by Blythe Baker
“That’s both troubling and fascinating…” Lucan said.
“I wanted to be able to talk to her more, but I knew I’d need help from a ghost speaker. Specifically, someone who could wake spirits that have already been put to rest,” I said.
Lucan’s face hardened. “That’s quite a dark type of magic, Marianne.”
“Yes, well…” I said. “Do you remember everything that happened with Silvia Griffin?”
Lucan’s face darkened. “Indeed. I wish I had been there sooner to help you that day, before she had the chance to attack you the way she did…”
“Well, her sister hasn’t exactly forgiven me for what happened, either. She’d had a personal grudge ever since. And she’s on the council. And she’s the one I asked for help.”
“I think I can see where this is going…” Lucan said. “Did she refuse?”
“Well…she did at first,” I said. “Until I reminded her that I knew she had a book that would probably get her into a lot of trouble with the council when they found out she had it.”
Lucan’s eyes widened. “Bribery? Marianne, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“I appreciate you choosing a kinder word than blackmail,” I said. “But I wanted her help. I promised her I’d keep her secret if she would help me wake this ghost who seemed to be the only lead I had to finding out who my parents were.”
“Those are quite risky dealings…” Lucan said, concern creasing his forehead. “Are you certain that was the right choice?”
“It was my only choice…” I said. “Well…she helped me, and then turned on me, and ran off with that book. Now I’m afraid she is going to go to the council with some crazy story about me, and then I’ll lose my new title of apprentice. And Lucan…that book. It’s…dangerous. She did something to Athena and…she’s unconscious. I don’t know what’s wrong, but Athena won’t wake up, and – ”
“It’s alright, Marianne…” Lucan said, laying his hands on my shoulders. “You want my help in finding Delilah and the book. Is that what you’re asking?”
I nodded at him, my throat growing tight. “I know it sounds crazy, but – I don’t know what it was. Delilah completely snapped tonight, and I’m terrified of what she might do in her anger…”
“I understand the severity,” Lucan said. “I will do all I can to help.”
“Help with what?”
My heart twisted in my chest as I looked around…and saw Cain Blackburn standing on the steps leading up to the deck.
Darkness had fallen in earnest. He was free to be outside.
Lucan kept a steady hand on my shoulder, but turned to stare at him. His gaze was blank. “Cain…” Lucan said, coolly.
Cain wouldn’t look at Lucan, though. His green eyes were fixed on me, and I could have almost sworn there was hurt there. “I was just looking for you, Marianne. I heard you were here, and that you’d stepped outside…”
I swallowed hard, not sure if I could trust my own voice.
Cain had lied to me. He’d covered up the truth that I’d been searching so hard to find.
His sister had killed my mother…and he’d cared more about his family’s reputation than a child losing their parent.
Anger, pure and strong, surged through me as I stared at him. Glared at him.
“What’s the matter?” Cain asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I lifted my chin, my eyes stinging with tears. “I have nothing to say to you,” I said, my words wavering, but I managed to say them.
I reached up and laced my arm through Lucan’s.
“Come on, Lucan…let’s get back to the party,” I said in a cold tone, turning away from Cain.
Lucan glanced over his shoulder at Cain, briefly regarding him. “Yes,” Lucan said. “Let’s get back to the party.”
And together we walked away from the dumbstruck Cain, leaving him bathed in the shadows he lived his entire life in.
12
Lucan and I spoke again briefly about the book before I told him that I had to deal with something else myself first.
“What is this something else?” he asked me. “I’m worried about you, Marianne. Since we saw Cain, you – ”
“It’s nothing,” I asked. “I just…need to go talk to someone.”
He seemed to let it go, but I could see he was not happy with me for being so withdrawn all of a sudden. He promised he’d send out his most trusted wolves to look for Delilah, and that he’d keep me informed about whatever he found.
I wasn’t holding my breath that Delilah hadn’t yet gone to the council about me being a faery, but if we could get that book, I was still certain that the council would reprimand her for it…especially since I planned to tell them everything I knew about her and her sister.
No matter how I looked at it, things were bad.
I knew the anger I felt at seeing Cain was fueling my decision more than anything, but as I stepped outside of the party, I realized that I didn’t care. Not really. Too many times since I’d moved to Faerywood Falls, I’d been taken advantage of, pushed around, and looked down on. If only those people knew the truth about me…then they wouldn’t treat me like that. If only they knew that with a single touch, I could take their gift from them as easily as I could draw breath.
I procured a set of car keys from Lucan, who had offered the use of one of his vehicles to get me where I was going. I knew it was his way of protecting me, of helping. I felt a twinge of guilt as I hopped into the driver’s seat of one of his sleek sports cars, knowing that he’d be less than pleased with my destination.
I drove in complete silence; no radio, no heater, nothing. Just the sound of my own blood pumping in my ears, and thoughts racing through my mind.
I had really believed I could trust Cain. I wanted to trust him. And from the look he gave me out in the moonlight…he had no idea why I was upset in the first place. How could he know? He hadn’t been out on that overlook with Isabella’s ghost.
