Tethered Souls

by Jessica McCrory

  “Then who’s to say they will keep her alive?” Sheamus began to panic.

  “Because they may need to use the cloaking again, Sheamus,” Aengus added picking up on Myria’s lie.

  “What does that matter? Why would she come back here now that they have Abby?”

  “I have a plan, I just need to work on it.” Myria turned and left the room. She definitely had a plan all right, and if they could draw her out then maybe they could follow her back to Abby.

  Abby didn’t know how long she slept. But when she woke she found she was lying on a stiff bed and chained to a wall inside a dimly lit cavern. Her robe had been replaced with a tattered dress she knew she had worn when she had been Aine. The bile rose in her thought when she thought about who might have changed her.

  “Well, good morning Sunshine,” Annie said from the corner.

  “Welcome to our home sweet home.” She waved her hands and Abby looked around for any weak points she may be able to escape from. She saw none, not a single door or window or hallway in the entire cavern.

  Scrolls littered the top of an old wooden table that sat in the center of the cavern. A fire had been lit near where Annie was sitting, but Abby saw no smoke. So there had to be an exit somewhere! Abby saw two beds sitting on the opposite wall of her. Her heart leapt with hope when she saw the small silhouette chained to the wall in another corner. Molly was alive. It had to be her, she couldn’t quite make out the face in the dark, but the shape was the same size as her.

  “You know I just don’t get what my father sees in you.” Annie walked towards her and stood just out of reach.

  “You are a sick bitch you know that?” Abby spit at her and she felt Annie’s hand crack across her face.

  “Easy Annie, that’s no way to treat your new mother.” Caipre’s voice put ice in her veins.

  “Yes, father.” Annie smiled sweetly at Abby and then turned to face her father.

  Abby looked around for a doorway where Caipre came from, but she didn’t find anything it was as if he had just walked through the stone!

  “Aine, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t speak to our daughter that way again.”

  “I don’t give a damn what you would appreciate, you psycho. And my name is Abby.”

  “Your name is Aine.” He said and stared at her. “And you would do well to not disrespect me.” He motioned towards Molly and Abby now knew why they had kept her alive. They knew Abby wouldn’t do anything that would cause harm to come to her.

  Caipre stalked towards her and knelt down in front of her. “You will be punished for your transgressions Aine. Severely punished, and once you have been cleansed, I will make you mine.” His eyes ran over her greedily stopping at the swell of her breast that came up over the dress.

  “Now drink this.” He shoved a glass of orange liquid in her face and she nearly doubled over at the smell.

  “No.”

  “Drink it Aine, then you can remember what it is I have done for you.”

  Abby pursed her lips, but he shoved the glass in her mouth and poured the liquid into her mouth. She nearly vomited when it hit her tongue. It tasted worse than it smelled and Abby spit it back out at him. He grabbed her by her hair and shoved her face into the mattress pulling the corner of her gown down. Abby’s eyes widened and her body stiffened with fear when he climbed on top of her to hold her still. She screamed as the knife dug into her back and felt him carve a mark in her shoulder.

  He climbed off of her and flipped her over. She saw the anger in his eyes and shuddered as it felt like he looked straight through her. “You will get one of those every time you disobey me.” He pointed the knife over at Molly. “You get five marks and I will slice a piece of her off. Maybe I'll start with an ear and go from there. Do you understand me?”

  Abby reluctantly shook her head. She had to keep Molly safe.

  “Say yes master.” He grinned in her face as she repeated it. “You will do well to remember who you belong to Aine.”

  He turned and Annie followed him. She watched in disbelief as he stopped in front of the stone wall and muttered a few words. Suddenly a doorway appeared and he and Annie slipped through it.

