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She snatched up the lamp as she hurtled down the corridor, praying that one of the doors would be unlocked.
The next one…the next one…perhaps the next one… she thought as the heavy footsteps approached ever closer. She dreaded to think what would happen if she didn’t find a hiding place. One of these doors had to be open.
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
They were right behind her.
“Found you,” came the soft, hateful voice. She screamed as she dropped the lamp, shattering it and extinguishing any light that she could have used to see her captor.
“Now be a good Earthwalker and follow me,” the voice said. She felt a cold hand grasp her arm, sending cold shudders down her spine. “Or I will have to use force.”
“What are you going to do with me?” she whimpered piteously.
He chuckled softly. “Prisoners don’t get their questions answered,” he said. His face was too close to hers. She could almost feel the cold emanating from his body.
Deciding it was useless to try and escape, she followed him down the dark corridor until they reached a door.
“Now, give me the key,” he told her.
“But---”
“The key, Evangeline.” He fairly growled at her.
“I don’t have a---”
“In your pocket.”
And as he said the words, she felt an unmistakable weight in her pocket. Stunned, she reached into the soft folds of her gown and withdrew an ornately designed silver key.
“Now, unlock the door,” he hissed, shoving her toward the door. She did as she was told and opened the door.
Where there should have been a sitting room, there was just more hateful darkness. But it was a strange darkness. It seemed to seep into the room like some kind of mist or fog. Yet, all she felt was a cutting wind.
“Inside,”
And taking a deep breath, she stepped into the darkness, desperately hoping she would not be sucked under.
