Scallywag’s shadow disappeared from under the door.
Katie stiffened her resolve, cleared her throat, and said: “It’s me.”
“You can come in now.”
She sounded like the lady of the castle already.
Katie opened the door. Ella stood there clutching Scallywag tight. He sat cradled and comfortable in her arms, both of them staring at her openly. Katie took them in and wished she could freezeframe this moment in time, wished she would forever remember the two of them, the inseparable pair, the way they were now. The soft candlelight made Ella’s features blurry – or maybe it was just the shimmering water in her eyes. Then they moved, and the spell was broken.
“You know, saying ‘It’s me,’ isn’t the best way to let me know it’s you,” Ella said.
“I suppose not. I thought you’d recognise my voice.”
“I did. But most people wouldn’t recognise you. You need to say your name.”
“I’ll bear that in mind next time.”
“I’m combing Scallywag’s hair,” Ella said. “Want to help?”
“All right.”
They sat on the floor. Scallywag was probably the worst barbershop customer in the world. He wouldn’t sit still. He kept trying to creep away or lick Ella’s hand or face. Then it was Katie’s turn to be attacked.
“Scallywag!” Ella said.
The admonition did little to make the dog stay put. He only wagged his tail and turned on her again.
The scene brought a smile to Katie’s face. She thought about all the time they’d spent together, all the terrors and terrible things they faced. And all the good things too. Everything that brought a smile to her face. It was the simple things that brought the most joy – which was why she got so much pleasure from simply watching the pair of them at play.
I’m going to miss this beautiful little girl.
“Is that a new comb?” Katie said.
“It’s from Christina.”
Katie paused and looked closer at it. Probably cursed. “That was… nice of her.”
“She said they can’t use it on their hunting dogs because their hair is short and they don’t need to comb it.”
“Makes sense.” Witch woman.
Ella shrugged. “I guess.”
Looking at her now, it was difficult for Katie to say the words she knew had to come from her mouth. Maybe she could get one of the others to tell her instead… No. It had to be her. She was the one who rescued Ella, and she would be the one to tell her she was leaving her here. Abandoning her.
Katie shook her head.
“Is something wrong?” Ella said.
“Hm? No. Of course not. Why do you ask?”
“You keep shaking your head.”
“Just had an idea I don’t much like.”
Ella nodded as if she understood what she was referring to.
Katie licked her lips as a way to lubricate the words to make them slip from her mouth more easily. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yep.”
“Do you like it here?”
“Yes,” Ella said with a big grin. “The teacher’s nice and I like the food. Scallywag loves it here too. He’s made lots of friends already.” She frowned, small crease marks straining her face. “Do you think they’ll take him away from me if he starts following someone else?”
“He could never prefer someone else. He’s yours forever.” Just as you were meant to be mine forever. Her resolve faltered and she couldn’t bring herself to speak the truth. “How would you like to stay here longer?”
“How long?”
“As long as you want.”
Ella looked at her and grinned. “That sounds good.”
“It does? Good.”
Ella pouted. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re smiling but you’re not really smiling.”
Katie rubbed a curled straggle of Ella’s hair between her fingers. “We’ve found a way to the lodge.”
“That’s good news. Isn’t it?”
“It’s great news.”
“But how am I going to stay here and go to the lodge with you?”
“We were thinking… well, I was thinking… maybe you would like to stay here with Geronimo and Christina while the rest of us go to the lodge.”
Ella stopped combing the little dog, much to Scallywag’s relief. “Why?”
“We think you’d be happier here.” The words stung her tongue like acid but it was the truth.
“Oh.” Ella looked at the floor between her legs.
“You don’t have to stay here. You can come with us if you want.”
Ella was quiet a long moment. “Don’t you like me anymore?”
“Aw, Ella, of course I do. I just think you’ll be better off here. You have other children to play with, lots of food and water. And just think about Scallywag and how much he likes it here. The woods isn’t a place for little dogs.”
“It isn’t?”
Katie shook her head, knowing it was a lie. But that point struck a stronger chord with Ella than any other reason she mentioned previously.
“Will you come visit me?” Ella said.
“Of course I will. Some of the others will too. But not for a little while. It’s still very dangerous out there. I’ll come back for you one day when it’s safe.”
“Really?”
Katie brushed Ella’s hair back and kissed her chubby cheek. “Really, really. And then you can decide where you want to live. With them or with us.”
Ella smiled and wrapped her tiny arms around Katie. She was so small her arms couldn’t reach all the way around, and that made Katie sadder than anything else.
“Now, how about we get Scallywag’s hair finished?” Katie said. “He looks funny with only half done.”
She held Scallywag still as Ella worked his fur, talking and chattering and nattering on like she was a hairdresser at her own Toni & Guy. As Katie sat there watching her, a thought occurred to her, a thought that, during it all, never occurred to her.
