It took her a long time to get to sleep that night. Thoughts swirled in her head as she contemplated what had just happened. She loved Alex, but she loved him like a brother. What if he told Aethelu? Why would he though? Should she tell Aethelu?
It was Aethelu who occupied her thoughts until she finally fell asleep, but it was Alex who filled her night with dreams.
Chapter Three
The next morning, Aethelu arrived as usual with a silver tray full of breakfast. It was Sunday which could only mean Winnie’s famous Sunday breakfast. Aethelu had perked up remarkably since yesterday and gave Anais a swift kiss before placing the silver tray on the bed next to her. Before Anais had a chance to say anything, Aethelu had disappeared only to reappear a couple of minutes later with a tray of her own.
“We really should get a dumb waiter,” she exclaimed. “Still, it’s keeping me fit running up and down the stairs after you.” She gave Anais a huge smile, which brightened her face, making her appear radiant.
Yesterday’s break from the norm of wearing red had not caught on as she was now attired head to toe in the colour; red skinny t-shirt, red knee length skirt and red slippers, topped off with a sparkly red hair band pulling her fringe out of her eyes.
Her hair had been cropped short on Christmas Day, but it was beginning to grow out. It was at that awkward stage between short and long hair where it sticks out at all angles and can’t seem to decide which direction to lie in. It suited her perfectly, adding to her pixyish charm. She really was captivating with her pale flawless skin exhibiting just a hint of pink in her cheeks from the exertion of running up three flights of stairs. Anais speared herself a bit of sausage as Aethelu sat on the bed next to her.
“I heard about last night, you naughty girl!”
Anais put her fork down. So Alex had told her about the kiss. She was mortified. She had no defence.
“Whatever made you do it? I should at least have been with you,” Aethelu had an impish grin on her face.
What? Why would Aethelu want to watch her girlfriend kissing her brother? Then it dawned on her. Someone had told Aethelu about her visiting Jago.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Judging by Aethelu’s face, she did not share the views of the rest of her family on the matter. In fact, she looked positively amused.
“I was curious. Rafe mentioned that he was shouting the name Sabine in his sleep. I just wanted to know who Sabine was, I guess.”
“Did you find out?”
Anais thought back to the night before. She’d been taken out of the room before she’d had the chance to ask him.
“No. I didn’t get a chance.”
“Oh,” Aethelu looked disappointed as she popped a fried cherry tomato into her mouth.
“I don’t think it’s him.”
“Yeah, I was told that part, too. You know there is a stack of evidence that says otherwise.”
Anais frowned. “So you don’t believe me either?”
“I never said that. I’m just interested in what makes you think it’s not him. On the night he tried to kill us, it was dark, he was wearing a mask, you were disorientated already by the fact he’d fired a crossbow arrow through your leg. It really could have been anyone. What makes you so sure that it wasn’t him?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.”
“A feeling? Is that it?” Aethelu looked unconvinced.
“No, he told me he didn’t do it. I believed him.”
“He’s hardly going to admit to it now, is he?”
“No, but then again, why wouldn’t he. There is so much evidence against him, but he still maintains his innocence.”
“Perhaps he thinks we are stupid or a soft touch. Perhaps he is just a wackadoodle bog standard psychopath. Who knows? You are right about the evidence, though. It’s what I said earlier. There is no way he isn’t Jago.” Aethelu replied.
“I don’t have a doubt that he is Jago. I’m convinced he is the one who stole some of the Elixir all those years ago.”
“Well, then.”
Anais looked Aethelu right in the eye.
“I don’t think it was Jago who killed my parents. I think it was someone else. Someone who knew his past, who knew his name and used it as an alias. I think we have the wrong man. I’m sure of it.”
Aethelu looked at her in astonishment.
“We can’t have. It makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. If you are planning to annihilate the entire planet, you are hardly going to sign your own name are you? What better than to take a name from the past. From someone with a history of stealing the Elixir before. I mean, that’s what he wanted this time wasn’t it? More Elixir?”
