“If it were you’d have told me already.”
Orden held her gaze and gave a slow nod.
“Just get it over with then. Tell me what you want with me.” Mia couldn’t wait anymore, it didn’t matter what it was, she had to know. Then at least she’d be able to figure out what to do next.
He said nothing at first; sat there looking at her, searching her face for something only he knew to look for. Mia fidgeted under the intensity of his pale eyes but refused to look away. He must have seen the challenge on her face. Orden gave a short nod of his head, his mouth pressed into a grim line. “It is not what I want with you. It is what you were chosen for.”
“That has got to be the most cryptic thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Mia said barely in control of the anger boiling up inside her. “Tell me what you want or let me go home. It’s that simple.”
“Nothing about this is simple,” Orden said, his cool tone a match for hers. Mia’s skin prickled. She got the sense that whatever he was about to tell her had the potential to turn her entire world on its head. Orden rubbed a big hand over his beard and looked down at the table. “You cannot go home.”
“Why?” Mia asked immediately, her heart in her throat.
His eyes flicked up to hers, and a stab of true fear went through her. The icy glimmer was gone, thawed to a deep sadness that stole Mia’s breath. “Ye cannot go home because you were Chosen.”
That word again: Chosen. Chosen for what and why? Was this some kind of cult? Had these people abducted her with the intention of killing her? The questions formed with the speed of a hairpin trigger, blowing holes in her calm demeanor. “Chosen for what? Who are you, people? I demand to know who you are!” Mia slammed her hand down on the table, hard. She was on her feet with no memory of standing up, trying to breathe past the rage weighing on her chest like a ton of bricks.
“I am Orden Metrosson!” He thundered, springing to his feet with a speed contrary to his size, “Appointed Keeper of the Guardians and you are my charge. It is my duty to train you for the Guardianship of Nethea.”
“What?” Mia gaped at him in disbelief. Guardianship? Nethea? He was crazy. Unhinged. He had to be. And he expected her to believe him, she could see it in the way he glared at her, daring her to contradict him. Well, she wasn’t about to disappoint. “Look, I don’t know what delusional world you’re living in, but I won’t be part of it. My dad is a lawyer. If you don’t let me go, he’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life in jail.”
“Do not presume to threaten me, girl,” Orden growled, his voice dangerously low. He seemed to expand, filling the room with his large presence. “Your father cannot reach you here. You are in Nethea now. Unless he can cross the veil between our worlds, you will remain here.”
Mia went cold, then hot, then cold again. She felt sick, sick with anger. “Are you insane?”Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her hands were fists at her sides, nails biting into her palms. “Do you think this is a joke or do you just think I’m stupid?”
Orden blinked.
“Because you’d have to be crazy to think I’d believe you.” Mia continued not missing a beat, “I mean, do you think I’ve been living under a rock? I’ve seen Outlander.”
The incredulous look he gave her should have made her stop and think, but it only served to piss Mia off more. “What is Outlander?” He had the audacity to ask. He actually expected her to believe he’d never heard of the popular TV show. And if he hadn’t, he was still asking her to take him seriously when he was talking about other worlds. It was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.
Mia shook her head from side to side and to her surprise found that she was smiling. It was a joke, an elaborate hoax. It had to be. It was the only logical explanation. Unless... Maybe he believed that what he was saying was the truth and if that was the case, then she needed to get out of there by any means necessary.
“Why do you smile?” The confusion written on Orden’s face was all the proof she needed. “I speak the truth.” He said, almost defensively.
“Because this is a joke,” Mia explained in all seriousness, any trace of amusement gone. He was nuts, living in some sort of fantasy world with his messed up family. The strange clothes and lack of electricity finally made sense. The entire family lived like they were in the middle ages and not in the twenty-first century where she belonged. “There’s only one world. Anything else is make-believe.”
Orden’s eyes narrowed in displeasure, “I assure you,” he started to say.
