Sam spoke fast, his apology blurring into a string of strangely formatted sentences.
“I was only there for a moment. Honest. When I heard the farm was a Station, I left. I won’t tell no one. We’re on the same side.”
With a fleeting glimpse over her shoulder at the spot where Morrigan disappeared into the grain, Gabrielle motioned for them to go back into the house.
“Besides, we’re in the same situation, Mistress,” Sam began as the two turned to walk back into the kitchen.
“What do you mean?” Gabrielle asked as she shut the kitchen door behind her.
“Well, we’re both taking part in activities that could get us killed. You run a station, which is a very dangerous. If the Home Guard finds you they’ll kill you. And I’m on French leave if you get me, I’m A.W.O. L, I skipped out. They’ll string me up right next to you if they find me," Sam’s voice rose, betraying his panic at being a deserter.
“What do you mean you skipped out and who’s the Home Guard?” Gabrielle inquired, unable to remain silent at the interest of learning more about Sam and her current situation.
Sam paused a moment just inside the kitchen as he searched for the right words to respond to her questions.
“I promised Sargent I’d find you. The Army doesn’t just let you leave your duties. In war time they would use our lifeless bodies if they could find a cause for them. So I ran.” Sam pulled out a chair for Gabrielle at the table. She sat, and he pulled up a chair next to her.
“You just ran… because someone told you to?” Gabrielle regretted her words as soon as she saw the offended look that was plastered across Sam’s features.
“I would’ve gladly given my life for the cause,” he continued, a power to his voice that wasn’t there before. “Sargent told me to find you, to keep you safe. I swore that I would. So I collected his things, requested leave, and brought them to you in his memory. I became a deserter when I was denied my leave and left, anyway.” His eyes and jaw sharpened as he spoke. Gabrielle couldn’t force her eyes to focus on Sam any longer so she let them fall away and looked at the bracelet instead.
“Did he ever say how he came across it?” she asked as she held up her arm and presented the bracelet to Sam.
“No Ma’am. I didn't know what was in the package. The only time I ever saw that bracelet was in his tent with the letter. Honest. It could’ve come from anywhere. We had a lot of gypsies and beggars tryin’ to sell us stuff as we marched.” Sam’s face had softened as he watched Gabrielle trace the worn design in the side of the bracelet.
“And the Home Guard?” Gabrielle asked, unable to bring her eyes away from the knot-work.
“The Home Guard,” Sam laid his palms flat against the table and craned his neck forward to look into Gabrielle’s glassy eyes.
“The Home Guard are a bunch of good for nothin’ grey backs, pardon the language. They go around looking for runaway slaves, deserters, and supporters of the union. Most of the time, they don't even bother to take you back, they just string you up right there. The Home Guard’s dangerous and if you see ‘em, kill ‘em.” A chill crept down Gabrielle’s spine as Sam spoke.
This life couldn’t get much worse. Not only did she have to look out for Arawn, but now she had to watch over her shoulder for Home Guard soldiers too.
“Are you alright? You look like you're gonna be sick,” Sam asked as he reached across the table and placed one hand on Gabrielle’s. At the feel of Sam’s warm hand on hers, all the emotions and questions regarding Morrigan came rushing back to her.
She felt flu-like. She just wanted to stop existing for a moment and collect herself.
“I think I should go lie down. I’m not feeling so good.” Gabrielle rose from her seat and ran towards the door, leaving Sam bewildered and alone at the kitchen table.
She stumbled up the stairs with one hand clutching the railing for dear life and the other alternating between her head and her stomach.
She didn’t know if she was going to throw up, cry or scream. The only thing she knew was she needed to be alone. As she walked to her bed, the last thing Gabrielle remembered was the way the pillow looked as it charged at her and she fell almost lifeless upon her bed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gabrielle …
Gabrielle woke with a start. She sat straight up in the soft bed, her head lost in a haze. The lantern, sitting on her bedside table, still glowed feebly and shadows danced about the walls as the flames flickered behind the smoked glass.
