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The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. A pained look crossed Gabe's face, making me flush with embarrassment. He didn't need someone clinging to him all day long. He probably had better things to do than babysit a prisoner.
"I have some things to see to," he finally said. "They had a funeral for Gregory already, but I have to go before the board and recount what happened. Demon skirmishes are getting more numerous by the day. They’re worried."
"Gregory was the one that died in the forest?"
It was a strange concept for demons to hold funerals, but after the week I'd had, nothing was impossible anymore.
"Yes," Gabe replied with a frown. "He was a good warrior."
We walked through the front doors of the manor, into a hall with a giant wooden staircase that split into a Y shape at the top. Ornate frames that hung from the walls held huge oil paintings of people dressed in clothing hundreds of years old. Intricate wooden detail trimmed every inch of the hall. It was like taking a step back in time to the eighteen hundreds. I half expected a butler to jump out and greet us.
"Everyone's probably still asleep," Gabe explained. "There are seventy-five of us that live in the manor and twenty or so families that live in the houses on the southern lawn. Most of us are gatekeepers, but some of the others do assorted jobs around the manor. Obviously, I'm a gatekeeper."
"Gatekeeper?"
The term wasn't familiar to me. It didn't sound threatening, but Gabe was anything but a peaceful man with his weapons and battle scars.
"I'll let Raquel explain all that," he said, leading me up the staircase and to the left. "Now, you'll want to make sure you have someone with you at all times. I don't want you running into Adam or one of his buddies without a guard. He gets funny ideas sometimes and I don't want him taking it out on you."
So, I was a prisoner. I'd have to travel with a guard everywhere. Maybe they should just throw me in a dungeon so they wouldn't have to worry about it.
"Can I go into the forest?" I asked.
It was my last hope that I wasn't really being held against my will.
"I don't think that's a good idea..." Gabe hesitated and in that moment all my remaining hope died.
"Fine." I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice.
Gabe looked at me sideways, but didn't comment on it. We were approaching a long hall of wooden doors, each with a number nailed to it like addresses. He marched me to the opposite end of the hall until we stood in front of number 232.
"I'm in the east wing," he said, knocking on the door. "But we'll see each other at mealtimes. I hope you'll like it here. Make sure you tell me if anyone gives you any crap."
I wanted to grab his hand and beg him not to leave. These giant halls and stone walls were so intimating and cold. They were nothing like Granny's dinky little house in Hanna.
I was afraid he'd take with him the only thing that reminded me of the comfortable life I'd lived before. Before all the demon fighting and the lying. Before the sacrifices and wooden pyres and goddesses. When life was simple and boring.
Instead, I nodded and studied the carpet, willing the angry tears at the corners of my eyes to go away. Gabe surprised me by cupping my chin in his hand and lifting my face until I was forced to look at his face. There was an intensity in his green eyes that gave me courage.
"You will be safe here, Lizzy. I swear it."
I liked the way my name rolled off his tongue. I could listen to him repeat it all day long like a promise. Just as my knees were beginning to shake from looking in his eyes, the door to the room swung wide open, revealing a tall young woman with messy red hair and blurry blue eyes. She took a look at us, Gabe's hand still gently lifting my chin, and her mouth dropped open.
"You're alive?" she sputtered. "Uncle Luke was almost ready to give up on you."
Gabe dropped his hand to his side and frowned at her. "You know it takes more than a demon ambush to kill me, Raquel. Luke should know better by now."
"I suppose so." She ran her fingers through her wild hair, attempting to flatten it but failing miserably. Defeated, she looked at me for the first time. "Who's this chick?"
"My rescuer." Gabe looked at me with a spark in his eye. "Raquel, this is Lizzy. She's from a nearby town and she’s going to be staying with us. Your uncle wants you to take her under your wing, show her around, get her settled. First thing to do might be to get her some appropriate clothes."
I looked down at my thin dress and wrapped my arms around my waist. It didn't leave much to the imagination.
"Wow, is she human?" Raquel poked me on the arm as if she expected me to be a mirage. "A real human?"
"Yes," I said, swatting her hand away. "A real human, thank you very much. Not a monkey in a petting zoo."
Gabe chuckled, the sound rough and throaty. “I think you’ll both get along just fine,” he said. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be around.”
