Butcherbird

by Cassie Hart

  ‘Apart from me.’

  Rose leaned forward, a fanatical gleam in her eyes. ‘You’d been saved. It was the birds. They stopped you from getting back to the barn. I knew then that you’d be okay, that you were looked after, and I sent you to live with your aunt because it terrified me, the thought that you might find that watch and be taken over as well. I’ve lost everything, Jena. I couldn’t lose you too.’

  ‘But you did lose me.’ Jena shrugged, unable to feel anything past her childhood hurt.

  ‘It was better to lose you that way than this. And now Cade ….’

  Jena shook her head. ‘Will and I have a plan. We’re going to get the watch off him and destroy it.’

  ‘I’ve tried that.’ Rose frowned and slouched back against her pillows. ‘Don’t you think I’ve tried? The best I could do was confine it to the swamp, and as long as I was living, I could guard it.’

  ‘And what about the next poor sod who came along?’

  ‘I’d always thought that once I died, he’d give up too.’

  Jena snorted in derision. ‘Really? He’d just give up and move on to the next life, or whatever waits beyond? Settle down and get a real job? Start a family?’

  ‘It’s always been me he was after. It made sense.’

  Jena blew out her breath and shook her head. Her grandmother had always been strong, determined, but this was arrogant. She’d seen Cade’s face this morning, seen him last night. Whatever was inside him wasn’t going to go quietly to the afterlife just because Rose was dead, but she didn’t think there was a way to get that across. And the way he’d been acting towards Jena made her think that she was the more appealing snack now.

  ‘Why you?’ she asked. Two simple words, but the question weighed far more than six letters could contain.

  ‘Because I brought him here,’ Rose sighed. ‘Because of the light inside me; he wants to take it for himself.’

  Jena scrubbed her face with her hands, trying to make sense of this. Trying not to be frustrated with the overload of information, with the tenuous nature of some of it.

  ‘Look, I don’t think we can hope that he’s just going to go away when you die. And I’m not going to let him take you. We need to plan for the worst.’ Jena swallowed hard, hoping it wouldn’t come to that. Hoping that they could save him, even if she couldn’t save their relationship. ‘Will and I are going to fix this. Please don’t hurt Cade. I need to save him, if I can save him … Rose – Gran.’

  Rose levelled a stare at Jena. ‘I’ll do what I have to, to keep you safe. You’re the last of our line, Jena. If you die because I didn’t do what needed to be done, I’d never rest.’

  Jena shook her head, suddenly scared of losing her, this woman who had caused her so much pain. Who she’d spent far too many years being angry at. ‘Gran, you’re too sick. You can’t take him on. I’m asking you not to try because I care what happens to you and I know you’ll do whatever it takes. That stubborn gene runs in the family, remember?’

  ‘And I’ve had more years of practice than you, young lady.’ It felt like Rose’s gaze was burning a hole in Jena. ‘I will kill him, or I will die trying.’

  Jena’s mouth dropped open, the sincerity of Rose’s words hitting her like a tidal wave. This woman was for real; she honestly thought she had a chance and she would take it when she got it, even if it meant she died in the process.

  ‘Jena.’ Rose spoke again, but this time her voice was quieter, if no less firm. ‘You have to promise me you won’t ever give in to him. If I fail …. If you fail, never go willingly. There are more things on this earth than we know of and you must fight. You must stand up for those who can’t, but you must always look after yourself first. No one else will, not once I’m gone.’

  Rose reached behind her neck and fiddled with the clasp of her necklace, which she then held out to Jena. It was the same pounamu Rose had always worn, so it had never seemed special to Jena. Never stood out.

  ‘Take it. It was given to me not long after I arrived here. It’s kept me safe, at least I believe so, and now I want you to have it.’

  Jena took the necklace, noticing the details for the first time. The setting around the top was silver, which wasn’t common. It didn’t mesh entirely with the pounamu, but they were melded together as if two different cultures had a hand in its creation.

  ‘Gran. I can’t. It’s yours and ….’

