“You believe me?” I gaped, turning to her.
“Not only do I believe you, but I also think you’re seeing something you’re not supposed to be seeing. Astara really did die the way you described it.”
“She’s really the woman buried in the grave Lorenzo took me to?”
“Yes, and she’s been dead for over four centuries, so you should not be dreaming about her at all. I toyed with the idea of not telling you this, but if it were me, I would want to know.”
“But how is this happening?” My heart raced. It was all real.
“If I knew, I would tell you, I honestly would, but I don’t.”
“But you think there’s a way to find out?”
“I do, so I’m going to drop you off at the hospital and go back to try to find out whatever I can. Just promise me one thing?”
“Yeah,” I said without hesitation. Ravenna was the only person who had actually been honest with me so far.
“If you have another dream, tell me.”
Was I willing to fully trust her? Not as much as I trusted Gwenn, but Ravenna seemed to know what to do. I didn’t really have a choice. “Of course,” I replied lightly.
The car suddenly slowed down. Ravenna turned right at a blue sign with white letters. The first row was in a language I couldn’t read, and beneath were the words Dunrobin Castle. We entered the normal town, with tar roads and modern buildings that left me staring out the window, my injuries momentarily forgotten.
On what must have been the main road, modern storefronts glared back at me, familiar makeup and perfume brands, clothing I loved. The car turned left and the words Lawson Memorial Hospital stood out in fading white letters.
The parking lot was almost empty save for two ambulances and some regular cars. Kate was waiting outside the main entrance as Ravenna pulled into the drop-off area.
She turned and looked directly at me as Kate approached.
“Whatever you do, do not tell Kate,” she whispered, her expression steely with determination. Kate pulled open the door, and my back muscles contracted.
“Evelyn, what happened to you?” she asked, looking to Ravenna for an answer.
“Lorenzo. He dragged her to the church with some mad ramblings about a woman named Astara, no idea why,” Ravenna lied easily.
Kate tried desperately to keep her expression level, but as soon as Ravenna said the name Astara, she flinched, recovering almost immediately.
You know who Astara is.
“Come on, let’s get you inside,” Kate said, holding out her hand.
I threw one more glance at Ravenna, whose face had turned to stone.
“Thank you for saving me,” I said before Kate shut the door.
“I’ll come and check in with you later,” she said, forming each word carefully.
Kate led me to the front doors as the Range Rover sped away. The woman in reception looked up immediately and was on the phone even before we reached her. She was the most normal looking human being I had seen in the past week.
“Dr. Sinclair,” the receptionist said in a heavy Scottish accent.
“Milly,” Kate said flatly. “This is my niece. She’s had a rather bad fall and needs treatment. I cannot do this due to the family connection as you know. Is Dr. McPherson here?” She spoke in her aristocratic English accent.
You’re also able to lie with a straight face. Am I the only one in Greyhaven who can’t?
“Yes, he is,” she replied, immediately picking up the white phone. “I need a wheelchair, and please alert Dr. McPherson that Dr. Sinclair’s niece is here and in need of urgent care.” She spoke quickly and with such a heavy accent, I struggled to make out all the words.
Within five minutes, I was being rolled away from Kate by a friendly old man who introduced himself as Roy, my nurse. Dr. McPherson met me in what they called the A&E instead of the ER and examined me and immediately sent me for X-rays. Three hours later, my wrist was reset and in a brace, my face cleaned and plastered, and Roy was telling me I should be careful not to fall again. I think he knew this didn’t happen from a fall but didn’t press me about it.
We had been back in the car for twenty minutes when the painkillers I was given kicked in. My body relaxed, but I couldn’t get the thought of why Ravenna had told me not to tell Kate anything out of my head.
I can’t live with this woman. I should go back home. I should just tell Kate that I want to leave. If I leave now, I can forget all of this and just carry on with my life. Just tell her, just say it. I want to go back home. God, she can’t even blame you. You’re either being kidnapped, harassed, or attacked in this town.
“I think it may be better if I go back home,” I said quietly, finally listening to my inner voice.
“I know this has been a struggle, but it will get better, I promise,” Kate said, glancing at me.
“I don’t think it will. I shouldn’t have ever come here. All my friends are back home. I know where to go and what to do there. I know the school and the teachers, and I could have easily caught up with all my classes. And I’ll be going straight back to the US to attend college. I have to go back to Raleigh,” I explained, determined to see this through.
“Okay, if you feel the same way in a week’s time, I’ll take you back myself. I’ll have to stay with you until your eighteenth birthday at the very least because I’m your legal guardian, but please, let’s give it another week,” she said, for the first time since I met her sounding emotional, or desperate at least.
I nodded slowly. A week was something I could live with—I wouldn’t have to go to school for the next week anyway because the doctor had ordered me not to, so I would be able to hide away in my room for most of the time if I wanted.
“Okay, a week then,” I agreed, turning to her. There was no way I would allow Kate to stay with me once I got back, but she didn’t need to know that now.
It was dark when we finally reached the bridge at Greyhaven. My heart had already started pounding before we even crossed the bridge.
Just one more week—you can do this.
