The Keepers

Chapter 19

"You do realize that leads to the roof, don't you?" Marcus stepped to Josie's side and easily opened the door-sized glass pane. A frigid gust of wind blew in the falling snow. "Going out there in this weather would be absolutely mental."

"Not when you know where to find the ladder leading down." The girl smiled over her shoulder before stepping across the threshold. "Which I do. Care to join me?"

"It doesn't look like I have much of a choice, do I?" The boy grumbled, following her. "Stay in this creepy place or follow you into a blizzard. Is there a third option?"

"Yes." Josie nodded, stopping at the rickety railing separating them from the white void below. "Act like a child and fall down there."

Marcus didn't say another word. Cautiously putting one foot in front of the other, the duo slowly walked along the roof's perimeter. The fresh snow crunched under their shoes until they reached the rusty ladder.

"I'll go first," Josie declared, already stepping onto the top rung. Adjusting her bootie on the narrow rung, she began her descent. "It's quite icy, so do be careful."

The boy nodded and followed. They were halfway down when a metallic bang drew Josie's attention upward. Marcus had lost his footing and was dangling by just his arms.

"Josie, help!" He yelled, kicking wildly.

"Ssh. You'll draw everyone from the manor to us with that ruckus. Now, relax and pull your feet up a bit." She grimaced at the boy's incompetence until he was safely back on the ladder. "There you are. Now let's get on with it, shall we?"

Marcus drew in quick, loud breaths, no doubt shaken from the ordeal; however, he didn't dare argue with the girl. Reaching the bottom first, Josie stepped aside to let him jump into the snow next to her.

"Which way?" He asked, shaking the fluffy white stuff off his head.

Josie bit her lip as she looked around. Everything appeared still, covered in the frozen precipitation. The moonlight bathed the environment in a bluish glow and made it look almost inviting, but the girl knew better.

Behind the manor on either side of the formal gardens was the thick forest, opening up just enough to reveal the clearing where Donatella disappeared off the cliff edge. Josie didn't trust her luck to emerge from such a fall nearly as unscathed, so she quickly abandoned the idea of heading in that direction. Instead, she turned toward the front yard.

It was true that no matter if Donatella had left the manor on foot or by coach, she would have most likely taken the front entrance. This meant she was also expected to return the same way. Going on the overlapping route wasn't the brightest idea, but it was the only one that served Josie's purpose. She needed to leave the manor's grounds, and this was the only opportunity for escape she knew.

Ignoring the tingling sensation at the back of her neck, she grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him behind her. "This way."

Sneaking past the wilted ivy-covered walls of the two-story building, the duo rounded the corner and headed for the long carriageway. There were no tracks - neither wheels nor footprints - ahead of them, but given the increased snowfall, it was just as likely anything from earlier had been covered, as if no one had gone that way at all.

Josie maintained the hurried pace in spite of the slippery cobblestones until the imposing, iron gate came into view.

Come to us. The whispers drifted out from the trees lining the road, and Josie skidded to a stop.