I huffed an irritated exhale. Clearly, the ghoul had been programmed for one response.
“Penelope, who is the fairest damsel in all the land?”
“You.”
“Fabulous.” My lips pulled into a tight grin, despite the fear that threatened to send me bolting back to the entrance.
“And who did you abuse because you’re a selfish, spoiled brat?”
“You.”
I barked an uneasy laugh, angling my solar crystal higher. On the side of the tunnel was a dark archway. The ghoul stalked past this passage, as she had several others. I held my breath, peering into the offshoot. Nothing stirred. Where the heck were the prisoners?
With little to distinguish the tunnels, it was difficult to tell if we’d gone in circles or continued to move deeper under the earth.
Groans sounded. Feet shuffled.
My breath caught. Those inhuman noises had echoed from the depths of the tunnel. Not prisoners. Something else.
I tugged against Penelope’s grip. “Hey. Hold up a minute.”
She hissed, her hand tightening.
Footsteps scuffed ahead. Claws scrabbled at the walls. My pulse spiked.
Stupid ghoul. Did she even know where she was going? Leave it to Penelope to get lost. Or maybe she was taking me home for—gulp—dinner? Heck with this. I planted my feet and wrenched back on my arm. My guide jerked to a stop, her head whipping my way.
She snarled, baring blackened teeth.
“We’re done here.” I dropped the solar crystal and palmed my dagger, stabbing it into the ghoul’s forearm.
The creature glared at me, showing no reaction to the wound.Gah! She isn’t a person. Isn’t a person. I slashed at her wrist, severing tendons. Her grip loosened, and I tore free—just in time.
“You,” several gravely voices groaned. Glowing eyes flashed from the tunnel depths. The dragging scrape of their feet quickened. At least a dozen.
Heart in my throat, I scooped up the crystal and spun, racing in the opposite direction. Which way? Which way!
Clawed fingers snagged my ankle. I crashed to the dirt.
“You,” Penelope snarled.
She yanked me onto my back and straddled my hips, her bloated frame pinning me. Yellow pus dribbled down her chin. Rotting teeth snapped an inch from my face, spattering drool across my chest.
“Get off me,” I screamed, thrashing.
The groans grew louder, dragging footsteps drawing closer. The others would be upon us any minute. Penelope’s icy grip tangled in my hair. Snarling in my face, she pounded my skull against the ground. Pain fractured my mind. I grasped her forearms, fingers squelching into her knife wound. Bile burned the base of my tongue.
Again, she slammed my head. Lights twinkled in my vision. I absolutely refused to die at the hands of Penelope Flarking Richwell. For years, she’d mocked, tormented, and made my life a living hell. Well, no more. Rage surged up from mycenter, then shot from my palms in a searing blast. Bright light blinded me. The ghoul shrieked, her bony frame flying back from the explosion. I rolled to my side, clutching my throbbing skull.
As my vision cleared, an impossible image took shape. The ghoul looked at her arms as if mesmerized. The purple blotches beneath her skin were gone. Her head swiveled, and she peered at me, her blackened eyes fading to green. Pink tinted her pale features.
She frowned. “Serafina? What—”
Hands shot from the dark, ashen and skeletal, clutching her arms and legs. Penelope’s scream pierced my ears. From the darkness, a dozen faces emerged. Eyes lifeless, mouths gaping. They reached for her, clawing at her newly restored body.
“No!” The terrified woman shrieked. “Stop! Get your hands off me, you filthy heathens.”
A bedraggled figure pushed forward, crowned with a gleaming tiara that clung to her matted hair. Her gown, once silk, now hung in rotting strips.