Katie could stay too. Then she could be with Ella forever. But her grandfather was right. She didn’t belong here, no more than any of the others did. She belonged with the dangerous animals and the people that would never cease their howling.
She belonged in the wild.
51
Katie carried her backpack down the stairs and dumped it at the foot of the doorway leading to the kitchen.
“Back so soon?” Christina said.
Katie ignored the remark, just as she ignored the fact this woman likely knew she would return. She had zero chance of winning an argument and wasn’t even interested in trying. She just wanted answers.
“How did you know why Aaron gave me his mother’s necklace?” Katie said. “Was it a lucky guess?”
Christina sliced a potato and let the two halves fall in the bubbling pot. “I see what the universe wishes for me to see. It was that way for my mother and my mother’s mother. I cannot demand what I see, only that I must be aware when its shown to me.”
“That’s horseshit, and you know it.” Katie rounded the table. “You’re sensitive to body language, is that it? There was a girl at my school who could do the same things as you. She said it was learning to read little ticks people had. That was how she knew what they were thinking.”
Christina chuckled to herself. “The things we tell others to make them feel comfortable.”
Katie blinked. “You’re saying she had what you have? That she was lying to us, that it was something else?”
“I can’t tell you how she did what she could, only how I do what I do.”
And there, in her eyes, Katie saw what she had seen the first time they’d met outside on the driveway. Fear.
She’s afraid of me. But what does she have to be afraid of?
“What did you see in me when you met me that first day?” Katie said.
Christina was fast to regain control of her emotions. “I saw beauty
, dear. Nothing more.”
Katie leaned in close. “You’re lying. You saw something else, didn’t you?”
Christina pulled back, eyes bulging with fear. “No, my dear. Of course not.”
She turned to leave but Katie put a hand on her fleshy arm. “Tell me. Please.”
Christina looked at Katie’s hand on her arm, a sneering curl on her lips. “You really wish to know?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in such things?”
“I’m openminded.”
Christina smirked. “Really, my dear, you should not lie. It is unbecoming.” All the joviality she wore the first time Katie met her was gone. All that remained was this dark expression. “Very well then. If you insist.”
She took Katie’s arms and laid them flat on the table. She turned over one hand and then the other. She seemed to pay a great deal of attention to Katie’s index fingers.
“What do you see?” Katie said.
“Men. Women. Children.” She didn’t say anymore but peered closely at her skin.
Katie leaned in close. “Who?”
“People. People far away, people close by. They are people all the same.”
“Why do you see them?”
“They are people you will see, people you will touch. People…” She peered closer at something only she could see, and then dropped Katie’s hand and leaned back in her chair.
“What?” Katie said. “People I will what?”
“I… I have breakfast to prepare.”
She wiped her hands on her apron, wet with her sweat. Katie grabbed her arm and turned her around to face her. “Who were they? Are they the people I came here with?”
“No. These are other people. People I have never seen.”
“Will I save them?”
The woman couldn’t find her voice. Katie shook her.
“Tell me!”
“You won’t save them! You won’t save any of them!” She calmed and peered into Katie’s face with a look of pure derision.
“You will kill them, child. You will kill them all.”
52
When the twins came down the front steps with their backpacks on their shoulders, Katie folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
“I thought you were staying?” she said.
Ronnie altered the straps on his shoulders. “We had a change of heart. Besides, we already chopped enough wood to get them through the coming winter. I doubt they’ll want us back again for another year.”
“I only hope they know how to store it properly, to cycle it to keep it from getting damp.” Tanya frowned, a crease spoiling her otherwise clear skin. “Maybe I should go back and show them how it’s done.”
Ronnie shrugged. “It’s their problem now.”
Katie laughed. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m really glad you guys decided to join us. The lodge wouldn’t be the same without you.”
Her heart soared when her little brother emerged from the castle alongside Darryl.
“The girls decided they want to go home,” Camden said. “See if any of their family are still there.”
“And you do too, I suppose?” Katie said.
“I can’t very well let you head out there on your own, can I? You’ll never survive a day without me.”
Katie grinned and punched him on the shoulder. “I think you got it the wrong way around.”
He rubbed his arm and squared off against her the way he used to when they were kids but before they could exchange blows, Hannah and Jodie floated down the steps. Camden wasn’t about to attack his sister – even playfully – while the girl of his dreams was there to watch.
Katie took the opportunity to slug him on the arm again.
“Knock it off!” Camden’s scowl morphed into a grin at the sight of Hannah.
“You’re looking a lot better,” Katie said to Jodie. She had some colour in her cheeks and moved with a little more confidence and didn’t just stare at the floor all the time.
“I do,” she said. “Thank you. I think I just needed the rest.”
Katie couldn’t imagine how terrible her ordeal had been, an ordeal she would have been subjected to if it wasn’t for her brother turning up when he did. From what she could gather, Jodie hadn’t been at the makeshift brothel long but even a day could be an eternity in such a place. Especially when you were considered ‘new meat.’
