Read Online The Agrista (Between the Lines Book 1) by Shannon Lamb - Free Book Online Page B

shoulders from behind, pushing her forward until she reached the bars of a metal ladder. She reached out to grab the rung, but he clamped his fingers around her wrist and jerked her hand back.
      “Get on my back.” He positioned himself in front of her.
      “I can climb a ladder by myself,” she snapped. “ You landed us in a septic tank! I’m a little weary of following your direction right now!” Marie said as she shoved Alex out of the way.
      She firmly planted her hand on the first bar of the ladder and tightly grasped it. She screamed the second her fingers closed around the rung, ripping her hand from the simmering steel. The bar was so hot that it had melted away several layers of flesh from her palms and fingertips.
      “Oh my god! We’re going to die in here!”
      Alex positioned himself in front of Marie again with his back facing her. He delicately reached behind himself and grabbed her legs, lifting her up so they were resting on his hips. She didn’t put up a fight this time. She wanted to bury her face into the crook of his neck, but resisted, since it too was covered in waste. He grabbed hold of the ladder and climbed it effortlessly.
      “How are you able to do that without burning yourself?” she asked, having calmed down a bit.
      “My skin is different than yours,” Alex replied vaguely. “When we get to the top, stay on my back, or you’ll burn your feet too.” This time, she wasn’t going to protest.
      Marie didn’t understand how he could climb the ladder with such ease. When she grabbed it, it was like touching fire. How could he touch it without feeling anything? It was beyond her comprehension. A lot of things in this world were beyond her comprehension.
      Once Alex reached the top of the ladder, he climbed up onto a steel platform. They came face to face with a large steel door, barely stifling the stream of muffled voices on the others side.
      “I told you we didn’t need to watch for ‘em!” a voice shouted. Marie tightened her grip on Alex, hoping they hadn’t been discovered.
      “Yeah, yeah. You were right. We smelled ‘em before we spotted ‘em,” a second voice spoke, followed by a roar of laughter.
      “Are they talking about us?”
      “Yes. They’re expecting us.” Alex opened the door and crossed the threshold, letting Marie down off his back with the utmost care.
      The room wasn’t very big, especially considering it contained nearly fifty servants or so. Marie hoped for their sake that the two adjoining rooms were much bigger, especially since the people present were probably just a minuscule portion of the palace servants.
      “Come with me, dear.” A short, rotund woman approached Marie with four young girls in tow. It reminded Marie of a mother duck with her ducklings trailing along behind her in the water. “Name’s Agatha. This is Chrystina, Kirsten, Anya, and Anne,” all four girls curtsied one by one as she introduced them.
      “I’m Marie,” she reached out to shake Agatha’s hand and dropped it halfway, remembering her disgusting state.
      “Everyone knows who you are, dear,” Agatha smiled. “I’m sure you want to get cleaned up as soon as possible. Come with me.”
      Agatha flounced toward the adjoining room on the right, and the four young girls followed behind her in a fluid line. The last thing Marie saw before entering the room was Alex heading into the left adjoining room.
      “Where’s Alex going?”
      “The showers.” Agatha swiftly closed the door behind them.
      “Showers?” Marie’s face lit up. “Isn’t that where I should be going too?” The four young girls looked appalled by her question.
      “Oh no , Miss!” Chrystina gasped.
      “Definitely not , Miss!” Kirsten shook her head.
      “The water’s so cold, Miss!” Anya grimaced.
      “So cold it burns , Miss!” Anne finished emphatically, hugging herself.
      “You don’t want to go there, Miss,” all four girls