Chapter Fourteen
As the gray stone road delivered us to the iron gate of Kate’s house, I was relieved that the opiate pain medication was still having an effect.
When we reached the house, Kate turned to me and handed me her house key. “I’m really sorry, Evelyn, but I have to go meet someone. I’m going to have to leave you here, but I won’t be more than ten minutes,” she explained.
My head jerked, and I could feel the heat in my chest burn in irritation.
Really, you’re going to leave me right now, right after a man attacked and almost killed me? Just go in, Ev. The less time you have to spend with this woman, the better.
“Sure,” I said in the iciest tone I could muster.
I slipped out of the car as gently as I could. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I made my way slowly toward the front door. Still delirious from the medication, I swayed a bit. Was it odd that Kate hadn’t helped me into the house? Grace would have.
The ancient key felt heavy in my hand, and I had difficulty getting it into the keyhole, even though it was the size of my thumb. Finally, I pushed open the front door and stepped into the dark and unwelcoming entrance hall, feeling for the light switch. I was still fumbling around when the front door slammed behind me. The muscles in my back contracted, and I gasped. Had there been a strong enough wind outside to slam the massive wooden door shut? I felt for the light switch, my pounding heart slowing down slightly.
“I’m sorry,” I heard Lorenzo’s voice whisper into my ear as the smell of alcohol and the disgusting body odor filled the air. No. This could not be happening to me again.
Ignoring any pain still lingering in my body after the painkillers, I lunged forward with my heart battering my chest and panic rising, my hands flaying desperately, feeling
for the pillar around the gossip chair to gain my bearings.
“Serena did this.” Lorenzo’s calm voice followed me into the dark hallway. “She is the reason you will have to die. I’ll have to kill you twice, which is going to be painful for me, little sparrow, but it’s better this way.”
I had to contain the sigh of relief as I finally felt my fingertips reach the wooden pillar.
To your left, hide behind the curtain.
Why had Kate left me? Why did I think it was safe to walk into the house alone? It was almost impossible to remain silent as I limped toward where I thought the curtain was, but before I could reach it, Lorenzo grabbed my outstretched arm. My scream sounded like a whisper beneath the sound of my pounding heart. It ebbed away with hoarseness as he pulled me to his body and finally died in my throat as I fell into his chest. A cold, sharp object on my throat stopped my breathing entirely.
“Lorenzo,” I choked as he pressed the blade into my skin. I was going to die here, alone in a strange town.
I don’t know if he intended to reply or say anything at all, but before he could, I heard the front door open softly. The sound that followed was strange, almost like a wind racing through trees. The lights came on abruptly, blinding me. Lorenzo groaned and dropped his hand and the knife away from my throat. My body immediately lunged forward and spun around. It took a moment for my eyes to take in what they were seeing, but when they did, it sounded like my hollow scream belonged to someone else and not me.
Ravenna stood in the doorway, her eyes wide and looking right at me as I took in the scene. Lorenzo had fallen to his knees. He stared up at me, his eyes pained and desperate. Blake stood behind him, holding a wilting heart in his right hand, dripping blood. Lorenzo fell forward, the massive hole in his chest cavity near his spine bleeding freely, a puddle already forming on the wooden floor. My scream finally died down as I watched Blake drop the heart onto the floor. Our eyes met, and I took a step back, holding out my arms protectively.
“Evelyn,” Ravenna said, stepping forward. “This is not what it looks like.” She slowly walked toward me in the same way one would approach a skittish wild animal.
How could she even say that? It was exactly what it looked like. She gripped my upper arms so forcefully I knew there would be bruises in the shape of her fingers the next day. I immediately tried to pry away when I realized she was pushing me backward, out of the room. The lights in the hallway flickered, and I managed to catch one more glimpse of Blake’s dark expression before Ravenna forced me into the dim passage and finally into the kitchen.
“Did you—he—his heart—” I choked, trying to take a deep breath. Ravenna let go of my arms and turned on the kitchen light. I pressed my violently shaking hands over my heart, trying to steady them. It took a few moments before I was able to stand straight and look into Ravenna’s eyes, which were observing me with curiosity.
Ravenna walked back up to me and placed her hands gently on my shoulders. “Evelyn,” she said in a hushed and tranquil tone. “I need you to listen to me.” Suddenly it felt like the world around me was melting, and only she was clear. I felt myself nodding.
“I need you to forget what happened here tonight until I tell you differently,” she whispered.
“I—” my voice stammered.
“Forget all of it,” she added softly.
“I need to forget all of it,” I confirmed.
What are you doing? What is she doing to you? I can’t forget this. I must not forget this. Wait, what am I not supposed to forget? I can’t remember. I know it’s important.
“How did we get into the kitchen?” I asked, taken aback that Ravenna was standing in front of me.
She smiled. “I told you I’d come check on you. I think I may take you to the manor with me tonight,” she said. “Us girls can have a sleepover; some reprieve from this house may be just the thing you need.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
The tension in my shoulders started to drop; something strange seemed to be happening. The drugs I had taken earlier seemed to be affecting me still. A warm tranquility seeped into my veins as Ravenna took my hand in hers. My breathing became slow and steady again, and I allowed myself to be led out of the kitchen.