Katie shivered and gave Jodie the best comforting smile she could muster. The girl’s eyes drifted away and lowered every time a man came anywhere near her. She might have been healing all right on the outside but there was still a great deal of healing to be done on the inside.
Hannah, on the other hand, appeared not to suffer from the same anguish around boys. While Camden took her and Jodie’s bags and put them on a cart Geronimo’s men had brought outside, she glanced at a man to one side – the heavily muscled man who carried Jodie’s injured body when they first arrived.
Katie arched an eyebrow and wondered what was going on there, but by the way the blush rushed up Hannah’s neck and face, and the satisfied smirk on the muscular soldier’s face, she thought it was probably something she was better off not knowing.
Hannah was going to be a handful, and she wasn’t sure her brother was the right boy to step into that role. She decided to steer clear of the relationship for now. It was a headache to take care of later.
Aaron and grandfather came out last. Katie couldn’t keep her eyes off Aaron. He seemed to get more handsome each time she looked at him – which was a lot. He cast her a look and accompanying smile before he was distracted by Bill, who held the maps out wide.
Ella came running around them, Scallywag hot on her heels. She barreled into Katie and almost knocked her off her feet. Katie hugged her tight and felt the little dog bark and bounce off her legs.
“If you have any problems, get Geronimo to send me a message, okay?”
Ella nodded and smiled, and the tears ran down her cheeks. She wore just about the saddest smile Katie had ever seen.
The bells tolled and the whole community gathered around to wish them farewell. Katie kissed Ella on the top of the head and wiped the tears from the little girl’s cheeks. “I’ll come visit you. I promise.”
There was only one person not present, and that was Christina. She searched the faces of those gathered around but couldn’t see her. It was a relief. She was the last person she wanted to see anyway.
“Let’s move out!” Geronimo said, waving his arm forward.
The gathered farewell crowd followed them two dozen steps behind and gradually broke away until there were only a dozen armed men and Geronimo walking alongside them. The twins worked as pack mules, pulling the cart loaded with their backpacks. Bill carried his own.
Of course he is.
Just as they passed through the front gates, Katie tossed one more look over her shoulder at Ella, who was the last person watching them leave. But no, that wasn’t accurate.
High in the upstairs corner bedroom, Katie caught a glimpse of a shadow half-concealed by the net curtains, a room Katie had never ventured into herself but recognised who it belonged to.
Christina watched them leave from the master bedroom window. If she believed what she’d seen about Katie and her future as true, she would be the person most relieved to see them leave.
To see Katie leave.
You will kill them all. Her voice still echoed in the back of her mind and likely always would.
Katie got the feeling the woman was afraid of her, and that could only mean one thing: that their paths would cross again. Perhaps here, perhaps elsewhere, but it was written in the great tome Destiny carried tucked under his arm at all times.
Christina was afraid of her.
The feeling was mutual.
53
The further they got from the outer limits of the walled community, the quieter it became. The muscles in Katie’s back tensed with every step she took. She was pleased to
see the others in their little group felt the same way. So did Geronimo’s men, who tucked their weapons into their shoulders and kept their eyes on the slight rises on either side of them.
The land turned wet and swampy a dozen yards from the river’s edge. No doubt it flooded with every heavy rainfall. The sediment from the river washed up over the sides and sucked at their boots as they marched through it. The wheels of the cart sank twice before they decided to hand it back to Geronimo’s men.
The river was not large, half a dozen yards across at the widest sections, but it was fast-flowing and higher than Katie expected. A little ferry boat sat moored off the bank. It lulled and tugged against the line as if it wished to be away as soon as possible.
“This is goodbye, my friend.” Geronimo grasped Bill’s hand and pulled him in for a mutual slap on the back.
“Thank you for all your help. We never would have pulled through without you.”
“Geronimo’s home is your home.”
“I’ve only ever trusted two men in my life. Now I can add a third.”
Geronimo chuckled. “That’s your problem. You never trust anybody. A man can’t live that way. He’s got to put his faith in the right people and let things play out however they may.”
“Emphasis on the ‘right’ people.”
Aaron stepped off the boat. “There’s no captain.”
“He’ll be along,” Geronimo said. “He returned from a recent journey and hasn’t had much time to recover.”
A pause followed, a pause that sent a chill up Katie’s back.
Something felt wrong. But what?
She thought it was the uncomfortable parting of ways of a pair of men who’d never been that close.
Or perhaps it was in the way Geronimo’s armed men glanced at each other but never at them.
Bill must have sensed the same thing as he snatched his weapon from the strap on his shoulder and aimed it at Geronimo.
But Geronimo had already moved first. In his hand, aimed at Bill’s gut, was a pistol.
Katie’s insides turned to water. No…
Bill didn’t take his eyes off the man opposite. “Looks like I was right about you after all.”
Cut Off (Book 2): Cut Throat Page 17
