Dominic nodded and turned to go. Thomas glanced around again and finally realized what was missing.
“Wait. Where’s Gregor?”
Emma could hear shouts and cries filtering down from the floor above her. A fight, probably. There were always brawls at the McCade pub, and there were often fatalities. At a guess, she would say that she was being kept in a room beneath the front hall, although she’d never heard of a room down here.
Well, I did try and stay out of this pub as much as I could.
On closer inspection, she had guessed that other people had been kept here before. There were no furniture or personal effects left in the cell, but there were still hints here and there. She had found a scrap of fabric caught on a rusty nail, a button, a few marks scratched into the wall, something that might have been a name—Alice, or Alys, or something like that—and other bits of rubbish and forgotten pieces of a person’s life.
More to the point, she’d found a broken chair leg wedged in a corner. It looked as though someone had been using it to try and pry out a piece of stone. A useless task, as that would only lead to more stone. Somebody had been trying to escape, and they’d done their best to hide the chair leg afterward.
Thank ye, whoever ye are.
Emma picked up the chair leg and clutched it like a truncheon. She kept hearing running footsteps above her and was braced atevery minute to find someone barging through the door to her room.
She hoped it would be Simon. He had come down only an hour ago and given her a cup of water and a piece of bread. It wasn’t much, but it was something. He was kind to her, at least.
“If ye are still here by nightfall,” he’d said, “I’ll bring ye a blanket.”
She wasn’t sure what that meant, if she wasstill here.
The familiar scraping and screeching sounds came from the top of the stairs, and the door swung open. Gregor’s bulky frame filled the doorway, and she froze.
He stared down at her for what felt like forever, then closed the door and locked it behind him.
Her heart leaped into her mouth. She felt sick.
“Well, now, haven’t ye caused a deal of trouble?” Gregor said softly. “All this because of ye.”
Emma bristled. “I’d say it’s because of ye and McCade, rather.”
He chuckled and began to descend the steps towards her. He didn’t rush. He took the steps slowly and leisurely as if he had all the time in the world.
He didn’t even have a weapon. His large hands, the size of spades, hung loosely at his sides, his fingers flexing and ready for violence.
Emma gripped the chair leg as hard as she could, raising it threateningly.
Gregor reached the bottom of the stairs and chuckled.
“What do ye think ye will be doing with that, lassie? Ye know, I keep thinking that all of this could have been avoided if ye had just kept yer mouth shut in the woods that night, eh?”
Emma’s face flared. “Ye stay away from me, ye monster.”
“I lost everything because of ye,” Gregor hissed, his eyes alight with something cruel. “I was thrown in thedungeons. I had a life, and now it’s gone because ye couldn’t keep yer damn mouth shut!”
Emma lifted the chair leg threateningly. Splinters dug into her palms, and she tried not to think about that. Gregor would do much worse if he got his hands on her.
He lunged towards her, and she couldn’t hold back a shriek of fright. She darted to one side, and his grasping hands narrowly missed her.
Gregor regained his balance, chuckling delightedly. “I’m glad ye are putting up a fight. We have all the time in the world down here.”
Without warning, his fist lashed out, catching her across the jaw. She spun around, sprawling out on the stone floor, barely managing to keep her grip on the chair leg.
Ye really do see stars.
Forcing her way through the dizziness, sudden nausea, and blinding pain in her head, Emma scrambled back before Gregor could grab her ankle. She needed to stay on her feet. If he got hold of her, it was all over.
He circled her, grinning. She blinked hard, trying to force the blurriness out of her vision, trying her best not to let him get behind her. It was a game for him, and one that he was thoroughly enjoying.
