Monday, October 29, 2018

Chapter Seven from The Tarishe Curse

 

Chapter Seven

Acceptance

 

Vengeance has no rules.

It has no heart, no conscience, no dignity, and no true allies.

 

 

The room was dark. My head felt tender, like a wooden club had had its way with me and left my skull badly bruised. A fur covering was draped over my body keeping me warm. Its coarse texture sparked a vague sense of recognition, yet I couldn’t place the blanket anywhere in my memory. I tried to think where the fur had come from, but the more I strained to remember, the more I realized there was little I could recall about anything, including my present whereabouts and how I had come to be in a dark and unfamiliar room.

The smell of a warming fire pervaded the air, though it had burned too low to keep the tip of my nose from experiencing a chill. Its light reached from beyond the foot of my bed, leaving most of the room cloaked in darkness. I stirred, but my head screamed at me for making the effort. The pain forced a groan of agony from my lips to which someone responded.

“Catherine? Are you awake?”

His voice was hushed but distinctly concerned. Uncertain of the man’s identity, I said nothing. The air fell silent again, and I assumed he was listening for a sound of movement from me. I, likewise, waited for a clue as to who he was. I dared to cast my eyes about, searching for his silhouette in the darkness. All I could make out were articles of furniture. None of them I recognized, although, the details were hardly discernible.

A shift in position had my head swimming in circles like a whirlpool within my skull. A wave of pain accompanied an unpleasant onset of vertigo. I put a hand to my temple, wanting to stop the spinning, and groaned aloud.

“Catherine?” the man repeated. I heard the legs of a chair scrape against the floor as he stood up.

The minimal light of the fire was blocked out when his head appeared above me—a large shadow with a dark mane. He was not a small man. I squinted to make out his features, and I flinched when he reached for me. Again I groaned, regretting the sudden move that made my head throb in multiple places. His hand fell gently on my forehead as if he meant to stop my brain from swirling. Oddly, it seemed to work.

“How do you feel?” he asked. I perceived genuine concern.

“Not well,” I answered honestly. “What happened to me?”

Despite his shadowed countenance, I noticed him grimace at the mental imagery evidently conjured up by my question. “You don’t remember falling?”

“No.”

“Well… you did. You hit your head pretty hard.” His fingers wiped softly at my forehead before he removed them.

I considered his words for a moment. It certainly explained the throbbing.

“How did I fall?” I wanted more information—about everything.

“I uh… I’m not sure,” he declared with a heavy sigh. His eyes flickered to the far side of the room for a second, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was telling me the truth. What I wondered with greater interest was who this man was.

“I don’t remember anything about it,” I cautiously confessed.

His expression conveyed pity towards me, and he stroked my cheek, a gesture that put his big hand against my nose. “Are you cold?” he asked.

“Yes, a little.” I was stalling. Or perhaps it was a test to see what he would do. I wanted to trust this person, but he was a perfect stranger to my foggy mind.

I watched him turn and cross the floor noiselessly. His silhouette bent over and collected two logs of wood which he placed inside a stove that complained in a creaky moan when the front cover opened and closed. The man returned to my bedside and watched me watch him. We seemed to share the same uncertainty. I was the one to finally kill the silence.

“Who are you?” I asked. It was a straightforward question that would undoubtedly reveal all he needed to know about the seriousness of my condition.

“You don’t remember?” He scrutinized my face, squinting. There was no hint of hurt feelings in his features. Maybe concern. What I identified primarily was apprehension as he waited with a tight expression for me to answer.

I tried to place his dark eyes, thick eyebrows, and full lips but failed. No flash from the past divulged any shared experiences. No emotional response moved me. Nothing.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t.”

The man exhaled loudly. “It’s alright. You suffered serious head trauma. Some memory loss is to be expected.”

I wondered who had told him that. But what I wanted to know most was to whom I was exposing my vulnerability.

“Who are you?” I asked again.

I watched his face contort, shifting through a range of solemn expressions. A touch of relief seemed to soften his face before it creased again conveying sympathy, concern, and then a great deal of anxiety. He tried futilely to smile through it all.

“Tell me who you are,” I finally demanded. His hesitancy was draining my hopes of trusting him. When his eyes glossed over with pure pity, I instantly loathed the look.

“I am your husband,” he professed, reaching to caress my face as if meaning to soften the blow of his words. My gaze scrunched tight with skepticism, and my head shifted, attempting to escape his touch. The action brought a hammer down on my skull—at least that’s what the pain felt like. Nausea ripped through my stomach in concert with the pain. I wanted to vomit.

“You really shouldn’t move,” the man—my husband—told me. “You’re not well.”

I’m married to a genius, I thought to myself. The hostility behind my sarcasm shocked me. Was the feeling real? And why so strong?

I grabbed my head and belly at the same time and, despite knowing the agony it would cause me, I rolled in a swift lurch to where my chin could extend over the side of the bed. There, I emptied the liquid contents of my stomach. For a few moments I was caught up in dry heaves, feeling every contraction of my abdominal muscles pound with equal ferocity inside my skull. My eyes went blind as a greater darkness seemed to cave in on my brain. I heard the man—my husband—groan with disgust.

 

I woke as disoriented as the first time but with some recognition of my surroundings, especially the spicy smell of wood burning in a stove beyond the foot of my bed. I glanced about in the dark with just my eyes, afraid to move my head. No one was visible. Groggy and unable to form a clear thought about anything, including myself, I paused in hope that something in the dimness would light a memory. I recalled only three things distinctly, all recent: The horrible headache when I moved. A man who claimed to be my husband. Liquid vomit; I had thrown up. Other than that, nothing was certain.

I breathed in deeply, partly searching for the smell of sickness. There was none. The man—my husband—must have cleaned up the mess. Maybe he did care for me. The fact that I felt no endearing emotions toward him—no internal warmth or inherent recognition—made me uneasy. No sentiment tied itself to the thought of him. Not even one hazy memory fought to break through to my conscious awareness. He said he was my husband. My husband. This person I felt no flicker of emotion toward.

No, that wasn’t true.

I had felt something toward him in an involuntary response before hurling the contents of my stomach onto the floor. I had felt animosity. And to it, I had reacted sarcastically. It had been automatic, thus making it real. If this man was actually my husband, I doubted I was happy about it.

I listened in the quiet for his presence, for a sound of movement or breathing, but heard nothing aside from the soft popping of burning wood. I inhaled the spicy smell and experienced a sense of contentment. It too was a genuine emotion conceived internally. For the love of me, however, I could not recall any past occasions spent beside a warming fire. My brain barred every attempt to force an unwilling memory.

Too awake to go back to sleep, I amassed the courage to roll onto my side and perhaps sit up entirely. It all depended on the pain. I turned my cheek toward the pillow first without any unbearable effects, and so my body followed suit. My head throbbed, but not enough to keep my elbow from pushing against the mattress in an attempt to sit up. It was a stupid move. My brain suffered an agonizing jolt, and the room spun, making my stomach reel as if it were churning acid into vinegar. The awful nausea to follow forced me into a full sitting position where I began to vomit air between my legs onto the floor. My stomach was empty and complained fiercely about the fact.

I heard a door creak, followed by a momentary gust of cold air that felt wonderful. My abdomen seemed to relax in order to appreciate the cool reprieve.

“Catherine?”

It was the voice of that man—my husband. He sounded worried.

“Catherine, why are you up? What are you doing?”

He was suddenly seated beside me, one hand taking hold of my arm while the other flattened against my forehead, apparently feeling for fever. His touch was cold from being outside. It felt good.

“Where were you?” I asked.

“I went to see your grandmother,” he replied without the slightest hesitation. I believed him even though I couldn’t picture a face to attach to the woman.

“Is she okay?” I asked, concerned as to why he would pay her a visit in the middle of the night; I assumed it to be around the midnight hour by the quiet darkness.

“She’s worried about you,” he said before changing the subject. “You should lie down, Catherine.” He attempted to steer me toward my pillow, but I fought him by tensing every muscle in my body.

“No,” I refused. “I might throw up again.”

He seemed to agree that my plan to puke on the floor rather than on the bed was preferable, not that my stomach could produce anything but rancid air in its present condition. It took him a moment before he jumped to his feet and retrieved a clay pot for me, meant to collect any forthcoming vomit. I felt annoyed that he had failed to supply me with a bowl long before now. The word “pathetic” came to mind, and I wondered if he had proven to be an annoyance to me in our joined past. Or was I simply an overly critical person?

I held the clay pot to my chest, slumping over it, and asked a string of questions.

“Where am I?”

“You’re home,” the man said, sounding like I had just asked him something bizarre.

“It’s not as if anything is familiar to me,” I snapped. He immediately adopted a tone of apology.

“Of course not, Catherine. I’m sorry.”

I felt bad for my momentary loss of temper. Why did this man whose name I couldn’t even recall seem to try my patience? I wanted to know how to address him, but he had yet to mention his name. I felt like an idiot for my inability to recall it, and so I continued to avoid the subject, hoping the answer might naturally come to light.

“What’s outside these walls?” I asked.

He pointed toward a closed window. “Our village.”

I waited for more, but it didn’t come. “Does our village have a name?”

“Yes,” he said matter-of-factly. Again I waited, but he remained silent. My eyes traveled sideways to find him regarding me with a dissecting gaze.

“What is it?” I finally asked, experiencing a great deal of exasperation.

“Oh, right. Tarishe. We live in Tarishe. We have for many years. I oversee all civic affairs here.”

It was the first bit of information he had volunteered without me asking for it. I hoped he would divulge more, but his tongue halted again.

“What do I do here in Tarishe?” I asked. The question made me anxious. I feared the answer would be as unpleasant to hear as finding out I was married to this man who possessed the power to vex me without trying.

“You?” He seemed shocked by the question. Perhaps he believed I recalled more about myself than I did. I looked down into the bowl on my lap. My neck drooped, and I felt a sickening pain at that simple gesture. It was better not to move at all.

I waited with anticipation, hoping the man—my husband—would speak. A wave of gratitude washed through me when he volunteered a wealth of information about myself, more than he had about anything else thus far. I was not disappointed by the things he shared.