“I assure you,” Mia said, spitting his words back at him, “if you don’t let me go, my parents-”
“Your threats are meaningless, girl,” Orden said, his eyes flashing. “I’ve told you, yer parents cannot reach you here.”
“Don’t say that!” Mia was on her feet, her hands fisted at her sides, her chest rising and falling rapidly. In her haste, she’d overturned her chair, one of the legs poked her in the calf. Orden looked as if she’d slapped him instead of the scream that left a profound silence in its wake.
He recovered quickly. “It’s the truth!” He roared, and with one hand he grabbed the narrow side of the table and sent it sliding across the floor. Now nothing stood between them.
“You’re lying!” Mia screamed with a force that tore her throat. She ran for the door dancing around Orden’s hulking figure. Adrenaline powered her across the room and out the door; then she was outside, fresh night air on her skin, whipping her hair back from her face, hard-packed earth under her feet.
It was dark, so dark that Mia could barely make out where she was going, but she didn’t dare slow down. She had to get away, who knew what Orden would do if he caught her. Mia sprinted through the blackness hoping to God she wouldn’t run into something or trip over some hidden obstacle. The moon hung like a massive silver dollar in the night sky. For all, its bright glow the light it gave off didn’t touch the world below.
The dark only added to Mia’s terror. Her chest burned like she’d swallowed a bottle of acid, every gasping breath hurt like hell and did nothing to fill her lungs. Mia could feel the adrenaline draining away as surely as her legs turned leaden. There was no way she could keep up this pace. Mia stole a panicked glance over her shoulder expecting to see the big man close on her heels. There was nothing there but empty air. Confusion robbed her of her speed, and she slowed. Mia stopped, her labored breathing the only sound, no footsteps, no shouting.
He’d let her go? Mia couldn’t make sense of it, why would he let her go? A stitch in her side doubled her over. With her hands on her knees, Mia waited for it to pass, wincing at every stab of breath. She couldn’t catch her breath. Then she started to shake, her knees trembling so badly they might give out on her. So this is what shock feels like. Mia realized. She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. She cleared her throat and spat a thick globule of saliva onto the ground. It was disgusting, but it helped get rid of the build-up of spit in her mouth. She breathed a little easier.
Mia swung her head to the right, looking back the way she’d come. In the distance, a small narrow rectangle of light cast a yellow glow that stretched across the ground toward her. Mia straightened up and looked to her left, more blackness. She lifted her eyes skyward, picked out in silver were the pointed peaks of trees. The forest. Her blood ran cold. That’s why Orden had let her go. There was nowhere for her to run but the woods and he was banking on her steering clear of the trees. A potent mix of hopelessness and fear crashed over her. “What do I do?” She said in a choked whisper. Mia looked back toward the house and then to the woods again. What do I do? Her chest started to rise and fall rapidly, and felt like she was about to scream. Did she go back, back to the people who’d abducted and lied to her? Or did she keep going and try to find her way in the woods alone and vulnerable?
Tears poured down Mia’s face as she put one foot in front of the other, forcing herself to move. The ground beneath her feet turned to grass, slick with dew and she kept walkin
g, swallowing her fear. She was going to die in those woods, Mia knew it. Wearing a skimpy dress and holey nylons, no phone, no food or water... It was only a matter of time. At least she would have kept Orden from getting whatever it was he wanted. There was no fooling herself into thinking anything he’d said was true. She was somewhere in the state of New York- Mia had no idea where but it didn’t matter. There was no other world, this wasn’t some fantasy book or television show, this was reality; clearly, Orden and his family didn’t live in it. He was lying about who he was and what he wanted with her. But why be so elaborate? He could have made up any other story, and it would have been easier to believe than this.
Mia bitterly regretted that her parents and Jake would never know what happened to her. “Oh God,” She choked and nearly fell to her knees thinking about them. Mia was never going to see them again unless by some miracle she made it out of the woods alive and somehow- It wasn’t going to happen. Mia knew it without a doubt. She might as well be in another world for all the chance she had of getting home. Mia hiccupped a sob, and the next thing wrapped her arms around herself as great torrents of grief racked through her body. Her legs went out from under her, and she collapsed to her knees in the cold, wet grass. Hot tears spilled from her eyes, flooding her face before falling to the ground.
