The crowd at my feet began to yell and back away in horror. I stopped screaming long enough to see a naked creature crawl out of the woods like a spider, and through the fire. It was skeletal with leathery tan skin, saggy breasts, and a bare scalp. A smile stretched across its gruesome face, as it crawled up the platform and stood next to me. I knew as soon as she locked her black eyes on mine that this was the goddess.
This was the being we had so faithfully prayed to every Sunday. She was the one who required the sacrifices and the blood of innocent animals. This gruesome creature was the reason I had been strung up on this tree like a Christmas ornament and set on fire.
The goddess gave me a slight nod and then lowered her flat face to my arm. She sniffed it like a dog, pausing at the soft surface of my upper arm. A fleshy purple tongue slid out of her mouth and brushed against my skin, leaving a thick slimy residue behind. I shivered in disgust at the sight, pulling away with all my strength. With her bony hand, she trailed a finger over my collarbone and sliced the skin with her dirty nail, drawing a line of blood.
I couldn’t concentrate on the screams of the townspeople or the heat of the fire. All I could feel was her tongue as she lapped at my blood, squirming with delight while I fought to move out of her grasp. If I’d thought dying in a fire was bad, it was nothing compared to what could happen if this monster took me. In her face, I saw nothing but evil and death.
It didn’t take her longer than a second to break through the ropes that bound my hands behind the tree. She flung me over her shoulder as if I weighed nothing more than a rag doll, and stepped into the fire. The flames swirled around her skin, not leaving so much as a single burn mark. I kicked and struggled, but nothing I did could break the strong grasp of the goddess. She was going to take me and there was nothing I could do about it.
Out of nowhere, something smashed into us, throwing me to the ground in a hard tumble. There were more screams, more shouts. I lifted my head from the ground in time to see my green eyed demon standing above me, the knife I’d nearly used to slice his throat held firmly in his hand.
He stared at the goddess standing only feet away on all fours, a scowl on her ugly skeletal face. She turned her head almost halfway around her neck, and her scowl turned into a leer. All the nightmares I had as a kid, all of the scary movies Kate and I watched during sleepovers, couldn’t compare to the horror of watching the goddess smile at us. With an unearthly screech, she charged forward and bared a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. Gabe met her part way, lunging forward with the knife.
I scrambled to my feet and ignored the blood that had begun to trail from the scratches along my legs. Even with Gabe’s speed, the goddess was on top of him. She wrapped her long fingers around his arms and sunk her sharp talons into his skin. He managed to twist in her grasp and plunge the knife into her belly, turning it as he pulled it out. She shrieked, but maintained her deadly grip on his limbs.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Granny run forward with her shotgun. She laid the stock of the gun on her shoulder and aimed at Gabe’s bare back. Normally, I would’ve cowered at her feet. It was what I’d done my whole life. But now, a fiery rage burned through my veins.
She’d tried to sacrifice her only granddaughter. She didn’t deserve my respect and she didn’t deserve my love. I dove at her feet, throwing her to the ground just in time. The gun went off above Gabe’s head in a fiery blast.
The sound of the gun startled the goddess and she pulled back, black blood oozing from her stomach. She gave me one last hungry look and took off into the thick brush that surrounded the campground, disappearing in the dark forest. Granny had already begun to reload her shotgun. If we didn’t get out of there soon, I had the feeling I knew exactly where she was going to unload it.
A pair of strong arms pulled me up from the ground and cradled me against a hard chest. I looked up to see Gabe’s eyes staring down at me. He held me tight against him and burst into a sprint, putting as much space between us and the campground as possible.
By the time he slowed down, the sprinkle of rain had become a downpour. All around us, the forest sang with the sound of raindrops falling through the leaves. Lightning cracked above our heads, illuminating Gabe’s face for only seconds at a time. He wore a serious expression that didn’t falter even as he occasionally looked down at me.
