Butcherbird

by Cassie Hart

‘Almost a week ago. We went out to the swamp and—’

  Will groaned and buried his face in his hands.

  ‘Stop making all that noise and tell me what the fuck is going on!’ And she was the one who grabbed him then, pulling his arms down so that he had to look at her. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘It’s possessed. The watch.’ He choked the words out. ‘If Cade has it ….’

  Jena’s chest clenched up and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She sunk to the floor, her brain going through all the slivers of information she had, all the things she believed and the things she’d cast off as being pure fiction.

  She didn’t believe in the spirit world. So, this meant nothing.

  Cade was still Cade.

  Sure, he was a little more possessive, a little … strange.

  The way he’d fucked her so differently ….

  But he’d just been tired and cranky. What with the driving, and then the walking.

  ‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ Jena said. Her words were muffled by her hair over her face, by her hands which covered her mouth. ‘It’s just a watch.’

  Will dropped down beside her, kneeling on the faded linoleum, his eyes dark pools of pity. ‘It’s not just a watch, and he’s not just Cade any more. We have to get it off him. Have to get out of here.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Jena!’ Cade’s voice came down the hallway.

  Jena straightened her hair and put a smile on her face, grabbing the crock pot with both hands and standing up, just as Cade came into sight. ‘Found it!’ she said to him. ‘Was right in the back. Will’s just shoving the rest of the junk away. Guess it’s all going to have to get cleaned out at some point, though.’ She said this with a grimace, looking down at the floor as though the offending items were still there. But she met Will’s eyes, pleading with him to just be normal. To pretend.

  He reached out, pulled a cupboard door quietly open and then banged it closed before standing up. ‘I think half of that stuff hasn’t been used in a decade. Make sure you give it a good clean.’ He shook his head and moved away from her, stalking out of the room and leaving her alone with Cade.

  ‘I don’t trust that guy,’ Cade said. ‘Something’s not quite right there.’ His eyes followed Will long after he was gone.

  ‘Oh, he’s okay. Besides, he’s not our problem. He’s just here for Rose.’ Jena rounded the bench and slipped an arm around Cade, pulling him close.

  He felt like he normally did. No, better than normal, because he was actually pitching in. ‘I’ll just get this on then I’ll be out. Don’t want to leave you alone with the weirdo for too long.’ She laughed and pecked him on the cheek before moving away, but Cade caught her hand and drew her back.

  ‘It’s not him I want to be alone with,’ he murmured, kissing her. She grinned against his lips, though she had to force it a little, still remembering last night, and then pried her hand free.

  ‘Later. Now get back to work. This place isn’t going to sell itself.’ This time she managed to escape. She pulled out all the ingredients and set about preparing dinner, but Cade just stood there.

  ‘I still think you should keep the house. We could be happy here. Start a family, maybe ….’

  ‘Cade. We’ve never talked about a family. I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, this isn’t like you at all.’

  She froze. Not like him at all.

  ‘I just want to be with you. You and me and no one else, not for miles and miles.’ His voice was soft, tender. Loving. And yet it sent a chill up her spine.

  Stupid Will and stupid Rose and their stupid theories.

  ‘I’ll think about it. I promise,’ she said, though she couldn’t inject those words with any joy. ‘Now go paint the fence. If we do stay, it’ll look nice for us, and if we’re going to have a house it should be nice.’

  But she couldn’t imagine it. Not making a home here with him. He didn’t fit. She didn’t fit. At least, she didn’t think she did. Not any more.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  JENA

  Jena headed for the bed and lay down on it, staring up at the stars on the ceiling. Cade was off doing god knew what, and she just needed a few minutes to think.

  There was a rap at the window, and she shot up to find two magpies there, perched on the sill. They watched her with their dark eyes, and her heart fluttered and then settled, her fear contained.

  She tiptoed across the room, hesitating only a moment before unlatching the window. She moved it slowly, but the old sash window snagged at the same place it always had. Muttering a curse word under her breath she pushed harder, startling the birds onto a nearby branch as the window hit the top with a loud thud.

