Disgrace

by Kit Bladegrave

  “You can almost reach out and touch it.” Ezra held his hand out before him, cringing, the closer to the cabin he went. “There’s something evil here. I’ve felt this type of presence before.”

  “Where?”

  “The old temple ruins William took Irina too,” he snapped. “I don’t advise getting any closer.”

  I was more than ready to torch the place right now, but there were several times that Gabby mentioned the few prized possessions she did have in that cabin. The beads from the villagers, a stitched leather bag made by a very grateful old woman when Gabby managed to save her grandchild. Several furs from rare white bears who had passed in these woods.

  “I won’t be long,” I told Ezra, ignoring his protests as I stalked to the cabin and kicked open the door.

  The heaviness outside the cabin was even worse inside it. Each step was a struggle, but I spotted the leather bag and draped it over my shoulder, searching quickly for the other items. The beads were in a wooden bowl, and I dumped them into the bag, searching for the furs next. I spotted the edge of one buried beneath others on the bed and had to drag my feet to get to them.

  “Holden, move faster!” Ezra yelled.

  “Almost finished!”

  “Still, move faster!”

  I just got my hands on the furs and yanked them off the bed when a high-pitched scream shattered the eerie silence of the cabin. I snarled, falling to my knees as the door slammed shut, locking me in. I felt something warm at my ears, but the scream went on and on, rushing through me, stabbing at me every second that it lasted.

  She will never be yours! Never!

  That voice, that damned voice was back.

  “You will not take her from me,” I snapped viciously. “You hear me? She is not yours anymore! She’s her own being! She’s mine!”

  The scream struck me again, knocking me across the face hard enough to send me sailing backward to the floorboards.

  I groaned in pain, but I was not going to be beaten down by this evil witch’s spirit. She tortured Gabby far too long while she was alive. I would not let her do it in death. Thinking of Gabby and her pain, I made it to my knees. Seeing her bleeding hands again, I got one foot under me.

  Then that spirit rushed through me, an icy wind of pure hatred that sent me right back down again. Gabby showing me her scars, her telling me what happened to her. I rolled back to my stomach and dug my claws into the floor, forcing myself to push back against this heavy evil trying to crush me. Gabby smiling, laughing for real. Gabby touching my back, my own scars, healing me from the inside out. Her lips against mine. Each thought gave me another burst of strength, and I finally was upright again, bracing my feet as the cold slammed into me again and again.

  But this time, I wasn’t budging.

  Chest heaving with my rage, I glowered at the shadowy figure swirling into being before my eyes.

  Two piercing white orbs pulsed as they stared me down.

  “You will leave her alone,” I ordered.

  The spirit hissed and thrashed, shaking the whole cabin.

  “You will move on to whatever hellish pit awaits you, and you will not speak to Gabriella again! Be gone!” I bellowed.

  The spirit exploded outward.

  Behind me, the door crashed open, and Ezra stuck his hand in for mine. I snatched up the white furs and took his hand. He yanked me free of the cabin, and before I could even ask for one, he thrust a torch at me. I tossed it inside and slammed the door shut again.

  The fire devoured the cabin, and that same wretched screaming echoed through the woods until the roof gave in and the walls collapsed, one by one. I sank to my knees in the cold mud, watching as what had been Gabby’s home was burned to nothing more than ash.

  “She’s going to hate me for this,” I muttered, hunching over.

  “If it saves her life, no she won’t.”

  “You think she’s gone? Tori?”

  He was about to reply when another scream rent the air and the cabin exploded outward, covering us in debris. Ezra coughed and hacked, waving his hand before his face to clear the dust. “Yes, I believe that did it.”

  We remained in the clearing until the last flame died away.