  ‘And what if I die?’ Rose raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m going to die anyway. It’s got nothing to do with you. Take the necklace and put it on. Now. It will protect you.’

  Jena hesitated for a moment longer, but then she grasped the black cord and tied it tightly behind her neck. The carved greenstone felt warm on her chest, the weight of it less than she imagined – and it might have only been in her head, but she did feel safer for it.

  ‘Thank you, Gran.’

  ‘It’s the least I can do. Never take it off. Never.’ Rose held Jena’s gaze until she nodded. ‘Good.’

  Jena thought she saw a flutter of wings in her peripheral vision, but she turned to find nothing there. The window was empty; just the trees and the green grass spreading out until the expanse climbed into the mountain. And the sunshine. It was a lovely day, but that didn’t make her feel warm or happy. Sooner or later they were going to have to kick off their plan or the entity inside Cade might dig its claws in so far there would be no saving him.

  ‘I need some rest, Jena. Why don’t you go check in on the boys? Probably don’t want to leave them alone together for too long.’ Her words were heavy with meaning, so Jena stood and gave her grandmother a kiss on the forehead.

  ‘Thank you for the necklace, and for telling me what you knew. I’m glad we had a chance to talk.’

  Rose gripped Jena’s hand harder, her thumb rubbing circles into her skin. ‘Take care. Promise me.’

  ‘I will, I’ll be as safe as I can, but we can’t predict what will happen and I’m not going to live my whole life in fear. Okay?’

  Rose released her, a slight smile slipping across her lips as she leaned back and closed her eyes. ‘Lock the door on your way out, little bird. I don’t want to be disturbed.’

  Jena watched as her grandmother appeared to fall asleep, and then she left the room, locking it after her. She couldn’t help but feel like they’d just said goodbye to each other, though it wasn’t that long until dinner and they still had time.

  Didn’t they?

  She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of cans of Coke before heading outside.

  The guys were working on the garden edges, making them all neat and tidy. Jena walked across the lawn to them and handed Cade a can of Coke, and the other one to Will. They both opened their drinks and sipped from them. Will’s gaze lingered on her and he cocked his eyebrow, as if asking whether she’d managed to talk to Rose. Jena nodded slightly, then refocused on Cade. If he’d been jealous before, there was no need to make that worse now.

  ‘I thought I’d get started on lunch soon, then I’ll get dinner in the crock pot. That way later we can just wash up and eat. It’s such a nice day, we could have dinner outside. Have a few drinks. What do you reckon, Cade?’

  ‘Sounds alright. I think Will needs a shower more than me, though. I can smell you from here man.’ Cade laughed and it took Will a moment to realise that he was messing around with him. He started laughing too, and Jena thought it might be the first time she’d heard him do it. It was a nice sound.

  ‘Okay then, nice to see you two getting along.’ She nodded as she headed back towards the house. ‘Oh, Cade,’ she said, as though it was an afterthought. ‘There are a couple of jars on the bench. I can’t seem to get the lids off. Could you help me with them?’

  ‘Sure, babe.’ Cade headed to the house, not bothering to see whether she was following.

  Jena took a couple of steps back towards Will and whispered, ‘We have to do it today. We have to get this started or Rose is going to throw herself to the wolf to try and save me
, and I can’t deal with that.’

  ‘What’s the plan?’ Will raised an eyebrow.

  ‘When Cade goes to have a shower, I’m going to take his clothes and tell him I’m washing them. The watch won’t be in the shower with him, and I’ll take it then. I’m going to throw it out the window and you’re going to smash it with the biggest freaking hammer you can find.’

  ‘What?’ His eyes went wide.

  ‘There’s an anvil, down by the barn. It survived fire and it’ll probably be there until the end of time. There should be a sledgehammer or something similar in the barn, and when you get the watch, I want you to run. Don’t think about what’s happening in the house; you run and you destroy the watch. Have you got that?’

  ‘Jena—’

  ‘No. Don’t say anything. This is the plan and we’re going to pull it off.’