  ‘Sorry, sorry,’ she whispered, placing her hands on the window sill and leaning out. ‘I didn’t mean to startle you. I ...’ She didn’t know what to say; wasn’t even sure why she was talking to these birds. But they’d knocked on her window so they must have wanted something.

  She reached out a hand and the one nearest hopped closer, cocking its head to one side, looking at her with its beady black eye. Bird eyes had always freaked her out, but she could see that this creature meant no harm. Maybe none of them ever had. She felt a bit foolish for having been afraid, but no one had ever explained to her that there was no reason to fear.

  The bird moved from foot to foot and then jumped over to the window sill, landing right by Jena’s other hand. Its black and white patches were pristine; the markings could have been the shape of something familiar if she looked long enough. She cautiously raised her hand and stroked the bird from its head down its back; it wriggled, pushed into her palm and made a weird noise that she could only interpret as enjoyment, so she did it again, a smile spreading across her face. She was patting a magpie. Who would have thought?

  The breeze from the window and the soft twittering of the bird must have masked the sound of Cade entering the room, because she didn’t know he was there until his hand reached out and grabbed the bird by the neck. He twisted it with his other, the small creature going limp as he tossed it out the window. ‘Piss off you rodent,’ he yelled at the other one, waving his hands at it before slamming the window shut.

  Jena’s heart thudded in her chest but she was frozen in place. By the time she came unstuck Cade had crossed the room and flung himself on the bed.

  ‘What did you do that for?’ she asked, her voice coming out in a whisper.

  ‘Those things carry disease, Jena. Filthy birds. You shouldn’t encourage them, or touch them. Go get clean.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Go and have a shower. You’re not getting in this bed until you do.’

  ‘Cade—’

  ‘Jena. I told you.’ He got up off the bed and moved towards her, the menacing look in his eyes enough to make her take a step back. She grabbed her towel off the hook on the door and left, pulling the door closed after her.

  She leaned against it, sucking in a ragged breath. The look on his face ... The way he’d snapped that poor bird’s neck ….

  They had to leave this place.

  He wasn’t meant to be in the country, that was the only explanation. He was bored and there wasn’t enough to do, and secretly he hated it, despite his weird mentions of wanting to stay. Or maybe dinner hadn’t been cooked well enough? Jena tried to think of anything she might have done to make him act that way.

  When her heart was pounding less frantically and she was able to catch her breath, she pushed off the door, heading for the bathroom. She didn’t need a shower, but she did need the time to think, and she sure as hell wasn’t going back into that room without washing off.

  Jena had to play her cards right, convince Cade that leaving the farm was the best thing to do. She refused to think that her family madness was somehow contagious, but he wasn’t like this – had never acted so violently before – so it had to be something about this place. Or about her in this place. Maybe just her in general ….

  She dried off, slip
ping into her pyjamas and drying her hair with the towel as she padded back towards the bedroom. She steeled herself as she entered.

  Cade was on the bed, gazing out the window. Jena hung the towel on the hook and went to sit down beside him.

  ‘Hey,’ she said softly, putting her hand on his knee.

  ‘Hey, I’m sorry about before. I don’t know what got into me.’ He turned to face her, gracing her with a smile. ‘Good shower?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah it was. Thanks for suggesting it.’ She bit her nail and then forced herself to stop that. ‘It gave me some time to think.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘I think … I think I’m ready to leave. I didn’t know how emotional it would make me, being back here. I don’t think I’m going to get to a place where I feel comfortable in these walls. I just want to go, get back to our life.’

  ‘We left our life behind. We were starting over, remember?’ He sat up, reaching for her hand and squeezing her fingers gently. She tried not to flinch.

  ‘Yes, and that’s what I want. Our new life. You and me, on the road, looking for some new destination to make our own.’

  ‘We were going to stay until the farm sold, until you could get your share of the money. We need that money.’