Her emotions from the day before had conquered her, and she slept like the dead for the first time in years. It was a deep, dreamless slumber she found herself welcoming in its empty darkness.
She surveyed the room, and even though it seemed alive with the illumination of the lantern, she was certain she was alone. After a moment, Gabrielle resigned herself to accepting she hadn’t heard anything.
She pulled the covers up to her chin, turned to her side and laid back down. As she slid her hand under her head, the warm feel of the bracelet forced her eyes open. Something’s wrong.
GABRIELLE!
A voice screamed at her from nowhere and everywhere and she shot up so violently this time she stood up on her bed. Throwing her hands up into the air, prepared to fight, she surveyed the room once again.
Gabrielle followed every shadow as they moved around the wall, looking for whatever had called her name. She recognized the high-pitched lilt of the voice, though she couldn’t place it. It caused the hair on the back of her arms to stand at attention.
As she rolled her eyes over the room, a light tick caught her attention. The faint sound came from her window. A bitter nip of cold air stabbed at her arms and gooseflesh spread over them like a wild fire.
Her ferocity told her to investigate what the source of the noise was, while her mind screamed “Girl, don’t you dare move from this bed!” After a few moments, another tick came from the window. This time, Gabrielle swore she could see something bounce off the glass. A rock?
Gabrielle made her way to the edge of the bed and brought one foot down to the floor and then the other. She paused for a moment to see if anything was going to happen, half expecting something to rush her from the shadows. Nothing happened.
With a deep breath, Gabrielle walked over to the window crossing one foot over the other and then pausing before continuing forward. She peered out of the window into the velvet darkness.
The moon was not only full, but much larger than she’d ever seen it. The blemish-free sky showed every star in creation and with the power of the moon, she could see the land before her with the clarity of dawn.
Her father used to refer to these nights as a ‘window to the heavens’. When the mortal world falls away and all that’s left are the memories of lives passed, the glistening guardians watch over you from the heavens.
She thought back to the last time they were a family, before her father’s accident and her adventure with the bracelet. She used to sit on the floor of her father’s study while he read her stories. Her mother would sit on the couch knitting or sipping tea and listening to the outrageous tales. Knowing that she could never have a moment like that again was unbearable.
A shuffle in the crop-line caught her eyes and brought her back from her daydream. Someone or something was there.
Gabrielle focused as the dancing plants played havoc on her senses. As she squinted to see what was moving, everything fell still and another small stone slapped the glass, running a crack up the pane.
Gabrielle jumped back from the window but kept her eyes on the movement in the field. A person was walking alongside the fence.
They were cast in shadow, but Gabrielle could see someone brushing against the crops, barely out from their cover. She watched them until their face was almost visible and then they pivoted before disappearing into the crops.
Gabrielle…
Another whisper in her ear alarmed her, and she spun around expecting someone to be right behind her. As sh
e looked around the room, a steady creaking emerged, and her bedroom door crept open. Gabrielle crouched down to hide herself in the shadow of the boudoir next to the window.
As the door came to a stop, she prepared for a fight, but nothing happened. Gabrielle focused every sense she could to see if someone or something was there, but she was only met with more nothing.
Another tick tapped the window. Gabrielle looked over her shoulder at the cracked glass and then back to the vacant doorway. She got an eerie feeling that she needed to do something. She was being drawn from the house.
Her hand rubbed the silver of the bracelet. Yesterday, she’d fought and tackled a stranger and would have charged into battle without a single thought to the consequences. Now, Morrigan was gone, she was alone, and she didn’t know what to do. Gabrielle looked for a sign, something to push her forward.
Though it felt wrong, and her bracelet warned her not to, Gabrielle rose. If she was being requested outside, she wouldn’t keep her guest waiting. She was stronger now and had beaten Arawn before. If this was him, she would be ready for it.
“Besides, if he has found me and wants me, he’ll eventually come for me anyway,” Gabrielle reasoned in an attempt to convince herself this was the right decision. Giving one last look around the room, she walked to the doorway.
