He nodded and went to the door, but then stopped with his hand on the knob. “Please don't go wandering about alone. There is no way out for you, and the lower floors of my castle are not safe.”
“Got it,” I said.
The Corrupter looked back at me and smiled sadly. “I'm sorry I've had to resort to such measures. I hope you'll understand soon. Goodnight, Ember.”
“Goodnight, Corrupter.”
He flinched and turned to face me. “My name is Aranren, but you may call me Ara.” Then he walked out and shut the door behind him.
I was surprised by the name but also by the lack of a lock. Ara had left my door open, trusting me to obey him.
That was foolish.
After several minutes spent searching the room for weapons I wouldn't know how to use and finding nothing more deadly than the hairbrush, I tried the door. It opened, as I suspected it would. Peering out into the corridor, I found it empty. That admonition that I stay put was practically an invitation. I hesitated in the doorway, considering that. Perhaps he'd said it to get me to leave the room. But why would he want that?
“I just have to be careful,” I whispered to myself. “I can't stay here and not even try to escape, right? My guys would be so disappointed in me.”
With that, I squared my shoulders and strode out of my lavish cell. Since I'd seen everything to the right, I went left. My footsteps made no sound on the stone floor, but I still went slowly, listening carefully for the sound of someone else's footsteps. I suppose that was a little dumb. If mine were silent, everyone else's would be as well. But I was trying to be careful.
After a few minutes of quiet walking and checking every room I passed, I came to a stairwell. It went up, which gave me hope. The Corrupter—calling him Aranren felt weird—said we were below the castle. So up was good. Maybe I could find a room with a window.
I climbed the narrow stairwell, and at the top, I entered another corridor. At least an hour passed with me searching the rooms off that corridor and finding them all devoid of windows. Still below ground. I hurried on, desperately searching for more stairs. Who the fuck had two levels of basements? Instead of stairs, the corridor ended in an archway. Through that archway, I saw a vast chamber studded with enormous pillars.
Wondering at the size of the Corrupter's castle, I went through the archway. A chill instantly hit me. It was silent there, even more silent than the rest of the castle. I'm not sure how silence could have degrees, but it did. I felt the quiet in my bones.
“This is probably a bad idea,” I murmured as I ventured further.
I'd never seen such a large room before. Light from a source thousands of feet above my head grew dim by the time it reached me. It was enough to see by but not enough for me to make out the walls. The light faded into darkness fifty feet in all directions, making it seem as if the room went on forever.
“Thus can't be real,” I said to myself. “If I'm below his castle, that would mean he excavated deeper than most buildings are tall. There's no way he could have done that.” I paused. “Unless he built over a cavern.” I glanced to the right and made a startled yip. “Fuck,” I whispered when I realized that the person who had scared me was myself—a reflection in the polished black surface of one of the pillars. “This place is fucking creepy.” Hesitantly, I reached out and touched the pillar. “It feels real.”
Despite my trepidation, I strode on. After several minutes, I began to run. I had to reach the end of the room, if nothing more than to prove it existed. But a wall never appeared. Not to any side of me. I ran and ran until I had to stop, brace myself on my knees, and catch my breath. And still, the end of the room evaded me.
“Ember,” someone whispered.
“Oh, fuck,” I said as I jerked upright.
“Ember.”
I spun, searching the area. Nothing was there. Just me and the pillars.
“Em-ber,” the gentle voice came again.
I felt strange. My mind hazy. The voice seemed familiar.
“Ember, we're here.”
“Holy fuck. Dad?”
“Ember, my darling,” my mother called.
Reason would tell me that it couldn't be my parents. My parents were long dead. But I was past reason down there in that insane, endless room. I was tired and scared and dearly wanted my mommy.
“Dad?” I called out. “Mom?”
“This way,” my mother whispered.
I ran toward the sound of her voice. The pillars passed in a blur. My limbs started to feel heavy.
