Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love Novel)(120)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE


Eden



The rain beat down on the roof as I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the dim, already-crowded cellar. The fighting took all I had, but I had to get to Calder. He had looked half-dead when they dragged him away. I had to get to him. Hector held me firmly by my waist and his strength was too much for me to fight against. He had lost weight and looked gaunt and sickly, but his strength seemed to be that of a hundred men. Or perhaps it was just that I was utterly weakened, half-dead with terror and grief. They were going to burn him to death. Horror made me woozy and I sucked in a breath.
When Hector brought his hand up to maneuver me to the corner of the cellar, I leaned sideways and bit it. Hard. He roared, the metallic taste of his blood filling my mouth. I spat it in his face.
A look of rage passed over his expression before he pushed me harshly to two men to the side of us, worker men I didn't recognize.
"Put her in the food storage closet," he said. "She'll still be here for our journey to Elysium," he said disgustedly. "Satan's cells are still draining out of you. He'll be gone by the time the gods come for us." And then Hector held up the small silver key to the main cellar door and swallowed it, his eyes crazed.
I sobbed, and pushed at one of the men, but he didn't budge. They walked me easily the short distance to the small room where food was usually stored, pushed me inside, slamming the door behind me. I heard something heavy being pushed in front of it. I banged and banged on it, but the door was thick, whatever had been put in front of the door provided more of a sound barrier, and the rain was pounding on the roof. I was weak. And no one would save me anyway.
There was barely enough light coming in from under the door to see the room. It was mostly in dim shadow. I could see the empty shelves, no food on them now, and just up to the ceiling. It was slightly higher in here as it sat under a part of the main lodge, whereas the other parts of the cellar had only ground on top. There were no windows, no way out. I slid down to the floor and rolled in a ball. I cried. Hopeless. Calder might already be dead, or at the very least, dying. There was nothing left. Nothing left to hope for.
Perhaps I slept, or perhaps I faded in and out of consciousness again. I lost time as the rain continued to pound all around me, or so it seemed. I was still drenched and I was shivering. Dreams drifted through my mind, misty, half-formed. I saw Calder swimming in the water at our spring, a gentle smile on his face. Suddenly the water was fire, engulfing him, and he screamed and was pulled under, into the flames, to the depths of some place I couldn't fathom. He was lost to me as I screamed and tried to reach for him, my own arms blistering and turning black as I plunged them into the fire. I startled awake, the scream still on my lips. There was a puddle of water beneath me and I heard the cries of people outside the door.
I bolted upright and pulled myself up, and fell against the wall as all the blood rushed to my head. I took deep breaths and put my ear to the wall. It sounded like water was rushing in from somewhere and when I looked down at my feet, the puddle was growing bigger, water flowing in from under the door. My heart felt like it stopped. Seconds later, it picked up an erratic beat in my chest. My blood ran cold and I swayed.
The foretelling was coming true.
As the water rushed in faster to where I stood, people's cries increased in volume on the other side of the wall. I heard Hector preaching loudly and someone else, a male voice, yelled to give them the key. There was scuffling, more screaming, and then Hector's voice rose again. I only caught portions, only a few of the words through the wall. "No fear . . . The gods . . . Destiny . . ." I would die with the rest of them. The room was quickly filling with water and there was no escape. A strange feeling of acceptance filled my body—a strange peace I could only imagine was the realization there was no way out of this situation. I leaned back against the wall and tried to shut out the sounds of the screams, the crying children, the deep yells of the men. The wails of the innocents. Somewhere out there, Calder was among them.
"One times one is one," I said. "One times two is two . . ." By the time I'd gotten to nine times nine, the water was up to my shoulders. I closed my eyes and thought about the many things Calder had taught me down at our spring, the least of which was academics. I did division in my head as the water rose to my chin. I climbed to the highest shelf in the room, which brought my head about six feet from the ceiling. This was where it would end. I wondered what Elysium would look like. Would I immediately wake up there? Or would there be a journey? What was Calder doing now? Had the water swallowed him yet? Was he already waiting for me by that spring? "I'm coming, my love," I whispered. "I'll be there soon."