Haunted by Annette Gisby Read Free Book Online

as seamless as the rest
too. He cursed when his finger caught on a nail about half way down,
but as it did the wall slid aside with a 'whoosh' and he was faced
with a set of stairs. Although he had anticipated finding such a
passage, he was still slightly shocked when faced with the evidence
of its existence. Where did those stairs go?
    As soon as Kestan stepped inside the wall slid back into place and he
was pitched into darkness; he'd left the candle flickering away in
his bedroom. He took a deep breath and groped his way along the
stairs, his footsteps muffled by dust. Cobwebs caught at his face,
making him shudder, but soon he could see a light up ahead and feel
wind on his face. Kestan climbed up a narrow staircase open to the
air, the wind buffeting his hair around his face as he climbed higher
and higher. By the time he reached the top, he was out of breath and
feeling a bit light headed. He emerged onto the top of the bell
tower; there were railings around all four sides of it. The full moon
made it bright enough to make out things quite clearly. Frost
glittered on the wooden floor and on all the surrounding struts and
railings.
    And there, tied to one of the wooden struts of the railings was
Aedyn, hanging limply from the rope. Even from this distance Kestan
could see that the back of Aedyn's nightshirt was stained crimson.
The boy was moaning and whimpering softly, as if he didn't want
anyone to hear. One of his arms was at a strange angle, almost bent
backwards at the elbow. Kestan rushed over to untie the ropes binding
him. It was then that Kestan saw the iron collar and cuffs around
Aedyn's neck and wrist: iron impeded magic. Aedyn was a mage! One who
hadn't been through the trauma of having his magic ripped from him.
Grunhall knew his nephew was a mage; why hadn't Grunhall gone to the
authorities? Aedyn could have been impriosned for still having his
magic intact. But even being a mage was no threat to his inheritance,
Aedyn would still have been the Duke of Sapphire Lake after his
father. No, the only way for Grunhall to inherit was if everyone
thought Aedyn was dead. Kestan was just surprised Grunhall hadn't
resorted to murder in his greed.
    Aedyn screamed, unaware of who was behind him as Kestan tried to free
him. "Please! No! I'll be good! I'll be good!" He was
sobbing and shaking as Kestan did his best to untie him, a task made
more difficult as Aedyn struggled against his bonds.
    "Ssh, Aedyn. It's Kestan. I'm going to get you out of here."
    "K-Kestan?" Aedyn tried to turn his head, but even that
seemed too much of an effort and it slumped forward onto his chest,
softer whimpers still escaping him.
    The knots took a while to undo and when Kestan finally did manage to
free Aedyn's hands, the boy winced and cradled his left arm with his
right. Kestan suspected it might have been sprained. As Aedyn turned,
he saw that there were more bruises marring his face and his left eye
was almost swollen shut. His lip was cut and split at the left corner
as well.
    "Can you walk?" Kestan asked, helping him up from the
floor.
    "I think so," Aedyn mumbled through his split lip.
    Kestan supported him all the way back to his room before setting
Aedyn down on the bed. He then began hunting through his clothes for
something for Aedyn to wear. None of Kestan's clothes would fit
properly, Aedyn being that much smaller than him, but they'd have to
make do. With Aedyn's sore arm, there was no way he was going to be
able to dress or undress himself and Kestan knew he was going to have
to help him.
    "I'll have to take off your nightgown, Aedyn. Is that all
right?"
    Kestan had never imagined that he might see Aedyn bare-chested in
such circumstances. This was no fantasy, but a reality too
reminiscent of a nightmare.
    Aedyn nodded. The unbruised parts of his face were almost as pale as
the garment he wore. Kestan first gently pulled the nightshirt away
from Aedyn's back, the material had been sticking to the wounds and
Aedyn grimaced,