  I folded the white fur the best I could and tucked it into the leather bag, then Ezra pulled me to my feet. I would have to make space for a new herb garden near the castle, in addition to rushing my plans for the workshop Josef and I had been creating in one of the outer buildings. A growl reached my ears, and I spotted two sets of eyes watching us from the trees. Hela and Grell. I waited for them to attack me for what I’d just done to their mistress’ home but instead, they lowered their massive heads, then took off into the woods.

  “It appears we weren’t the only ones to feel that darkness,” Ezra said. “Come, let’s get you back to your wife.”

  The walk back to the village was much slower than the walk to the cabin. The spirit’s attacks had me aching all over, and I was still wiping away blood that dripped from my ears. Whatever wounds I suffered would be worth it if Gabby would never be tormented by the memory of her mother again. I didn’t think I could bear seeing her cause herself harm a second time.

  Back at the castle, I carried the leather bag as I ran upstairs to Gabby’s chamber. The door was cracked, and I listened to the voices inside. Irina was speaking, and I heard Gabby say something in reply, the words too muffled for me to make out. She was coherent at least.

  I leaned in close enough, so I could hear what was being said.

  “Why didn’t you say anything to him?” Irina asked.

  “I don’t know,” Gabby replied. “We both opened up to each other, but this… dealing with Tori is too much for me sometimes. I was not going to lay that burden on him in addition everything else he learned about my past.”

  “A past that you even kept hidden from your sisters? And here I believed I knew everything that occurred with that dreadful woman.”

  “Can you blame me?” Gabby argued. “You would have done everything to try and take away my pain, but it’s mine to deal with. No one else’s.”

  “Not certain your new husband will see it that way.”

  “Husband. You know there are mornings I wake up and expect it all to be a dream. I gave up on finding someone I could be with a long time ago. Then, this arranged wedding happened, and I believed my fate sealed. Misery and loneliness, that’s what I would have.”

  “And now?” Irina asked.

  I leaned in even closer, straining to hear how she replied.

  “Now… now I’m feeling emotions so raw and real, they make me feel alive again,” she said, her words so passionate, it sent my heart racing. “There is something between us, I can’t say what, but it’s there.”

  “Time, Gabby, all you two needed was time.”

  “I just hope we still have time after what happened. Gods, Irina, she got to me so easily. How could I let that happen?”

  “No,” Irina said sternly, before I could and give away the fact I was listening in. “Don’t you dare go blaming yourself for anything that woman did to you. She was not a mother. She was a monster, end of story.”

  “A monster that I believed long gone.”

  “Gabriella, you look at me right now. You are strong, you hear me? Out of all our sisters, you have overcome the most. Do not let her continue to tear you down. Not now when you have Holden in your life. Understand me?”

  I heard a hard sniff in reply, and when I peeked inside, I spotted Irina holding her younger sister. Gabby’s cheeks were wet, and it ripped me apart. I spent so many years caring only for myself, to have someone else to look after reminded me how strong I needed to be, too. I waited a few seconds, then knocked before I opened the door. Gabby was quickly wiping at her face as Irina stood from the bed.

  “Gabby?”

  “Holden, where were you?” she asked, seeing the leather bag in my hands. “You went to the cabin! Have you lost your mind!”

  “I had to see what was there
and—” I cleared my throat. “Well, I’m afraid your cabin is no longer standing.”

  Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

  I handed over the bag, grimacing. “I saved what I could, but Ezra and I—we got there, and the place was overrun by Tori’s spirit, essence. Something. It attacked me, and we burned the place to the ground. I believe her spirit is gone. She can’t hurt you anymore.”

  Her face blank, she opened the bag and drew out the white fur followed by the beads, dumping them into her hands. She rolled them over and over. I held my breath, waiting for her to scream and yell at me for destroying her home. Instead, she smiled. And then she laughed. She laughed until she started to cry, and I shared a concerned look with Irina.

  “Gabby?” I asked, carefully moving closer.

  “I’m sorry it’s just for so long I wanted to do just that, but fear of her coming after me stopped me. Thank you.” She reached for my hands. “You have no idea what you just did for me.”

