Butcherbird

by Cassie Hart

  Mr Mertens looked Jena in the eye, and it felt like the kind of gaze a father might give. He waited for her to nod before he smiled. ‘Good. I’ll get out of your hair, but let me know the details for the funeral and I’ll spread the word.’ He headed for the hallway, but paused in the doorway. ‘I’m real sorry, Jena. It’s an awful thing, and you’ve suffered enough of that.’ He pressed his lips into a line, sorrow etched into his brow, and then left.

  When the front door closed Jena turned back to Will. He could see that she was barely holding in the tears, but she sniffed them back and flashed him a wan smile. ‘Make me a coffee?’

  ‘Sure. I think I could go for another one myself.’ He put the kettle on and got fresh mugs out. ‘Did you sleep?’

  Jena shrugged. ‘I think so. You?’

  ‘Yeah, some.’ He made the coffee and slid a mug towards her. ‘What are we going to do, Jena?’

  ‘First, we bury Rose. My aunt and uncle are coming today. And then I’m going to get Cade back here and I’m going to end this.’ She nodded, as if just coming to grips with her decision.

  He was surprised at the sense of relief that washed through him. For so long she’d tried to deny that there was anything otherworldly going on here, but now … well, she’d finally accepted it.

  ‘We,’ he said firmly. ‘You’re not doing this alone. I’m sticking around.’

  ‘We might die,’ she said, her voice barely a whisper.

  ‘We might. But I don’t know that I can walk around knowing we let him go, knowing that he’s out there doing who knows what because of us. Because I ….’

  ‘We.’ Jena looked him in the eyes, then. ‘It was both of us. And we didn’t know any better, but still. We’ll make this right.’ She reached out, grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly as if he were a lifeline.

  He nodded, squeezed back. ‘So, have we got a plan?’

  ‘We call him back here. We kill him.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And Rose made me think that whatever was done to me would kick in when I need it. Like, I don’t know. The birds?’ She grimaced.

  He nodded, recalling what Rose had said about the birds, about how they were there to protect Jena. He shrugged. ‘Do you believe her, though?’

  Jena took a long sip of her coffee and sighed. ‘They kept me from the watch, from the barn, they tried to warn me about Cade, I think … I mean. I think I can, but I want to test it out first.’

  He laughed. ‘And how are we meant to test that out?’

  She looked back up at him, a glimmer of something unfathomable in her eyes.

  ‘I’ve got some ideas. But first, we have to get through Aunt Pat’s visit.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  JENA

  Their car pulled into the driveway just a few hours later, kicking up stones on the gravel as it came over the hill, and parked in front of the house.

  Jena took a deep breath and glanced at Will, who nodded at her. She was trusting that he’d ease them through this, being the more comforting, less confronting person. She just needed to bite her tongue and play nice until they could get rid of them. Make a plan. Sort the details.

  It would be okay.

  Even if nothing was okay. Because her grandmother was dead and Cade had been consumed.

  It was all her fault. Pat and David would take one look at her and know that. Would blame her for the whole thing. Like she’d always suspected they’d done.

  No. It wasn’t her fault – at least, not the fire. Just this. And she’d carry that with her. It was her responsibility, her burden to bear.

  The car doors opened, and her aunt and uncle stepped out. Jena went to meet them, pressing her lips hard together so that they wouldn’t tremble.

  This was the only family she had left now, and she wasn’t sure they even liked her. But then Pat opened her arms, her lips parting in a mournful sigh, and Jena was down the steps and pressed against her chest, enfolded in her embrace like she was ten years old again.

  That had been the last time she’d really allowed herself to be vulnerable with family.

  ‘Oh Jena, I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have asked you to come here alone. We should have come too.’ Aunt Pat was already crying; Jena had never seen her do that before. ‘Poor Mum.’

