We led our horses to a small bank along the creek. “We must make this quick,” Lucia said. “But we’ll be less suspicious if we aren’t both covered in blood.”
I retrieved a change of clothing from the saddlebags, then swiftly stripped out of my dirtied garments. The creek water was cold when I dipped my feet in. But there wasn’t time to contemplate it. I needed to get washed.
Sucking in a deep breath, I went into the water up to my thighs, then lowered myself to my knees. Gooseflesh broke out across my skin, but I scrubbed my body vigorously. I dipped my head back, letting the currents sweep over me as I attempted to wash my hair.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Lucia sliding into the water as well. In the moonlight, I caught sight of something strange on her arms. As I drifted closer to her, I noticed the words tattooed upon her skin. She tried to keep them hidden as she rinsed off her body.
Tattoos? I thought to myself. When had she gotten those? My mind flicked back to what Raul’s grandmother had said when she’d spoken to me at the fire. She’d mentioned a tattooed girl. They had to be one in the same.
Whatever was marked on her arm was written in Latin. Swallowing hard, I picked up on several words, fortunam, and maledictionem. As I started to piece them together, I gasped. The rough translation: He must love her, even after she is revealed as the beast. If he is true the curse shall break, if not, then he shall kill her, such is her fate.
I had to give it to Lucia, she’d been smart. She’d had the blood contract tattooed onto her so she wouldn’t have to worry about us finding it. Suddenly everything made sense. The visions I’d been having of Lucia and Kenrick weren’t visions at all. They were memories. They were pictures of our pasts.
Anger blazed through me as I clenched my fists. Lucia had cursed Kenrick and me for falling in love. He’d chosen me, and she’d made us pay. And we’d keep paying because I doubted that Kenrick, a Knight of the Crowhurst Order, could ever love me in spite of what I’d become.
So why had she let me go? Fear raced through me. I had to get out of here. I needed to get to Crawford before she did. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I knew I needed time. My foot bumped against a good sized rock. I bent over and picked it up.
“Do you need help washing your hair?” I asked as I moved up alongside her.
“No, thank you.” She wrapped her arms about her body as if to shield the traitorous etchings from me.
Without a second thought, I raised the stone and brought it down against her head. She fell into the creek, face first. Not wanting her to drown, I pulled her to shore, then threw on my dry clothes, climbed back onto my horse, and rode as fast as I could.
My fingers ran over the steed’s neck; already sweat lathered it again.
“C’mon, boy, just a little further.” I clicked my tongue at the horse.
At last, I came to a stone gate.
A large house loomed against the night sky; vines and ivy covered the walls. Thorn bushes parted as I climbed from my horse, as if they expected me and I shivered, wondering if this place was enchanted. A great, stone archway led to a heavy wooden door with wrought iron hinges and decorations.
My hand shook, but I reached out to push it open. The scent of roses overwhelmed me when I walked inside, where moonlight filtered in through the stained glass windows. Stone tiles led into the great hall, which had staircases at either side of it. A large, wrought-iron chandelier hung from the ceiling, which had painted lovers and cherubs upon it.
White sheets covering the furniture like deflated ghosts, fluttered as a glass door blew open and wind scattered leaves across the floor. I closed my eyes and images flooded my mind. Images of Kenrick stopping in the woods to aid Gram and me after the wagon wheel had broken on our way to the tournament. A tournament he’d promised to ride in for Lady Lucia. Instead, he rode for me.
A vision of Kenrick and I walking in a rose garden, then another of us dancing at a ball. I reached out and grasped hold of the marble banister at the foot of the stairs. I recalled the first time I brought him here, to Crawford.
“Come, sit on the bench with me.” He smiled, holding tight to my hand.
“But I wanted to show you the maze.”
He eased me down beside him, then turned to stare at me. “These past months have been the best of my life, Brielle. And I cannot imagine spending one moment without you … ”
My pulse soared, our knees pressed together. He leaned closer, his fingers tracing the contours of my face.