  Irina moved away from the bed, and I took her place, wrapping Gabriella securely in my arms as I kissed the top of her head. “For you, love, I’d do just about anything.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  “Nothing I can’t handle. How are your hands?” I checked over the bandaging.

  “They’ll heal.”

  Irina excused herself and said she would be downstairs with Ezra, closing the door behind her to give us some privacy.

  “So, I’m assuming you have questions,” Gabby mumbled, reaching up to pull on her hair.

  I stopped her, gently holding her hands in mine.

  “You saw her that day, didn’t you?”

  “I did,” she confessed as she shivered “It was terrible and so real. I thought she was truly back, and what she said… I just—I should have told you I know, but I’ve already laid so much on your shoulders, and that would’ve made it worse.”

  I lifted her chin, so I could see into her eyes. “We’re married, remember? That means as your husband, I’m supposed to help you with whatever burdens you have.”

  “Those words sound awfully familiar.”

  I grinned. “They should, and they’re true.”

  “I spent so many years dealing with my pain, my fears on my own. I forget I have a caring person back in my life.”

  “Well, you do. Please, for the love of the gods, do not neglect to tell me again. Swear it?”

  “Swear it,” she repeated. “I suppose I’ll have to rebuild a home of some sort in Channon. Or work out of my temple. That should be fine. All those herbs I had stock-piled, those will take time to get back.”

  I was nodding along with her, already knowing I had a decent amount of supplies waiting for her. “Are you up for a walk?”

  “A walk? To where?”

  “Just trust me.” I pulled back the blankets and helped her stand.

  She was a bit wobbly but held onto my arm, and we managed to make it out of her room and to the stairs.

  “I was going to save this because it’s not completely ready, but since I destroyed your home, I feel you should get to see it early.”

  “Holden, what are you up to?” she asked.

  I clamped my lips shut.

  “No hints?”

  “None. That would ruin the surprise.”

  We made it through the castle and outside to the grounds. The whole way I could sense her thinking and wondering what I had been up to. Other than burning her cabin down, that is.

  Next to the barn and the kennels was a large, stone building that was used as barracks, once upon a time, long ago. An eternity ago, it seemed. After the war, our numbers were too depleted to keep a full barracks, so the building had stood empty for years. No longer would it be empty.

  At the door, I pressed my hand to the handle, and grinned. “Welcome to your new workshop.” I turned the handle and opened the door.

  Gabby frowned until she stepped inside with me and her jaw dropped. “What—what is this?”

  “This,” I said as I struck a spark with flint and lit one of the nearby torches, walking around the room to light the others, “—is your place to work. To make your potions and your salves. I’m going to have a plot of herbs constructed just outside. There’s plenty of space, and Josef has been busy gathering what herbs he could through trade. I’m not certain exactly what you require, but you only have to make a list, and I’ll see you get them all. Hattie is available to travel, too, no matter what—”

  Gabby flung herself into my arms, embracing me as her lips found mine in a kiss that had me wrapping one arm around her, reaching to set the torch down where it wouldn’t set anything on fire.

  “And you thought I wouldn’t want to be with you,” she mused against my mouth. “You are the crazy one.”

  “I want to see you happy,” I told her. “And seeing your smile, hearing your laugh, it’s changing my life in ways I never imagined. Made me stronger. I’m here for you, Gabby, whatever you need.”

  “I don’t deserve you.”

  “Don’t ever think that,” I whispered, kissing her again. “I will not betray you, never hurt you. Not like they did. An oath, on my life.”

  She pushed me back into the nearest wall, and our lips started a heated dance that I never wanted to end. She told me without words she would be here for me as well. That we were in this together. I wanted to ask her more about what happened with Tori, about the mirrors and what they meant, but that would only ruin this perfect moment.