It hurt. All of it. And that was why I was so angry with him.
I should have known better. I should have guarded myself better against him. He warned me. Others warned me.
But I didn’t listen. I let myself develop feelings for him, allowed myself to sit awake at night, thinking about him…
I should have never let my thoughts wander there.
Lucan was so much worthier of my attention and affections. Why hadn’t I seen that from the beginning?
Tears threatened to blur my vision, so I blinked them furiously away as I turned onto the road I’d been looking for, the road I’d felt drawn to since seeing Cain.
Blackburn castle appeared out of the night, glowing like bleached bone in the moonlight. My anger flared to life again. She was there…
And I needed to speak with her.
There was a voice in the back of my mind telling me that I was being absolutely crazy. Rebecca was completely incoherent. She understood very little.
All I knew was that she was the reason my mother was gone and that I needed to see her.
The castle’s windows were lit, but I knew Cain was still back at Lucan’s estate. That didn’t mean his servants wouldn’t be awake, taking care of their tasks as if it were the break of dawn.
Sneaking through a house full of vampires would probably have been enough to make me change my mind if I wasn’t as upset as I was. Instead, it just fueled the fire.
I pulled the car up to the gate, confident that whoever would answer would recognize me. I tossed my hair and tried to keep my face as blank as possible.
The speaker beside the entrance crackled into life. “Ah, Miss Marianne. My apologies, but Lord Cain is not at home right now.”
“Oh, yes, I know,” I said in as calm of a tone as I could. “There was something I needed to speak with him about, though, so he sent me on home ahead of him. He said he’d be arriving shortly. There must have been someone he needed to see back at the Valerio place. He seemed insistent.”
There was silence for a moment, and I wondered if the doorman had bought my lie. I chewed on my lip, my heart racing. What did I have to feel guilty about? Cain had been lying to me all along.
“Alright, I don’t see the harm in you waiting here for him,” the doorman said. “Come on through.”
The gates swung inward, and I felt that much closer to my victory.
I drove up the meandering driveway toward the castle, through the extensive property, my heart pounding. I had to calm down. These vampires would hear my panic before I even stepped foot inside.
As I parked the car, I took a few steadying breaths, hoping I could get my heartrate under control.
They couldn’t know I was lying. If they did, I probably wasn’t going to get out of here alive.
I walked up to the front door, where the doorman met me with a smile on his face. “Good evening, Miss Marianne. It is a pleasure to have you in our home.”
“Thank you,” I said, crossing the threshold.
The last time I’d walked through that front door, I’d felt like a princess who had been taken care of, nursed back to health by a handsome prince.
But that prince was more like a prince of darkness…and now I felt like I was sneaking across enemy lines undetected.
“Please, come through here,” the man said, gesturing toward the drawing room off the main hall. “I’m sure Cain will be here shortly. In the meantime, can I get you anything to drink? Some tea, perhaps?”
“That would be lovely, yes,” I said.
“Very good,” he said.
But I quickly realized tea wouldn’t keep him away for very long.
“Um…I don’t believe I know your name?” I asked.
The doorman smiled. “Alfred.”
“Well, Alfred, I’m actually quite famished as well,” I said, grabbing onto my stomach for effect. “It wouldn’t be too much of an imposition to ask for some food, would it?”
Alfred seemed shocked, his eyes wide as he stared at me. “Food? Well…I certainly could send one of the servants out to fetch something for you,” he said. “What…would you like?”
Drat. That wasn’t going to work, was it?
I put on a bright smile. “Oh, I don’t want to put you to all the trouble…” I said. “I was hoping you might have something simple here. The last thing I want is to impose.”
“Not to worry, my lady,” he said. “I’m certain we can find something. You are not the first human to visit us, and our Lord Cain always wishes for us to be hospitable to every guest. Let me go and see what we have. Please feel free to freshen up. There are clean towels on the shelf in the lavatory there.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I wandered over to the bathroom and stepped inside, pulling it closed.
I let out a shaky, terrified breath, grabbing onto either side of the porcelain sink in front of me for support.
I looked at my own reflection, and saw the terror reflected in my eyes.
What in the world am I doing here? I asked myself. What possessed me to go on this suicide mission? If Athena was here right now, she’d be furious with me…
My throat became tight as I thought about Athena. I hoped she was alright.
For now, I needed some answers.
I always needed them, didn’t I? One door to a mystery closed, and fourteen more opened.
I’ll just get a good look at her, and then I’ll leave. I can handle that. I just need closure. I want to see what my mother saw right before she died.
That was a morbid thought.
I pushed it aside and headed back out into the drawing room. There was no sign of Alfred, which was a relief. Now was my chance before he came back.
I hurried to the other side of the room, suddenly wishing I wasn’t in such a bulky ballgown. It swished with every step that I took, and my low heels weren’t doing me any favors, either.
I peeked out into the hall, and saw no one aside from a female servant walking around the corner, her back to me.
I glanced in the other direction, which I knew was the way to Rebecca’s tower.