  “Molly.” She strained against the chains and pulled herself as close to the edge of the mattress as she could get. “Molly wake up!” When Molly didn’t answer, Abby slid off the bed and turned trying to use her foot to wake her up. She gently nudged Molly’s leg and then gaped in horror as Molly fell into the light. Her eyes were frozen open in shock and the front of her shirt was soaked with blood. The realization suddenly hit home, she had only been used as a distraction for Abby. The cold truth was that she was already dead, and Abby was all alone.

  Chapter Twenty

  Abby woke and smelled the blood from the day before. She did her best to sit up but with every move she made her body protested. Her shoulder was sore from where Caipre had carved yet another mark because she had ‘misbehaved’. Since Molly was dead, they had no power over her. She no longer cared what happened to her. Aengus was dead, she knew he had to be otherwise he would have come for her by now.

  She tucked her knees up to her chest and watched as Caipre and Annie worked together making another potion to try and bring back her memories. Unlike Myria, they didn’t offer her a break. It was one after the other and she silently prayed each time he forced one in her throat that this would be the one that overloaded her system. She prayed for death, for an end to the suffering. Maybe she could see Aengus again? Join him in the afterlife and they could finally be together. Myria had said that their souls were tethered together, would that hold true in the afterlife as well?

  Back when he had first started giving them to her, she had pretended that it had actually worked. But he grew suspicious quickly when she hadn’t been able to answer his questions, and he had beaten her unconscious.

  All the time Annie sat back and watched happily. If Abby could only do one thing before she died, she wanted it to be driving a dagger into that woman’s heart. Caipre had even let Annie beat Abby shortly after they had come. She believed it had been Abby and Aengus who had killed Emit, unaware that her father had been the one who had taken his life. When she had tried to tell her, drive a wedge between the two Caipre had knocked her out cold again.

  At night he would sit and tell her of his plans for their future. About the children, he would put in her once she was finally worthy of his touch. She prayed that never happened.

  He came at her with another vial of green liquid this time.

  “Drink this Aine. This one will work! You will see.” A smile spread over his lips as she drank it. It tasted like sour milk and she immediately started vomiting. He kicked her in the stomach and cursed.

  “Why do you make me hurt you Aine? Why do you refuse to remember!” When he came at her with the knife, she fought against him. He held her down and carved another mark into her sore back.

  “I don’t understand why you cannot just remember! Then we can be happy Aine.” He pulled her into a tight hug ignoring the fresh wound on her back, then threw her back onto the mattress.

  Abby lay still for a moment and smiled inwardly when he believed her unconscious. “Go and grab more water, Annie.”

  “Yes, father.”

  Annie left and Caipre unchained Abby and began to drag her towards a large tub.

  Abby mustered up all of her strength and grabbed the dagger from his waist. She felt a sick sense of relief when she felt it come into contact with his skin and she ran to the door Annie had just left from.

  She kicked and screamed beating on the door until she had no more energy. He came at her like a bullet. “You bitch!” He jumped on her and began hitting her. Abby wasn’t sure how long he beat her, but eventually, she stopped feeling the pain. She smiled and thought to herself, finally.

  “Aine, you have to wake up now.”

  “Isleen?” She heard her sister’s voice and opened her eyes.

  They were in the woods. Fog covered the g
round and seeped through the trees so that she could not see her feet. Isleen stood in front of her, her hair braided down her back.

  “You must not give up Aine, it's not over yet.”

  “Isleen, I don’t know how much more I can take.” Abby covered her face with her hands.

  “You must sister. Aengus will come for you, you will see.” Isleen smiled and Abby’s heart warmed.

  She felt the familiar pain in her chest. “He won't Isleen, he is dead. Annie killed him with the fire.”

  “Aengus won't stop searching until he finds you.”

  “Didn’t you hear me? He is dead!” She yelled.

  Isleen stepped towards Abby and she felt her hand touch her shoulder.

  “He lives, Aine. And he is coming for you.”

  Abby felt the first blossom of hope in her chest since the moment she realized Molly was dead.