There were no words exchanged between us. I wasn’t even sure what I’d say if he tried to get me to talk. Instead, we stayed silent and listened to the storm pick up around us.
Gabe kept us going in a southern direction. I didn’t know where we were going and I didn’t care. All I could do was lean against him in my soaking wet dress and listen to the steady beat of his heart as I began to sob.
Chapter Eleven
I awoke to the sound of whispers buzzing like annoying flies. My head was heavy, like my brain had been replaced with a fifty-pound weight. A heavy blanket was draped over my body, relieving the aching cold in my limbs. The smells, the sounds, and the feel of this place were so unfamiliar. As my head cleared, a sudden shock of alarm went through my body.
“It’ll never stop searching for her.”
“We’ll double the gatekeepers. Find it and kill it before it can get to her.”
“What if it attacks the manor with more ferals? Do you really want to risk our lives for hers?”
“Shhhhh, she’s awake.”
I tried to pry open my eyelids, but the bright lights of the room were too much. Instead, I focused on adjusting one eye at a time, until I could finally open them. Looking around, the room I laid in was nothing spectacular. There were a couple of sitting chairs and the couch on which I’d been dropped. A fireplace across from me housed a few lit candles of differing sizes and colors. Above the fireplace was a mantel with old black and white photos in frames displayed along the cherry stained oak.
What drew my eye was the small group of people standing behind the chairs. All four of them stared at me now as if I’d just woken from the dead. The first was a tall man with salt and pepper hair and kind pale blue eyes. If I had to guess, I would’ve placed him at around fifty years old. He stood with his shoulders back and chin up, the muscles along his arms tense.
The second person was a similarly aged woman, with matching straight salt and pepper hair that fell to her elbows. A sprinkling of freckles and age spots dotted her face and the bridge of her nose. Only inches shorter than the man next to her, she too held herself straight and rigid as she stared at me with curiosity.
When I made eye contact with the third, the alarm that was already blaring in my head got suddenly louder. A handsome blond man not much older than me stood next to the woman, his blue eyes like ice. In those cold eyes I saw a combination of hatred and mistrust. His entire body tensed at the sight of me, as if he thought I would lunge at his throat. I shuddered and swept my eyes to the last person in line.
The sight of him made my heart skip a beat. Gabe – my rescuer. His hair was still soaking wet from our run through the forest, but he’d put on a t-shirt since we got here. Around his waist was a belt, and as I ran my eyes down him, I realized he’d added something else since we got here. A sword and a dagger hung from his side once again, acting as a silent threat to anyone that dared make a move against him.
“We need to test her,” the blond haired man said through gritted teeth. “I swear, Luke. If you let her in without taking the test, I’m gonna...”
“You’re going to what?” Gabe stepped closer to him, his hand on his sword. “You’re going to what, Adam? You’re not touching her and that’s the end of it.”
Adam puffed his chest and returned Gabe’s threatening pose. The two of them stared each other down until the woman stepped between them.
“Enough,” she said. “This isn’t a debate. Luke will make the decision that’s best for the community. Besides, you’re scaring the poor child.”
Gabe gave me a guilty glance and stepped back, dropping his hands to his side. The tall older ma
n stepped closer to me, pausing when I tried to press myself further into the couch. All this talk about a test and these strange people had me paralyzed with fear. They had to be demons. But I couldn’t be sure they were all as nice as Gabe.
“It’s okay,” the man said, extending a hand. He held it out for a few seconds, but slowly let it fall when he saw I wasn’t going to let him anywhere near me. “My name is Luke.” He nodded at the woman with the long hair. “This is my sister, Esther. You know Gabe, of course. And this young man is Adam.”
I gave a slight nod of my head and he smiled in response.
“Gabe tells us you’re called Lizzy. Is that right?”
Again, I nodded. The room was still tense, but I could feel myself beginning to loosen up. So far, no demon had tried to eat me, so that was a good sign.
“He told us that you saved him. We’re very much indebted to you.”
