The scent of human blood consumed me. I was about to reach for River’s wrist to breathe her in when she anticipated my move and pressed it against my nose.
We weaved around the cells, following this odd animal, through chamber after chamber. I didn’t dare to look through the windows of the cells as we passed by them. I didn’t want to make the temptation any greater to burst into one of the rooms and embark on a murdering spree.
I’d explored this place a few times before, but I’d never had time to venture so deep into this huge maze of tunnels. Soon we had reached an area that I’d never been in before. Even though I’d suspected that there was a lot more to this prison than I had seen, I hadn’t expected it to be quite this large. The leopard’s pace quickened, enabling us to pass through quicker. Finally, once I began to doubt that we could even go any deeper, the leopard stopped outside another door. Again, there was a click and it popped open.
We entered after the leopard into a small storage room of sorts. There was a trapdoor in the center of the room, and a pile of sacks heaped in one corner, with an odd sprinkling of white powder on the floor. Otherwise there was nothing too remarkable here, just some brooms, mops and other cleaning equipment, and a cupboard fixed against the opposite wall. The leopard crossed the room and walked right up to the piece of furniture. He moved around to the back of it. Squeezing his head between the gap between the back of the cupboard and the wall, he made it larger as he pushed against it before squeezing his whole body through the crevice.
At this point, I put River back down on her feet because we both wouldn’t fit through. Positioning myself sideways, I moved through the narrow gap after the leopard and was amazed to see that behind the cupboard was another door that the leopard had just disappeared through. I slipped through it myself and found myself at the top of a dark, winding staircase. I caught sight of the leopard’s tail disappearing around a corner a few flights down.
I heard River’s shallow breathing behind me. Her hand slid into mine and gripped it. Her bright eyes grew wide as she stared down at the secret staircase.
“What in the world…” she murmured.
She met my eyes for a few seconds before we hurried down after the leopard.
We turned corner after corner until I was beginning to feel dizzy from the turning. Then we reached the last step.
We had appeared in some kind of kitchen. Although kitchen seemed an insulting word. It was the largest, most opulent kitchen I’d ever seen. A crystal—or was it diamond?—chandelier hung from the high ceiling. The floors were made of a sleek black stone, and piled atop gold-plated tables were plates and cutlery made of what appeared to be solid silver. There was a fragrant scent of exotic spices, the remains of cooking that couldn’t have been done more than a few hours ago.
What is this place?
The leopard was already halfway across the room. River and I had been so dumbstruck, we’d remained standing, just looking around the room. But the animal was moving faster than ever now, so we hurried to catch up with him.
We exited the kitchen, and, stepping outside, I was shocked to find myself looking out over another atrium. An atrium that made the beautiful one up above seem characterless and basic. The sheer scale of it made my head reel, and there was barely an inch of it that wasn’t decorated with precious gems and metals. In the center, there were sprawling gardens that looked like they belonged in heaven. Dozens of pure white swans floated upon a sparkling lake. Pink flamingos stood on its bank, and there was an array of other tropical birds emitting a symphony of chirping as they fluttered from tree to tree, their feathers bright. A light mist hung over the place, and a heady aroma of flowers tinged the atmosphere. A pleasant, mild breeze touched my skin—from where it came I had no idea.
“Wow,” River breathed against my ear.
Again, River and I couldn’t stand admiring for long. The leopard had continued on his way along one of the verandas. To our left, it appeared that we were passing along residences of some sort—apartments, just as there had been in the atrium above. Only the closed doors gave me a glimpse of what magnificence must be on the inside. Made of dark wood, they were carved with floral patterns and studded with a myriad of gems.
As we made our way along the veranda, I took in as much of this place as I could. Leaving aside the grand scale and opulence of it, it appeared quite similar in structure to the one above. Although from what I could see, there didn’t appear to be any elevators.
The leopard led us to a flight of wide stairs covered with a maroon carpet.
We climbed up and reappeared on a level that was just as beautiful as the last. But the leopard did not venture out onto this one. He remained on the staircase, leading us higher and higher until we had reached the very top level of the atrium. As soon as we stepped out onto it, it was clear that this held an even grander scale of opulence—if that was possible. My eyes popped at the attention to detail. Even the doorknobs appeared to be encrusted with what looked like… diamonds. It was mind-blowing to even begin considering how much wealth was in this place. It would be an inconceivable sum.
Finally, the leopard stopped again outside what appeared to be the grandest door of the whole place. I expected it to click open just as all the other doors had. But this one didn’t. Instead, the leopard stood on his hind legs and reached up to knock a bell with his front right paw. A rich chime sounded out, and then there was silence.
River held her breath, her grip tightening around my hand. I was surprised when the doorknob turned and the door opened. I hadn’t heard any footsteps leading up to it.