From Darkness by Kate Hazel Hall

Author:Kate Hazel Hall [Hall, Kate Hazel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Interlude Press
Published: 2020-09-10T20:13:10+00:00

10. The Hunter

Ari surfaced from a tangle of nightmares and opened her eyes. She was lying on her back on something soft yet prickly, like dried grass. It was dark, but a pale glow came from somewhere to her right and she turned her head to find it. She saw a candle burning with a clear white flame atop a roughly made stone bench.

She sat up, ignoring the stiffness in her muscles, and stared cautiously at her surroundings. She seemed to be sitting on a pile of hay or straw. A woolen rug was tucked over her legs, and Ari wriggled out of this as quietly as she could. The room was tiny, much smaller than her bedroom at Wyndham, and there were no windows, but the air was fresh. Ari creaked slowly to her feet, then stood bent over for a few seconds, trying to rub life back into her aching legs.

Once she’d steadied herself, Ari went to the bench, lifted the candle from the sticky pool of wax that supported it, and examined all the walls. A small grate was set high up on one wall, and the fresh air came from there, but it was much too small for her to squeeze through. The door seemed to be made of some dark metal. It did not yield when she pushed on it. Ari retreated to her bed of straw and crouched, waiting.

Soon enough, the door creaked open, and a tall, cloaked figure entered carrying a bowl in one hand and a bottle in the other. Ari squatted with her fists clenched, ready to spring and fight if necessary, but her jailer (if that was what he was) merely put back his hood and gestured at the bench, where he had placed the bowl and bottle. “Eat and drink some water,” he said simply.

Ari was starving, and her throat was tight and dry. She took a few steps toward the table, studying the man as she did so. He stood impassively in the dark doorway, watching her. He seemed to be old, or at least middle-aged, with graying hair and beard and a high forehead creased with wrinkles. His eyes had a proud, aloof expression that reminded her uncomfortably of Acheron, though his brown skin made his face look much healthier, and more human. He wore a long leather shirt, belted at the waist, over gray trousers and long boots. The long cloak completed what reminded Ari of a Robin Hood costume Nick had once hired for a party, and she laughed defiantly as she poked the hard bread in the bowl and inspected the bottle by sniffing it.

“Whistling in the dark?” the man enquired.

“Maybe,” Ari replied, as insolently as she could. She refused to be cowed by the underworld and its creepy inhabitants. “Are you going to tell me who you are and why I’m a prisoner?” She put the bottle down. “I’m not going to drink that water, by the way, or eat anything. I might not know much about this place, but I know enough not to do that.

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