Her body shook with the force of her sobs, low moans of pain and fear. Mia desperately wished she could get back to her feet and meet her fate without fear, but she wasn’t brave enough. The thought of going into those woods, knowing she would never come out again kept her on her knees, hating herself for being a coward. Damn it, but she couldn’t do it. Even knowing that what awaited her at Orden’s hands would be far worse wasn’t enough to drive Mia to her feet. Mia had been in those woods, experienced the terrifying darkness, the solitude, and the wolves.
The sobs came harder, and she bent forward until her head pressed against the damp ground, the smell of wet grass sharp in her nose. Mia closed her eyes and waited for someone to find her, ashamed that she was giving up so easily.
Vander was on his way back from checking the pasture when he heard raised voices coming from the house. Orden’s voice was easily recognized although the anger in it surprised him; it was the tone Vander liked to think Orden saved especially for him. And now he was using it on the Chosen. Drawn to the open door by a burning curiosity he wished he didn’t feel, Vander soon understood what had gotten under Orden’s thick skin. It was the girl. The tone she used was enough to set his own teeth on edge. He stopped at the corner of the house and listened.
Her accent was unlike anything he’d ever heard before: long and flat, drawn-out sounds that ran together in an unbreakable stream of threats and challenges. She didn’t believe a word out of Orden’s mouth, and made that crystal clear. Things were quick to escalate.
“Don’t say that!” The girl screamed, and there was the sound of tumbling furniture. A charged silence followed, and Vander tensed.
“It’s the truth!” Orden roared, and the accompanying crash made Vander jerk in surprise. He took an unconscious step toward the door and stopped as the girl screamed again. Vander watched in disbelief as the girl tore out the door and ran across the yard, long hair streaming behind her. It was dark as pitch, even he had trouble seeing with his heightened senses, but the girl didn’t falter. Vander waited for Orden to follow, a second, five, but no one went after her. He’d nearly lost sight of her when he started running.
What was she thinking? Stupid girl, where did she think she could go? Vander made sure to stay hidden as he ran after her, light-footed as a deer over the packed dirt yard. It was just as well he had. She looked over her shoulder, her pale face a mask of terror in the moonlight. He drew up short. The girl slowed to a stop and promptly doubled over. He could see the rapid rise and fall of her back from where he stood in the shadow of the barn; he could hear the gasping breaths she took.
“What do I do?”
The whimpered words hit him like the hilt of a sword to the gut, and Vander found himself leaning against the barn, breathless. What must she be feeling right now? “It doesn’t matter.” He told himself sternly, shaking off any sympathy he might have felt. Still, Orden should not have been so cruel to her. She deserved it, he had no doubt, but the old man usually had more patience than he’d shown today. Vander looked back toward the house and narrowed his eyes in thought. Why had the old man let her go? He couldn’t be so prideful that he would take chances with the Chosen’s life. Vander shook his head, directing his gaze at the girl who was on the move again. No, Vander pushed off from the barn, Orden did not take risks like that.
“What are you playing at old man?” Vander murmured, following the girl at a distance. Did she have a plan or was this plain foolishness. She must know there was nowhere to go and yet she kept walking.
Vander felt a chill. The Grower’s season was nearly upon them but the night was far from warm. She must be freezing in the scrap of material she wore and bare legged. Her clothes were strange and shocking to him. Vander couldn’t fathom a place where women walked about in what he would consider their underthings. He was pondering that when the girl made a pitiful sound and fell to her knees, shaking.
With a strange horror, Vander realized she was crying, the force of her sobs shaking her small frame with their intensity. The urge to go to her was sudden and forceful. He had no idea where it came from, only that it demanded he comfort her. He was moving toward her before he fully knew what he was doing. The girl’s sobs grew louder the closer he got, soft keening sounds that made his heart clench within his chest.