As she peered around the corner, she let out a sigh of relief that there was, in fact, nothing waiting for her.
Without a moment to lose, Gabrielle made her way down the hall with purpose, pausing every few steps to check her surroundings until she reached the top of the stairs.
The door to Sam’s room was closed. She entertained the idea of waking him and asking for help, but it was useless. She couldn’t involve him. He wasn’t like her and Morrigan.
He was a Lamented, a soul that had already passed, and one of the few rules was that she couldn’t talk about their journey with them. Swallowing her internal cry for help, Gabrielle continued down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Again, a wave of relief washed over her when she found herself alone. A chilled breeze came through the door that led to the porch and the smell of the pungent herbs from Morrigan’s healing concoction still hung in the air. Gabrielle considered grabbing a knife or a pot to defend herself, but she decided against it knowing the bracelet could give her the power to fight back.
As she walked over to the door and pressed through, she was hit with a memory of her fight with Arawn’s banshee in the kitchen in the Palace of Versailles. The bracelet had given her the power to fight, but it was enhanced with the butcher knife she used to sever the banshee’s lower jaw.
Returning to the counter, Gabrielle grabbed a large carving knife from a drawer and squeezed the handle. With a nod to herself, she went back to the door and left the house. She walked down the porch, and only stopped when her bare feet touched the dirt.
The moon still shone its blue decadence down upon the field and the plants danced in the breeze. She looked up and down the row to see if she could spot anything but she was alone in the moonlight, clenching her knife.
Then, she saw something that caused her to flinch so hard she almost fell backwards. A single hand, pale as the stars and with long fingers, reached from the wall of crops and beckoned Gabrielle forward.
Nope.
Gabrielle stumbled backwards away from the crops and then she paused. She knew whatever it was would find her.
Oh crap! With a single finger waving for her to follow, Gabrielle took her first step. The hand withdrew into the field and nothing else came forward. This was her sign.
“Here we go,” Gabrielle said to herself with clear regret. “No time to go back now. Let’s do this.”
With arms at her sides, Gabrielle walked to the small wooden fence lining the field. She climbed over it and stared into the ocean of waving stalks. Nothing was moving.
Bringing her hand to her bracelet, it remained warm, but was not vibrating. She wasn’t too close to danger yet, so she reached her empty hand out to clear the path ahead of her and pressed on into the field.
The broad leaves and bristled ends tickled Gabrielle and clung to her as she walked through the rows. With every step she took, the felled stalks of grain crackled and creaked, like she was walking through a pile of leaves on a Fall day. The wind picked up, tousling her hair and causing her bare arms to once again be covered in gooseflesh.
As she pushed through the remaining grain and broke from the field, she found herself standing in a large opening. The sounds from the world fell away and although the plants danced around her, she no longer heard anything.
Taking a few steps into the opening, Gabrielle surveyed her surroundings. Her eyes followed the edge of the field and worked their way around the entire circle. As Gabrielle turned around, a sudden, searing pain erupted from her bracelet.
“Shit!” She wrapped her hand around the burning hot metal that sat on her wrist.
CHAPTER NINE
“Ah, there’s no need for profanities, especially from such a young lady. Or are you older now? To be honest, Gabrielle, I can hardly keep track of you anymore.” Arawn’s words soured Gabrielle’s stomach.
He stood, as if appearing from thin air, in the center of the open field. He wore his usual suit and his pale skin and white hair were almost lost in the moonlight. She would’ve thought he was a ghost if it wasn’t for his fiery eyes.
“You want to know what I think Arawn?” Gabrielle began, a newfound confidence gracing her words. “I think you can’t lecture me on appropriate behavior. Especially considering you like to torture souls for fun.”
She knew Arawn couldn’t take her life himself. He didn’t have dominion over her, but he could still have one of his minions hurt her. Arawn smiled, his rows of fangs jetting forth over his bottom lip.