“Brielle, I love you … ”
I steadied myself. How could someone have put us through this? We’d been on the brink of marriage, yet we’d been robbed of our lives and of our love. I wandered through the lower level of the house, each item bringing forth a lost memory. The dining room table, the fireplace, the ballroom.
Marble pillars led me into a narrow hallway that stretched on forever. Sculptures posed on both sides of the hall depicted lovers, God, and angels. At the end of the corridor, I came to a large oak door, with roses burned into it, and pushed it open.
“Oh my … ” The library had floor to ceiling shelves filled with books. Chairs upholstered in blue satin sat in each corner of the room on a floor made of white and black marble shaped in the form of stars. I twirled around in a circle, staring at the mural above of a couple rowing across a lake.
I trailed my fingers over a cherry table, which had a leather bound book sitting at the center as if waiting for its reader to return. Beside that was a bone-handled dagger. My hand closed around it and I picked it up.
Then my gaze fell upon the painting that hung above the fireplace. The breath left my lungs and I strode toward it. Gram had commissioned the picture of Kenrick and me, sitting on a bench and smiling at each other, as an engagement gift.
How could it still be here? After all this time, how could everything be as it used to be?
Wisps of fog danced about the room, swirling upward like lines of ribbon. The painting shook as a glowing light encompassed it. Its wooden frame slammed violently against the wall.
Icy fingers brushed my neck and I spun around. “Who’s there?”
I scanned the room, but it was empty save for me. Just my imagination. Once more, I faced the picture above the fireplace and a cold pressure jabbed between my shoulder blades, urging me forward. Taking a deep breath, I glanced behind me. Again, there was no one in the room but me.
Something wanted me to take a closer look at the painting.
It wasn’t the painting that caught my eye, but rather the stone face in the pillar that looked just like Aunt Narcissa. Then Raul’s grandmother’s words hit me again. “Go to the place it began and offer blood.” Without a second thought, I drew the dagger blade across my palm. The cut stung, quickly beading up with blood. I let the crimson drops hit the floor.
Dizziness washed over me.
“How can you side with her, Mother?” Lucia screamed at Aunt Narcissa. “You chose Brielle’s happiness over mine.”
“You know that’s not true. You’ve been practicing the black arts; you tried to use a love potion on Kenrick, when you know they’re forbidden. You cannot force another to do your bidding; it’s a part of our laws.”
“And what of loyalty to our family? Brielle stole him from me.”
“Kenrick never loved you. He only said he’d ride in the tournament for you to honor the friendship between his father and yours. You cannot blame him for falling in love.”
“No, but I can blame Brielle. She seduced him away from me. But I tell you now, if I can’t have him, she never will.” Lucia shoved up her sleeves, revealing the tattoos.
“What have you done?” Aunt Narcissa’s eyes widened.
Lucia took out a dagger, and traced the blade over the last word in her arm. Fate. “I’ve made a deal. Brielle’s happiness for mine. Let’s see if Kenrick still loves her after this … ”
Her tattoo glowed bright red, the words emblazoned on her skin.
He must love her, even after she is revealed as the beast. If he is true the curse shall break, if not, then he shall kill her, such is her fate.
“No, I won’t let you do this … ” Aunt Narcissa lunged at her, but it was too late.
A Beast stalked into the library, claws and teeth sharp as knife points. Aunt Narcissa was the first to fall, followed by one of her ladies in waiting. The image faded into a river of crimson.
My cousin had called forth the Beast and forsaken us all. Then why had she set me free? It didn’t make sense.
Other than this time, Kenrick had always slain me before he knew of my identity, making the curse impossible to break. There was nothing I could do. It lay in his hands, not mine.
“And so I find you,” Kenrick said from behind me.
“What are you doing here?” I backed away, eyes wide. Then I realized just what my cousin had done. She’d let me go, so Kenrick could kill me.