  Jena bit her lip. ‘I’m pretty sure that Rose has money sitting in the bank. I bet if I talk to her, I can convince her to give me what’s mine now, and then we can go. I don’t want to be here any more.’

  Cade was silent for a moment. ‘No,’ he said simply.

  ‘What?’ Jena frowned, pulling her hand away from his. ‘What do you mean, no?’

  ‘We’re not leaving, not until this is finished.’ His face was stern, but not cruel. She couldn’t understand why he was being like this.

  Why he didn’t get it.

  ‘You can’t make me stay here. I hate this place. It’s like I can see their ghosts everywhere I go. I can see them in the hall and at the table. I can hear their laughter, their screams and yells, and every time I so much as look at the barn I remember what happened that night.’ She gasped, as though the cold air of the night was stinging her again, as though that old fear of how her daddy would react if he noticed her missing still clutched at her chest. Tears springing into her eyes. Cade wrapped his arms gently around her, and she let him, her already tense body giving nothing of her conflicted feelings about him away.

  ‘All of that is why we need to stay. Rose owes you. If we leave now you won’t get what you deserve, so we have to stick it out. Think of the life we’ll be able to have. This farm is worth a fortune, and land is selling fast at the moment; I looked. Hell, we could just sell it to the Mertenses. We just need to get it on the market.’

  Jena pressed her lips together, trying to keep whatever was boiling in her stomach inside. Either he didn’t get her at all, or something really was changing. She couldn’t let him know how afraid she was, though, because she was afraid of him. Of what might be inside him.

  ‘Jena, I’m serious.’ Cade tilted her chin so that she was looking him in the eye. ‘You’re going to get what you deserve.’ A smile played on his lips. His words should have been comforting, but they sent a chill racing down her spine and she shuddered.

  She wasn’t sure she deserved anything good.

  ‘I might take a little walk around outside, get some fresh air before bed,’ Cade said.

  Jena stiffened. ‘You’re not going to talk to Rose, are you?’

  He ignored her, pulling on a sweater as he headed for the door.

  ‘Cade, I’m serious. It’s late and she’s an old woman. And more importantly I don’t need you fighting my battles for me. I can talk to her on my own. You don’t need to strong arm her into making sure she gives me enough money.’

  ‘Chill out, Jena. I’m honestly just going for a walk. Do you need a drink or something? You’re really tense tonight.’ He said it with a kindness she didn’t expect, and though his face was devoid of emotion she could sense a sneer somewhere. Swore she could see a darkness over his face.

  The Dark Man.

  ‘I’m fine. Good night, Cade.’ Her voice was chilly, and he took the hint, leaving her to it. Did she need a drink? Of course, she needed a drink, but she wasn’t going to have one. Not tonight. Not tomorrow, either. Not until she’d found a way to get them out of this mess. She waited a few minutes to be sure he wasn’t going to come back, and then went over to his bag. She pulled everything out, digging through his clothes to find the watch, but it wasn’t there. He must have it on him.

  Shit.

  She shoved his clothes back in his bag – he was so messy he wouldn’t notice that she’d gone through them – and then leaned back against the bed, pulling her knees up towards her chest.

  Maybe just one drink. Just to unwind her, to help her sleep, because if she didn’t get any sleep, she was going to be no help to anyone.

  Jena reached for the bottle.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  WILL

  The front door was open, letting in the chilly night air. Will went to swing it closed and then paused when he saw Cade out by the oak tree. His back was to the house, and Will had no idea what he was doing. He hesitated with his hand on the door and then decided to close it, and lock it behind him as well. It would buy him some time, and this way Cade would have to knock to get back into the house.

  Or break a window, his inner critic told him, which he might do if he was possessed. Will shook the thought free and headed upstairs, gently rapping on Jena’s partially open door before sticking his head inside.

  ‘Jena?’

  She lifted her head off the bed and looked at him. There was sorrow in her eyes, and he couldn’t help but notice the bottle of rum on the floor next to the bed; at least it wasn’t empty.

