Chapter Five

"Hello?"

Merric peered over the railing of the second floor balcony, invisible to the intruder. The girl was exhausted, from the look of her. Her rain-darkened hair hung loose and ragged, her clothing soaked, dripping on the floor, her stance rigid from cold or fear he did not know. Probably both. He could see how she trembled. Her eyes, wide with fear, darted all around her.

She was a pretty thing, despite her haggard appearance. Merric mentally shook himself. He hadn't seen a female in three thousand years. Perhaps is the Master didn't want her…

Thousands of years worth of memories crowded into his mind. Anger curled in his gut. He'd been locked in this castle, bound to its inhabitants until the One who will Save arrived. Of Ethane's royal household, only he had been kept awake, alive by some ancient magic. The rest slept where they stood, alive but inanimate. There had been other masters, other beasts. The mangled bodies of men and women who trespassed over Ethane's sacred threshold had been given to him to care for, the only living creatures he would see for a long time.

When this was all over, when the beast fell in love with then girl, he would be given what he was due. The kingdom of Ethane would finally be his! With the ancient kings of old decaying in the ground, the rule of Ethane was left in his hands. As Steward, he was charged with the well-being of this country, as forsaken as it was. When the spell was broken, he would take the throne that was rightfully his. He may not have royal blood running through his veins, but he had given more than enough of himself to deserve such a reward as the crown to the kingdom.

Now all that stood in his way was one little spell: Only when the Master loved and was loved in return would the spell be lifted.

"Hello?" The girl's feeble call drew his attention away from the past. For just a moment, he allowed his time hardened heart to soften toward the girl. She might just be his deliverer after all. If things went according to plan.

With a snap of his finger, candles around the room lit with a loud crack, startling her. He stepped into the light, drawing her gaze. "My lady?"

Her knees nearly gave out at the sight of the man. Her heart pounded as he approached. "What…who are you?"

"Do not be alarmed, my lady. I will not hurt you." He raise his hands briefly in pace and walked slowly down the red-carpeted, dusty, grand staircase illuminated by the sudden candlelight. "May I ask for your name?"

Ginny eyed him as he made his way toward her. His large black eyes watched her, his mouth curved in a tiny smile as if he knew something she did not. His skin was pale, his hair dark and long, pulled back into an old fashioned horsetail. She shivered at the pinpricks of unease at the back of her neck. Her eyes narrowed. "Ginny," she whispered.

The man bowed, every inch the courteous gentleman. Ginny frowned. What was a man like him doing in a castle in the middle of nowhere? None of this made sense.

"You may call me Merric, Lady Ginny. May I show you to your rooms?"

Ginny blinked. "My rooms? Oh, no. I'm not here to stay. I'm looking for someone. Two someones. I can't stay. I have to look for them."

Merric raised a brow. "Friends?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes. One is about my age. The other is much older."

Merric frowned. An old man had passed into Ethanian territory not two weeks ago. The Fairy had deemed him unfit to care for Ethane's wellbeing. But such a trespass was not to be taken lightly and so, she had condemned him to spend the rest of his life chained to a wall in bowels of the castle. "Could you describe them to me? Perhaps they passed this way."

Ginny shivered, her teeth chattering. He knew something. She could feel it even through her exhaustion. "They're both taller than me. One has green eyes, dark hair. The older man has blue eyes and gray hair. Both were wearing dark breeches and plain tunics last I saw them."

Sensing the girl's lack of trust in him, Merric feigned interest. "When did you last see them?"

"A little over a week," she said softly, thinking it better to be vague than give all the specifics. A sudden crash echoed throughout the solemn castle followed by a haunting roar.

Ginny gasped, backing away.

Merric merely sighed. "That would be the master of this castle. Perhaps it'd be best for you to take a seat in one of the parlors off this main hall to wait out the storm before you set out again. Please excuse me. I'll be but a moment." Without waiting for a response, he hurried down a hall to her left.

She stayed still a moment, her heart hammering against her chest. The feral screams rang out again. Almost against her will, her feet began moving toward the sound, following the path Merric had taken. Torchlight led her down a long winding hall and down a wide staircase covered by thread-bare carpets and cobwebs. Spiders and other insects crawled across her path. She nearly turned back. She pressed on.

Finally, voices stopped her at the end of the stair.

"Sire, I must inform you that we have company." She recognized Merric's voice, his mild countenance gone. Hidden by shadow, she slipped into the room, keeping to the dark corners. She watched silently, afraid, as he walked over to an alcove bathed in shadow.

"A visitor?"

The second voice startled her. Deep and husky, more animal than human. She glanced around the room. Broken pieces of furniture and stone lay everywhere, creating a maze of debris. Claw marks raked the walls, the floors. A large glass window stood shattered at the far end, letting in the cold wind and rain.

"Yes, a visitor," Merric continued. "A young woman." The second being froze at the Merric's words. "You're behavior has frightened her."

Ginny fought to breathe.

"What is she doing here?" the voice demanded.

"She got lost and sought refuge."

A low growl. "Tell her to get out."

Merric stepped forward. "But, sire…"

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!"
Ginny gasped and stepped back, preparing to run, but slipped on a piece of debris. Her foot slipped out from under her, sending her flailing to the floor. She flung an arm out to steady herself, grabbing onto a thick chain connected to the wall. She fell hard, the latch breaking from the decaying wall. The chain flew out of her grasp.

A tarnished glass chandelier fell from the ceiling, crashing into a million pieces. Ginny cowered against the wall, wincing, crying as bits of glass nicked her skin. Footsteps, too heavy to be human echoed along the walls, sending shivers through her body.

Too terrified for tears, she pushed herself closer to the wall, trembling, covering her head with her hands. Stone fell around her, crashing and falling, shaking the walls all around her. Dimly, she heard Merric's voice, calling out to someone.

Then it stopped. The crashing. The voices. All was silent.

Ginny dared to open her eyes. The torches has been extinguished. The only light in the room came from several slits in the ceiling, opening to the dark sky, dripping run-off rainwater. It was a maze of light…

Something moved between the light beams. Something huge. She nearly fainted with fear. Her heart pounded. Her breath came out in ragged gasps as she forced herself to breathe.

"Who are you?"

Ginny froze, not daring to move.

A paw, belonging to a great animal, shot out of the darkness. Ginny screamed, but the hand was quicker than her feeble attempt to escape. It grabbed a hold of her and hauled her to her feet. Her head snapped back at the force of it, blinded by the pain. The animal's fur made her sneeze and, when she was able to focus, the light captured features that were foreign, human, animal.

She began to sob with fear as she looked up into the face of her captor.