“Three times,” Gabe interjected. He held up three fingers. “She saved me from getting ambushed by more demons, from the infection, and from getting slaughtered by the townspeople.”
“Three times,” Luke corrected himself with a smile. “So, we thank you.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I looked up at Gabe. He was watching me with a soft expression, but it morphed into something stubborn and hard as our eyes met.
“See,” he said. “She doesn’t need to take the test. If she were possessed, she wouldn’t have tried to save me.”
“A trick,” Adam roared with a wave of his hand. “A clever trick to infiltrate our boundaries. I see the way you look at her. Just because you want to get into her pants, doesn’t mean we should let her through without being sure.”
Gabe struck Adam before I could even blink, knocking him backward into the wall and shaking the entire house. Adam found his feet and ran a hand over his cheek with a wicked grin. The two of them stared each other down for a minute before Esther pulled a lethal looking scabbard from her belt and held it out, cursing at them both.
“I swear, one more outburst from you two and both of you will spend two months in the training facility,” Esther yelled.
That put a sudden end to their fight and both men shuffled to her side, looking slightly guilty. Gabe wouldn’t meet my eye, but Adam did, giving me a haughty wink before I looked away.
“Now that that’s over, we need to make a decision,” Esther said, putting a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “We both want to take care of the girl, but you know we can’t put our people in danger for her. She must be tested.”
Luke sighed, still kneeling in front of me. “I know.” He gave me a sad smile and stood up, offering his hand again. “Come with me, Lizzy. As much as Gabe has argued otherwise, we really must put you through a test to make sure you’re not possessed. If you pass, we’ll be able to get you settled into the barracks.”
I didn’t like the sound of this test, but it didn’t seem like I had any other option. So I took his hand and let the blanket slide to the couch. I was still wearing the white shift they’d stuffed me into for the sacrifice. It was mostly dry now, but I felt naked in the thin fabric that only fell to the top of my knees.
Now that I wasn’t distracted by an argument over my fate, the memories of the goddess and her purple tongue sliding along my flesh came back to me in a rush. Faces of the people I’d once considered family flashed in front of my eyes. They’d tried to burn me alive. I still had the burns on my heels to remind me of that.
I whimpered and took a step back, slamming hard into someone’s chest. Looking up, I saw Gabe’s face towering over me. He wrapped his fingers around my shoulders and steadied me, the warmth from his chest permeating the thin material of my dress.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered into my ear. His breath tickled my neck, sending goosebumps down my back. “They’ll see you’re not possessed and then everything will be okay. No one else will hurt you. I promise.”
The people who I’d grown up with, who’d raised me, had just tried to kill me. It was safe to say I was going to have a lot of trust issues going forward. Putting my life in the hands of a bunch of demons wasn’t exactly on my to-do list. But Gabe’s presence steadied my racing heart. If he wanted me to take the test, I would.
We followed Luke down a hall with dozens of framed photos hanging from the walls and into an old country style kitchen. Everything about this house was absurdly normal. If I’d ever taken a moment to think about how demons lived, I would’ve guessed they lived like Neanderthals out in the caves or in the hills. Not in regular homes with kitchens and fireplaces and couches. Not here.
“Now, Lizzy,” Luke said, pulling a jar of green liquid from the back of a pantry cabinet, “this test isn’t by any means pleasant. You’re going to have to drink this and wait for the results. It can take several minutes for them to show. You might have some side effects in the meantime.”
I looked at Gabe for an explanation. Side effects didn’t seem so bad. A headache was a side effect. Nausea was a side effect. I could deal with that.
“Trust me, it’s best not to ask questions,” Gabe said, pulling out a chair for me to sit in. “Just know that it won’t kill you.”
“It hasn’t killed anyone yet,” Adam corrected, “but there’s always a first time.”
If I could’ve taken Gabe’s dagger and plunged it into Adam’s muscular torso at that moment, I would’ve. Instead, Esther gave him a glare that made him wilt in front of my eyes.