“Evelyn, when you see Blake and Lorenzo’s body, you’re not going to remember it either,” she said as we stepped out into the entrance hall.
Blake looked up at me with charcoal-black eyes.
That’s strange, you usually have blue eyes.
I looked down at Lorenzo’s lifeless body and noticed his heart on the floor surrounded by a pool of dark, thick blood.
“Where are you taking her?” I heard Blake’s voice say. It was so distant he might as well have been talking to me from underwater.
“To the manor. I’m not leaving her here,” Ravenna’s clear voice rang out, taking me by surprise.
“You’ve entranced her to forget?”
“I have. By tomorrow, she won’t remember a thing.”
“Ravenna, the dream, if anything happens to her—”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to her. She’s safe with me. You know that.”
“I should have never allowed her to come,” Blake said.
“You had to know. We have to know.”
“I feel weird,” I whispered to myself, my voice sounding drowsy and drugged.
“Come on, love, let’s get you to the manor.” Ravenna smiled.
I nodded and sighed contentedly.
“If anyone else comes for her, Ravenna, kill them,” Blake’s voice babbled as we walked toward the front door.
“I will keep her safe,” Ravenna said, forming each word deliberately.
“If it’s Serena, call me immediately,” he added.
Ravenna paused and turned her head toward her brother. “If it’s Serena, I won’t have time to call you,” she said quietly before we stepped out of the front door and into the cold night air. I couldn’t remember getting into her car or out of the driveway, and when I finally did realize we were driving, we were in an area of Greyhaven I hadn’t seen before.
I looked out of the front window and noticed we were heading toward a hill with a massive castle on it. It was surrounded by an immense wall and illuminated with lamp posts. Ravenna revved the engine as we drove up the steep hillside, circling it toward the top. My entire body calmed down into an exhausted tranquility, and I suddenly didn’t care about anything anymore. I was so tired I couldn’t focus my thoughts. Ravenna hadn’t let go of my hand, and the heat of her skin radiated onto mine.
“What’s going on in this town?” I stammered, sounding drunk.
“I’ll tell you everything I can in the morning, but right now, I need to get you to safety. If I’m right, we’ve got bigger concerns than Lorenzo.” Even her voice sounded miles away now.
“Serena,” I mumbled trying to put two and two together. “My Serena?”
“Yes, your Serena. You won’t remember that in the morning though, I’m afraid.”
“My Serena—she would never do anything to hurt me.”
“Your Serena is the nastiest piece of work I have ever met, and that’s saying something love.”
I watched the trees blur by as the car sped up the hill, curving around until we finally reached the massive stone wall and yet another black iron gate.
“Whoever sells these must make a fortune off this town,” I mumbled.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ravenna stifle a laugh.
“So pretty,” I said, looking out at the intimidating medieval structure from my window. How was this here, in Greyhaven of all places? “It’s like a fairy-tale castle.” I swayed in my seat a bit.
The car entered a courtyard—the most stunning entrance I had ever seen. I closed my eyes for a moment; they felt so heavy, I couldn’t help myself. I heard the car come to a st
op and the engine die down. I was about to pass out when Ravenna took her hand away from mine, and I suddenly remembered everything. The attack. Lorenzo. The knife. Blake ripping out his heart. Every inch of the sickening panic I had been feeling earlier returned in a tidal wave hitting my chest. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs gasped for air as Ravenna got out of the car and over to my side faster than I thought possible. She pulled the passenger door open and took my left hand this time, and once again, the placid calm waved through my entire body, and I felt every muscle and nerve relax. It wasn’t the drugs. My drooping eyes met with Ravenna’s.
You’re doing this. But how?
“I don’t feel right,” I stammered as she placed her arm around my waist and practically carried me out of the car. I tried to stand next to her as she closed the car door, but my knees gave in. Ravenna, who was somehow providing me with some sort of anesthetic, caught me and picked me up. My body couldn’t help but completely relax, and my mind couldn’t think past what I was seeing. I had never felt so intoxicated in my life, not even on the day of the accident.
Was she actually carrying me? How was she strong enough to do this? And in heels?
We passed a few intricately carved columns richly decorated with gilt stuccoes. My eyes moved to a wall behind the columns and the extraordinary colored frescos that covered it. A fountain with a statue of a Roman goddess stood in the courtyard’s center.
“Is she okay?” I heard a muffled voice call from the distance. I managed to look toward the direction it had come from. Tristan.
“Let me take her,” he said reaching us. I felt his arms on the small of my back and my shoulders as he pulled me away from Ravenna, who immediately took my hand again.
“I’ve entranced her, but as soon as I let go of her it stops working,” Ravenna explained as they walked through the courtyard into a second courtyard with a wide stone staircase and two portcullis doors.
“That’s because you’re out of practice. I’ll do it as soon as we get inside,” he said as we crossed the beautiful garden and massive pillars to the doors at the top of the stairs. Above the doors was an ornamental marble frontispiece with the words Rex Regum et Dominus Dominantium beautifully carved into it. “Why didn’t Blake entrance her?”
The Eternal Page 12