“Well now, aren’t you full of life?” Arawn snarled. He adjusted the cuff of his jacket, exposing silver cufflinks that reminded Gabrielle of the symbols on her bracelet.
She gripped the knife in her hand a little tighter and kept her eyes on him, waiting for the attack.
“Where’s your Morrigan? Gone away and left you alone has she? Shame. Well, at least this allows us some quality time together.” There was a glimmer in Arawn’s eyes that shook Gabrielle to the core.
“Morrigan is none of your concern. You wanted me, so here I am.” Gabrielle spoke calmly, trying to mask the slight waver in her voice. “It’s a nice change seeing you and not one of your demons. Finally found the balls to face me yourself?” she snapped, desperate to mimic his confidence.
Gabrielle tightened her grip on the knife in her hand. She was ready for him this time. Arawn wouldn’t surprise her with another attack.
“My hounds. Hm? Great creatures aren't they? I fear, little one, that you’re mistaken, I never travel without my boys.” In that instant, as if called for, four large hounds emerged from the grain. Their dark fur matted and peeling off in areas, revealing exposed flesh and muscle tissue.
Their crimson eyes glowed in the night and thick pools of saliva dripped from their bared fangs. They remained silent, standing next to their master as if waiting for the command to strike.
“Do you ever see something so cute, so unbelievably precious that you just want to squeeze it until its little tiny head pops? Well my darling, you’re just the absolute cutest when you’re scared.” Arawn pursed his lips in a mock kiss and then reached down and pat the largest of the four dogs on its head.
“How many times do you need to send your mutts after me before you realize its pointless?” Gabrielle replied, ignoring the taunt all together.
“I’m starting to see why you were chosen. Alexandra made a smart move investing in you. Still, in all of your growing power, you’re just a petulant child.” Arawn ran his boney fingers up and down the back of the hound that stood closest to him.
“You’ve learned about some of the power you have and that’s all well and good, but there’s more here than you realize.” Arawn patted
the air next to him, like he was calling to a dog. “Come on little girl, come to your old pal Arawn and we’ll have a nice chat about your future.” Gabrielle’s rage was rising in her like a forest fire climbing an oak.
“Always riddles and jokes with you isn’t it? You’re so quick to dismiss me, but look at me,” Gabrielle raised both hands towards the sky. “I’m still here you sick freak! You have no dominion, no power over me. I’ve beat your dogs before and can do it again. I’m not quitting, so why don’t you just do yourself a favor and let me finish up what I’m here to do?” She snapped her eyes back toward the god of the underworld, a newfound energy surging through her veins. The two stood motionless for a few moments and then Arawn howled with laughter.
“You give that bracelet of yours a lot more weight than it's worth, Gabrielle. While you may think you know your power, and that I don't have dominion over Sentients, I have ways of reaching you. You’ve gained an enemy you cannot even begin to comprehend. An enemy, that has something you can’t fathom.”
Gabrielle squinted her eyes, something isn’t right here. Arawn’s dangerous, but he’s not ignorant. He summoned her here for a reason. Gabrielle slid her eyes from side to side as she realized this was a trap.
“I have something for you, Gabrielle. A gift from another life.” Arawn stepped back behind his hounds and looked to the crop line. Apprehensive, Gabrielle kept her body facing Arawn but let her eyes drift to see what he was looking at.
A rustling of movement caught her attention. She looked at Arawn, who maintained his sinister grin, but was fixated on the edge of the grain.
Gabrielle shot her eyes back to the crop line and squeezed the handle of the knife in one had so hard her knuckles went white. She placed one foot behind the other and brought her hands up, preparing for a fight.
A dog’s nose breached the edge of the grain followed by the rest of the animal. The hound had a bridle in its mouth with a set of reins attached to it. The hound walked out into the middle of the clearing to meet its master, revealing what it had been pulling. Gabrielle’s knees went weak and she fell to the ground.
The Gabrielle Series Boxed Set Page 33
