The Blood Alchemist; Chapter 4

He withdrawals his sword, but he doesn't sheath it. He stands on the other side of the bars, watching us, not moving. His eyes stay locked on us, but he doesn't say anything.

"I thought you said hollows don't do anything?"

"I thought they didn't."

I turn my head to look at her. The outline of a red handprint wraps around her neck. "Are you okay?"

She blinks, looking over at me. "I'm fine." She looks back at the hollow. "Is he the only one?"

"I didn't see any others."

She nods. "Right." Turning on her heel, she sets off down the hall.

"Where are you going?" I follow her.

"Making my exit. I'm not going to sit around and wait to find out if he was actually alone." She pauses at the entrance of the watch room, surveying the two dead guards. Walking over to one of them, she takes their dagger. "Don't get in my way," she warns me as she stalks towards the door.

"Wasn't planning on it," I follow her out the door.

"Don't follow me either."

"Do you really think you can get out of here on your own?"

"Well, I haven't gotten to try without you, so anything's possible," she stares me down.

I stare back. "Well first of all," I reach out, flicking her ear, "You'll want to hide that. It's a dead giveaway you don't belong."

She blinks in surprise then glares. "I didn't ask."

"Fine. I can get you out of here."

"Absolutely not. Your help has been most unhelpful." She turns, walking off.

"You don't even know where you're going!" I trot off after her.

"I'll figure it out." She turns the corner and stops.

"Ready to admit you need my help?"

"Run."

"What?" I peer around the corner. Two guards walk down the hall. "I can get rid of them."

I go to move around her, and her hand catches my arm. "Idiot," she hisses, "We need to run. Look at their eyes."

She's backing up when their eyes land on us. Black eyes peer at us for a second before their pace quickened. Olivia turns and runs. As they begin their pursuit, I turn and follow.

It's too easy to keep pace with her. They'll be on us in no time. "Run faster!"

"This is fast as I can go!" She huffs back at me.

I glance back. As expected, they're gaining on us quickly. I move closer to Olivia. If she couldn't run faster, there was only one easy fix. I easily sweep her off her feet.

"Put me down!" She protests as I turn right at the next hall junction and pull up short.

Two more black-eyed guards lock in on us. "Not here." Turning I run down the opposite hall.

The drawing-room was nearby. If we got there, we could use the secret passages to get outside. I let memory guide me, ignoring the curious glances we get from the servants we pass. Finally, I reach the hall leading to the drawing-room.

I stop by the door, shifting Olivia's weight so I can open the door. I don't get the chance though as she reaches out, opening the door. I kick the door shut once we enter, surveying the room. No one here. Good.

"Put me down now," her voice is as much a demand as it is a warning.

I don't argue. I let her down and she steps away from me. "We need to keep moving."

Olivia walks towards the window, "Look, it's not that I'm not grateful for your help back there, but there is no 'we' in this." Olivia peers out the window. "Besides, you've led us to a dead end."

"Oh, ye of little faith." I trot across the room, "I came here with a plan." I pull the tapestry aside, pushing the fake brick with my foot. I look back at her, smiling smugly as the secret passage slides open. "There you go, but be aware, whoever built it really loved mazes. Unless of course, there is a 'we.'"

She glares at me. "Fine." She brushes past me into the secret passage.

I follow her, letting the tapestry fall back into place. As I push the door shut, I hear the lock click shut. I turn, finding Olivia slowly reaching out towards the wall. "What are you doing?"

Her head turns towards me. "There's no light."

"There is light. Just not much."

"Well, I need more than this to see," she huffs in irritation.

"So, do you want to hold my hand, or would you rather just be carried?" I can't help the smile that spreads across my face.

She glares at me in the darkness. "Stop enjoying this so much."

"Who said I'm enjoying this?"

"I can hear the smile in your- mhm!"

I'm pinning her against the wall in a second, a hand covering her mouth. My heart races as I hear footsteps entering the drawing-room. "Someone is in the drawing-room," I breathe into her ear.

I can feel her muscles tense again, for a different reason this time. Her eyes flick towards the doorway. I step back, taking her hand as I turn. We needed to distance ourselves from the drawing-room. I wasn't sure if they'd be able to find the secret passage or if it was even them in there, but I wasn't about to risk it.

Her one hand stays in mine. A second later I feel her other hand come to rest gently on my back. I silently guide her through the dark, slowing at the steeper parts of the trail.

"Do you think they found the passage?" She whispers, voice eerily loud in the darkness.

"No. I think we'd both be aware of their pursuit by now if they had." I take the next turn and I can feel the fresh air brush my face, the passage now ever so slightly brighter. "What we should be asking now is if they've swarmed the bridge."

Her one hand falls from my back as the other slides from my hand. There must be enough light for her to see. "Are we going to the bridge?"

"Yes." Her footsteps fall silent. I turn to look at her. "What?"

"I need my backpack. All my maps are in it."

"You can't go back."

"I can't find the Blood Alchemist without my maps!" She spins away from me.

I move quickly, catching her arm. "I'll get it back for you."

She yanks her arm free. "And then what will I owe you?"

"In that case, don't you also owe me for getting you out of here?"

She turns on me, eyes dark. "You got me into this mess. I don't owe you anything for getting me out of it. That's all that seems to ever happen with you! Either you get me out of mess you put me in or you do something I shouldn't have ever had to ask you to do and I have to do something!"

I can't meet her eyes. She's not wrong. "Fine." I look back at her. "Let me finish getting you out of this mess. Once you're somewhere relatively safe in Azymus, I'll come back and get your backpack for you. No strings attached. All you have to do is sit and wait. Deal?" I hold out my hand.

She looks down at my hand then up at me. Her eyes are wide with surprise. "No catch?"

"Well, I suppose there is one catch," I tilt my head and smirk, "You have to trust me."

"You are such a pain," she bats my hand away, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

Reaching the end of the passage I stop and study the hedge that hides the exit. I see no signs that someone had damaged the hedge. I glance back at Olivia. "How do you feel about walking through a hedge?"

She's staring at the hedge. "No one else has found this?"

"No really pays much attention to the back of the castle." I push through the hedge, letting it naturally fold around me. Olivia follows me. "It also helps that it leads to outside the walls too."

Olivia turns, staring up the outer wall to the towering castle beyond. She glances back at the hedge we came through. "there's no way whoever built that thought it was actually safe."

"Don't really care. It helps me. Come on. Now we have to get across the river, which is not as easy."

"Fun," she drawls.