“Here, dear.” She handed me a shot glass full of the thick green liquid. “Drink up.”
I stared down into the glass. It reminded me of the Pepto-Bismol Granny took to relieve her upset stomachs. Except this thing smelled like a mixture of kitty litter and fresh cut grass. I had half a mind to throw it against the opposite wall and stain the perfect cream colored cabinets.
“You can do it.” Gabe squeezed my shoulder for only a second before pulling his hand away. “Just get it over with.”
Without a second thought, I threw back my head and downed the slimy green liquid in one swallow. It tasted worse than it smelled, causing me to gag on the last bit. A deep cold feeling followed it all the way down my throat, landing hard in the pit of my stomach. All was quiet in the kitchen as I tried hard not to throw up. Everyone watched me with intent faces, expecting to see something.
A few minutes passed in awkward silence. I was about to shrug and tell Esther her test didn’t work when the first wave of pain hit me. The shot glass fell from my fingers and shattered on the floor while my body jerked in the chair. The harder I tried to sit still, the worse my body twitched. Every muscle tensed until it was like a million different muscle cramps all at once, some nearly snapping my bones in two.
My vision became blurry, but I could feel strong hands lift me to the floor and pin my arms to my sides. The whole room shook and spun in time with the waves of pain crashing over my body. I tried to scream, but my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth and my throat wouldn’t cooperate. Instead, I held it all inside.
Adam was right. This thing was going to kill me. I was going to die on this kitchen floor knowing that everyone I thought had loved me was actually a monster, and I was totally alone in this world.
The seizures came to a crescendo and then suddenly cut off, clearing my vision. I stared up at the smooth ceiling of the kitchen, struck by the quiet nothingness inside my head. The test hadn’t killed me. I was still here.
“Did it work? What color are her eyes?”
Adam’s voice broke my peaceful silence and I felt a rush of hate for him fill my heart. He’d made me think I was going to die. For that, I’d never forgive him.
“Blue,” Esther replied, bending over me. “They’re blue. If she were possessed, they would’ve turned black right away.”
I blinked up at her face, relief blossoming inside me. It felt like I’d been sprinting for a hundred years and every bone in my body wanted to relax. I’d probably sleep for a week if they’d let me.
Gabe leaned
over me from the other side and looked down at me, relief mirrored in his own eyes. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up, setting me on my feet.
“I knew you weren’t possessed,” he said with a grim smile. “I told them.”
“Get her settled in the spare bed in my niece's room in the west barracks,” Luke said. He stood leaning against one of the counters, his face pale but smiling.
Gabe nodded and pulled me toward the kitchen door, not dropping my hand. Before he could lead me outside, Luke called out again.
“Welcome to Westward Manor, Lizzy Redding,” he said with a wave. “Not many humans get to see our home. I hope you enjoy it.”
Chapter Twelve
The sun was beginning to rise in the east, illuminating the tops of the trees surrounding the clearing. A few small homes like the one we’d just exited speckled the lawn. But they didn’t capture my attention for long. Standing in the middle of the giant clearing was a huge mansion made from red stone. Three stories high and spanning the size of a football field, the sight of it made me take a step back.
"That's the manor?" I asked Gabe. "You've got to be kidding me."
He gave me a crooked look and dropped my hand. Instantly, I felt the loss of the warmth of his flesh on mine and wished I could have it back.
"It's something, isn't it?"
He began walking toward it and I hurried to keep up.
"It was built almost two hundred years ago by some of the first settlers out this way. There's also a training quarter and horse stables on the northern side."
My heart quickened at the news of the stables. I wondered what kind of horses they would keep at a place this grand.
The manor was just short of a castle. It looked like something that belonged in the English countryside, not in the Black Hills. How I could have grown up just miles from this place and never known it existed? But like Luke said, I was one of the few humans to come here and I doubted any prisoners left this place alive.
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