Nevermor (71 page)

Wren’s fingers
grew weak.  The casebook slipped from her hands and closed on the desk. 
Extreme measures?  What did that mean?  The possibility of undesirable
treatment rolled past her mind. 
Hydrotherapy, please not that
…  Did
Witherspoon truly think her case deserved worse?  More importantly, was the
threat of this worth breaking away from her story?  Would the punishment on the
other side of committing murder be worse?

Wren was jolted,
barely able to realize that her breath was coming in shallow gasps, making her
feel lightheaded.  She had completely forgotten about Adele’s fairy until a
darkness passed in front of the gaslight, leading Wren to jerk her head up.

Her first fear
was that they had been caught.  She would be confined to a tiny prison as
punishment before finding out the truth of her ‘
extreme measures
’.

“Did you see
it?” Adele whispered excitedly.  “The fairy!  I told you!”

Wren tried to
follow the movement with her eyes, but it was only a flicker across the stone
wall.  The shape was indistinguishable, but there had been movement,
undeniably.  Something had been there!

“I think it went
out!” Adele twittered.  “Come on!”

Adele had darted
back into the hallway before Wren could raise her voice in protest.  Didn’t the
girl know that they had to be careful of the orderlies and night nurses?  And
to be dealing with a mimic…  That was not to be taken lightly.

Wren took the
time to peer beyond the door briefly before moving out herself.  Adele was
already near the end of the corridor, moving at a full run to round the corner.

“Adele,
wait
!” 
Her call fell on deaf ears.

Her panic increasing,
Wren quickly closed the door of Witherspoon’s office to give the illusion that
it was undisturbed.  Adele had vanished before Wren had picked up her feet to
follow.  Her heart was pounding against her chest with heavy punches, knocking
the breath from her lungs.  Her thoughts were meshed together in a sick scramble
as she rounded the corner–

There was a
shriek.  A groan.  A resounding thud and then a sigh of silence.  Wren slowed
her footsteps, listening to the sounds of her own fear.  She wanted to call out
for Adele but could not find her voice.

You should turn
around.  Turn around, go back to your cell and lock yourself in!

Instead, she
crept forward.  Wren made it to the corner to peer carefully beyond, and gasped
when she saw the heap in the middle of the hallway.  The folds of Adele’s gown
were swimming in the dim firelight, but her body was still.

“Adele?” Wren
had heard nothing; she’d seen even less, yet here was her companion crumpled on
the floor, unmoving.

What happened!

Wren ran to her,
pulse pounding in her ears.  She stooped low to pull the girl up, but Adele was
dead weight in her arms.  Wren gave her a shake, but did not even notice the
warm red substance spreading over her fingers.

“Adele, wake
up!” Wren urged, fearing the consequences – always those – but she didn’t get a
chance to search for wounds before a sudden chill locked her muscles.

Someone is
behind me…

She could feel a
heavy presence looming over her shoulder, staring her down, coming closer –

Wren whipped her
head around to face her stalker as a flood of lamplight spilled around the
corner, illuminating her where she was crouched.

“There they
are,” she heard a voice say.  “They didn’t get far.”

Beyond the light
were several shadowy figures, but she did not fear that these were additional
mimics come to aid their brother.  No, these figures were her salvation and her
condemnation.

“Wait,” came a
hesitant voice from within the group.  “Is that
blood
?”

“Stay back,
Janette.  Let’s have a look at what’s happened…”

Wren looked down
at the situation she was in.  She imagined the faces behind the lamps, looking
at her like she had finally revealed her true nature – unleashed the twisted
monster within that she had been covering with a melancholy face.  Adele had
been hurt – somehow – and Wren was the only one around.

They will blame
me for this.  They already have.

There was no way
to correct this – no way out.  Wren sat docilely on the floor as the orderlies
came to collect her.  Surrounding her in the hall, their shadows laughed.

**

Get
the full length sequel Forsaken Dreamscape on Kindle today
!

Lani Lenore is a
writer of gothic horrors and dark fantasies. In addition to rewriting
well-known fairytales with a twist, she also writes original stories in a style
she calls ‘dark fairytale’, which uses fairytale elements to build horror and
fantasy stories. Most of her tales, though horror, have a subplot of romance. 
She loves to keep readers on the edge of their seat, spook them, and immerse
them in worlds of beauty and terror.

She is currently
continuing work on the
Nevermor
trilogy.  If you’re a fan, check out
these links to get connected with news and info.

Visit the
Project Nevermor blog to get more information on the series
http://projectnevermor.wordpress.com/

Follow Lani
Lenore on
Twitter
https://twitter.com/MissLenore
for information
about upcoming works!

Like
Nevermor
on
Facebook
!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nevermor-by-Lani-Lenore/553358604674836

Find Lani on
Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/MissLenore

Also, see more
art by
Nevermor
cover artist Omri Koresh
:
https://www.facebook.com/omrikoreshart