Obedience?
The man tending to her shoes stood up, and recognition flashed in her eyes.
He bowed slightly, this time with no conceit, amusement or contempt. “Fräulein Heller.”
“Asp?”
“Kommen Sie.”
Despite her ability to tap into the thoughts of others, Asp’s mind was unreadable. Thanks to Sophia’s tuition, she now knew why, understanding the shroud of invisibility he protected himself with. He was hiding something, a complex web of emotions – chiefly, she realised, that of fear. Why fear? Yet the fear trapped in this building was palpable… maybe because all initiates would be afraid? No matter how well prepared we are, she thought, it’s the unknown that grips even the most intrepid of hearts. Swallowing a sudden lurch of unease, she followed Asp to a small door leading off from the side, and down an unlit flight of steps.
It looked like the entrance to a wine cellar. Peering down, she shot one last glance over her shoulder at Heinrich, who nodded encouragingly, then took one careful step inside. Immediately the door slammed shut behind, a key turned in the lock, and they were plunged into total darkness. Alone now with Asp, there was no choice but to walk down. Forty-four steps in all, each one felt for cautiously, each deeper than the last, the walls narrowing on the descent so that by the time they reached the bottom, it was claustrophobically difficult to squeeze through.
It was as black as a pit. Stepping inside, she stood perfectly still.
“Asp?”
His footsteps echoed and trailed away. A door then opened and shut somewhere along a far wall, followed by a shot of yet another set of bolts. A cold shiver ran up and down her back, upper arms, and into her hair. Fear crawled all over her. Was she alone? What was going to happen?
“Hello?”
Sophia had taught her a method of self-control, how to keep both mind and body alert and receptive while in a state of terror. If adrenalin flooded the brain, she said, the finer senses and perceptions will not come through – you will only feel the fear. Recalling what she had learned, Lenka took several long, deep breaths to stem the adrenalin rush, then tuned in. There was no one else here in this chamber. Nothing human. But there was something in here.
Something that slithered.
With a stab of panic, it came to her what it was. The floor was alive with snakes. Despite all her training, panic and anger blasted through her in equal measure. Damn, damn and damn! That had been a lesson and one she’d missed. Hell, oh no, hell, hell… Anything but snakes.
She had told Heinrich her one fear. And what had she been taught? That no matter what the relationship or circumstances, you never ever told anyone your greatest fear or what you prized the most. But they were on the same side, were they not? Not just on the same side but in love and to be married? She’d told him on a night of intense lovemaking, too, wrapped in satin sheets, he tracing a finger gently down her spine, kissing her shoulders with champagne lips. He had idly confided his own worst nightmares, asking for hers…
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
She had been five years old and lying in the sun when an adder had crawled across her legs. It had happened before she’d realised – at first, still sleepy in daydreams, she had shaken her leg. But the crawling sensation had grown heavier, moving upwards. She’d sat up to see a long, scaly snake with its forked tongue flicking in and out of a bulbous head, slithering up her thigh towards her chest. Jumping up, she’d run screaming down the field, convinced it was in her hair, climbing up her back, still on her! And night after night since, she woke with a violent lurch, expecting to see it wriggling across the floor in the moonlight, climbing up the bedclothes… Nothing frightened her as much as snakes. And she had told him!
She stood now, shocked and quaking, with a heart rate speeding up by the second. One of the snakes was winding its way over, its muscular contractions raspy on the stone floor, closer and closer. Her father always said they wouldn’t harm you if you didn’t invade their space, but that was not true. People could be swallowed whole by huge ones longer than a whale – there were pictures of them in books – of anacondas and reticulated pythons thirty feet long. How big was the one now slinking over on its belly? And how the hell could Heinrich do this to her? He must have known what was in this pit! Must have known as her shoes were removed… and when she’d turned to look at him before descending into the snake pit…
Barefoot, trembling from head to foot, she stood listening as more and more reptilian bodies slithered out of the walls and began to move around the room. A terrible thought occurred to her – what if they were above her head as well? In the rafters? And dropped down?
Her legs began to shake uncontrollably. Think… think… this is a test… you must think… There had to be a way out. Adrenalin had blocked rational thought exactly as warned – but there had been preparation for this, and it was crucial not to fail, to fall at the first hurdle. Sophia’s words replayed: ‘Your first test is courage – you must override terror and not panic. This is called the Gate of Men, and it is imperative. You can never give into personal fears, not even in the gravest of situations – not ever – or you jeopardise the Order, and we cannot risk weakness in our ranks.’
Prior to this, for three days she had been starved of food. Nothing except water had passed her lips. Nausea, dizziness and headache also threatened to cloud her judgement. Repeating the technique learned, she spoke out loud, “I will endure. I will endure. I will endure!”
Carefully, she backed to the wall, reaching out for the stones behind while suppressing with every breath the need to scream and run. Imagine if this was enemy territory… this is the lesson… you cannot cry out and be rescued… But it was not, so there had to be a door, there must be! Focusing more clearly now, she inched around the edge, shuddering as a heavy snake passed over her bare foot. “I will endure… I will endure…”
At last! The stones gave way to a wooden doorframe. Whirling around, she felt for a handle and, fully expecting it to be locked, was stunned to find that it gave way. Instantly she flew through it and fell onto a cobbled floor on the other side. Whipping back round, she kicked the door shut so none of the snakes could escape, then brushed herself down all over several times, checking her hair, visibly shuddering and shivering. How many had crawled over her feet or dropped onto her shoulders, she had lost count of, knowing only there would be nightmares about this for the rest of her life.
Panic, however, soon gave way to confusion. Was this supposed to happen? What was this? It looked like a jail. Dimly lit, there was nothing in it but a cage, and next to that a masked man standing with his arms folded.
“Asp?”
He nodded. “Turn around. I will untie you.”
Had she passed the first test, then? There would be two more, but surely that was the worst? Anything was better than the snakes.
“Into the cage, please.”
Approximately six feet by six, the cell was furnished with one small wooden stool and a table on which there was a jug of water and a glass. She gulped it down.
“Slow down. You will be here for two days, and there is no more.”
In the corner was a chamber pot. Yes, a prison cell, then… but no bed. As she took in the new surroundings along with the fact this would last for two days and nights – so not a day of initiation, then, but far longer – the cage door was chained shut behind her, the candles were snuffed out and the door to the room bolted.