Ni’meres came through the broken window, their feathered bodies slick with blood and gore. Their wings beat at the air as they swooped down, aiming for those still standing with talons that dripped red.
Chaos erupted. Those who could scattered in every direction, as we ran toward the main hall. We weren’t the only ones who reached the narrow hall that led to the Great Chamber and the remaining halls and spaces within the manor.
“Not the Great Chamber,” I gasped. “We can’t go there.”
“Shit.” Grady’s gaze briefly met mine. “Hold on. Don’t let go, Lis. Whatever you do, don’t let go.”
I clutched the back of his tunic as people crowded in all around us, quickly choking the hall.
But they didn’t know the house like we did.
Narrow tables fell, clogging the path even more as we were pressed farther down the hall. I tugged on Grady’s arm. “The blue door!” I yelled. “The back halls.”
Grady nodded, keeping his footing and mine as we were nearly shoved right past the door. We dug in, him grunting and me gasping as several people slammed into us. The door was stuck, forcing Grady to throw his weight behind it.
The door groaned, swinging open, and we all but fell through. I spun around, spotting Allyson’s pale curls in the madness. “Allyson,” I screamed. Her head whipped toward us. She started fighting toward the door.
“Come on,” Grady yelled, pulling us aside as a young fair-haired man and then Allyson dashed into the chamber.
I went to her. “Are you okay?” Her light blue gown was splattered with blood. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she rasped, her curls falling haphazardly into her face. “Are you?”
“I’m okay.” My heart thundered. “I’m so glad I saw you. Have you . . .” I froze. A silver chain circled her neck, and from it, a sapphire jewel hung. “Is that Naomi’s necklace?”
Confusion marked her brow as she stared at me like she couldn’t believe I was asking such a question. “Yeah, I wanted to wear it with my gown. She gave it to me a few days ago.”
Oh gods.
I’d been wrong. It hadn’t been Naomi I’d seen. . . .
Allyson glanced up at the ceiling. “I . . . I got separated from the others,” she said, and I looked away, heart cracking at the realization. “The ni’meres— they came in through the windows there. I don’t know if . . .”
“This way!” Grady shouted, and I whipped around. “Come on. Damn it,” he cursed as people scrambled past the door. “This way, you fuckers!”
No one listened.
I shook my head, heart sinking as a ni’mere’s shriek entered the hall.
“They’re coming,” Allyson whispered, backing away from me. She bumped into a settee. “We can’t stay here with the door open.”
She was right.
“Damn it,” Grady snarled, slamming the door shut. “Damn it!”
“Th-This way,” I said, glancing at the other man. He was pale. “There’s another hall. It leads to the servant quarters and— ”
“The wine cellar,” Grady finished. “That door is heavy. No one, not even ni’meres, can get through it.”
“Perfect. If I’m going to die tonight, I’d rather be drunk off my ass,” the man said, dragging a hand down the front of his torn shirt. “Name’s Milton, by the way.”
“Grady.” He nodded in my direction. “This is Lis and that’s— ”
“Allyson,” she said, nervously rubbing her hands over her bare arms.
A scream pierced the air, causing both Allyson and me to jump.
Milton swallowed. “Let’s get to this cellar so we can get drunk enough that we don’t think about what’s happening on the other side of that wall.”
“Sounds like a plan. You good?” Grady asked of Allyson, who nodded. Then he turned to me. “You?”
Foot stinging, I limped slightly as I started for the door at the other end of the chamber. I couldn’t look too long or too closely at Milton and . . . especially not Allyson. Not because I worried that what had happened in the receiving hall would overwhelm me again. I feared I’d discover how the night would end for them, and I already . . . I already knew how it would end for Allyson.
As I proceeded forward, an all-too-familiar sense of fragile calmness descended upon me, one that had sprung from dark, scary nights that had come before we’d fled Union City and after, when we’d slept on streets and in ditches, when we were chased off by lawmen or were running from adults whose thoughts were full of terrible things. We’d been in a lot of bad spots, many I didn’t think we’d make it out of.