“Catherine, you are a huntress. One of the best in Tarishe. You have provided meat for our village without fail for years. Dompier normally chooses you above all others to join his hunting party. He brags of your skill with a sword, a spear, a bow—any weapon placed in your hands. Of course, your silver sword has always been your weapon of choice. Especially when it comes to protecting the village from werewolves.”

“Werewolves?”

“Yes,” he nodded, watching me closely. “Do you remember the werewolves?”

My brow pulled taut trying to force an image of myself brandishing a silver sword against wolverine beasts. I could picture nothing; it hurt to think. I asked another obvious question.

“Who is Dompier?”

“Dompier? Why he’s one of your closest friends. He calls you Cat. You allow few others to call you by that nickname.”

“Do I allow you to call me by that nickname?” I asked. It was the next logical question.

The man—my husband—stammered a reply. I did not believe his answer. “Well, uh… yes. Yes, of course. I mean you are, after all, my wife.”

I saw an opportunity and took it. “And do I have a nickname for you? Or do I just call you husband?”

“Um… no. You have always used my given name—Thaddeus.”

I exhaled a sigh of relief at having learned his name without the awkwardness of a direct request. Thaddeus. I repeated it numerous times in my head to the point of discouragement. The name failed to conjure up any memories. My spirits sank even lower, suffering the weight of disappointment and fear. What if my past never came back to me? What if I never recalled what made my family and friends dear to me? What if I failed to remember the skills that made me a valuable huntress and protector of my village? What would I do then?

I was surprised by a splash of droplets in the clay bowl below my face. I understood they were tears. I was crying. This truth upset me, and I wiped my cheeks dry. My gut told me I was not a sniveling, weepy sort of creature.

“Are you hungry? Or thirsty? Would you like some water?”

Thaddeus rose from the edge of the bed to fetch the things he offered. I remained hunched over my bowl, afraid to move for fear my head would scream at me again. I was hungry but at the same time nauseous, doubting any food would stay down for long. A few moments later, a thin piece of jerky and a cup of water appeared under my nose. I took the jerky without looking up, thankful for a food item I could simply savor without swallowing. The jerky tasted divine to my tongue, and I assumed my body was craving salt.

“You should drink some water too,” Thaddeus said after a few silent minutes of watching me suck salt off the stick of meat. I knew he was right, but I didn’t dare kink my neck to where I could sip from a cup.

“Let me help you,” he volunteered. I felt his hand land gently on the back of my neck with no adverse effects. The cup was brought to my lips, but my entire form had slumped too far forward to drink. I pushed the cup away, more interested in the salted jerky anyway.

“I’m fine,” I muttered.

“You need water,” he insisted, and then attempted to press my shoulder as if he could make me sit up straight. I reacted defensively. It felt entirely normal to do so.

My eyes narrowed as they shot up, warning him to comply with my wishes. The move caused a shooting pain to travel up my spine before exploding like fireworks in my head. I dropped the jerky onto the floor and hugged the clay bowl, heaving up another supply of rancid air.

I heard myself whimper “make it stop” as blindness stole my sight and then my consciousness.

 

Voices, low and conversing, reached my ear, and I wondered if they were the cause of my wakening. The room continued to abide in darkness, but only because heavy curtains denied the morning a way inside. The outer edges of a window within my view were painted soft gray-blue where daylight attempted to penetrate the drapes. Due to the faint amount of filtered light, I could see more detail in items of furniture positioned nearby.

A chest of three drawers stood tall with sculpted edges, each drawer equipped with a wrought-iron handle. A single shelf held a short stack of books and a pile of loosely-rolled parchments. These scrolls were prevented from rolling off the ledge by a black inkwell lacking a quill. Beneath the shelf, articles of clothing hung on antler hooks: a shirt, vest, jacket, and belt. There was more, but my attention swung to the highness of a ceiling planked by wooden rafters. The room felt bigger without darkness of night concealing the space overhead.

My ears perked up when I heard my own name mentioned, whispered between voices serving as background noise until now. I strained to hear, able to comprehend only fragments of the conversation.

“She awakens more often…”

“…almost healed… hard to kill.”

To kill? My heart palpitated. Were they talking about me?

“…had me worried…”

“Filthy mongrels… tough to eliminate…”

I sighed with relief at the word mongrels, assuming mutts were the object of hatred. Had dogs caused my head injury?

“…told her little.…”

“She remembers nothing?”

“No, no, nothing.”

“It may not last…”

“It might… given time.”

“…too risky…”

“Maybe not…”

“It is too risky.”

Risky? What was risky? What were they talking about?

“I will go ahead and—”

“No! She’s my wife; I’ll handle it my way!”

It was a loud and clear outburst by Thaddeus. But what exactly did he want to handle? And to whom was he speaking? A doctor? It seemed logical my husband was conversing with a medical practitioner, discussing my care. I stirred in bed, wanting to sit up and speak to the man myself. When I rolled onto my side, my head throbbed but with less pain than before. I felt certain my injuries were healing.

“Doctor?” I called out in a weak and raspy voice. I managed to maneuver into a sitting position without excessive pain. My head suffered what felt like internal pressure; however, it was less crippling than the throbbing I had endured in the night. My stomach rolled with a minor wave of nausea, mostly hungry.

“Doctor?” I cried out again, afraid Thaddeus might show him to the door before I had a chance to ask any questions about my condition. I was surprised when my husband was at once standing before me. A smaller form crept slowly out of the shadows behind him. I waited for the person to come into focus under the minimal lighting available.

“You’re awake,” an elderly voice observed.

I saw an old woman plagued by a curvature of the spine. With a wooden cane in hand, she stood comfortably close to Thaddeus. She eyed me strongly.

“You’re not a doctor,” I presumed. I looked to my husband, expecting an introduction, but he denied me the courtesy. My eyes flickered back to the elderly character who continued to regard me through tight eyes. I couldn’t think who this frail creature was or if I had ever seen her before. Despite a mix of emotions nipping at my heart, no specific sentiment grabbed hold.

“You honestly don’t remember me,” the woman decided without asking. I felt a sharp prick of shame in the pit of my stomach.

“I’m sorry, no.” Then I recalled where Thaddeus had been in the night. “Are you… are you my grandmother?”

“I am.” A smile tugged awry on the old woman’s face. I failed to see any compassion in a smirk that made me both wary and untrusting. She did not appear to be a concerned grandparent.

Then Thaddeus turned to her and began discussing me as if I were no longer in the room; they said the oddest things.

“I think we should wait. She’s almost healed and I see no threat of…” Thaddeus stopped short before adding, “I like things as they are—no memory of werewolves or vampires or anything else.”

“Vampires?” I breathed incredulously. Whoa, was I somehow involved with vampires? Had they caused my injury?

The old woman shook her head slowly, disagreeing with something of which I was uncertain. “It is better to give her some memories…”

Some? Not just some—all! I wanted all my memories!

“No!” my would-be husband barked. He seemed adamant that I remain in the dark.

“Yes!” I argued aloud. My outburst went completely ignored.

The man wagged his finger in my general direction. “Do not touch her. I will do here as I see fit.”

As he saw fit? The audacity!

“Bonds must be rebuilt, Thaddeus. There are those she must love and those she must not.”

“I am well aware of that, and I can do it for her.”

A skeptical grin thinned the old woman’s lips. “That stubborn creature will never believe what you say. She needs to have memories and emotions deeply ingrained. She will only believe what she feels internally.”

I was confused. Ingrained memories? But where were my actual, real memories?

“You would force her to feel the things you want.”

“As it was before. She must hate our common enemy.”

“Your enemy, not mine. I’m tired of this petty game. I no longer wish to be a part of it.”

The old woman nearly stood up straight, her mouth gaping as wide as her eyes. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’m done with this tiresome existence. I want to move on. With her.”

“With her?” Those wide eyes flashed an intense hatred at me. I felt myself cringe.

“Yes, with her. You gave her to me.”

“And you fought me tooth and nail! You were dead set against marrying this creature.”

Thaddeus shrugged indifferently. “Well… I’ve changed my mind.”

“Since when?”

“Since the wedding. She is now my wife, and I am her husband. I want a life—a life of my own. Something more than contending with those troublesome werewolves. I want a peaceful existence with my wife.”

“Ha! Those mongrels will never leave you in peace. They will forever seek her out. Peace does not exist with her! She allows no peace, no happiness, for anyone!”

Thaddeus regarded the angry woman, and for a moment he appeared to feel sorry for her. “You could be happy if you wanted to be, if you ceased mourning the past. My brother is dead; he has been for over fourteen years. You should leave him be. Bury him and move on with your life.”

“Lucian was my life! That vicious, hateful mongrel took him from me!” A bony finger pointed down at me as if suggesting I were the mongrel. Their conversation was making less sense as it progressed.

“Lucian was not your only son, you know. Or have you forgotten?”

“I know, I know. Which is why her memories must be carefully restored. I do it to protect us, Thaddeus. To protect you. I will not lose you to her as well.”

Thaddeus was unconvinced. “I want a life, and I will have one—with her. She is no longer one of theirs, nor is she your charge. She is mine. She will love me and remain with me, and we will build a pleasant existence together.”

“Is that what you think? You forget what happens on All Hallows Eve.”

“I’m well aware of what happens on that cursed night, but it is only once a year.”

“She will turn on you—mark my words!”

“I will see to it that she doesn’t.”

“Ha! You are neither powerful enough nor brave enough to prevent it.”

“Stop provoking me, mother! I am more capable than you know!”

My brain was drowning in confusion and anxiety as well as suffering an increasing pressure headache. Thaddeus had called my grandmother his mother. Clearly, these people—these peculiar characters—did not have my best interests at heart. In fact, they seemed bent on securing their own selfish desires at my expense. The need to escape in order to preserve whatever was left of my actual identity prompted me to find my feet. While they were bickering between themselves, I managed a few side steps before the room began to spin and the floor rose to meet my tumbling form. The fall gained me the undivided attention of the pair.

