فصل 26

A Night in Terror Tower - Chapter 26

My heart jumped to my throat. In the blackness of the box, I suddenly saw red.

That woman took my money, I thought angrily. And then she gave away my hiding place.

How could she do that to me?

I was still crouched on my hands and knees. So angry. So terrified. My entire body went numb, and I felt as if I would crumple to the basket floor in a heap.

Taking a deep breath, I twisted around and tried to push open the straw lid.

I let out a disappointed groan when it didn’t budge.

Was it clasped shut? Or was the caped man holding it down?

It didn’t matter. I was helpless. Trapped. I was his prisoner now.

The basket suddenly moved, knocking me against its side. I could feel it sliding over the floor of the cottage.

“Hey—!” I cried out. But my voice was muffled in the tiny box. I lowered myself to the rough straw floor, my heart pounding. “Let me out!” The basket bounced again. Then I felt it slide some more.

“Lass! You—lass!” I lifted my head as I heard the woman whispering in to me.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me. But I dare not go against the Lord High Executioner.” “What?” I cried. “What did you say?”

The basket slid faster. Bumped hard. Bumped again.

“What did you say?” I repeated frantically.

Silence now.

I did not hear her voice again.

A moment later, I heard the whinny of horses. I was tossed against one side, then the other, as the basket was lifted up.

Soon after, the basket began to bounce and shake. And I heard the steady clip-clop of horses’ hooves.

A helpless prisoner inside the straw basket, I knew I was on some kind of carriage or horse cart.

The Lord High Executioner?

Is that what the woman had said?

The shadowy man in the black cape and black hat—he is the Lord High Executioner?

Inside my tiny, dark prison, I began to shudder. I could not stop the chills that rolled down my back until my entire body felt cold and numb and tingly.

The Lord High Executioner.

The words kept repeating and repeating in my mind. Like a terrifying chant.

The Lord High Executioner.

And then I asked myself: What does he want with me?