  “He’s alive?” She smiled when Isleen nodded. “But how will he find us? I’m afraid that Caipre has hidden us to well.” The hope began to fade but returned quickly. Oh but Aengus was alive! She knew now that she needed to survive, she had to see him again.

  “It's time you remember, Aine.” She pushed Abby and she fell back into the fog.

  It filled her lungs and she struggled trying to get back to the light.

  “Isleen!” She screamed as the fog pulled her down.

  “It's time you remember. You have to remember.”

  Scenes went through Abby’s mind. She saw her childhood, saw Aengus for the first time. They were children then, she had just moved into the servant quarters of their house with her mother. She saw herself sitting in the gardens, felt the rain hit her face as she smiled towards the sky.

  Abby watched Isleen be born and cried as she held her mother's hand when she died shortly after the birth. She felt the sorrow and the pain when she had to say goodbye to the strongest person she knew. She felt the anger when her father abandoned them and she had been forced to grow into adulthood sooner than she should have.

  She saw herself cleaning a large house she knew belonged to Myria and Aengus’s parents. Felt the change in herself as she grew into a woman and started really noticing Aengus noticing her.

  She felt the butterflies when he kissed her the first time and knew she had loved him long before that.

  The images continued to flash through her mind. She felt the horror when she found Isleen’s body. Isleen had always been so full of life, and now she was left alone to die in the woods. She felt the cold of Isleen’s skin as she embraced her sister for the last time. When Caipre came for her, she had tried to kill him but had been restrained. She felt the pain from the knife as he plunged it into her. Her last image was of Aengus. He had come for her. She had known he would, it was what had worried her.

  “Wake up, Aine. You have to wake up.” Isleen’s voice came through the visions and pushed Abby out of the fog.

  She remembered.

  “Myria it's been too long, they aren’t coming.” Aengus paced the kitchen angrily as he watched out the window.

  She had believed that if they realized Aengus had lived, then they would come for him. Caipre had such hatred for her brother she had honestly believed he wouldn’t stop until Aengus suffered seeing Abby with him. But either they didn’t know he was still alive, or they didn’t care.

  “Aengus I can't find her. I already tried searching for her mind so we could locate her, but he has hidden them well.”

  “She can’t be gone!” He yelled and slammed his hands down on the table. Myria jumped back and he winced.

  “Myria, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I know you are trying.”

  “They have to be nearby.” Sheamus added, “I found no tracks past the mountainside and there’s no way they could have made that climb with Abby in tow.”

  “I have been keeping my mind open waiting for any sign of her and so far I’ve had nothing. I will keep trying Aengus. He won't kill her.”

  “Is that supposed to bring me comfort? There are worse things than death Myria.”

  “Aengus, let's not give up hope. We will find her. Eventually, he will slip up and when he does we will be ready.” Sheamus placed his hand on Myria’s shoulder in a show of support.

  Aengus turned and headed for the door. He had poured all of his energy into rebuilding the barn for the horses. The not knowing was killing him. Every single day he rode through the woods looking for any sign of her at all. Any little thing that might help to restore the faith that was quickly dying inside of him.

  His hands bled where the wood had splintered into them and he kept working. Grateful for the feeling for it let him know he hadn’t died yet. And as long as he breathed, he would search for her.

  “I remember.” Abby woke up and stared at Caipre who had his back turned to her.

  “What?” He turned and Abby saw the hope in his eyes. She had planned out her escape, but it counted on her being as believable as possible. This time, when he began his questioning, she would be ready. She remembered most of her past, knew there were still holes but had faith that they would be filled in soon enough.

  “I remember what you did for me Caipre, I still have some holes in my memories, but I imagine it is my mind trying to block him out.” She tried to sound disgusted at the mention of Aengus. Her hope dangled on him believing her.

  A smile spread across his face.

  “What did I do for you, Abby?” It was a trick, calling her by her name, and one she was not going to fall for.

