Return of the Matka-Zem (The Sorain Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the house had a stillness about it. The manor was always quiet, of course, yet something made her insides quiver.
    "It's the Keeper's death," she mumbled, not really believing she had solved the mystery. Out of habit, she briefly glanced out the third-floor window that overlooked the hedge maze. With a gasp of surprise, she stopped short and witnessed the cook and two of the workers as they knocked over one of the male statues.
    They 're looking for the key , she realized. She watched the men dig where the statue once stood, but they found nothing. To her surprise, she saw Inga strike one of the males with her fist, knocking the man to the ground. Startled by the cook's behavior, she gasped in shock and stumbled away from the window. Not looking back, she raced down the hall towards her suite.
    " What in the hell is going on?" She leaned against the closed bedroom door as she tried to calm her nerves. "I don't think she saw me." Not confident of her assumption, she hurriedly locked the deadbolt with shaky fingers and dragged the closest piece of furniture in front of the door. There is more to Inga then just being the cook, she thought as fear filled her soul. The urgency to leave intensified into panic. She hastily rummaged through the walk-in closet in search of some kind of carrier to aid her in her flight. To her astonishment, she discovered a backpack buried behind her winter clothing.
    Where did this come from? To her surprise, the backpack was already packed and there was a note pinned to the front. As she carried the pack into the main room, she ripped the note from its pin and saw that it was written in the Keeper's handwriting.
    " Run! Trust no one!" The words sent a shiver down her spine. With those written words, she realized the Keeper may not have been her jailer at all, but her protector, and now that the old woman was gone, she was no longer safe. She squealed in fright when three hard knocks shook the bedroom door.
    " Jane, are you in there? Dinner is ready." Inga's voice was syrupy. The door handle slowly turned but the lock stopped it.
    Jane backed away from the door as the handle shook with more effort.
    "Are you okay in there?" said Inga.
    The sound of Inga 's concern rang false in her ears. Jane jumped when something hard rammed against the door. Thankful that the wood held, she threw on a jacket, and thrust the pack over her back. Before bolting towards the balcony, Jane patted her boot to make sure the knife the Keeper insisted she carry was secure. Panic-stricken, she searched for a way to get to the ground, but only found a thin vine delicately clinging to the wall. Trapped like a bird in a cage, she whimpered in despair.

Chapter 2
    With no other options available and time running out, Jane reached for the thin vine knowing the fall would surely maim her or worse. Panic stricken, she did not recognize the unfamiliar sting of power that swelled inside her until the energy spontaneously surged like a lightning bold into the plant. With a wail of both pain and ecstasy, her body convulsed as the current poured from her outstretched hand. Like the fairytale of Jack and the Beanstalk , the tiny vine tripled in girth. With a mind of its own, the now strong vine firmly wrapped around her wrist and hauled her off the balcony. She heard the crack of the bedroom door just as the vine gently lowered her to the ground. When her feet touched the damp soil, she glanced toward the balcony and saw Inga and two of the male farmhands staring down at her.
    " Jane! What on earth are you doing down there?" Inga's voice grated on her ears. "Come back inside. We need to talk!"
    " Oh no, we don't," she mumbled under her breath.
    One of the male groundskeepers snarled like an animal and swung one leg over the railing.
    "If only there were bars across the balcony," she whispered as the plant began to unravel from her arm. The vine trembled before it uncoiled from her wrist so fast that it cut a thin slice into her flesh. With