My self-professed husband jumped to my aid, grasping both of my arms with the intention of helping me to stand. I wouldn’t allow it, determined to fight my way free of him and the old woman if necessary. Focused on reaching the door, which unfortunately stood on the opposite end of the room, I was convinced my escape into the village outside would enable me to cross paths with a compassionate soul willing to help a woman in distress. My strength, however, failed me. I lacked the muscle to put up a physical fight, proving more of a nuisance than anything to the man holding me down. Despite my weakened condition, I continued to struggle for my freedom, unwilling to give in to the shady intentions of two oddballs whom I feared were more my captors than the family they claimed to be. I was scolded and told to calm myself.

“It’s alright, Catherine,” the man lied. “No one is going to harm you.”

“You’re right about that,” I snarled, kicking low.

I was prepared to sweep his feet out from under him when my brain lost its ability to communicate movement to the rest of my body. Try as I might, I could not move any of my limbs and remained on the floor, paralyzed. I was instantly afraid. Thaddeus seemed momentarily confused by my stiffness, but then his face wilted into a scowl as he turned to his mother and understood. Her skeletal claw hung in the air, aimed at me.

“I had the situation under control,” Thaddeus insisted, folding his arms in a huff.

“Something must be done about her,” the old woman declared, keeping her claw outstretched toward me. I realized it was by her power I was being held fast and immovable. Even my tongue had been denied mobility or else I would have pled for my life.

Thaddeus made a face, conveying his perturbation at unwanted advice. The man groaned as if he felt coerced to submit to his mother’s will.

“Oh, alright,” he finally ceded.

I gawked at him wide-eyed, unable to beg for mercy. That’s when he told his mother in a tone attempting authority, “You will restore her memories as they were—nothing more.” I felt a mild sense of relief before he slyly added, “No wait. Endear her to me.”

 

I awoke in the dark, warm under a thick quilted blanket. There was no light to see by which suggested the hour was around midnight. I could smell a slight odor of perspiration which automatically turned my nose to myself, realizing in the process that my clothes were missing. I was sleeping in the nude, something I never did.

Trying hard to remember disrobing the evening before—trying harder to remember anything about the day prior—I sensed substantial warmth originating from a source next to me. Close to me. Too close. It was this warmth, combined with the unfamiliar bodily smell, that made me aware I was in bed with someone. Panic seized my heart, making it jump as if it would escape my chest. I was horrified. Not by the circumstance in which I found myself but by my inability to recall what had brought me to it. Where exactly was I? In the darkness, it was impossible to tell.

As quietly as feasible, I rolled onto my side, away from the unknown body providing me heat. I meant to slip out from beneath the covers and search blindly for a discarded garment, but a hand reached out to stroke my arm, causing me to tense up and freeze. The touch was gentle and affectionate. I heard a man whisper at my back.

“Are you awake, Catherine?”

I recognized the voice. It brought with it a flood of memories, the most recent involving me standing under a full snow moon in a luxurious white dress. It was a scene from my wedding. Thaddeus had said “I do.” For me as well, I recalled. But that was the end of my memories regarding the wedding. I remembered nothing after the actual ceremony.

I rolled onto my back again, feeling somewhat relieved I was where I was supposed to be.

“Is this your house?” I asked, unfamiliar with the bed and the prominent musky smell.

“Yes,” Thaddeus answered, continuing to stroke my bare arm. “But you must think of it as your house too, now that we’re married.”

“Married,” I breathed uneasily. My mind was trying very hard to wrap itself around the idea. I knew it was so, for I could recall the monotone murmur of the pastor who had performed the ceremony while Thaddeus stood fancily dressed at my side. But how had I gotten from the red bulrush meadow to lying here naked in bed? My body trembled at the touch of my husband’s hand on my bare shoulder. He held on.

“Are you okay, Catherine? Is something wrong?”

I confessed to him, “I… I don’t remember last night.”

“You don’t?” He sounded surprised.

I felt him move closer. He leaned over and found my mouth with his lips. He kissed me once, softly, his long curls brushing against my face. I didn’t fight him, though the hostility that had existed between us over the years came rushing to mind. Now, however, I felt no bitterness toward the man, despite our past. It was as if our vows had magically erased those years of resentment.

Thaddeus pulled his lips away but remained with his nose near mine. I could barely see him studying my expression in the darkness.

“Are you telling me you don’t remember kissing me like this… among other things?”

I felt a rush of heat to my cheeks, but I had to admit the truth. “I remember the wedding ceremony… and then waking up here just now. That’s all.”

Thaddeus let out a light laugh as his hand went to brush the hair from my forehead. He was touching me, intimately close to me, and I didn’t seem to mind. My head told me I should mind terribly, but I didn’t.

“I’m not entirely surprised you don’t remember,” he smiled. “I should never have encouraged you to drink a toast to our new life together.”

I pulled my eyebrows low. “I don’t normally drink.” I exhaled a note of personal disgrace. “At least not anymore.” I had sworn off alcohol after blacking out on occasion—twice having found myself pregnant without any clue as to the identity of the father.

“I can understand now why you don’t drink,” Thaddeus said, still grinning. “You don’t hold your liquor well at all. Please don’t feel bad; it’s my fault you gave in and drank a glass… actually a few glasses,” he informed me. “But it is tradition to toast the bride and groom. I didn’t want us to appear rude.” His hand landed on my cheek, warming it substantially. “I hope you can forgive me for insisting you partake.”

“So I was drunk?” I asked, deeply concerned about my behavior in such a state.

“You were a perfect lady,” Thaddeus assured me. “That is, until I got you home alone. Too bad you don’t recall that part.”

I wasn’t sure what to think or what to feel. My mind seemed unable to wrap itself around what Thaddeus was saying. I couldn’t imagine giving myself to him willingly. But then again, we were married, and I had been stinking drunk, apparently. Strangely, the aversion I once felt toward him had vanished. It no longer seemed to affect me.

Thaddeus leaned in and kissed me on the lips again. Internally, I wrestled to anchor myself to an emotion that made sense, but my strongest feeling was pure contentment. It was a foreign although pleasant state of being. As his kisses grew more passionate, my body naturally became aroused. He was my husband I kept thinking, repeating the words like a line to be memorized. He was my husband now. It was a simple fact I could wrap my brain around. And so I let my body and Thaddeus have their way, afterwards falling asleep in the man’s arms.

 

Sunlight stirred me awake. I was alone in bed where I recalled everything from the night before. Rising onto my elbows, still naked under the covers, I looked around for Thaddeus. The room was empty. My stomach growled and rolled, upset and hungry. My muscles ached and my head felt heavy, as if I had been asleep for days. I assumed I had slept in, far past my normal time. I hardly ever rose late in the day living with my grandmother; she wouldn’t allow it. The thought of her made me wonder how she had fared her first night alone.

Spying a shirt draped on an antler hook beneath a shelf of books, I grabbed it and slipped the garment over my head. It reached down to half the length of my thighs while the arms were at least a hand’s span too long. I bunched up the sleeves and rolled the cuffs while scanning the one-room house. My interest landed on a wall of cupboards on the other side of the floor, set back behind a table and chairs.

I crossed the room and checked every cupboard for something edible, discovering next to nothing appetizing. There was a container of lard, a small canister of salt, a bag of dried beans, bottles of ground sage and other green herbs, an empty basket with only breadcrumbs, packages of cured jerky, and a pumpkin so rotten it looked like a sunken head. I took a chunk of jerky and began sucking on it, relishing the salt. A search through the only chest of drawers in the room provided me something short-sleeved and decent to wear. It also revealed the hiding place of my silver sword which I at once reclaimed.

Finding a ceramic jug of water, I poured a portion of it into a basin and washed my hands and face. I wet my hair enough to comb through the long strands before braiding them into one long rope that naturally rested across my shoulder. Then, cinching a belt around my waist, looping it through the sheath for my sword, I stuffed another hunk of jerky into my pocket and headed outside.

The sun was visible in its entirety above the walls of Tarishe, which meant the coldest hours of the day had already passed. Nonetheless, the season itself was determined to deny the land much warmth. I ran my fingers around both ears, tucking away any short, stray hairs, and then headed off in the direction of the butcher’s shop in hopes of finding a better meal and something warm to drink. I could smell meat cooking in a smoker, and my stomach reacted by grumbling, hungry enough to be nauseated. When I rounded the apothecary’s place onto the busiest stretch of road in the village, I spied a group of huntsmen gathered directly in my path. Their voices were loud and merry, the conversation rich with laughter.

The group noticed me in my approach. One powerful voice called out above the others, greeting me.

“Alas! Look who’s up and about! It must be a sign, Cat. Or should I say… Mrs. Thaddeus?”

I pulled a face at my good friend’s teasing. “It’s still Cat to you,” I told him, stepping up close enough to receive a strong hand on my shoulder. “What sort of sign are you looking for now, Dompier?”

“Ohhhh,” he sang in a lilt, “just a sign that you’re right as rain again.”

My brow crumpled its concern—a look that caused an eyebrow to arch on Dompier’s hairy face.

“What’s wrong, Cat?” He seemed to eye me warily.

“You saw me drunk last night,” I murmured, assuming that was his reason for seeking a sign I was well again. Dompier flickered a glance at all the other huntsmen who instantly reclaimed their bright mood. My big friend squeezed my shoulder and shook me playfully.

“Sorry to tell you this, Cat, but there ain’t one here who could answer that question honestly, seeing how we was all drunk as skunks ourselves!”

There was a loud round of guffaws that actually made me feel better about having forgotten the greater part of my wedding night.

Dompier threw his arm around my neck. “We were just talking about heading up toward the hills to search for elk. How ’bout it, Cat? You want to join in the hunt today?”

My heart leapt at the chance. My stomach, however, reminded me it was emptier than a hollow log.

“Yes,” I started to say when a happy chorus of huntsmen drowned me out. It warmed my heart to feel their acceptance. I dared to finish my sentence. “But I have to get something to eat first. I’m ravished.”

“Easy as pie to fix.”