  David came around behind them, wrapped one arm around Pat’s waist and the other tentatively around Jena’s shoulder. She let him. Let them both. Closing her eyes and inhaling the still familiar scent of Pat’s sandalwood soap, she just let herself be here in this moment, savouring the feeling of being wanted.

  David pulled away first, and then Pat, who stroked Jena’s hair back from her face and peered into her eyes. ‘You’re okay, though? It sounds like he tried to take you out of this world as well.’

  ‘I’m okay,’ she choked out. ‘I just ….’

  Pat shook her head. ‘No, don’t say it. This wasn’t your fault.’

  Jena really heard it then. The words. She’d heard them before from her aunt, but she’d never really heard them.

  This wasn’t your fault.

  But ….

  ‘Jena,’ Will said, cutting through her thoughts, where her thoughts were heading. ‘Why don’t you come inside and we’ll have some tea and coffee.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah okay.’ Jena moved towards the steps, gesturing towards Will. ‘Ah, this is Will. He was looking after Gran, before ….’

  ‘Nice to meet you,’ Will said, saving her again. ‘We talked on the phone but it’s always good to put faces to names.’ He waited for her to move inside, waited for her aunt and uncle to step up and then shook their hands, said warm, inviting things. Jena was washed into the kitchen on a tide of his kind words and comfort.

  She sat at the table in her spot, and Will put on the jug, got out cups and milk and sugar.

  ‘Jena?’ Pat asked.

  ‘Huh?’ Jena looked across at her aunt.

  ‘I was just asking if you’d heard from the lawyer, or if Rose had made a decision about what was happening with the place.’

  ‘Oh.’ She chewed on the inside of her cheek, and then said, ‘The Mertenses are buying the land, but I’m not sure they settled on a price. And I’m keeping the house.’

  The shock of Jena’s words forced Pat back in her chair; but Pat wasn’t the only one surprised. Will’s eyes looked like they were about to explode.

  Jena wasn’t sure why she’d said that, but it felt right. This was her place now, and it was up to her to make sure nothing more went wrong here. She needed to fix it. She’d do it for Gran, for her parents, her siblings. She’d do it for herself.

  And for Will, who was still looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

  ‘I thought … well, this is a surprise,’ Pat said carefully.

  ‘You can take anything you want from the house. I don’t need it all, I just … I think it’s time I came home. Got myself sorted out.’

  Pat reached across the table and patted her hand. ‘That’s good, hon. Real good.’ And she nodded, as if she actually meant it. ‘We can take some time off and come help you sort through things when it’s all settled, help you make it your own.’ Pat glanced over at David, who was sitting silently.

  ‘I don’t know what the will says about the money—’

  ‘Not now, Jena,’ David said softly. ‘We’ll work it out with the lawyer.’ And he nodded then, as if that was all that needed to be said.

  They drank their coffee in relative silence, which Jena thought was probably a blessing. Will filled the spaces in with little stories Rose had told him over their time together, which made Pat laugh and cry, and laugh again.

  Finally, the mugs were empty, and Jena felt stretched thin, as though she couldn’t stand to be this close to them for any longer. Pat seemed to understand, because she stood up, tapped David on the arm and said, ‘We’ve got an appointment at the morgue. I want to see her—’ Pat choked down a sob. ‘And we’ll make the arrangements. You don’t need to worry about that. Just �
��.’ Pat rounded the table, and cupped Jena’s chin in her hand.

  She looked so old, then, old, and like Rose. The weight of years pulling her skin down so that it seemed to pool beneath her chin. ‘Look after yourself, okay? That’s all we ask. And we’ll be in touch about the rest.’ Pat kissed her on the cheek, and Jena steeled herself, forced some energy into her limbs, and a smile onto her face as they retraced their steps to the doorway and said goodbye again.

  Jena and Will stood side by side at the top of the steps and watched as Pat and David drove away.

  ‘So, you said you had some ideas?’ Will said after a bit.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  JENA

  Jena stepped out into the cool air. It was one of those beautiful autumn mornings, crisp and bright. Still chilly, but the sun promised to change that soon.