With one last look back and forth, I kicked off my shoes, stooping to pick them up, and lifted my skirts as I quietly hurried out of the drawing room.
I only had to hide from servants twice; once by throwing myself into an open, dark closet, and another time by ducking inside a shadowy bedroom. No one seemed to notice me…or if they did, they didn’t seem to care that I was wandering around.
I soon found myself at the bottom of the spiral staircase leading up toward Rebecca’s room. My eyes were drawn to the stone floor at the foot of the stairs…that was where Mrs. Price had met her untimely demise when we had scuffled and she’d tried to kill me.
I swallowed hard, and quickly made my way up the stairs.
It was silent on the landing at the top of the staircase. I didn’t hear the dreaded music box. I didn’t hear Rebecca screaming as she often did, either.
My hand was shaking as I reached out to touch the door handle set into the wooden door.
What in the world am I doing here? I thought again.
My anger pushed those thoughts aside, and I pulled the door open.
The silhouette of Rebecca Blackburn stood at the window, which was wide open, letting in the cold night air. It caused her dark hair, the same shade as Cain’s, to flutter in the breeze. It was a stark contrast to the white nightgown she wore.
I took a hesitant step inside, and the weight of my bare foot caused the board beneath it to creak in protest.
I froze, my heart hammering.
Rebecca’s head slowly turned around, and for a moment, all we did was stare at one another.
She blinked, slow and deliberate. Her eyebrows came together in confusion, and she turned all the way around to stare at me.
Her lips parted, and a name I never expected to hear came out.
“…Adriana.”
My mouth hung open slightly, my eyes glued to her.
“You…remember?” I asked, taking another hesitant step into the room.
Her eyes glazed over again, and her gaze became distant.
The room was frigid. The floor beneath my feet was bitterly cold, biting into the soft flesh. It stung my eyes and cheeks. It almost felt cold enough for snow to start falling from the ceiling.
Just as quickly as she’d forgotten, Rebecca’s gaze sharpened once more, focusing in on my face.
Especially my eyes.
“…Faery.”
My stomach twisted into knots. She knew. She knew that my mother had been a faery. Or did she know that I was one, too?
“How…how did you – ”
I couldn’t get the question out, though, because in the time it took me to blink, Rebecca’s mouth had opened wide and a terrible, howling scream came tearing out.
And she launched herself across the room at me.
She collided with me, knocking me over backward against the hard floor. My back slammed into the ground, and stars popped in my vision as I struggled for breath.
Rebecca’s jaw was snapping, her teeth glinting in the pale moonlight flooding in through her window, and it was the instinct of self-preservation that kept me alive, my arms outstretched against her, using an inhuman amount of strength to keep those incisors from clamping around my throat.
With a loud shriek, Rebecca shoved me away, struggling up to her feet, her dark hair hanging in her eyes.
My legs trembled as I staggered away from her, gasping for breath.
I hadn’t expected this to go well, but after she’d spoken to me…I’d hoped that maybe things would’ve been different.
Rebecca cackled, shaking her head back and forth, her mouth pulled back in a menacing grin.
I gulped. She was playing with me.
I had no choice. I had to turn around and run.
I never should have come. This was the most idiotic decision I could have ever made –
I slowly backed away toward the door, the boards groaning b
eneath my feet. I feared they’d break beneath me, and I’d end up tumbling to my death anyways. I stretched my arm out behind me, my sweating palm reaching for the door handle…
Rebecca laughed once more.
With my heart skipping, I turned on a dime and bolted for the door.
I was as slow as molasses in comparison to her.
With a terrible cry of laughter, she lunged at me. She grabbed me around the wrist and dragged me backward toward her, further into the room, away from escape.
I was her prey now. And I’d willingly put myself here.
Cain wasn’t here, so he wouldn’t know to look for me. And Alfred would find the drawing room empty. Who knew how long it would be before they found me?
There was one thing I knew for sure, though…
It would be too late.
Was there any point in resisting, then? Would it be better for me to just give up and die?
I stared into Rebecca’s eyes, dark and heavy lidded.
“You killed my mother…” I said, my eyes filling with tears. “Adriana…you killed her.”
Rebecca’s grip was still strong around my wrist, but she froze for a moment at the mention of that name.
“Without even thinking, you just…ended her life,” I said. “And now I’ll never know her. I’ll never know what it means to be…me.”
Rebecca released her grip on my wrist, and I yanked it back from her.
“I guess it doesn’t matter, does it?” I asked. “You’re not going to let me leave here.”
Rebecca blinked, cocking her head to the side as she regarded me.
The fear washed away in that moment, and a strange sense of calm came over me. If this was the way I was going to die…well, at least it was the same way my mother did.
Rebecca moved so fast it was almost like she had a double. She was standing right in front of me.
That wicked smile reappeared, and there was a hollowness in her eyes as she laid her hands on my shoulders, and shoved me backward against the frame of the window.
The icy night air prickled against the bare skin of my back, and it swept some of my hair forward in front of my face.
Rebecca’s mouth parted again, and she started toward me. She knew I was defeated. There was nothing left for me to say or do. Not anymore.