My hairy friend steered me away from the others and into the nearby butcher’s shop where a tasty cut of smoked pork was pressed into a circle of bread and then handed to me along with a jug of warm cider. The butcher tossed me an apple and a friendly wink on the way out. Dompier settled up with the man as I went to rejoin the hunting party, but my steps slowed when I noticed our village leader—my new husband—among them. I was concerned he meant to spoil my plans. Of course, he had a right to object to me leaving, seeing how the next few days were technically considered our honeymoon.

My first instinct was to insist I have my way, but that stubborn determination dissolved like froth when I suffered an overwhelming need for peaceful interaction between us. Trying to make sense of what was a terribly foreign reaction to this man, I reasoned that any success in our marriage would only be hindered by a selfish argument.

“Catherine.” Thaddeus neither smiled nor frowned as he sized me up. “I didn’t expect to see you out.”

I wasn’t sure why he would say such a thing. Hardly ever in my life had I remained cooped up inside any dwelling.

“I was hungry,” I told him. “There’s very little food in your cupboards.”

“In our cupboards,” he corrected.

“Our cupboards,” I repeated quietly.

He nodded, admitting what I said was true. “I’ll have to remedy that.”

“Well… I’m good for now.” I held up the smoked pork sandwich from which I had taken a few bites.

There was an awkward moment of silence where I thought for certain Thaddeus would try to steer me back to his house—our house. It was a huge relief when Dompier threw his bulky arm around my neck and again announced his intention to take me elk hunting with the others.

“We’ll take good care of her,” he assured my husband. “We won’t let the new missus out of our sight.”

Thaddeus seemed to grapple with the decision. I wanted to stretch out my neck and announce that I was joining the hunt whether he liked it or not, that it was my job to supply the village with game, that I wasn’t suddenly incapable of choosing my daily activities because I was married, but I couldn’t seem to get my tongue to pronounce the words. My brain and my mouth seemed unable to communicate, as if they were making use of opposing languages.

“I—I… I want to…” were the only words I could manage to stutter. Again, I felt a formidable need to maintain a peaceful rapport between us. I tried to console myself with the thought that plenty of future hunts would be mine.

“Ah, let her come along, Thaddeus.” Dompier gave me a strong sideways hug. “We could use her sword. And you know she’ll be yours the whole night.”

There were a few wry smiles flashed at the remark, but no one dared snicker in my presence. Despite my unusual passivity toward Thaddeus, I still had no qualms about putting my fellow huntsmen in their places. On their butts if necessary.

“I’d prefer you didn’t go far,” Thaddeus finally said, ceding to the will of the majority.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief and then immediately hated myself for acting as if my actions hinged on his ruling. Thaddeus leaned in to kiss me, his lips shifting at the last minute to land on my cheek rather than my mouth. I wondered if he too was battling conflicting emotions because of this marriage.

Dompier pulled me along while the rest of our party gathered up their gear, preparing to leave. I hurriedly devoured the food in my hands and felt a renewal of energy course through me. Dompier insisted that I slip into a leather jacket and a fur hat, voicing how it would be his tail if I caught my death of cold. He grinned with humor at the sight of me, but wisely said nothing.

Thaddeus was standing at the gate when we arrived, waiting to let us out. Dompier gave him a single nod, and the gate was opened just enough for our party to file out in pairs. My hulky friend and I were the last to leave, catching a final order from our village leader.

“Be back before sunset.”

I met my husband’s anxious gaze, but neither of us exchanged a word. When the gate locked shut behind me, I experienced a wave of exhilarated relief.

“How about we head towards the river?” Dompier said, a twinkle of adventure in his eyes. I felt the same excitement course through my veins.

“I’ll follow you anywhere,” I grinned.

We hunted as a group all afternoon, tracking fresh hoofmarks from the riverbank, but we failed to come across any elk. Luckily, a wild boar surprised us by making the mistake of accosting our head hunters at charging speed. These men took the animal down with spears and then cut open its belly, wrapping up the meat in hide cloths. Dompier and I strayed from the butchering site and ducked through a thicket of trees to head for a shallow ditch that bordered a small, open meadow. This dip in the woods was a favorite spot for bucks to hunker down and keep out of sight. We crossed the meadow together, remaining under cover of shade just inside the tree line.

“What’s wrong?”

I flickered a glance at my tracking partner, wondering what he meant. “Nothing,” I answered, shaking my head.

“Don’t lie to me, Cat. You’re at my tail when normally you’d be up here in front, eager to be the first to spot a pair of antlers. Somethin’s wrong.”

I grinned askew at how well Dompier could read me after years of camaraderie. “I just… I feel like something’s off in my head,” I confessed.

Dompier slowed his progress and looked hard at me. “How so?”

“I’m not sure why or how exactly, but it feels like I’ve lost my edge when it comes to Thaddeus. I’m having a tough time standing up to him, and you know I’ve never had difficulty standing up to that man… or anyone else for that matter. Except for my grandmother,” I wisely added, “but that’s different. She raised me; I owe her enormous respect. It would be wrong to oppose her.”

Dompier spit out a single chuckle. “I did notice you held back speaking your mind this afternoon.”

“Yes!” I exclaimed, grateful he had noticed. “And you know I’ve never been tongue tied around Thaddeus before. I’ve always voiced my thoughts, but for some unfathomable reason I feel hesitant now. And oddly—very oddly—I’m not experiencing the same sense of repugnance toward him. None at all, in fact. How could such strong feelings simply die overnight?”

“Well…” Dompier breathed, thinking. “Tell me what your feelings are now.” I looked at my big friend, honestly scared to voice the truth. His expression urged me to confess.

“I feel…” I shook my head, hardly believing what I was about to say. “I feel comfortable and… I don’t know… content, I guess. I feel like our marriage vows were somehow a truce declared between us, and I feel desperate to keep the peace. But at the same time, I fear that I’ve lost myself, as if my will and my drive and the strength of character I’ve always possessed has been compromised.”

“Strength of character doesn’t mean you have to battle everyone who tries to get close to you, Cat.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? ’Cause you’ve been fightin’ people all your life. This is the first time I’ve ever seen you get close to a man, and it’s only on account of your grandmother insisting on it.”

“It’s not a requirement to have a man in my life,” I said with undue defensiveness.

“No, it’s not. But if you ask me, I think you want it. And I think you’re happy to finally have one who means to stick around. And I think there’s a part of you afraid of screwin’ this up—even if it is Thaddeus.”

I scoffed at his theory. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“Look, Cat, there ain’t none of us who don’t want someone to love and care for us and provide that warm body we can curl up to in bed. Heaven knows I’m thankful for the affections of my own missus. Maybe you never expected to have such things—until now. Maybe the subconscious part of your head is trying to protect this relationship by making you bite your tongue around your new husband. I think your heart knows what it wants, Cat, and it’s trying to keep your marriage from being spoiled by that ‘strong character’ of yours.”

I sighed uncertainly and voiced perhaps my greatest fear. “I don’t want this marriage to change me.”

“Well, it’s dern well gonna do just that. Aye, it already has! And, although you seem reluctant to admit it, I think deep down you want this to work out, even if it means softening up your nature a bit.”

I locked my jaw defiantly and looked to the treetops, squinting at nothing. Was he right? Was this involuntary submissiveness simply a manifestation of my deeper desire for a successful marriage?

“It’s okay to let your guard down and love someone, Cat. It’s okay to be happy.”

I didn’t reply to Dompier’s advice, but I let it ruminate in the back of my mind. As luck would have it, we spotted antlers—a six-point buck—sticking up from the ditch ahead. I crouched low and overtook my partner, coming to the drop from within our cover of trees. There was more than one buck. All three were fast on their hooves when we were spotted, but my arrow was swift and accurate.

Dompier celebrated out loud, communicating to the others our success in acquiring additional meat. He then helped me skin the animal.

We followed a red horizon home, making it to the front gate of Tarishe before the sun fully set. The earthy scent of fire and smoke was strong, rising from pits within the village. It always grew darker inside the walls of Tarishe sooner than in the forest outside, thus the need for fires and fixed torches. Thaddeus was present to greet us upon our return, smiling at our haul of fresh meat. He made his same ignoble speech to those who were gathered, managing to pat himself on the back for conscientious leadership that made fruitful hunts possible, providing plenty of meat for his beloved villagers.

“That’s your noble husband,” Dompier murmured cynically as he threw his sack of venison in a cart provided by the hands who would take over. “Good thing we give the man plenty to take credit for, eh?”

I groaned under my breath. The self-importance Thaddeus assumed from his authority wasn’t his most favorable trait, but it was a fault to which everyone had grown accustomed.

After we were thanked by numerous individuals, receiving enough pats on the back to be assured our hard work wasn’t overlooked, the meat was carted off to be cut and processed. I meandered over to the nearest fire pit to steal some warmth for my cold hands when an unusually strong sense of inner calm washed over me. It slipped in with the shadow of a presence which I promptly comprehended as Thaddeus standing beside me. The oddly pleasant reaction to him made me think of Dompier’s words. I could not recall a time I had ever felt agreeable emotions towards this man, and therefore I began to wonder if it wasn’t in truth my subconscious yearning for a gratifying relationship despite our disagreeable past. The idea of no more loneliness was appealing.

I looked up at my husband and wished it were possible to read his thoughts. I used to feel certain about his opinion of me; it seemed obvious the way we quarreled. But he had asked my hand in marriage—or my grandmother had asked it for him. Had his feelings changed? I was stunned by the potency of hope that encouraged me.

“Are you ready to go home, Catherine?” he asked. “It’s warm inside the house. I kept a fire going for you.”

I continued looking at him, unsure how to respond. “Thanks,” I managed to say and then glanced in the direction of his house—our house.

“Well, you are my wife. And I know you don’t like the cold.”

I’m his wife, I thought to myself. He had said the words as if that simple fact made it necessary to be both thoughtful and kind. As if having gained a wife or husband meant having also gained her or his concerns, and hence the need to consider the person’s needs, wants, and preferences as strongly as one’s own. It struck me as a perfect description of what marriage ought to be. An agreeable notion that had not entered my petty way of viewing matrimony. I would have assumed it to be above Thaddeus’ egotistical mindset as well.

