but I hardly noticed as I pumped my arms, trying to escape the monster, even if I had no earthly hope of doing so.
I didn’t hear pursuit at first, as if the creature was startled that I’d dared to run. But halfway across the bridge, I could hear its claws digging into the wood as it gave chase. It snarled at my back, and as I shot out from the cover of the bridge, I felt the heat of its breath on the nape of my neck.
