The Viking's Mate Hunt

CHAPTER 166

"Stop it! There are no guards!"

The furrow grew deeper and deeper on my forehead. At first, I couldn't understand how lucky I could be! Sneaking from the archery field among the bushes down to the open green field surrounding the castle. We didn't encounter anyone, didn't see or hear a single soul. Luck! But now, after running around the castle, hidden in the dark edge of the forest four times, my suspicions grew.

There were three massive double doors and one little steel door. That was all there was besides a solid stone-brick wall several meters tall before the first row of windows. In other words, those four doors were the only way in and out, the obvious weak point of the castle. The second time I circled around the huge building, I really took my time. I worked my way around slowly, even sat down and waited a couple of times, hoping to figure out the schedule. I expected to find out when the guards switched shifts, if they did any rounds, had a break, or anything.

There was not a single guard, not even a guard dog. Nothing, nobody. It was quiet, and it didn't feel right. Something was wrong. I showed Drifta images of my time here through old memories. I kept it simple. I knew she could feel what I felt at that place back then. But I also knew she could not see it without me showing her my memories before she was part of me. She didn't need to know everything; I didn't want to remember everything.

I showed her a flash of the day I arrived here when Luke helped me up after I fell out of the horse carriage. There, behind him, I saw one of the doors. One guard on each side. The next was when I left my room that first night on my way to Betty's arranged dinner party. One guard walked in front of me, leading the way. Behind me, a guard was standing guard by my door. He stayed there as I left. Then, several glimpses of me walking in and out during date days, shopping, picnics, etc. But each time, there were always two guards by each door, both inside and out. Guards walked around on the third floor, walking by the first row of windows, keeping an eye on the open grass area around the castle.

"This isn't right."

"I know, but I mean. It is not a trap?"

"No, no I don't think so. Nobody knows I'm here or why I am here."

"It can be empty? You don't know if anyone at all stays there after those Lilifolia traditions they have?"

"I got the feeling Betty lived there permanently, and she knew most of the staff by first name. I always assumed everyone except me and those desperate and single fay men lived here. I still feel like that is the correct assumption."

"We are wasting time here. We can speculate forever, but we need to act. We need to get to one of the doors and figure out how to open one of them!"

"The little one. Astor told me once how to open it."

It didn't feel right running out in the open, with nothing to hide behind between the thick jungle and the castle. But we made it without an incident. Opening the little door had not been as easy as Astor had made it sound back then, and I almost gave up just when a loud metallic click broke the silence. I had to crawl on all fours at least a few meters before the tunnel ended in a dark little room. Green moss and brown mold grew in flamelike patterns from the moist, earthy floor almost halfway up the stone walls- four walls made of stone and a door. The room was empty. No furniture, windows, nothing.

With slightly bent knees, hunched down a little, and almost holding my breath, I cleared this strange cellar-like floor. Empty. Drifta spotted the tiny opening leading us to the stairs. Only two of the steps squeaked, and I muttered the cusswords closest by each time. But as I cleared the entrance floor, I straightened up and walked more normally. There is nobody here. Not that I am willing to bet my life on it, but I think the entire castle was vacant.

"What do you think happened?"

Drifta whispered while drawing in deep whiffs. Her incredibly delicate and sensitive nose filtrated the air, searching for new scents, changes, and clues.

"Something bad."

I answered her hushed while trying to see every surface around me. From the entrance floor to the first floor, there was only one massive staircase. Like taken out of any Disney movie, the stairs were a perfect place to be on display, but not really what I needed right now. Trusting that the place was abandoned was not an option, even now. Someone could be hiding, waiting for the perfect moment; you never know.

Everything seemed normal and looked normal. Nothing was knocked over or thrown around. I felt it before I smelled it and understood it, all through Drifta's heightened senses.

"Blood."

I recognized the door when I saw it. Following the smell, we ended up walking right up to the double doors leading to the dining room, where I first met the male attendants for my Lilifolia. Mentally, we prepared ourselves for what we would find behind those doors. As the heavy, all-consuming smell of that sweet metallic scent grew, the realization that this could be a blood bath became clear. We are not talking about a little drop or splatter after a little dining incident here.

But I wasn't prepared. We were not ready for this. It was impossible to look away, and the longer I looked, the more horrible the image in front of me became. I knew it was bad; first, it was just as I had started thinking. Then I saw how they all were tied up. Nobody here died fighting. From what I saw, they had surrendered. With their hands tied on their backs, some even tied around the ankles and knees.

Blood pooled around the bodies on the floor and dripped from the curtains. The dark red stained the ceiling spattered across the walls and pooled on the table. It was everywhere.

A strange pile drew my attention toward the deep, white windowsill. A dark and thick liquor dripped from the edge into a splattered stain on the floor. I stepped into the room, and the scene made me feel a little sick. The pile, dripping of blood, were Fay's ears. That is when I realized they all missed their ears.

"They cut off their ears. Why?"

"I don't know, but she's not here. They are all male. Still, this is sick. The person that did this, is a very sick person!"

Drifta's voice rumbled.

"There is nothing we can do here. We need to check the chambers. She might be locked in one of them!"

I didn't want to look anymore, didn't want to see more. This was grotesque, and the second my brain understood what I had been staring at for the last seconds, I turned away.