“But, but…” Aethelu stuttered “You must be wrong, you have to be. There is no real proof that you are right”
“Yes, granted, but there’s no real proof that I’m wrong either.”
“But you have to be!” The alternative was too horrific to contemplate.
Chapter Four
Anais didn’t want to have to replay the same conversation with the rest of the family, and if she was honest with herself, she was still angry at them. She also couldn’t face Alex at the moment. What he had done to her last night was still running through her mind, and no matter how she tried, the thought of that kiss would not leave her. She didn’t want to leave Jago in the situation he was in, especially if she was right about him, but she had to get Alex out of her head. This is why she decided to carry on with her original plan of taking Aethelu out for the day. The spring weather remained cold and crisp, but the sun shined brightly making it look warmer than it actually was. A few lone white clouds floated lazily across the sky and the birds were out in abundance, singing sweet little melodies after a winter of silence. Aethelu helped her get dressed as she had been doing for the last few weeks, and now, they were in the car heading away from The Manor. Technically, it was Aethelu taking her out for the day as she was the one driving, but it was Anais who had picked the destination.
Aethelu had laughed when Anais had told her where they were going. It was a park, not a five minute drive from The Manor’s gates. Anais had seen it on a map of the area on the internet when she had been looking at the nearby area, more out of boredom than anything else. It had looked lovely on the satellite view, and when they pulled up a few minutes later, she was not disappointed. Pretty gardens, filled with spring flowers of all colours flanked wide concrete pathways. Expanses of grass provided a perfect place to have a picnic (thoughtfully provided by Winnie), and large trees of all types offered shade from the bright sun. Pretty little boats, painted in primary colours bobbed lazily, moored to the bank of a wide river that flowed down one side of the park next to a huge field, of which half was taken up by a cricket pitch. A metal bridge crossed the river just a few meters down from the rivers weir. A number of ducks sat at the river’s edge, and a few braver ones floated on the chilly water. Aethelu obviously knew the park well, and it was she who led Anais into the park’s fragrant gardens. They picked a place next to a bandstand to lay out a picnic blanket. Anais, with help from Aethelu, laid herself out on the picnic blanket, the crutches placed beside her.
The weather hadn’t quite yet lost its winters chill, and it was probably for that reason that the park was almost deserted. A couple of dog-walkers had braved the cold, and Anais could just make out a group of young children climbing trees and making dens near the edge of the park.
Anais closed her eyes and listened. It was all quiet apart for the rush of the river’s flow and a lone duck quacking in the distance. She felt so peaceful, so at ease. She could hear Aethelu quietly unpacking the picnic, but she was not that hungry. She was just happy to lie still and not think about The Manor or the family. A brief thought of Alex flashed into her mind, but she quickly dismissed it, not wanting to spoil the moment. She must have inadvertently pulled a face as Aethelu asked her “What?”
“Mmmm?” she replied lazily.
She felt t
he tingle, the feel of electricity, a split second before she felt the kiss. It coursed through her with an urgency she wasn’t ready for. Her whole body shook slightly before she got used to the sensation and kissed back. It was fuelled with a passion of a girl waiting for her first kiss. It felt like her first kiss with Aethelu. Thanks to her being ill and then the funeral, things had quietened slightly between the two in the past few weeks.
Anais was almost glad for it. It made this kiss all the more explosive. The electricity was building up to a level that she could hardly bear, but she held on, not wanting it to end. She’d forgotten just how intense kissing Aethelu was. The electricity sizzled through her body, concentrating on just one spot, her lips. Just as the intensity of the sensations were about to push her over the edge, Aethelu broke away and smiled.
“Wow.” It was a whisper. Anais could barely catch her breath. She moved in for another kiss, but Aethelu ducked out of her way.
“I think we should wait for a few minutes.”
“Why?”