Wait, what was happening here? Vander stopped abruptly. The haze that had descended over him evaporated, replaced by the clarity of what he’d come close to doing. The shock of it left a bad taste in his mouth. He stared at the small huddled creature with a mixture of disgust and wonder. Disgust because of her stupidity and weakness, running away and then not having the courage to do it. Wonder because she’d made him forget himself with a handful of tears. Vander turned abruptly, his intention to leave her there. Let her cry, he wouldn’t waste another moment lingering where he shouldn’t. Four angry steps later he stopped, his body tense as if his very muscles rebelled against the thought of leaving her, alone and vulnerable in the dark. Vander lifted his face to the sky, searching the stars for the answer to some unasked question. When he looked over his shoulder, the girl was still there. Of course, she was. Vander exhaled.
The hand Orden dropped on his shoulder was warm and heavy. Vander looked up, the blade of grass he’d been rolling between his fingers falling forgotten to the ground. Neither of them spoke. After a long shared look, Orden nodded his head and moved off toward the spot where the girl lay sleeping.
Vander rose stiffly to his feet and stomped his feet to rid himself of the painful tingling sensation shooting up and down his legs. He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting in the dark, wanting to leave but not being able to move to do it. Vander couldn’t put his finger on the exact moment when the girl’s crying had ceased. It felt like a lifetime had passed while he sat in the wet grass, the damp seeping through his clothes and straight into his bones.
He watched in silence as Orden gathered the girl into his arms and started back toward the house. The older man walked past him without meeting his gaze. Vander clenched his jaw and followed Orden’s large figure with his eyes. The girl’s hair hung like a curtain over his arm, sweeping the air to the rhythm of his stride. Vander waited until they’d disappeared into the house, before he moved. He walked toward the barn in darkness.
Chapter 20
Mia scrunched her face against the unwelcome sounds of someone moving around the room. Doors opened and banged shut, accompanied by faint rustlings; whoever it was either didn’t realize she was there, or simply didn’t care.
She kept her eyes shut and willed herself deeper into the straw-stuffed mattress. Mia had no delusions about where she was. This wasn’t home, this wasn’t her bed although she was su
rprised to be in a bed at all. Footsteps neared, and Mia stiffened in response. Go away, she wished her hardest, please, just go away. Of course, hoping for something- no matter how hard- rarely results in the desired outcome.
Light flooded the room, painting Mia’s eyelids pink. “Up.” Said a brisk female voice, “Get up.” Mia opened her eyes and blinked furiously against the bright light of day shining directly in her face. Rolling onto her back, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Without warning the covers were ripped from the bed. “Hey!” Mia protested, reaching for the bedding.
“Get up.” The girl said, her arms wrapped around the bundle of sheets. Mia narrowed her eyes, recognizing the girl from the night before. What was her name again? Breah? Breahn? Didn’t matter.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Mia glared, “No.”
Breahn leveled blue eyes at her. Then she smiled, “Suit yerself.” The other girl shrugged and laid the covers on the foot of the bed. “Stay here if ye like, but there’s breakfast downstairs.”
“I’m not hungry,” Mia said stiffly.
Breahn gave her a look, her mouth lifting at the corner. “I’m sure. But just in case ye are,” she paused as if to give Mia the chance to argue. When she didn’t Breahn continued, “There’s clean water in the basin to wash and fresh clothes in the wardrobe. Chamber pot’s in the corner, ye’re responsible for it. I’ll not be emptying it for ye.” Mia followed the girl’s hand as she first pointed to a small table against the wall with a white bowl sitting on top then a large yellowwood wardrobe standing to the right of it and finally an innocent looking brass pot in the corner. “If ye find ye’re able to raise yourself out of that bed, we’ll be waiting for ye in the kitchen.” Breahn didn’t wait around for Mia to come up with something to say. With one last look at her sullen face, the other girl let herself out of the room and closed the door softly behind her.
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