  ‘Why? Why did this have to happen? Don’t I have enough shit in my past? Do I really need more? I don’t know what I did in a past life to deserve this, but it must have been awful. I must have been the worst.’

  ‘Not your past life, Jena, it was Rose. Don’t take any of the blame for this because it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t back then and it isn’t now. If she’d just told you, just been honest ….’

  ‘Except she was. Kind of. They always told me stories about the Dark Man. We never believed them; we thought they were just tales to make us be good, to keep us away from the dangerous parts of the farm. I never really believed they were true.’

  Will sat on the end of the bed, careful not to touch her. On the off-chance Cade got back into the house, Will didn’t want him thinking he was trying to make a move on Jena.

  ‘But they are,’ he said.

  Jena nodded stiffly. ‘She was trying to protect me. I get that now. I just wish it didn’t have to be that way. Cade is … he’s … The moment he touched that watch, he changed. I’m so scared of what might happen next.’

  Will didn’t speak for a moment, and then decided to tell her. ‘He tried to come into Rose’s room last night. I woke up when I heard his footsteps and I locked the door.’

  ‘He killed a bird,’ she whispered.

  Will frowned, sure he’d heard her wrong, but then she said it again.

  ‘He killed a bird. A magpie. It came to the window and I opened it and the bird let me touch it and then he came in and killed it. Snapped its neck and threw it out the window. Will, I couldn’t believe it. Cade might not be the best person in the world, but he’s never been violent. Until now.’ Her face crumpled and he scooted closer, offering an arm. She leaned her head against him and he squeezed her shoulder awkwardly as she sobbed.

  ‘I don’t understand. Why is this happening again? How could she let this happen?’

  He didn’t say anything, just let her cry for a couple of minutes before pulling away. She wiped her eyes and tried to smile.

  ‘Thanks. I can’t talk to Cade about this.’

  ‘Obviously,’ Will said.

  Jena shook her head. ‘No, not in general. I always thought it was safer that way, ke
eping the parts of me that were broken locked up. Maybe that was wrong, but it’s too late for that, with Cade.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Jena. I am. I did some research, and if we can get the watch off him and destroy it, then he might be free from the influence of the spirit. I know Rose thinks that the only way to end this is to kill him—’

  Jena straightened. ‘Kill him?’ She shook her head frantically. ‘No, not that.’

  ‘Chill, Jena. If we can get it off him, destroy it …. It might just work.’

  ‘And you have some bright ideas about how to do that?’

  Will shrugged. ‘Sledgehammer? Burying it isn’t enough, fire didn’t destroy it. Maybe sheer force. If we can shatter it—’

  ‘We’re only going to get one chance at this.’ She looked him in the eyes, determination filtering into her gaze. ‘Once we take it, he’ll know. If it doesn’t work, he’s going to drop any pretence and come for us. All of us.’

  ‘We need to be ready. To either run, fast. Or fight.’

  ‘I don’t know how to fight him.’ Her shoulders sagged and the hope drained away.

  ‘But Rose does. She’s done it before. She’s still alive despite this thing wanting to get to her for most of her life. I think you should talk to her, Jena. I think it’s time you two had that heart to heart. I’ll ask Cade for some help with … something. There are a few jobs to do around the place and I’m sure I can find one to keep us busy for a bit.’

  Jena bit her lip, but then she nodded, a slight smile crossing her face. ‘Okay. Tomorrow. You can distract Cade and I’ll front up to Rose.’

  Will stood up and took a step towards the door before turning back. ‘Just, don’t let her run circles around you. Put your foot down and be firm, but give her time to talk too. Sometimes you need to wait; don’t fill in the silence because if you do, she won’t open up.’ He wanted to tell Jena that this was important, that it might be their last real chance to communicate if things went sideways, but from the look on her face she didn’t need his reminder.

  ‘G’night, Will. Thanks for … well, you know.’ She gave a half shrug and sighed.