“Catherine?” he said again, watching me regard him with a quizzical expression. “Are you ready to go home?”

I nodded, which made him smile.

There was little said on our walk home. I followed Thaddeus along a torch lit path. He looked back at me numerous times, perhaps wondering what weighed so heavily on my mind. Why was I unwilling to accept the peace my emotions seemed determined to inflict upon me? Why was I fighting the idea of solidarity? Did I want to be alone?

No. No, I didn’t.

Years of strengthening my independence, perhaps believing on some level that my fate was to be forever solitary, had made me a strong and capable woman. I feared change. But did marriage demand a drastic change in my nature? No. Why should it? Strength of character wasn’t a flaw or an enemy to marital happiness. Yet I feared becoming a different person—a vulnerable, reliant, weaker person. Dompier had insisted change had already occurred in me to some degree. I did in fact feel susceptible emotionally around Thaddeus and yet without a total loss of myself. Is this what love did to people? Disarmed them with lures of peace and happiness? But if peace and happiness and companionship were indeed to be the outcome, why fight it?

“Catherine?”

I swallowed back my unsettling emotions and looked up to meet the eyes of my husband. He stood aside, holding the door open, waiting for me to enter his… no… our house. I could feel heat escaping from the room. In order to prevent undoing Thaddeus’ efforts to warm up the place, I hurried inside where my feet paused just past the threshold. The one-room space was dimly aglow, illuminated by a handful of thick candles arranged on the tabletop and also at the foot of a large bath basin. Steam rose from the tub, suggesting a hot bath had been prepared. The house smelled less of musk and more of bread and simmering stew and a hint of lilac. The table was set for two, no fancy dishes, but a protective tablecloth had been spread beneath the tableware.

“You… you made dinner?” The question came out in an incredulous manner. Thaddeus took no offense.

“And I had water heated for a bath. I thought you might like to clean up after hiking through the forest all afternoon.”

“That’s… very thoughtful,” I said because it was true.

Thaddeus gestured towards both the steaming stew on the table and the steaming bathtub. “You can start wherever you’d like.”

My eyes flickered back and forth and back again. Perhaps he thought I was incapable of deciding because he pulled out a chair and asked me, “Are you hungry?” I nodded that I was. I had eaten nothing since lunch, having been too involved in the hunt to remember the apple stored in my pack. Thaddeus began to help me out of the borrowed leather jacket and hat. I unbuckled the belt about my waist, releasing the silver sword in its sheath at my side. All the items were placed in a pine-needle basket near the door.

I stood there feeling awkward in his shirt, which covered me like a tent without the belt keeping it snug against my waist. My appearance must have sparked something in his memory.

“Oh, I put your clothing in the bottom drawer over there.” He pointed across the room where the bed rested in a corner with a chest of drawers beside it. “I gathered up some things from your grandmother’s.” He then pointed to the opposite end of the room. “And there is plenty of food in the cupboards now; you shouldn’t have to go out in search of something to eat. Not that you can’t go out, of course, because you can go out if you want to. Within the village, I mean. Not outside the gates—not without an escort. It’s the law, you know.”

I wanted to laugh at the nervous way Thaddeus fumbled with his words. Once again, I experienced the strongest endearing sentiments toward him. Dompier’s words echoed in my head: “It’s okay to love someone. It’s okay to be happy.”

Right at that moment I was keenly aware of how happy I felt.

My day had been a pleasant one spent hunting—a favorite pastime. I had come home to a warm dinner, a warm bath, a warm room—attentive gestures presented to me by this man to whom I was married. He apparently longed for the same consideration and companionship in marriage as I did.

It was okay for me to have this. It was okay for me… for us… to be happy.

A sense of true contentment swelled in my chest, and I allowed myself to succumb to it. Being a wife would change me. It would. But if it meant gaining this sweet happiness, it seemed a desirable change.

My husband placed his hands on the back of the chair which he had pulled out from the table. He stood still, patiently waiting for me. I took the seat and thanked him for all the preparing and stocking of shelves while I had been away. He seemed greatly pleased by my spoken appreciation, which made me feel strangely satisfied, and so we smiled at one another.

From that point on, it was as if the contrary chapters from our past—the entirety of our previous existence—simply evaporated, mingling inseparably with the steam warming our one-room house.


 Richelle E. Goodrich, Copyright 2018




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Friday, October 27, 2017

Chapter Six from The Tarishe Curse

 

Chapter Six

Hideous Aberration

 

Bravery demands sacrifice.

A selfish heart can never be anything more than cowardly.

 

 

Kresh and I stood silent and alone. At least, I believed we were alone.

After a timeless pause, my husband dared a verbal word. “You can still change your mind. It would mean more time with our children. They’re growing up fast, Duvalla.” It was a persuasive, guilt-ridden offer not meant to hurt as it did.

“I can’t. I told Natasha I would be staying for good the next time we met up. To go to her now would make me a liar.”

“No, not necessarily. We could heighten our defenses and—”

“Please, don’t do this. You know it’s too dangerous.”

Things fell quiet again, and we stood there waiting… and waiting.

My muscles tensed at an unexpected shiver, an unsuitably cold reaction to the warm late-afternoon. Nonetheless, I felt chilled to the core, as if my heart were receiving a transfusion of ice water for blood. My mind had come to a dead-end contemplating past, present, and future decisions. It seemed that every choice I made hoping to protect my family was tied to a consequence that inevitably injured them. Harm was the result of everything I did—everything I had done—regardless of selfless or heroic intentions. The truth hit hard, suddenly horribly clear, as if stepping up to a full-length mirror. The Tarishe curse had taken on my own likeness. I had become the curse, a scourge to my family. This had always been the witch’s plan.

Kresh put his arms around me from behind, and my frame shook more violently feeling his body heat. I was freezing in an inward polar current, trembling on a tiny island of quaking ground, internally falling to pieces. I swiveled around voluntarily and clung to my mate, grateful for the strong, warm embrace that held me close to his beating heart. I feared the steady rhythm would stop, that I would make it cease by some awful choice. I had nearly lost the sound of his heart’s drumming once already. I could not bear to suffer that loss again.

“Duvalla, it’s going to be okay. Everything will be okay.” He held me against him, his heart pounding rhythmically, alive and strong. His lips pressed against my hair—kind and compassionate kisses. “Calm down, Duvalla, relax… you’re okay. You’re okay.”

He was lying to me; I wasn’t okay.

My strength of will had slipped away. An onset of sobbing evaded my ability to dam it. I wanted to flee, to escape, to run and never look back. I yearned to vanish with Kresh—just the two of us. Together we could survive without putting anyone in harm’s way. We alone could evade the witch by living out our lives in dark shadows, never standing still, never looking back.

But no. No, no, no. To flee would amount to another wrong choice. A selfish choice attached to further hurtful consequences. I would hurt Kresh and our children and Sarti.

There was no escape outside of killing the witch.… or myself.

Kresh held me tight as I grieved in his arms. I was weary and terrified and sickened by years of senseless death and destruction. The nightmare slowly destroying us had to be stopped.

At length the tears abated, and my form once again calmed by means of a slow transmission of body warmth. All encumbering emotions were drained. Mentally, I shoved my fears aside and wiped clean a tear-stained face. Standing tall and with renewed determination, I looked up in the direction of a setting sun. The light was sinking but continued its steady downpour of golden rays. A few hours remained until nightfall. My hand naturally felt at the hilt of my sword, clasping ridges with fingers that formed to them perfectly.

“This ends tonight,” I declared, silently vowing that if Barron the gargoyle failed in his task, I would accomplish it—one way or another.

“Very good. You have made a wise choice.”

Kresh and I crouched warily at the startling remark. I drew my weapon instinctively, recognizing the voice a split second before the stone creature shoved out from his hiding place. A chorus of simmering growls amplified at the same instant—my werewolf brothers. Apparently, they too had been taken off guard.

With a critical look, I questioned Kresh about the wolves’ presence. I had been under the impression everyone had fled.

“You’re not going alone,” was all he said to justify it.

“I thought we agreed—”

“You’re not going alone, Duvalla.”

“So much for following orders,” I grumbled. He was needlessly putting more lives at risk.

“We’re sworn to protect you,” he countered, brazenly adding, “Following orders is by choice, not oath.”

I gave up disputing the issue, more concerned about gauging the actions of the gargoyle approaching us. Besides, the village of Tarishe was located miles from our present position. Racing all night, those werewolves didn’t stand a chance of crossing the terrain before sunrise, and Barron couldn’t possibly carry more than two of us in flight.

My gut continued to warn me about the gargoyle when he stepped forward, his footfall bouncing pebbles off the ground.

“You’re early,” I accused, guardedly raising my sword.

“No, I am not.”

I stole a glance at the lowering sun, noting how a portion of it shone through the trees to reflect off Barron’s granite skin. Curious.

“I thought the sun was harmful to you. It doesn’t appear to be.”

“I am not a vampire.”

“Clearly you’re not, but Jovani said you and he share a similar aversion for sunlight.”

Kresh cut in, voicing what he knew about Barron’s race. “Gargoyles are rumored to turn to solid stone during daylight hours, unable to move or speak until the last rays of sunset vanish. It’s said they are entirely vulnerable at that time, helplessly frozen and yet fully aware.”

I looked to Barron for an explanation.

“Aye, it is as he says.”

“Then how do you continue to move despite a glaring sun?”

His stone lips formed a devilish smirk, and I felt another guttural prodding to be cautious of this creature. “Some curses are not all bad, Cat.”

I winced at his familiar use of my nickname, hating it the same way I hated hearing Thaddeus speak it. “My name is not Cat,” I complained.

“You will call her Queen Duvalla,” Kresh demanded, “or forego all werewolf assistance with this reckless plan of yours.”

Barron pointed his chiseled chin toward the sky, appearing to defy the sun by basking in a beam of sunlight. He ignored Kresh’s threat, but I noticed that for a while he ceased to address me by any name.