  Will stayed inside. She’d asked him to, though she told him he could look out the window if he had to. This was a thing she felt was best done alone, one way or the other.

  Jena shoved her hands in her pockets and walked towards the old oak tree. Someone had taken the time to fill in Ernest’s grave, and she was kind of thankful for that. She didn’t know where his skull was now and wasn’t sure it mattered, either. He was dead and gone. Along with his wife. Maybe they could bury Rose’s ashes there, next to her husband, who she had loved at one point. Before he’d got himself possessed.

  Jena sat down, leaning against the tree, its bark rough even through her clothes. She let out a breath and looked at the sky, deep blue with a few clouds scudding across it. Mount Taranaki stood there, strong and tall, giving her a little strength. It felt like she was Alice. Like she’d tumbled into some strange land where things were not as they seemed. She, the one who had drunk a potion making everything topsy turvy.

  It seemed a simple, beautiful thing to be sitting here, yet surreal to watch the world go by when her grandmother was dead and soon to be cremated, and her boyfriend – was he still her boyfriend? – had killed Rose and run off. Though it wasn’t really him but the thing inside him. If there was even a difference now, and that was a puzzle she didn’t know how to answer but wanted to one day. After this was all said and done.

  She was going to have to kill Cade. To put him down. And hope that whatever was inside her solved the problem of the entity.

  All the tears Jena had been keeping locked up started to flow from her then. She leaned her head back against the tree for support as sobs wracked her body and she let go of the grief, the guilt that had been twisting her insides up.

  Because when it came down to it, even if she told Will it wasn’t his fault but theirs, the blame lay on her shoulders. She could have just stayed away. Should have. Rose had wanted her to, right up until the end, had spent all her life protecting Jena from this thing. If they hadn’t come here, she’d never have taken Cade to the swamp and he never would have found the watch and been possessed. Killed Rose.

  This was her fault, so it was on her to end it.

  And she thought she knew then what Rose had felt through all the years, that heavy weight of responsibility borne from stupidity. If she’d listened more carefully, if she’d heeded the warnings, none of this would have happened. Rose would have been given warnings too, warnings she’d ignored.

  Maybe that was their family curse – not psychosis, but arrogance.

  Jena brushed the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand and glanced at the window. Will was there, his face tired and drawn. He gave her a little wave and she smiled and waved back, then crossed her legs and sat up straight.

  It was time to test out whether the birds would come when she needed them to. And time to test that niggle, that sense that somehow her family were still involved in all of this, even beyond death.

  But that was just wishful thinking. Surely.

  Her family were dead, and this triggered more tears and she folded over, curling her hands into her chest to try and hold in the pain. A sob tore loose from her mouth and an echoing call came back. The warble of birds. Magpies. She unfolded herself, put her hands on her knees and looked out from under the curtain of her hair. There were three of them on the ground before her, singing a song, their heads cocked as they looked at her, tried to comfort her with their sound. It wasn’t the harsh shriek she was used to, but a softer noise, a melody that was mournful but upbeat.

  ‘Have you come for me, little one?’ she murmured, holding her hand aloft. A new bird flew down, perching on her fingers. The weight of the creature was surprising, its talons sharp but not painful. It looked right at her with one black eye and crooned, ducking its head at her until she lifted her other hand and stroked its soft, soft feathers.

  ‘Aren’t you a beautiful thing,’ Jena whispered. A sense of calm filled her now as more birds landed on the patch of grass in front of her. A dozen, maybe more. All standing calmly, like they were waiting for something.

  The one on her hand bounced, making her arm move, and then it pecked gently at her forearm, giving her a little pinch.

  ‘Ow! What was that for?’ she asked, though she was grinning now. It was a playful thing, reminding her a little of Joel, who’d always liked pinching her. It wasn’t the first time one of the magpies had done something to remind her of him, though, and maybe it was just being here, but maybe there was more to it than that.