“Lady Lucia and I paid the guard to let us free you.”
“But why?” My mouth went dry. Did he truly love me?
“Because I could not bear to see you tortured by Reynaldo. His methods are evil. No matter your crimes, you didn’t deserve to be subjected to his punishments.”
“And what will you do with me?” My voice faltered.
“You’ve killed innocents, Brielle. And I know not if this curse can be broken or by what means it was put in place, or even if it is real—but I’ve seen what you can do with my own eyes. No matter what my previous feelings were for you, I took an oath to defend people against evil. I-I must do my duty, no matter how much it hurts.” Sorrow seemed to fill his features.
“Kenrick, we have to break this, it’s the only way to keep the Beast at bay forever.”
“We don’t have time for that now, there are too many soldiers. They would never let us leave and you’ll end up back at the church, with Reynaldo. What more can we do?”
Kenrick was right, there was nowhere else to run, I’d die as I always did. Of course, he’d be the one to kill me, or so it was written.
“What is this place you’ve led me to?” His gaze took in our lavish surroundings.
“My home. The place I dwelled with my aunt and grandmother before Lady Lucia cursed me. Cursed us.”
He went still as he glanced at the painting. He stifled a breath, then shot me a startled look. “Where did this come from?”
“It’s been here for almost three centuries.”
Kenrick moved closer to examine it, sidestepping me in the process. His mouth fell agape as he reached out to touch it. Then he glanced at me.
“This is a trick. It cannot be …I—Brielle?”
“No. I do not lie.” Please let him believe me.
He unsheathed his sword, pointing the blade at me.
My hands moved slowly as I drew my dress down my shoulder. “You always stab me here. Through my heart,” I whispered.
We stood still, staring at one another. For a moment, I swore I saw tears welling in his eyes. His weapon wavered and he lowered it once more. A crash sounded in the doorway and people burst into the room.
One of whom was Lady Lucia. Come to watch the end of yet another tragic play on my life.
Lucia’s laugh echoed off the marble as she saw Kenrick semi-poised to stab me.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t beauty and the Beast. I must say, you two put on a better show every time.” Her eyes glittered with menace, while her twisted features betold of madness and hatred. “Star-crossed lovers doomed to spend eternity apart. So sad.”
Dark hair hung loose at her shoulders, snapping like Medusa’s snakes. Reddened lips the color of blood, sneered. She’d changed into dry clothes, but I could still see the faint tracing of where I’d hit her in the head.
“You! This is your fault.” I lunged forward, but Kenrick raised his blade then gripped tight to the back of my gown, bringing me to a stop.
Lucia’s guards poured into the room, surrounding me. Their crimson uniforms reflected off the metal of their drawn swords like hellish flames ready to devour me.
“On the contrary, wench, it’s all yours. Your theft. Your debt.”
“And you call me a monster?” I asked.
“Says the girl who has slaughtered entire villages over the last three hundred years. The same girl who ripped her so-called friend limb from limb to slake her thirst for blood.”
“Because of you and your jealousy. And if we want to talk about murderers, maybe we should speak of you killing your mother.”
Lucia’s gaze skewered me as she circled like a predator ready to pounce. “You call it jealousy. I call it justice. You took everything from me. Kenrick. My happiness. My life. Kenrick promised to ride in the tournament for me. He promised to ask my father’s permission to call on me. Then you came along and he forgot I existed. A stupid barn-whelped bitch. Nice enough on the outside, but no more than an animal on the inside. And if not for you, Kenrick would’ve chosen me.”
Stunned, I stared at her. “How can you do this? It was his choice to make. And because of you, innocent people have been killed. You’ve kept us apart. When will it be enough?”
She glared. “Never. Because the debt you owe can never be repaid.” She shook as she stepped closer to us. “At least you made it so much more fun this time. You figured out the curse, and then got yourself imprisoned in Fire Ridge. Tell me, did you appreciate Father Reynaldo’s methods? I have to say I’ve enjoyed the way everything’s turned out thus far. And now, there’s only one more act to this play.”
