Free Venus City 1 by Tabitha Vale Page A

apprehensively, the sweat cropping up along her back again. The Rail smoothly left the platform and shot toward the next station. Braya tried to think of what would come up next. This was probably only the second time she'd ever ridden the Sky Rail before, so her knowledge of the stations was hardly existent.
    A few more stops in Heart District and still there was no sign of them. With each stop that passed by, Braya grew more anxious. What if she had missed them? What if she had let her only hope slip through her fingers?
    It was two stops down that she saw them. They stepped calmly onto the platform, shot her simultaneous smirks, and then took off at break-neck speed. Braya scrambled out of the compartment just before the doors slid shut.
    She followed them down a long flight of stairs, and then found herself bursting through the exit doors and into a place completely foreign to her.
    She was in a barren field. Dead grass, drooping trees, and a slouching wooden structure dotted the scene before her.   A half mile to her right loomed the enormous wall of Heartland Manor, a subdued hue glowing from somewhere within the property and lighting up the tops of the hedge.
    It was extremely dark, but she could make out two shadows loping across the field toward the wooden shack. She chased after them.
    When she approached the door of the shack, she noticed it was left ajar. Were they messing with her? They obviously knew she was chasing them, so why would they lead her somewhere like this unless it was a trap?
    Curiously, she pulled the door open wider. It creaked loudly in its hinges. The inside of the shack couldn't be larger than a bathroom. There was no floor—the ground opened up in a large hole. Moldy, moss-covered stairs disappeared into the darkness below, and the smell of something rotting wafted upward.
    She couldn't go down there, not when every part of her body was screaming at her to turn away and forget it. But she didn't listen. She descended the stairs slowly, reminding herself that something could pop out at any moment. If she was careful, and if she wanted the Crown job she rightfully deserved, she had to follow those twins.
    The staircase was a lot longer than she imagined. When she finally reached the bottom, she nearly tripped on something. Braya's hands went out to catch her balance on the walls, and they came back slick with grim and dirt—at least that's what she guessed it was. It was too dark to see her hands. She was completely blind.
    Braya took another few steps forward. She heard something clatter against stone beside her, and whirled around in what she thought was her left. A bright light lanced through the pressing darkness and Braya caught sight of a trail of red flowers along the stone floor before something slammed into her head and she collapsed into someone's arms, unconscious.
     

~Chapter 5: Thy Master~
     
     
    Something pounded against the inside of her skull. Over and over. Braya moaned in pain, but that only made it worse. She was acutely aware of her head and how heavy it felt. The rest of her body was lost to her. She could barely feel anything. She forced her eyes open, blinked a few times, and wondered for a moment if she'd gone blind.
    Then she realized she hadn't gone blind. She was underground. That knowledge startled her up into a sitting position, but her head was spinning and the sudden movement made her feel nauseous. Braya cradled her head in her hands for a moment, moaning to herself, the rest of her limbs numb.
    Once she was sure she could stand, she wobbled to her feet. There was nothing for her to hold onto—if the wall were a few feet away, she would not have known—and stood there with shaking knees for a moment. She cursed herself for being so weak.
    When she was able to start taking steps, Braya moved slowly at first. She was being cautious of the oppressing darkness crowding in at all angles, but she was also trying to wake her sleeping legs up.
    Her fingers