Read Online The Nutcracker Bleeds by Lani Lenore - Free Book Online

in.
    Olivia?
    There
was darkness within the kitchen. Anne pushed the door open wider and stepped
inside. Everything had been cleaned up from the meal, but Anne knew that
tomorrow the cooks would be starting again, bright and early to make breakfast
and then an even larger dinner. In fact, perhaps the noise she’d heard was one
of the cooks who had forgotten something.
    But,
in the dark?
    She
peered around with her lantern, took a few steps forward. Dark, shadowy
movement across the floor grabbed her attention.
    Panicked,
she jumped back, looking across the tile, seeing the shadows, but was unable to
focus on them as they skittered off to hide within larger shadows. A tiny squeak
reached her ears. She felt something on her foot.
    Oh
God…
    Before
she could react, there was a harsh pinch as tiny incisors clamped onto her
ankle, piercing her flesh to summon warm blood. Anne shrieked in pain and
frustration, kicking off the rodent that had attacked her.
    Mice! The answer was
clear. Dozens of them! Anne hadn’t the slightest idea that there were so many
in this large house. If she had, she wasn’t sure if she could have stayed
around for so long, despite the prospects.
    The
nurse was very angry now. Her ankle was bleeding and throbbing, there was a
whole kingdom of mice in this house, and Olivia was still missing. Anne
shook her head, angry and frustrated. She gave up. Wherever Olivia had gone,
she would most certainly be right back where she belonged by the morning. There
were new friends to be made in those presents under the tree. Olivia would not
miss out on that.
    The
mice had all darted out of sight now, but Mrs. Ellington would be furious if
they left messes in the kitchen. Anne knew how to solve this problem.
    She
wiped up the blood droplets that had run onto the floor, tying a cloth around
her wound and hoping that the rodent hadn’t been diseased. She would need to
clean the gash immediately, but first Anne turned toward the parlor where the
Duchess was napping.
    Duchess
was a beautiful, large calico with striking green eyes. The feline chased mice
on occasion, but was much more interested in sleep, which she made quite
apparent to Anne when the young woman scooped her off the settee.
    “ Meowww ,”
the cat said in an annoyed tone, but Anne ignored it.
    “We
all have our jobs here,” she said harshly.  “You need to do yours.”
    She
dropped Duchess into the kitchen, closed the door and headed back toward her
room.
    What
a night, she
thought unhappily. Yes, Merry Christmas.
    Anne
made it to the top of the second floor stairs before the dizziness set in.
    The
hallway began to tells, and she felt unsteady, but she could not say what the
matter was. It was just a little blood. She had not been so squeamish when
Olivia had been bitten. Somehow, however, she was not able to regain herself.
    She
staggered around a bit, tripping over her own feet as her vision began to
slide, refusing to focus. Anne managed to place the lantern on a side table,
then leaned against it to steady herself. What was the source of this? Was it
the pain from the mouse bite? Her headache over Olivia? Or worse: could she
have been sick?
    Like
Mrs. Ellington…
    Anne
took a few breaths, trying to make herself sturdy, but the effort didn’t help.
Sweat was beading on her brow, and she could hardly hold her eyes open. The
woman wisely lowered herself to the floor, anticipating a fall. She was right,
for it was only a few short moments before Anne lost consciousness against the
cold, wooden boards.
     
    2
     
    Anne
rested unconscious in the hallway, undisturbed.
    On
the first floor, Duchess clamped her jaws around a mouse, squirting blood
across the white tile. The grandfather clock’s bell resounded, proclaiming the
hour, but all within earshot were so accustomed to the chimes that they didn’t
even notice them at all.
    For
the twelve rounds of midnight, all was still.

  Chapter Five: Mary’s
Little Lamb
    1
    Anne
would say that the