The Lotus Effect (Rise Of The Ardent) by Bridget Ladd Page B

doorless rooms spaced evenly along the walls.
    I stood, letting my eyes adjust. It wasn’t very bright in the hallway after all, only a thin sliver of moonlight lit up the unadorned passage turning everything into grayscale.
    Blinking rapidly, I gasped when my brain finally processed what my eyes were actually seeing in the room next to us.
    A man’s leg hung from the side of a cot, his boot still laced though hanging awkwardly from his foot.
    Xander was leading us down the guards’ sleeping quarters.
    And this way was our safest option? My mind hissed.
    Xander turned and gestured for me to keep up. Frantically I kept pace behind him as I looked to the floor. It was concrete though varnished with a shiny, protective finish. If my boots had gotten soaked—I could only imagine what a nuisance that would’ve been.
    Xander’s been here before , I thought. Again, how odd .
    ~
     
    Rounding the corner, we came face to face with a large spiraling staircase. It was made of stone and to my relief, enclosed. I hurried into it and lay prone against the wall, waiting for Xander’s next move. Luckily all the rooms of the guard’s hall had remained silent and we found no trouble as made our way down the perilous corridor. Xander nodded to me and went first, pulling me along as he quickly maneuvered up the stone steps, spanning two, sometimes three at a time. I couldn’t help but look up, craning my neck towards the ink-filled nighttime sky that loomed above and beyond the passage of circular stone steps : a spiraled telescope with its cap still on , I thought absently. Finally we reached the open exit and a wall of frigid air slammed into me. Xander, unaffected by the wind, motioned for me to stay crouched behind the slab of concrete that protected the stairwell while he surveyed the area beyond.
    We’d reached the top . Stay calm. Stay calm.
    I resisted the urge to retrieve my hood, fearing it would impair my peripheral vision. My breath blew out in great plumes, looking much like the phantoms of those who had perished along the Walls, encouraging me to keep going, keep moving. My brain was in a tizzy and I was frantic wanting to go after him, wanting to find Mrs. Fawnsworth already.
    Luckily Xander soon returned and reached for my hand. “It’s clear,” he said stiffly as he pulled me up onto the chilly expanse of the Wall. My cheeks stung painfully from the icy rush of air that charged me again, causing my hair to swirl haphazardly in the wind.
    This is almost too easy , I thought warily.
    We kept our pace swift, but silent, as we moved further along the length of the massive fortification. I couldn’t help but glance over the ledge and take in the enormity of how high we actually were. Though clouds obscured any hope of seeing what lay beyond, into the Outlands.               Right now however was not the time to be dawdling about. I had to focus. Not only did Mrs. Fawnsworth’s life depend on it, but now, so too did ours.
    Not far from us, I spotted movement from a rope that was slung over the ledge. My heart clenched. Please don’t let it be her . Pulling away from Xander, I quickly sprinted towards it.
    Nearly tripping over my own feet, I registered movement from the side—a door opened from the stairwell passage closest to me and a large, gruff man stepped out with a pleasantly shocked look upon his face.
    “Whatta we got ‘ere?” he said roughly, smiling grotesquely. He produced a large dirty knife from his back and held it in one hand as he approached me, turning it this way and that as if to impress me. My eyes darted to his face. It was scarred with three jagged slashes: scratches produced from fingernails.
    “You ain’t sposed to be ‘ere. Lucky for me yer a purdy thing . . .”
    I blinked rapidly in my surprise and felt my body freeze in its hesitation. My instincts told me to reach for my own knife and yet I couldn’t get my mind and body to cooperate with the urge. I was frozen, an animal