I clung to it, forcing one foot in front of the other. Whether Carrow dragged me or I dragged her, it was impossible to say. Maybe we dragged each other.
Minute by minute, we ascended through hell.
Finally, we reached the steps leading up to the imposing castle.
I looked upward, catching sight of the tall, midnight turrets that speared toward the clouds. Lightning crackled behind them, illuminating the structure. The stone was carved to appear sharp and serrated, the glass brilliant blood red.
The sight carried me back to the past, to the brief moment in which I’d regained consciousness after Silviu had drained me of my blood. He’d hauled my nearly dead corpse back here, dragging me over the threshold of his terrible fortress, where he would feed me his blood and force me to become like him.
I’d woken just briefly, long enough to see the castle looming overhead as he carried me inside. Then blackness. Next, I would awake a monster.
“This is better.” Carrow’s teeth chattered from the cold, but she was right.
It was slightly warmer, the wind no longer as bitter or as biting. The horrible memories and fears drifted away, no longer forced to the front by magic.
“That was terrible,” she said. “The things I saw in my head...”
“Magic. The ascent is called the gauntlet. It’s enchanted to force you to face your greatest fears.”
“Well, it worked.” She looked upward, her eyes widening at the sight of the castle. “This place is creepy as hell.”
I nodded. “He was the worst of us.”
“Was?”
“I hope he’s changed. Perhaps. But the myths of vampires were based on him. He is the oldest and the most terrifying.”
“No wonder your first years as a vampire were terrible, if this is where you lived.”
I nodded. “Perhaps. But do not forget, I was the one responsible for my actions.
No matter the influence of Silviu, I still did those things.”
She nodded, dropping her head to look at the door. Not at me.
Why did I feel compelled to make her face my terrible nature?
Because it’s who I am.
I shoved the thought away and pounded on the door, ready to leave the past behind and enter the future. The fact that I had to face the most horrible part of my past did not escape me, however.
A moment later, the door swung open. A slender, pale figure stared out at us. Bald, with eyes as dark as black holes, Remington looked no different than he had when I’d seen him last. He still wore the same simple dark robes that made him look like the Grim Reaper.
I nodded. “Remington.”
“Devil.” Remington inclined his head briefly. “The Master is expecting you.”
“Not my master any longer.”
Something violent flickered in Remington’s eyes, but he wouldn’t act on it. He stepped back and gestured for us to enter. “Come in.”
I kept myself between Carrow and Remington as I entered the shadowed, barren hall. Like the exterior of the castle, the large foyer was cold and stark and miserable. The stone blocks that formed the walls were dark and sharp looking, as if one would receive a thousand cuts if a shoulder were to graze them.
As it had been in the past, only a few paltry candles lit the space, casting shadows, deep and dark. There was no doubt that monsters lurked within.
“You may wait in the salon.” Remington strode across the room, and we followed.
“Someone is watching us,” Carrow whispered against my ear.