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SAINT
In the corner of his ramshackle cottage, the groundskeeper is on the verge of wetting himself.
By my side, Briar shifts uncomfortably, a pistol concealed on her hip. Hopefully, neither of us will need to resort to violence, but she has the option to defend herself should the worst occur.
“I’m so sorry!” the groundskeeper wails, trembling.
His stringy, greasy hair hangs in his face, gnarly hands dotted in liver spots. His lanky, frail frame leads me to believe he doesn’t have the capacity to break into my home, let alone chase anyone through it. But I learned long ago that monsters hide in plain sight. Not to mention he’s already repenting for his sins.
“Why did you do it?” My roar could bring down his derelict cottage.
Beside me, Briar flinches as the man cowers. She took one look at him and decided he was innocent.
“I’m sorry!” He holds up his hands in surrender. “I had a bad fall. I haven’t been able to get up that mountain, and I didn’t think the graves needed tending until spring.”
Briar and I both freeze. “Wait. What are you talking about?” I demand.
His wide eyes dart between us. “The-the cemetery. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? I’m supposed to be up there taking care of it, I know?—”
I hold up my hand to silence his blubbering. “You haven’t been up to Nicholson Manor since autumn?”
He shakes his head, skin ghostly. “N-no, I’m sorry?—”
“So you didn’t try to kill me?” Briar cuts in.
The groundskeeper blanches. “No! No, why would I—no! I would...I would never?—”
“You didn’t break into Nicholson Manor?”
He flinches at my sharp tone. “No! D-did someone break in?” His round gaze flashes to Briar. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” She manages a small, tight smile at him before tugging on my arm and murmuring, “Let’s go.”
Clearly, this man doesn’t have a vendetta against my muse and likely couldn’t chase her even if he wanted to. My assumptions about his predilection for corpses may have been wrong, but I won’t take any chances. “You should know I’ll be increasing my security measures around the estate.”
The groundskeeper nods enthusiastically. “That’s great! That’ll deter whoever might’ve done it. If they come back.”
Briar pales, and I grit my teeth. I’m trying to convince her to stay and he’s convincing her that whoever chased her through our home could return. “Our apologies for...intruding.” I nod at his leg before heading for the door. “We hope for your swift recovery.”
“Thank you?—”
I slam the door behind us.
“Oh my god,” Briar hisses as we rush back to my car, harsh winter air piercing through our thick coats and gloves. “How many times have you terrorized that poor man? He was about to shit himself.”
“Never. Other than suspecting he possesses a desire for corpses, I’ve always been on good terms with him.”
Briar smacks my arm. “But you thought he was capable of breaking into your manor and trying to kill me?”
I shrug. “Anyone is capable of anything, Briar. There is only one person in this entire world that I know inside and out.”
“You don’t know everything about me,” she argues as I open the passenger’s side door for her.
“If I don’t yet, then I will,” I promise. “We have a lifetime together to learn.”
She rolls her eyes but smiles before sliding into the car. No sarcastic retort leaves her lips.
She’s nearly given herself over to me entirely.