  ‘Is it you?’ she asked, feeling stupid. This was why she’d made Will stay inside. Because it was insane to think that somehow the spirit of her dead brother was in one of these birds, or in many of these birds. ‘I know it’s silly but ….’

  The bird pinched her again and then hopped onto the ground. The black spots on its back shifted, or she thought they did. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, and they were still doing it.

  All the other birds had gone silent, but now a few more stepped closer to her and their colours shifted as well, the feathers wavering as though invisible hands riffled through them. The first bird gave a long, mournful caw and then it vibrated, a shadow shaking loose.

  Jena jolted back, her head cracking against the trunk of the tree as she tried to get away. Then there wasn’t just one shadow, but five. Five magpie-shaped shadows, hopping along the ground towards her, their eyes a shiny silver light. She took in a shuddery breath, wishing now that Will was here with her. If these birds were possessed ….

  She didn’t get a chance to finish that train of thought because one of the shadows flew into the air, darting towards her. Jena covered her head with her hands, but when it hit her a sense of love washed through her body. Her arms dropped, her shoulders slumping as she relaxed instantly.

  ‘Mum?’ She closed her eyes, letting more things come to her. Memories from her childhood, the homemade blackberry jam on fresh white bread – no crusts. The stockings filled up at Christmas time, even in the lean years. The way her mother’s arms felt around her, holding her tight like she could beat back the beasts of the world.

  Tears slipped down her face and she opened her eyes. The bird’s form was there again, all black, no white, and it was looking at her, waiting.

  Jena didn’t know what to do, what to say, so she just nodded. ‘I know. It’s really you, it’s all of you.’ The spirit birds leapt into the sky then, silently swooping through the air, though she could have sworn she could hear Joel’s whoop of laughter. And then they came back to ground, hopping towards her, sinking into her flesh. Her skin felt like it rippled with the merge, but there was no sign of them there. Nothing to tell her that she wasn’t going crazy apart from the flutter of feathers under her skin.

  This. This was what Rose had done. Because by her maths there was one here for each of her family, and one for her grandfather as well. But not Rose. She knew her grandmother wasn’t among this flock of birds, which meant that something in the entity possessing Cade had her essence.

  The pounamu warmed against her skin and she felt it spread through her chest like rays of sunlight.

  No, her grandmother’s light. This was what s
he’d been talking about. Gran had put some of herself into this necklace, and it was what Cade had been looking for.

  Well, she wanted something from him – whatever part of Rose he’d stolen.

  And she was going to get it back, with her family’s help.

  How the hell was she going to explain this to Will?

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  WILL

  He’d been watching from the window, because how could he not? What he’d seen was the birds, and then shadows of those birds, and more that he couldn’t really fathom from a distance and because he wasn’t Jena.

  He had this feeling that she too would struggle to find the words.

  Whatever had happened, though, she was smiling when she re-entered the house, looking more confident than he’d ever seen her. Weirdly calm amongst the chaos.

  ‘Well?’ he asked.

  Jena went straight to the kitchen and filled a large glass of water, drinking it all before shrugging, the smile still on her lips, touching her eyes.

  ‘It was them, Will. My family.’ Her eyes glistened. ‘Whatever Rose did … it linked them to the birds, all of them, even Ernest.’ Her hand went to the pounamu around her neck. ‘But Cade got some of Rose; the rest is in here. This is how we get him to come.’

  The necklace was nice, but it didn’t strike Will as anything out of the ordinary. The way Jena radiated when she touched it made him understand that she thought it was, though. And even if it wasn’t true, that belief would help Jena get through this.

  She seemed … transformed might be too big a word for it, but different, anyway, more comfortable in her skin. It was a good change, after all the shit they’d been through since she arrived, but it somehow made him feel less, like she’d grown but he was still the same as he ever was, and no real help to her in this situation. It was her battle, her fight, and he didn’t know what he could do to help.