  We spent the next few hours going through her new workshop, setting up the tables, stealing more kisses here and there, then doing some work. I worried she would wear herself out, but it seemed to energize her and chase away the shadows that had clouded her eyes.

  Long after night fell, she yawned, stretching her arms over her head.

  “You should turn in,” I suggested, impressed by how much more organized this place looked already. “And I’m afraid I have to leave in the morning.”

  “The hound inspection, I remember.” She was picking at her bandages lightly, chewing the inside of her cheek. “Two weeks you’ll be away, yes? By the time you come back, I’ll have this place up and running.”

  “If you want me to stay, I will.”

  “No, you need to go. It’s one of your duties. I have Hattie and Josef.”

  “And Rush. He’s taken to you, and I’d feel better if you kept him by your side, just in case.”

  She gave in easily. “I don’t mind the big lug. Give him a bit of a break from you barking orders at him all day long,” she teased.

  “Is that so?” I stalked toward her, loving how her breath caught the closer I drew.

  “Yes, it is so.” She stood on her toes and kissed me long and slow.

  My hands fisted in the back of her shirt and I growled. “I’m staying.”

  “No, you’re not. I am not going to be the reason you ignore your responsibilities. Anyway, I don’t feel Tori around anymore,” she whispered. “Not even a hint. Whatever you did, I think it worked.”

  “And the mirrors?”

  Her face paled instantly as she clung to me. “Irina said you had them destroyed, all the ones that weren’t necessary. As long as I don’t hear her, it won’t happen again.”

  I hugged her close anyway, resting my chin on her head. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “And I, you. Strange feeling, isn’t it? Missing someone.”

  “It is. I love it and hate it, all at once.” My own words left me speechless as I leaned back to see her face.

  Two weeks without her. How was I going to survive?

  She yawned again, and I put out the torches as she waited for me by the door.

  The walk back to the castle was relaxing until we reached the door to her rooms. Then the tension built between us so thick I could have reached out and touched it.

  “I’ll see you off in the morning,” she promised. “Good night, husband.”

  “Good night, wife,” I replied, holding onto her hand as long as
I could.

  Then she was closing her door, and I leaned against the wall next to it, rubbing my tired eyes. I was exhausted and sore from dealing with Tori’s spirit.

  I knew what I saw, but my gut told me the trouble with that dead witch was far from over.

  Before I left, I’d be sure to leave specific instructions for Hattie and Josef about watching over Gabby. Maybe even Irina would be willing to stay a few extra days, just in case. And under no circumstances was she to go back to Channon alone.

  I stumbled sleepily to my own room and face-planted on the bed. I wished for a peaceful night’s rest but woke up several times throughout the night to the same nightmare; Gabby scrubbing until her fingers were nothing, but bone. And Tori cackling evilly behind her. Waiting for the right time to strike.

  9

  Gabriella

  Holden had been gone for the last four days, and I noticed. I strode by his door every morning, waiting for him to step out to walk with me to the hall, and I sighed each time he didn’t. I had told him to go, even when he said he would stay, but what kind of wife would that make me if I’d made him neglect his responsibility?

  At least, my hands had healed. I removed the bandages before leaving my chambers and hurried toward my new workshop. Rush was constantly at my side. He was getting spoiled, and I smirked, knowing Holden would never let me hear the end of it when he returned, for turning his great big bad guard dog into a pile of fluff. He may or may not have been eating half of every meal I had, mostly so Hattie wouldn’t scold me for not eating enough. But I had to keep myself busy, and eating was something I tended to forget to do.

  “Time to plant, what do you think, Rush?” I asked as we reached the structure.

  The ground to the right of it was freshly tilled, and though Holden said he couldn’t promise anything would grow well, I had faith I could make it work. I asked Josef if he would mind returning to the cabin, just to grab some extra baskets of dirt from the old garden, if it wasn’t destroyed by the fire. He hadn’t returned yet, and I wondered if I should go find him when Rush’s ears stood up, and he barked loudly.