“It is time we go. The others are anxious.”

I was trapped in a bulky embrace before I or any of the werewolves could react. Sparks flew where the sharp edge of my sword scraped along my captor’s granite hide, having no more effect than if he had been a sharpening stone. I had suspected all along that the weapon would prove utterly useless against him.

Barron easily disarmed me. Resisting him seemed a waste of energy.

He then reached for Kresh who remained in human form throughout our chilly flight that ended once again outside the same dark cave. In my mind, I had begun to refer to the stale hole as Jovani’s Lair. It seemed fitting.

Checking the horizon, I wondered how long it would take our werewolf brothers to reach the canyon below us. By the autumnal coloring of the western sky, I was certain they didn’t have much time.

“I see the filthy mongrels have agreed to join us. Wise move.”

At the sound of Evadine’s cutting remark, my eyes narrowed and peered straight into the cave. I correctly assumed that she and Jovani were inside awaiting sunset; however, my sight wasn’t keen enough to pierce the blackness. Kresh replied to the vampire mistress with a growled threat.

“We can turn back. There’s nothing stopping us.”

“Do not go…” I barely made out Jovani’s features when he approached the cavern’s mouth, keeping just within its protective shadow. “Please, forgive her. She is justifiably upset. You must understand, this evening promises great relief for us all but at significant risk, especially to my dearest.”

I nodded, feeling as much on edge as his dearest. “We’re all at risk tonight.”

“That we are, Queen Duvalla.” Jovani’s use of my distinguished title was startling. Clearly, he feared what was to come, and he didn’t care to face it alone. “I pray our combined efforts put an end to our miseries once and for all.”

“Yes—as your brother promises.”

Barron looked directly at me and repeated his assurance from the previous night. “My plan will work.”

“So says the only one in no danger,” Kresh grumbled.

“That’s not true.” It shocked me how insistently I came to the gargoyle’s defense, but I felt the urgent need to be right about him. “If Barron is discovered in his plan, he risks suffering the wrath of the witch as well. She would destroy him for his treachery.”

“Unless he means to hand over all three of you and remain a loyal servant to that vile hag.”

Again, I adamantly argued in favor of the gargoyle. “No, no, that would end Evadine’s life. He wouldn’t dare hurt his brother that way.” My eyes flickered to Jovani and then to Barron, checking. Both acknowledged my words with a nod. “And besides, if the intent was to hand us over, why waste time giving us a choice? He could have subdued us one by one and hauled us in by force. I’m not sure we could have prevented him.”

“Well spoken.” The monster seemed pleased with my show of confidence in him. If only my churning gut were as convinced.

Kresh kept silent beside me as Barron rehearsed his deadly plan. I listened with my eyes aimed at the horizon, witnessing the night consume a final red vein of daylight. It struck me that nightfall always drowned the sunset. Never did the sun resurface from where it sank, nor would it ever.

When my eyes turned back, Jovani and his mate had moved outside the cave, their forms bleached gray by moonlight. A host of vampires stood close at their backs, equally colorless. I found their loyalty to Jovani and Evadine admirable, though I wondered if I would continue to see it that way when my memory fully returned.

“It is time.”

My heart faltered, but I braced myself, forcing courage to be my companion. Death was assured this night. It was a necessary end, like the sunset, warranting no fear.

Barron took me in one arm and ordered two vampires—Percival and Traïsean—to carry Kresh. I witnessed Jovani and Evadine change form, their black wings stretching taut to take flight. They would fly nonstop to a half-mile point outside the Tarishe gates. There, Barron meant to bind and haul us into the village himself.

I was calm and determined until I heard the order given for the remaining vampires to backtrack and collect the werewolves presently headed in our direction. I objected vehemently.

“No, leave them! You don’t need them.”

“But we do. They will provide a useful distraction.”

“No, I don’t want them in harm’s way.”

“I am afraid they have already chosen for themselves.” The gargoyle took to the air, as did a vast flock of mammoth bats that veered off the opposite way.

“Barron, I never agreed to this!” But all attempts at protest on my part were drowned out by the wind.

 

We soared just above the forest in our approach to the village, eventually cutting through the treetops to land beside Jovani and his anxious mate. Her wild eyes gleamed with suspicion as they darted between Barron and me. Jovani’s lips formed words at her ear, what I assumed were whispers of reassurance, but she refused to be pacified. Clearly, and with good reason, the vampiress feared for her life.

I grunted when my buttocks hit the ground. Distracted by Evadine’s apprehensiveness, I had failed to observe Barron unearthing sections of rope with which he proceeded to bind my ankles after shoving me down.

“That wasn’t necessary,” I complained, jerking my fastened legs from his hands, “and I don’t see why this is either. You’re unquestionably stronger than I am; isn’t it believable enough you could haul me in unbound?”

 Barron didn’t bother to answer. He simply gestured for me to extend my arms. Grumbling, I complied, wrists touching. I imagined, correctly, that he would find the vampire pair less cooperative. Jovani managed to convince Evadine to allow a loose wrap around her wrists. She would not agree to anyone handling her ankles. The rope proved to be no ordinary rope, however, and as soon as she discovered it was impossible to stretch, checking the tension with her supernatural strength, both Evadine and Jovani started in with fervent protests. One rasped question shut them up.

“Do you think I could honestly drag you to your death unrestrained?”

The vampires stiffened, their angered stares as bright as burning coals. No doubt, they were questioning the wisdom of agreeing to this precarious plan.

I gasped the loudest when the ashen couple were swept off their feet, caught up in a netted snare trap. Barron had slyly backed them into the trigger. I could see him smirking. Jovani cursed up a storm more blistering than any in the netherworld, but try as he might, the netting proved unbreakable. Its design had obviously been enhanced by the witch—created for the task her stone henchman had been sent to carry out.

Barron wasted no time taking to the air, gripping me with one arm, towing his vampire catch from behind.

We set down in the heart of the Tarishe village at an hour most villagers would be fast asleep and dreaming. Jovani and Evadine were dropped from a safe-enough height, but they hit the ground hard. They quickly found the opening in their snare. When Barron landed, I remained wedged between his rock-hard forearm and chest.

The partial moon shed enough light for adequate vision, though smoldering fires provided extra illumination, including a source for the formation of eerie shadows. Barron’s silhouette, drawn-out and distended, appeared to sway side-to-side on the wooden hut in front of us. It reminded me of an angry demon encroaching upon some unsuspecting soul. At the site of my old rickety dwelling—the witch’s hut—a powerful rise of affection slammed against my chest from within. It was a feeling of adoration meant for the grandmotherly figure. The intensity of emotion angered me. It was false love, the effect of a malicious curse that twisted my heart. I hoped Barron would mutilate the witch’s heart in return.

When the gargoyle roared aloud for his mistress to appear, I wondered why his trumpeting voice failed to awaken the entire village. No candlelight flickered to life in any window. No one but the deceptively frail sorceress stepped outside. Her beady eyes peered hard at us, as keen as those of a lion gauging the strength of its prey. Barron released me, shoving me forward in the process. With ankles bound, I took a painful dive to the dirt. The gargoyle then dropped to one knee, head bowed. He repositioned my sword to keep it concealed at his side.

Meanwhile, Jovani and Evadine managed to free themselves from the netted snare, standing erect and frozen in place like slender icicles. Jovani acted as a shield for his beloved, hiding her from view. I couldn’t help but fret over what they were about to face.

Barron rose from bended knee and spoke to the witch.

“Mistress, I have returned. I offer you the persons requested, and I bring another—the runaway bride of your son.”

The witch wrinkled her nose glancing down at me and then shifted her piercing gaze onto Jovani. One moment he was a motionless pillar, and the next he was gone, vanished along with Evadine. I sat up straight, alarmed and afraid they had been obliterated without a word of warning. Then I realized it was the vampires’ exceptional speed that had caused the illusion of evaporating. Evadine had bolted with Jovani right behind her, but to no avail. The cord binding the vampiress turned out to be enchanted, and with a single beckon from the witch, the captive was forced to return despite desperate efforts to pull away.

Jovani positioned himself in front of his mate and began to plead for mercy.

“I did all you asked of me! I led your son directly to her; I used the sword; I cut down the werewolves. You promised leniency in exchange for an act of loyalty. Leniency, you said! I swore in exchange to serve you, which I shall—I shall! Please, honor your own terms and give me a chance!”

“Impossible. I cannot trust you.”

“But you can! The unfortunate events that took place at the wedding were the result of a madman driven by desperation! It was a mistake!”

“A grave mistake indeed. One deserving of grave consequences.”

“I have lost too much already. Please, show me mercy.”

“The same mercy you meant to extend to me?”

Jovani ceased pleading for himself at that point. “Evadine played no part in it. She doesn’t deserve to be punished. I beg you, let her go, she’s done nothing. She deserves no harm! Deal with me—punish me, torture me if you must, but let her go!”

The witch moved toward them, investing her full attention. It appeared she was growing taller as her spine straightened out in anticipation of delivering a lethal dose of vengeance. I looked up at Barron, expecting him to see the perfect opportunity to approach our enemy from behind. But he failed to budge, remaining too far separated and just within the witch’s peripheral vision. He needed to get closer to her, to shift sideways and prepare to strike.

Rotating onto my hip, I reached with bound legs and kicked at the gargoyle’s ankles. When his eyes dropped on me, I subtly gestured for him to sneak in for the kill. He appeared to hesitate—a sign of unwillingness that bothered me considerably. I had to assure myself he wouldn’t just stand there and allow Jovani to suffer the death of his mate. He wouldn’t betray his brother… would he?

A sigh of relief crossed my lips when Barron advanced and withdrew my sword. He took a ready stance, waiting for the prime opportunity. The vile hag would soon attempt to conjure a nasty spell. I scuttled across the ground nearer to the vampires, in case I was needed as an added distraction.

All the while, Jovani continued to beg for leniency. The witch was torturing him by means of dread, backing him into a cold, dead end. Evadine fought fiercely with the rope cuffs that drew her inch by inch toward the witch. As she strained to pull away, Jovani worked likewise to shove her back.