  Will didn’t look happy about it, but he didn’t protest again. ‘Which window?’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Which window are you throwing it out of? Is there one in the bathroom you can toss it out? Or are you hoping to make it all the way to your room? What if he figures out what you’ve done and comes after you?’

  Jena’s heart thudded in her chest, but she kept her breath even, told her brain to focus. ‘Our bedroom window is closest to the barn, so that makes the most sense. You won’t have to go so far. You wait there, and you go as soon as you have it. Don’t look back. Promise me. Will, I have to try and save him.’

  ‘Okay. Right. Let’s do this.’ He took a deep breath, and it was only then that she noticed the slight tremble to his hands.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  JENA

  They came in a couple of hours later; Jena could smell them before she saw them.

  ‘You two reek. Cade, why don’t you go jump in the shower,’ she said, trying to keep her voice upbeat and steady. It was an effort.

  ‘Nah, I think I want a beer first. I’ve earned one. You go first, Will.’ Cade didn’t look at Will when he said that. His eyes were fixated on Jena.

  She could see Will raise an eyebrow, but she couldn’t nod without Cade seeing it.

  ‘I’ll get you a beer,’ she said, hoping Will had taken the hint.

  ‘Get one for yourself too, I know you probably need it by now.’ Cade slid onto the bar stool. His arms and fingers were covered in grime.

  ‘I’m not an alcoholic, Cade,’ she scoffed, but she did as she was told, not wanting to rock the boat. By the time she turned around Will had disappeared. She took the top off the first beer and passed it to Cade.

  ‘So, what did you and Will talk about earlier?’ he asked.

  ‘Huh?’ She raised an eyebrow, then focused on taking the top off her beer so she didn’t have to look at him.

  ‘You stayed and talked to him before you came in.’

  ‘I just wanted to know if he ate kūmara. I thought I’d do some as chips.’

  ‘Uh huh.’

  Jena let out an exasperated sigh. ‘You’re not still jealous, are you? Honestly, you have nothing to worry about! I love you.’ It was hard to get those last words out. Because she knew now that she didn’t, it was just a thing to try and keep him with her, the bits of Cade still left under this entity that possessed him. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to trust him, even if they made it out of this.

  ‘I can’t help it, Jena. I can see the way he looks at you.’

  She laughed, because Will had never looked at her like that.

  ‘You’re being ridiculous! I’m the wayward grandchild of his client; if anything he feels pity for me. I’ve never seen him look at me with anything other than compassion and concern. And sure, it wouldn’t kill you to be a little more compassionate or a little more concerned, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to jump into bed with him.’ She slammed her hand down on the bench in frustration, and then reached for her beer and took a long drink.

  Damn him for getting her riled up. None of this mattered, but at least she was acting more normally.

  She flicked her eyes to the doorway, wondering how long Will might take to shower. She grabbed some kūmara from the cupboard and started to peel them into the sink. She needed to keep her hands busy, and to maintain the lie.

  ‘I kind of like it here,’ Cade said.

  ‘What?’ She looked up at him in shock and then felt a sharp pain as she sliced through her skin with the peeler. ‘Shit. Oh my god that stings.’ She dropped the peeler and the kūmara, flicking the water on and holding her finger under it. Blood washed down the sink, spiralling around the drain before disappearing

  ‘Gotta pay attention, babe,’ Cade said. ‘Where’s the first aid kit?’

  ‘There should be plasters in the pantry. Oh god, it hurts.’ She shook her hand, then grabbed a paper towel and pressed it against the wound. Cade came to the bench and put the packet of plasters down before turning off the tap.

  ‘Let’s take a look.’ He held out his hand and she gingerly put hers in it, removing the paper towel to show him. The blade had cut deep, but the wound was clean. Jena looked away, the sight of it making her feel queasy.

  ‘Just put a plaster on it, please?’ She closed her eyes and waited, tensing up when she felt pressure against her finger, and then she squealed as something wet and warm pushed against the cut. Something like a tongue. Jena opened her eyes to find Cade sucking her finger. He slid the digit out from between his lips, leaving a thin streak of red, and then dried off her finger, slapping a plaster on it like nothing weird had happened.

