The first thing she felt was pain. It started as a prickling sensation crawling from the tips of her burnt fingers up the palms and slowly turned into a scorching agony. Then in quick succession, her right shoulder and temple screamed in response with throbbing pulses spreading throughout her body. This was the final act that woke Lorelei up. She winced and a low moan escaped her cracked lips. Little by little, her full consciousness returned like trickling drops of fragmented memories. There had been Jessup – grinning and chatting and then suddenly collapsing on the floor. The pleasant sweet taste of poison on the tip of her tongue. The image of the old binshi, trembling and crying, flew by, replaced by the cold commanding voice of a woman. But then? After a certain point, there was only darkness left in Lorelei’s memories. What was going on? Where was she?

With the budding sense of awareness also came the gut-wrapping, paralyzing fear and realization. She had been taken by the Red Hands!

Upon trying to lift her hand, Lorelei realized that something was restricting her movement. There were still traces of poison in her system, so the couple of seconds of seemingly futile struggle exhausted her. Did they bind her? Did they stuff her in some sort of a large sack? Was this why it was so dark around?

With a final effort, Lorelei jerked her head and managed to shake off part of the cloth covering her face. Her nose was assaulted by the intense smell of mold and dust. Little by little, her mind caught up and she finally understood – the thing she was trying to struggle free from was her own cloak wrapped and twisted around her limbs. Luckily, the kidnappers had been overconfident in the potency of their drug and had left her unbound. Still, this hardly made the situation any better. Everything else around her was drowned by such complete darkness that Lorelei couldn’t even see her own hands. In the first moment, the thought of having gone blind crossed her mind.

Lorelei remained lying on the hard, cold ground and her body shook uncontrollably. She could feel the grainy surface of stone scraping against her cheek. It didn’t really matter. It was just another pain to add to the burning sensation in her hands. And right now, the pain was good. It kept her awake.

A rustling sound came not far from her and something touched her leg. Lorelei jolted, pulling her knees to her chest. Her breathing intensified and she had to fight the urge to scream and flail around. What was that!? A rat? A snake? Some other unholy creatures? Her mind started painting pictures, one scarier than the other.

At that moment, her ears detected a soft sobbing coming from somewhere on her left. Now, this did not sound demonic at all. Lorelei quickly sobered up as her mind shook off the last traces of drowsiness. She recognized what the source was and for a second her heart fluttered with happiness.

“A-Anuk?!” The word came out no more than a hoarse whisper.

“Lady shimshi!” a tiny voice replied in between sobs. “I-is that you, lady? Where are you?! I c-can’t see!”

Lorelei felt some movement again and stretched out her arms. Two pairs of searching hands found each other amidst the sticky darkness. The woman pulled the little body into a tight embrace, cradling it on her chest.

“W-what is g-going on? W-where a-are we? Where is g-grandpa?” Anuk’s words came out muffled as she pressed her tiny face in Lorelei’s shoulder.

“Hush, little one! I am here.”

“I am s-scared, lady shimshi!” The girl trembled like a leaf and Lorelei hugged her even tighter.

“I am scared too, little one. But at least we are together.”

‘Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.’ Oh, how much Lorelei wished to be able to say these words aloud. But no matter how much she tried they wouldn’t come past her lips. Because deep down she knew that nothing was fine. They were captured by a bunch of fanatics who viewed Anuk as an abomination and Lorelei as a way to harm the ducal authority. Their lives were hanging on the thinnest possible thread. It was a miracle that they still hadn’t stepped into the Beyond. And all of this was largely her fault. Why was she so stubborn? Why didn’t she listen to William? If she had left the camp earlier, then none of this would have happened! Then Jess would still be…

Lorelei bit her lips and tasted the saltiness of blood on her tongue. Tears rolled down her cheeks and for an instant, she was glad that they would remain invisible in the darkness. She lifted her hand and started stroking the child’s head trying to calm her just as much as calming herself. Little by little Anuk stopped shivering.

“Will the highness come looking for us?”

At this innocent question, Lorelei’s hand paused just for a split second. Then, with a perfectly leveled tone, she spat out a blatant lie.

“Of course, he will, dear.”

‘No one is going to come!’ she screamed internally. Noah was most likely still at sea and had no idea of their predicament. The people in the camp had no clue where they were held. Who knew how long it would take to find them? After all, they were unsuccessful in finding the hideout even before. Besides, there was a little nagging voice in her mind telling her that this was the perfect opportunity to get rid of a pesky nuisance. While the successful kidnapping of the duchess Norden could be seen as a sign of weakness on the duke’s side, it could also be beneficial to Noah. With a single well-played move, he could be the mourning widower looking for revenge on the Red Hands and at the same time get free from the burden imposed on him by Prince Lionel.

This thought was horrifying and she felt disgusted from even having it. Noah wasn’t such a person! Yet Lorelei knew deep down that it would be the most logical and most beneficial move to make. This was in the best interest of Norden. And Noah was someone who had dedicated his whole being to serve this land. That much at least she knew.

Around her neck, the small white amulet seemed to radiate faint warmth. Almost like it was telling her that there is still hope. That he will really come. Despite her best efforts, a bitter laugh escaped her lips. If only this warmth was real and not simply the fruit of her imagination… But it wasn’t. No one was going to look for her. She was alone and that was the truth.

“L-lady shimshi, why are you acting so scary?!” A jittery voice reached her ears and Lorelei realized that she was laughing and crying at the same time.

No!

The woman braced herself and steeled her confused thoughts. She was not alone. Anuk was here. There was no time to wallow in misery and self-pity. Instead, she needed to look for a way out. She had to save the little girl who got dragged in this whole mess because of her.

“I am sorry, dear!” Lorelei brushed her eyes in her sleeve and whispered. “I just thought of a funny game to pass the time until his highness comes.”

“A game?” There were curiosity and mistrust mixed in the child’s tone.

“Yes, a game. Let’s explore this place together, shall we?”

“But it’s so dark and scary!”

“And that’s why this is a game of courage. It is called… “blind fly”. We are the little blind flies and we have to find out what is around only by touching it. It will be a lot of fun. We just have to be quiet while playing so that the bad people don’t come and ruin our game. Alright?”

Lorelei stood up on her shaky feet.

“I am scared, lady shimshi!” The little girl’s fingers desperately dug in her palm making Lorelei wince. “Don’t leave me!”

The woman tightened her grip around the small hand ignoring the pain.

“I won’t, dear. I promise you we’ll hold hands the whole time. Now, repeat after me:

‘Fly, fly little fly!

Where shall thy hand land?

Is it stone, or wood, or brick?

Is it nail, or plank or stick?

Is it on a blooming rose?

Is it on an old crone’s nose?

Fly, fly little fly!

Where shall my hand land?’”

Trying to make rhymes on the go, Lorelei carefully inched her foot forward.