  “Please call me Aine, Caipre. That is my name.” She rubbed at her wrists. “I know that you erased my sins. I can't believe I had ever thought myself in love with that boy, especially when there was a man so close to me.” She batted her eyes at him nauseous when he came to kneel in front of her. “I am so hungry.” Taking a page from Annie’s book, she whined to him and pouted. “Do you think I could have some food?”

  She traced his jaw with a finger and nearly vomited when he kissed it. He kissed her then and she poured every ounce of feeling she had into it. All the hatred and anger she felt towards him showed through. He believed it to be passion she thought to herself, and used it against him.

  When he cupped her breast, she pulled away. “Food first please? I am weak and I want it to be special.” She smiled at him and felt a wave of relief when he stood and headed for the door. “Before you go?”

  “Yes, Aine?” He turned giddy with excitement.

  “I would like to take a bath.” She gestured towards the tub in the corner and then lifted her wrists that were still chained. “I want to be clean for you.”

  He fell for it and quickly came to unchain her. “Don’t bother dressing yourself afterwards.” He looked at her greedily.

  “I won't.” She smiled, “Now please go and get me some food. And if you pass our daughter,” she nearly choked on the words, “please ask her to make herself scarce. We have some time to make up for.”

  He danced with excitement and ran out. As soon as he was gone, she grabbed the knife off the table and waited. She knew Annie wouldn’t listen, knew that she would be quick to return to see if she had really been brought back.

  A smile curved her lips, she couldn’t wait to lay eyes on their ‘daughter’.

  Shortly after Caipre left, she heard Annie outside the door. She knew she had to wait for Annie to open the door but that she couldn’t give her the chance to close it. If she didn’t time it right, she would be stuck in here again and she knew Caipre wouldn’t be as easy to take out.

  The moment Annie stepped through the threshold Abby was on her. She tackled her to the ground and pressed the knife to her throat.

  Annie laughed. “I knew you hadn’t magically come back. My father can be such a fool.” She gripped Abby by the throat and shoved her back.

  Abby knew that she would soon run out of energy so she fought her as best she could. She threw a punch and felt satisfaction when it came home and got Annie on the cheek. She went after her with the knife
again, but Annie grabbed her arm and fought her for it.

  “You psycho bitch. I should have killed you the moment I found out what you had done to Emit!” She grabbed the knife from her and Abby felt it being driven into her side. She cried out in pain and grabbed at it.

  Annie stepped back and smiled at her. “My father will get over you, I will make sure he finds someone knew to sate him. Quite possibly the witch that trapped you all here. Wouldn’t that be ironic?” She knelt next to her and smiled in her face.

  Abby pulled the knife from her side and hid it behind her back.

  “I once asked my father why he was so obsessed with you, would you like to know what he said?” She laughed and leaned closer. “He said that you were so deliciously innocent he believed you could calm the demons who spoke to him. As if you there were something wrong with him and you were the only one who could cure him.”

  Abby drove the knife up into Annie’s throat. She pulled her hand away and jerked the knife out with it. She drug herself out through the door and didn’t spare Annie a second glance, she knew she wouldn’t survive. She had no last words for her, no final farewell. She gathered all of the strength she had and pulled herself through the darkening woods.

  If Caipre found her, she knew that she would stand no chance at escape again and he very well might kill her. She clutched the blood-soaked knife to her chest and pushed on.

  After running for what felt like ages Abby’s vision began to waver and she fell to her knees. She opened her eyes and Isleen stood in front of her.

  “Aine you have to stand. You have to move now, he is getting closer.”

  “I. Cant.” Abby choked out and tried to stand. Suddenly she felt Isleen lifting her by the arm. She took some of Abby’s weight.

  “I know where you can go,” Isleen said.

  She moved as quickly as she could with Isleen’s help and they continued through the woods.

  Abby fell to the ground at the edge of the water and coughed. Even in the dark, she saw the blood and she knew she would bleed to death if she weren't found soon.