“As if your pathetic attempt on my life was not enough, you performed further treachery by abducting my granddaughter a second time from the arms of her new husband.”

“I am not your granddaughter,” I hissed, but no one was listening.

“It was not treachery,” Jovani insisted, “not the least bit! You have been terribly misinformed…” Before any further questioning could take place, Barron opened his mouth and attempted to explain why the vampires had snatched me from Thaddeus yet again. I was shocked he would draw attention to himself, thus forcing him to transfer my sword behind his back. It was an unnecessary and stupid move.

“Mistress, if I may, Jovani is sincere. He meant to show you his worth. He cut down the werewolves in Cat’s company, as you ordered. Afterwards, he thought to bring the girl directly to you as a gesture of allegiance. He would have done so had I not prevented it.”

Suspicion continued to screw up the old hag’s features. She appeared unconvinced of any creditable intent. “Thaddeus was to bring her home. It’s what I sent him out to do.”

“Yes, Mistress, but Jovani hoped to prove himself—to demonstrate his penitence and earnest desire to remain in your service.”

I was getting nervous, wishing the idiot would shut up and stick to his own plan. What did any of this matter?

The witch kinked her neck to look up at the gargoyle. “I will not forgive a traitor. I cannot trust him.” Her cold stare softened while locking eyes with Barron. A thousand wrinkles seemed to melt away as her skin relaxed. “But you, my loyal old friend, I do trust you. The benefits of our relationship are profound. We profit considerably from the other’s talents, do we not?”

“Yes, Mistress. It is true.”

“Yes. Yes, indeed. Such advantages would be sorely missed if that trust were to fail. You would once again become victim to the solidifying rays of the sun, making you vulnerable day after day after day. I fear it would be a death sentence.”

Barron lowered his head as if receiving a reproachful warning. I feared what this meant. Did the witch suspect something? Did she possess some uncanny intuition? It couldn’t be so. She had never shown any sign of being able to read me.

The sorceress twisted around to face Jovani once again. I watched Barron bring my sword forward and stare hard at the blade.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I worked on unknotting the rope around my ankles. The tie wouldn’t give. Overhearing Jovani’s cry, I glanced up to find bony fingers raised like a claw bearing down on Evadine. The witch was muttering a chant of black magic. Barron had my sword in hand but failed to strike at the heart of our enemy as planned. He did nothing but stare blankly at the blade. I wondered if he had been turned to stone.

“Stop it!” I screamed, scrambling to my knees. “Stop your cruelty this instant! Leave them alone! Is vengeance all you know, you awful, haggard, old crone?”

My outburst proved successful at putting a halt to whatever evil had been put in motion. The old woman turned her eyes full on me for the first time, looking genuinely shocked by my insolence. I continued to struggle with my bands, desperate to free myself.

“Catherine?”

“That is not my name, you barbarian!”

“How dare you speak with such disrespect to your own grandmother!”

I felt a rise of endearing emotion constrain me—undoubtedly her doing. It took great effort to defy her further. “You… you… you are not my grandmother! I know who you are… and I know who I am!”

“Oh, do you, child? Then perhaps I should repair that corrupted memory of yours first.”

I dared her with a steady glower, a dare she couldn’t resist.

Instead of drawing near to me, her bony fingers beckoned the ropes to drag me across the dirt, depositing me at her feet. She reached with one hand, meaning to place it on my forehead, when a chorus of howls halted her midway. Her eyes scrunched, glancing about, hearing werewolf cries from all sides outside the Tarishe wall.

She accused me first. “You brought them here.” Then she turned to accuse Jovani. “I told you to kill those mongrels, you worthless parasite!”

“I did as you ordered; I slew her werewolf escorts. There was no time to hunt down the entire pack.”

The witch waved off his lies. “Baugh!”

“Mistress! Mistress, let him finish the job now.” We all turned to stare at Barron, every eye wide with incredulity. He went on speaking. Pleading.

“Allow Jovani to hunt down the rest of those dogs and put an end to our torment. He will do it. I vouch for him…… as a brother.”

“What?” The witch appeared as stunned by his turnaround as I, though not half as outraged. “You would foolishly call this traitor a brother?”

“Mistress, please hear me out…”

“Noooo!” I screamed. The coward was tucking his tail between his legs. He was risking our plan, putting everything on the line. And for what? To appease a heartless hag so he could remain mobile in daylight? Was that truly worth all our lives?

“You fool! You weak coward!”

At my outburst, the surrounding howls increased in volume.

The witch was visibly nervous, her attention drawn in too many directions. “Shut her up!” she cried, pointing at me. Barron’s plan was working as predicted… if only the stool pigeon holding the sword had the guts to strike.

Just then a figure stepped out from under the jutted roof of a storage shed, taking form once the shadows no longer hid him. He had been silently watching our little play the entire time. I tried to yank my arm free when he took hold and pulled me up to my feet.

“Lovely to have you home again, wife.”

“I am not your—”

“Oh, give it up, Catherine. Your dog mate is dead, and I’m the only one left alive who would have you.”

I spit on his boots in an act of defiance that caused him to roll his dark eyes. “You can spit shine them later… wife.”

“Over your dead—”

“Uh, uh, uh!” His finger was in my face, wagging like a puppy’s tail. Thaddeus seemed pleased with himself for having effectively cut me off a second time.

My eyes narrowed and I huffed out of my nose, half-tempted to bite off the tip of his finger. Resisting, I tried to reason with him through gritted teeth. “Untie my ankles or I will fall over.”

His bushy eyebrows sank low, considering the request.

“Thaddeus!” I barked, anxious to have the use of my legs. I wobbled, making a feeble attempt to move my feet, proving the obvious need to have my ankles freed.

Thaddeus kept me upright in his grip. His bushy eyebrows sloped with concern. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said.

I groaned, both annoyed and impatient. “Please, husband.” I nearly gagged on the word. “It’s not as if I can run away from you. I tried that yesterday, remember?”

He made a single chuckle recalling our game of cat and mouse. I allowed myself to wobble helplessly again, letting him catch me.

“Oh, alright.”

As soon as my ankles were free, I shoved my hands into his chest, demanding he untie my wrists as well. It was astonishing that he did so without argument.

All this time Barron spent trying to convince his mistress to spare Evadine’s life as a humble favor. The witch listened to his appeal without mumbling a word. Whether she was hearing him out or silently seething, I wasn’t sure. The scene I looked back on showed my sword lying flat on the ground at her feet, the traitorous gargoyle on one knee pleading.

“…I have performed loyally in your service for as long as you have known me, Mistress, and I shall continue to serve you for as long as you will have me, but it is a hard, hard thing you ask of me this time. Never have I questioned your orders or requested any favors above what you have generously offered. But I beg of you this one small thing… spare my brother. Refuse him as a servant if you must, but please, for my sake, in return for years of unquestioned loyalty, I ask that you allow him to return home to DeVan Peoria with his mate. It would cause me tremendous grief to know he had lost everything. Nonetheless, I will do whatever you command, but…”

Barron continued groveling while a chorus of howls sang continuously in the background. He whined like a pig until the witch finally cut him off. She appeared to come to her senses—or at least to a decision. She asked one simple question.

“Did you destroy his clan?”

The lengthy gap of silence was answer enough, but the witch waited patiently for him to reply.

“I had every intention of doing the deed but… he is my brother. I… I beg your forgiveness, Mistress.”

“Where are they now?” she asked.

“They are near.”

The witch pointed into a black alley. “Go now! Bring one here to me.”

My eyes grew wide when a second gargoyle stepped out of the darkness, spreading his granite wings as he took off with a jump that scarcely lifted him over the high walls of Tarishe. The world came to a sudden stop as we all waited. Kresh and the other werewolves sounded closer and louder in the silence.

With my wrists untied, knowing I had nothing to lose, I jerked my arm free from Thaddeus and tore into a sprint, hoping against all odds to reach my silver sword and take one stab at putting an end to my curse.

Thaddeus prevented it. His mother glared daggers at me for the attempt. Barron didn’t dare lift his double-crossing gaze in my direction, but Jovani looked straight into my eyes, exchanging mutual concern. I could tell he had expected none of this.

My would-be husband tried to haul me off, but I resisted, demanding to witness how things played out. He eventually gave in and stopped at a spot where we could watch the others in the shadow of an overhang.

My heart thundered in my chest when the unknown gargoyle returned towing a dangling figure by one leg. He threw the vampire down beside the witch and then disappeared. When the captured man stood up, he tossed his head back to remove lengths of charcoal hair from his face. I recognized him as Percival—one of the pair who had carried Kresh here.

We all looked up at the catwalk when a second vampire climbed over the wall—a petite, slender female with sunburnt curls. Concetta, Percival’s mate, scanned the scene below, seeking answers. Her worried gaze came to a rest on Jovani. She received nothing but a dire frown in response.

The witch ordered Barron to his feet, and he quickly obeyed.

Her hand reached sidelong with unexpected swiftness. I would not have guessed her capable of hurried movements. Whatever incantation she was mumbling caused Percival’s head to drop back and his body to stiffen like he was being squeezed by an invisible hand.

“No, don’t let her do this,” I breathed. Thaddeus held more tightly to my arm and warned me against interfering. “I will drag you off, Catherine.”

I didn’t move. I could do nothing to stop it.

Percival was alive but restrained. Jovani continued to guard Evadine, warier than ever. Like me, he knew there was no preventing these events. Concetta, however, jumped down from the wall and raced over to her mate. She cried out, cursing the witch while tugging on Percival in a desperate attempt to free him. The sight was heartbreaking.

The result was a test. A disgusting test.

“Kill him,” the witch ordered.

There was no hesitation.

The cold-hearted rock fiend didn’t pause long enough to blink let alone consider the gravity of his decision. He ripped Percival apart, tearing the defenseless vampire into pieces, limb by limb, with Concetta beating on him, crying out hysterically the entire time. Jovani and Evadine looked away, unable to watch. I wanted to avert my eyes too, but I couldn’t. It was incomprehensible why this gargoyle would betray his sworn brother and sink to such horrific depths simply to keep from succumbing to sunlight. And still, there was no guarantee the witch would pardon his deceit.