Kenrick glanced between us, a horrified look upon his face. “Then you’re the one who inflicted this curse upon her?”
Lucia examined her fingernails then shifted her attention to him. “Of course. And Brielle will die as she always does. A beast, slain by your hand.”
My pulse thundered in my ears. A low growl settled in my throat, the urge to turn into the monster she created, nearly overwhelmed me. She’d ruined our family, and I wanted her to dead.
Kenrick lowered his weapon once more, his knuckles white against the hilt. “You damned her for loving me?”
“No! I damned you both for loving each other. For the pain you caused me. If I can’t have you, then she certainly never will.” She brought her fists down on the cherry table and shrieked, as if madness finally consumed her.
Something in Kenrick’s face changed as he looked once more at the painting of us, then all at once he gasped as if he remembered everything.
“I won’t kill her. Not this time. I love her, even if she is the Beast.” He threw his sword. The metal clanged as it bounced.
“I order you to pick up your sword,” she said. “It is your duty to slay her.”
Kenrick stood tall. “I refuse to be a pawn in your game any longer. I love her. I will not destroy her again.”
She dived across the marble floor, lunging for Kenrick’s sword. In one swift movement, she clasped the weapon in both hands. “Oh, I’ve planned for every eventuality. I want you dead and if I’ve got to be the one to deliver the blow, I will!” Frozen in place, I watched as she lunged forward, every muscle taut and propelling the blade at me.
Kenrick shoved me aside. Pain radiated through me as I struck the wall. He used his body to shield me, keeping Lucia from advancing. The weapon pierced his skin. He cried out in agony as the blade sliced his chest then jutted through his back. Blood seeped through his tunic, dyeing the fabric deep crimson, and he staggered toward a nearby wall. He attempted to hold himself erect, but within seconds, he slipped to the floor, his hand leaving behind a bloodied print.
“No! What have you done?” I shrieked.
Lucia rushed to his side. “Kenrick. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’ve always loved you.” She pushed sweaty strands of hair from his face. “Please don’t die. We can still make things right between us. We can still be together. Just you and me.”
“I’d never choose a mon
ster like you.” He winced as the blade inside him shifted.
Lucia froze, a look of disbelief on her face. “No. You don’t mean that. She’s put a spell on you, don’t you see? We’re supposed to be together.”
Kenrick wheezed. “We. Will. Never. Be.”
With a strangled shriek, Lucia leapt to her feet and screamed at me. “You made me do this. This is all your fault.”
She launched herself forward and her hands clamped around my throat, cutting off my air. I flailed back and forth, trying to free her fingers. Possessed by rage, she shook me, slamming my head into the floor.
“You will die.”
Spots danced before my eyes. It couldn’t end like this. Not at her hands. At least this time Kenrick had refused to slay me. But did that mean we wouldn’t come back again? Pain erupted as my head struck the floor again. I dug my nails into her arms, scratching at her flesh.
An explosion of light erupted in the room, and I watched Lucia’s body as it was flung through the air. I turned to see Raul standing at the center of the library, his power coursing from his fingers like a storm of lightning bolts hailing from the sky. I took in the scattered guards, who were pinned throughout the room—weaponless and at our mercy.
“Are you all right?” Raul asked.
I gasped for air. “I-I think so. I don’t understand, I saw you die.”
He grinned, giving me a wink. “An illusion. My element is fire; I merely drew upon it to shield myself and Grandmother. Something, Reynaldo didn’t account for.”
Slowly, I sat up, then crawled to Kenrick’s side. I touched his chest and my hands came away coated with red, sticky fluid. Sobs erupted from me.
Kenrick reached for me, his fingers trembled. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t trust you.” He sputtered, coughing up blood. “Please forgive me … ”
“Don’t give up. You’ve got to fight. I beg you. You can’t leave, not like this.”
Legend of Me Page 26
