Shadows of Time: Shadow Maiden Read Free Page A

him, black and gaunt like a hungry, open mouth. A
narrow ledge bellow him tugged at his curious mind.
    Maybe. Just maybe. He knew it was a
crazy idea, but he was feeling unusually reckless from not sleeping
in so long. Besides, it doesn’t look that far down. I’ve had
worse falls.
    Lestel slithered his robed body out onto the
narrow ledge, his slippers sliding ever so slightly on the slick
stone surface. Inch by inch, he crept his way toward the window.
Sweat clung to his hair, matting it against his face. His limbs
twitched, dreading the solemn drop below him. He was nearly there
now, however no matter how much he strained his eyes he could still
see nothing inside. He crept closer and closer, realizing that this
may have not been the best of ideas. Barely a foot away from the
window, his foot slipped, sending his arms flailing in the crisp
night air. Panic ripped his heart from his chest as he tried his
best to lunge toward the window. His sweaty hands barely managed to
grasp the stone ledge. He could feel his feet dangling below him,
but thought better of it than to steal a look down. Straining his
arms from their unexpected load, he shimmied up and into the room,
powered by a final burst of adrenaline. He landed on the bare stone
floor with a muffled thump .
    Lestel reveled in his silent victory, panting
away the anxiety from the most terrifying moment of his life. He
finally managed to stand upright on his shaky limbs, praying that
he didn’t have to exit the same way.
    His eyes took a moment to adjust. The
moonlight streamed in from behind him, illuminated what appeared to
be a bare room, with only a small desk littered with blank
parchment and a large shadowy chair pulled up behind it. He edged
closer, examining any contents beneath the parchment when his hand
suddenly brushed something foreign to the faded pages. It was cool
and metal, perhaps a ring. He tried to pick it up for a better
look, but it was attached to something heavy and clattering.
    He dropped it immediately upon the
realization of what he was holding, or better yet, who . The
smell of disturbed decay struck him immediately.
    Lestel moved his body out of the way of the
lingering moonlight, revealing a twisted skeleton with leathery
flesh clinging to its face with stringy bits of hair swaying gently
in the breeze. I’ve found him, thought Lestel as his breath
caught in his throat in a mixture of despair for the poor prince
and awe. His curiosity had finally led him to something more
remarkable than he could have ever dreamed.
    The ring!
    He pulled himself from his thoughts and
searched the corpse’s withered fingers. There, in its shriveled
grasp, was a black metal ring. It winked in the moonlight against
the pale rotting skin. With his breath held, Lestel wriggled the
ring free.
    The moonlight faded, replaced by clouds of
muffled thunder.
    The ring was quite a beautiful piece of
metalwork. It was wide and square, far too big for my queen ,
Lestel thought while sliding it onto his own finger.
    A shrill hiss pierced the silence of the
room.
    Finally, I am free. Your will is mine!
    Lestel’s body crashed into the floor, his
limbs quaking and fighting against an unseen force. His body went
rigid and cold like a corpse before being smothered in shadow.
    He gave in to the darkness.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    “Mama, wake up. Mama!” Astrid’s little hands
clutched at her mother’s exposed arm, shaking it until she finally
woke.
    “Astrid, darling, what’s wrong?” The queen
rolled over to face her frightened daughter, her eyes still blurry
with exhaustion.
    “I had a nightmare, Mama. And the lightning’s
scary! It looked like monsters were coming to get me.”
    “So you ran away and left your sister all
alone to defend herself against these monsters?”
    Astrid soured her expression at the mention
of her twin sister, Anya. “Ah, they can have her.”
    “Darling, don’t say such things. She’s your
sister. Do you know how much I wish I had a