Aethelu laughed. “You were shaking uncontrollably. I’d forgotten how much power The Light can have. I thought I had it under control by now, I guess you just got the better of me.”
“I was shaking? I hadn’t even noticed.” Although even as she said it, she could still feel parts of her, the very ends of her fingertips and the tips of her toes still tingling. Her lips almost felt scorched and she wondered briefly if they would appear darker or redder than usual if she looked in a mirror.
“Close your eyes,” Aethelu spoke to her softly.
Anais did as she was told and waited. This time she braced herself waiting for the electricity, but instead, she felt something cool on her lips, which eased the burning sensation delightfully. She parted them slightly and tasted strawberry. It had been dipped in champagne and a small drop of it escaped her mouth and trickled down her chin. She took a bite of the strawberry and swallowed. Sweet, juicy and delicious.
“You like?”
“mmm.” She could barely speak.
Seconds later, another champagne soaked strawberry touched her lips. She, once again, opened her mouth to taste it, but this one was followed by the sweet taste of Aethelu’s lips. Before the electricity could build up, Aethelu pulled away, leaving only the exquisite taste of strawberries and champagne and a delightful tingle on her lips.
“I missed this,” Anais opened her eyes and grinned.
“Me too, it’s been too long, far too long.” She moved forward to kiss Anais again but was interrupted by a golden retriever appearing from nowhere and poking his nose into the picnic basket. Aethelu laughed again and pulled the dog away from the food. She looked around and saw its owner a distance down the path. She heard a faint whistle and the dog bounded off as quickly as it had arrived.
“We should have brought Baker,” mused Aethelu. Baker was August’s pet spaniel puppy.
“I don’t think I could have kept up with him if you had,” said Anais indicating the crutches lying beside her.
“Has father given you a date to come off the crutches yet?”
“No. Having only half The Light blood in my system, he doesn’t really know how my body will react to things compared with a normal person or a Guardian. Your injuries were much worse than mine, but you healed almost fully in a week. If I was normal, it would take me about four months to heal properly.”
“So basically, any time between one week and four months then?” grinned Aethelu.
“Pretty much, although it’s already been three weeks. Aldrich is leaving it up to me, really. It’s a removable brace. I could try walking without it. If it hurts, then it’s too soon to walk on it.”
“Very scientific!”
“I’m trying to walk around on it as much as possible with the brace on to get used to it. That’s why I wanted to come out today. I’m sick of being confined to my room. I needed some fresh air and exercise.”
“Fine, in that case we will go for a walk after we have finished the picnic. That is, if the dog left anything for us.”
She pulled out some food, which was thankfully still wrapped up and set it out on the blanket. Winnie had created quite a feast, and the girls ate well and finished off the champagne.
The rest of the day carried on in a blissful fashion.
They hired one of the little row boats (Aethelu chose a red one). They spent a wonderful couple of hours rowing up the river and then drifting lazily back down again, some of the ducks curiously following behind. Aethelu had to row as Anais couldn’t push her body due to her leg being out of action. She had to content herself with dipping her hand lazily into the frigid water and watching the sky float by. Thick trees at either side of the river hid a pathway which occasionally came into view and then meandered away again. After an hour or so, Aethelu pulled the oars fully into the boat and joined Anais at the other side. She lay next to her, looking up at the sky as Anais was. Even though they were both wearing thick coats, Anais felt warmed by the closeness of Aethelu at her side. The boat followed the slow current on its own, which would eventually bring them back to the boathouse where they had started. Both girls were enjoying the feel of the sun slightly warming their faces, the feel of the motion of the boat on the water and the closeness of each other so much that they didn’t notice the glint of binoculars coming through the trees on one of the river banks. They didn’t see the flash of a blue jacket through the greenery of the trees and bushes. By the time they had floated back to the boathouse, both the jacket and the binoculars had disappeared into the trees.