  ‘There. It’s done.’ Cade washed his hands in the sink and then went back to the other side of the bench and his beer. ‘All good?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she said, letting the word drag out.

  ‘You need to be more careful, ya know.’

  ‘I was; you just gave me a shock and I lost focus.’

  ‘Don’t blame your failures on me, girl. You have to take responsibility.’

  Jena opened her mouth, about to retort, but then it hit her that her father used to say the exact same thing to her, and she clamped her mouth shut and breathed through her nose. She carefully picked the peeler back up, washed the blood off the kūmara, and got back to work.

  ‘What did you mean when you said you liked it here?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know, it’s grown on me. I used to think it was isolated and a bit of a dump, but I can see the charm now. Rustic farm life.’

  She raised an eyebrow but kept her eyes on the kūmara. ‘You know we’re not staying, right? On to the next thing.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Cade said absently.

  Jena put the kūmara aside and rinsed her hands as Will walked into the room. ‘Oh hey, Will. Want a beer?’

  ‘Ah, yeah. Okay. Thanks.’ He came over to the counter, looking sheepish. ‘Your turn, Cade. Hope I didn’t use all the hot water.’

  ‘It’ll be fine, man. You two be good.’ He gave Jena a pointed look and then headed for the stairs.

  She paused with the beer bottle in hand, then placed it on the counter and waited until she’d heard Cade go up the stairs.

  ‘Go, go now. You found the sledgehammer?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s right by the anvil. I’m ready. Are you? I hope this works.’

  ‘Not as much as I do.’ She heaved in a breath, trying to stay calm. ‘Rose’s door is locked, right?’

  Will nodded.

  ‘Okay. Let’s do this.’ Jena nodded as she walked around the bench, and then she wrapped her arms around Will for a brief hug. It was awkward, unnatural, but she felt like she needed that small slice of human touch to get through this.

  She walked to the stairs while Will slipped out the back door. She let them groan as she climbed, not wanting to seem like she was hiding her progress. She knocked on the bathroom door and then pushed it open. The shower curtain was closed and she could see Cade’s silhouette behind it, steam filling the air above the shower.

  ‘I’m just grabbing your clothes to wash, okay?’ She stepped into the room
and picked up the clothing. The curtain whipped open and he pointed at her, his face dark and tense.

  ‘Leave it. Don’t touch my stuff.’

  ‘What? I just wanted to soak them to see if I could get some of the grime out. They’re going to be ruined otherwise, and it’s not like we have many changes.’

  ‘I said leave it. Okay?’

  The only thing she could do was drop the clothing back in front of the vanity. ‘Whatever, man. I was just trying to help.’ She raised her hands, as if he were carrying a loaded weapon, and his face softened.

  ‘Sorry. I just wanted to do it myself.’

  She shrugged it off. ‘It’s all good. You shower, I’m just going to grab some painkillers while I’m here. My finger’s killing me.’ She grimaced.

  He nodded and pulled the curtain closed. Jena exhaled, her heart finally working again. That was too close. She couldn’t take much more. She carefully stepped closer to the vanity and opened the medicine cupboard.

  Moving around the bottles as though she couldn’t find anything, she asked ‘Have you used the last one?’

  ‘No,’ Cade replied but didn’t look. She kicked at his pants and found the pocket with her toes. Then she dropped a bottle on the floor.

  ‘Oh shit. I’m so clumsy.’ She scrambled to pick up the pills that had gone flying and didn’t have to wait long for him to fling open the curtain again.

  ‘You really are. Now hurry up, okay? A man needs a little privacy sometimes.’ He shut the curtain, muttering under his breath.

  Jena picked up the watch and headed for the door, shutting it behind her. She took off for the end room, throwing the door open and rushing towards the open window.

  She was halfway across the room when she heard the thud of footsteps behind her. She ran, but he was faster. He launched himself at her, taking them both to the ground. The air whooshed out of her body as she hit the floor, his weight crushing her.