I lost all strength in my legs watching the barbarity ensue. Thaddeus prevented my collapse by gripping tighter on my arm. He pulled me close to him, embracing me for stability, and I allowed it. Concetta’s screams halted because the traitorous gargoyle turned on her next, dishing out the same fate her mate had suffered. It was an evil he must have considered merciful by some warped reasoning: she wouldn’t want to go on without her mate. A fate worse than death.

I knew the feeling.

With a flick of her twiggy fingers, the wicked witch caused a violet ball of fire to consume the mound of broken body parts. The air distributed the raunchy stench of death. It made me want to vomit. I resisted an urge to turn and run. Not yet. Evadine’s fate remained to be seen. I feared it would be similar to Concetta’s.

At his mistress’ command, Barron again took to one knee. He refused to look anyone but her in the eye.

“You have done well, my old friend. And you see—it wasn’t as difficult as you falsely assumed. For your sake, I will extend a degree of mercy. This I do for one reason alone—because you came to me and confessed your troubles. You have shown a morsel of good sense, unlike your pretended brother. But make no mistake, to earn my complete trust again will take time. I believe, with effort, it can be done.”

“Yes, Mistress. Thank you, Mistress.”

The old hag rotated to face Jovani who continued to block Evadine from view. One rotation of a bony wrist, together with a mumbled line of magic, compelled the vampiress to lurch forward, shoving Jovani aside as if he were nothing but a hollow reed. The lady vampire refused to beg for her life. She stood up straight, chin high, jaw taught, red lips tightly pursed. Her gorgeous eyes were crimson slits glaring at the face of death.

Her mate, however, found it more difficult to compose himself. He made a move toward Barron, as if believing their oath of brotherhood still meant something. The gargoyle kept his eyes fixed on the dirt. Forced to accept the monster’s betrayal, Jovani then looked right at me. He saw me, despite the concealing shadows. My heart bled with empathy, having tasted the same degree of misery and treachery, but what could I possibly do?

On the other hand, what would be lost by trying?

With all my strength, I elbowed Thaddeus in the ribs and then kicked his kneecap sidelong. He let go of me and grabbed at his leg, howling in pain while stumbling to the ground. I sprinted forward, not sure what I would do. A picture of my fingers clawing out two bulging, beady eyes flashed in my head, but the closer I got, the clearer I could see my sword still resting on the dirt.

A glowing hand shot out in my direction, so I ducked to avoid whatever spell was meant to restrain me. At the same moment, Jovani dared to lunge at the witch and knock off her aim, only to be caught by the throat. He was lifted off his feet and tossed aside—a demonstration of impossible strength for an old woman. His hands grabbed at his neck as he sputtered and coughed, struggling for air.

Evadine went to attack next, but one magic gesture had the charmed cords about her wrists yanking her to the ground. I ducked another hurled spell by diving headlong, sliding across the dirt to where my fingers managed to meet up with the hilt of my sword. They clamped around the grooved end, achieving a secure grip on the weapon.

A scream shot from my lungs as I felt every bone in my hand snap and pop as it was squashed flat. Barron’s foot—his massive stone foot—stood on my hand, pinning it and my blade to the ground.

The werewolves’ howling increased in unison, mixed with vicious yapping and the sound of splintering wood echoing from various outside locations. I continued screaming out in pain when Barron released my hand—bloody and mangled. He swiped my sword and stepped aside, once again dropping to a knee like a trained monkey.

“I will deal with you next,” the witch warned me in a hiss.

It was Thaddeus, however, who came to deal with me first. He scooped me up while I continued to cry aloud. Carrying me back into the shadows, his hand gently cupped my bloody fingers. Every step we took was a throbbing pulse tormenting enflamed nerves until they suddenly numbed, pain free. My hand swelled, feeling nothing, before a flow of warmth expanded and subsided. It then felt normal. It looked normal—the bones and bleeding healed. I wiggled my fingers, finding them as good as new.

Astonishment screwed up my features. “H—how?” I stuttered, “and why?” I stared at the witch’s son—bewildered.

He studied me with a degree of puzzlement in his own eyes. “Because you’re my wife.”

I was not. But that didn’t matter. Thaddeus’ attention shifted when mine did, back in the direction of the vampire couple. They were on their feet again, the witch controlling them both.

“Stop this,” I begged. “Please, Thaddeus, make her stop.”

He frowned for a split second as if experiencing an actual sting of regret—another utterly shocking occurrence. “I’m sorry, I can’t.” He set my feet on the ground but kept a good grip on me. “If you knew their true nature, you would feel no sympathy for them. Those vampires are your enemy. You’ve forgotten.”

I believed what he said was true, but… “No one deserves the degree of cruelty your mother inflicts.”

Thaddeus started to walk me away from the scene before the final punishment was carried out.

“No, wait. I have to see what she does.”

“Why? It doesn’t matter; you won’t remember any of it.”

His words sent a jolt of terror to my heart. I wouldn’t remember any of it, including Kresh howling outside the gates for me. And my dear children who were now running further away to find a corner of safety. “It matters to me. I want to see,” I said. “Please.”

We stood and watched the end play out.

Barron hadn’t moved, still a kneeling statue with bowed head. Jovani and Evadine were also still, though I guessed their motionless state was the result of a spell. The witch stood in Jovani’s face at this point, berating his choices, labeling him a dire disappointment and a failure. “I cannot trust you,” she repeated again and again. “Grave mistakes deserve grave consequences.”

All eyes caught sight of her withered hand as it slipped out from beneath a sleeve, glowing iridescent. The brightness about it increased by degrees as it stretched toward Evadine and landed on her red-brown curls, topping her head like a radiant crown. A glare made it near impossible to look at the scene, even squinting. I cringed, anticipating a cry of agony; however, the vampiress made no sound at all. Not a whimper. When the witch’s hand fell away, snuffing out the light, I was stunned to discover Evadine alive.

Alive, but not well.

As unmatched as her attractiveness had been, Jovani’s mate now appeared a hideous aberration, drained every wit of physical beauty. Her appearance was repugnant enough to repel a troll.

Upon sight of her own withered hands, Evadine shrieked. She felt at her face—the lumps, warts, and oozing sores. “Noooooo!” she exclaimed in horror. “What have you done to me?” The vampiress attempted to go after the hag who had mangled her features, but her feet, now fat and heavy, were too awkward and clumsy.

Jovani moved swiftly to help his mate, no longer affected by an immobility spell. She collapsed in his arms, shouting and weeping hysterically. He seemed stunned for the longest moment looking down at her, but then his eyes narrowed, glowing red with anger. He turned his hostile gaze on Barron who had glanced up, overwhelmed by curiosity. If the look had possessed lethal power, the gargoyle would have crumbled right there into a pile of gravel.

“Go now,” the witch growled, sweeping a hand in no general direction. “Leave before I change my mind. But remember this: if any member of your clan is ever spotted near Tarishe lands, I will destroy you all.” She began to walk away, hunched and shuffling like a typical elderly figure.

Jovani failed to move, a glower fixed on his brother gargoyle. The witch paused a moment and then turned back to issue one last command.

“On your way out, finish what I summoned you for in the first place. Silence those dogs. Do it… or your lovely bride dies.”

Jovani’s eyes flashed wide open, shifting to stare at the witch.

“Now be gone!” she growled.

He looked at me and read the horror on my face.

“No,” I breathed as her words slammed hard against my brain. As if mangling Evadine wasn’t enough, she had placed the woman’s life on a scale next to the lives of my pack. I shouted at the vampire. “No! Please, Jovani, no! Don’t do it!”

The vampire made no sign; he agreed to nothing. He would protect Evadine regardless of the cost. I was certain of it. His previous actions had proven it.

I continued to shout, begging for the bloodshed to stop and for the werewolves to be left alone. When Jovani and his mate transformed into bats and disappeared over the wall, I began cursing the witch, fighting to jerk free of her son’s grasp. She looked at him with annoyance, ignoring me, telling him to drag me to the hut where I would again be blinded into loving my enemies, hating my family, betraying my husband.

I nearly yanked free, more desperate than ever to get away, when I heard the witch order her boot-licking gargoyle to help Thaddeus take me to the hut. And then the world turned crazier still. For a moment, I was too stunned to fight. The witch had called the monster by name. Not Barron. She had called him Dompier.

I watched his figure diminish as the witch passed by, transforming him under a drizzle of violet sparks from gargoyle to man. It was Dompier. My eyes blinked a dozen times, but the huntsman I knew as a comrade in arms, the man whose wounds I had shed grief-stricken tears over, the friend who had mesmerized me with heroic stories—it was this man now stepping toward me… smiling.

“It’ll be right as rain again soon, Cat. You’ll see.”

I stomped on Thaddeus’ foot more than once and then tore away from him, racing around the corner to the darkest side of the shed. Cutting directly through a narrow alley, I weaved my way toward the town hall. I ran hard, avoiding moonlit spaces. Keeping out of sight meant a few more precious seconds. I would need every one.

At the rear of the largest and tallest building, I scrambled up a wide chimney flue, using cavities in the brick as holds. Once I reached the rooftop, my arms stretched over the edge and pulled my body weight up to where I could fling a leg over. I jumped to my feet and dashed toward the nearest stretch of catwalk that circled the fortress wall. With a running leap, I cleared the gap and lifted myself up on the wall itself, clambering higher onto a support post.

It was the tallest point in the village.

I heard a shout from below and recognized Thaddeus’ pathetic petitioning. He was insisting I climb down, demanding my immediate compliance. My toes shoved off the wooden post, knowing any hesitance would give them time to stop me.

I dove headfirst.

I understood my death wouldn’t end the vampires’ afflictions, but it would defeat the curse methodically destroying my werewolf family. I pictured heaven for a split second—the heaven I had tasted earlier that day cuddling my babies with Kresh.

It hit me then that the werewolves had ceased howling.

The ground hit harder.





Richelle E. Goodrich, Copyright 2017



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