Unaware of being followed on the river, they quite happily took a slow amble round the park which gave Anais the chance to strengthen her legs and see the whole park. Finally, they stopped at a little shop near the entrance to the park and bought them each an ice cream, despite the coldness of the weather. Anais had so much fun with Aethelu that she was able to forget the events of the past few days. She felt a freedom that she hadn’t felt in a long time. It made her realise that no matter how much she loved the house and its inhabitants, it was oppressive and part of her longed to leave. She hoped that now that she could leave The Manor’s grounds freely since the capture of Jago, the feeling would eventually pass.
Little did she know that this was the last day of her new found freedom.
Chapter Five
The next day found Anais gaining strength in her legs and practicing walking. She had dragged herself out of bed early and dressed herself, long before the time Aethelu usually came up with breakfast. The leg brace she wore on her leg was a removable one, fastened together by Velcro. She never slept in it and this morning she wanted to test whether she could walk on her leg, using only her crutches for support. She hopped out to the corridor, figuring that a nice long straight area would be a good place to practice. The thick red carpet would drown out any sound she was making with the crutches. She didn’t want to wake Andrew in the next room. Moving the crutches forward, she did her usual hop for one length of the corridor. Easy. She’d mastered using the crutches, and if this morning’s experiment didn’t work, she knew she would be ok for a while yet with the brace. When she had turned around and was back where she started, the real test began. She was terrified to put her foot down, fearing the pain that she believed would shoot up her leg. She placed a tentative toe on the carpet followed by her whole foot. The long fibres of the carpet tickled her foot, which felt overly sensitive compared to her other foot. There was still no weight on it, her full weight was being taken by her good leg and the crutches, but she had her foot flat on the floor. So far, so good. She pushed down a little. Nothing. The expected pain didn’t come. She pushed down a little more. Still no pain. The big test was to put her full weight on her leg. Images of the x-rays of her legs three weeks ago came flooding back to her. Bone smashed into a thousand pieces, Sharp shards sticking out in every direction. Even the ‘after’ x-rays when Aldrich had inserted a metal rod and many pins to hold it all together had looked like something from a horror m
ovie. Still, she was sick of being bed-bound, sick of the crutches and above all, sick of everyone fussing over her.
She took a deep breath and very slowly put her full weight down, first, spreading it between both legs, and then finally, lifting her good leg off the floor, using the crutches only for balance. There was pain there, but it was not the white hot searing pain she had imagined. It was a dull ache. She felt bruised. Taking a small step forward, her ankle seized up and she had to quickly put her good leg down to stop herself from falling. Aldrich had warned her that she would face physiotherapy once the brace was off, and effectively, she would have to relearn to walk again. He described it to her as being akin to a toddler first learning to use his legs properly. She had thought it preposterous at the time. She knew perfectly well how to walk; however, as she tried a few steps down the corridor, she had to admit that he had been right. Her head knew how to walk; it was her leg that seemed to have forgotten. Still, she had managed a few steps, and apart from the ache, she felt pretty good. She carried on, using the crutches for extra support and made her way slowly down the stairs, idle thoughts of surprising Aethelu with breakfast for a change, in her mind.
It took nearly twenty minutes of clumsy walking to get down to the main entrance. She was halfway across the entrance hall, heading to the kitchen, when she heard a knock on the door.
It gave her a shock and she jumped. No one had knocked on the big oak main doors since before Christmas. The family had been going down to the main gates to greet visitors for months now due to the lockdown. Even Mrs Smithson, the maid had to wait at the gates for a family member to meet her. Since Jago had been caught, the lockdown had been lifted and the gates had remained unlocked.
Anais made her way to the main door and pulled back the huge bolt securing the doors. She pulled one of the huge door handles but the doors didn’t budge. They were locked. Remembering that her keys were still in her bedroom and at the rate she could walk, would take her at least half an hour to retrieve, she shouted through the door.
Infinite Spring (Young Adult Fantasy Horror series) (Guardians of The Light Book 2) Page 4
