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I close Mom‘s book and sit back in the chair, trying to find a memory that supports her notes. It was so long ago, and we went to so many places. But wouldn’t I remember seeing someone so violent, even as a child?
Did Karter know what was happening?
Was it his job to keep me busy so I wouldn’t see the horrors Mom was fighting?
I place the book back where I found it, new questions flowing through my mind like a wide-open faucet. I’ll be back for it before I leave this castle, but I can’t take it with me just yet. I run my fingers down the spine again, a small, sad smile crossing my lips. I could always count on Mom to be around when I needed her. Even in death, she’s at my side.
A change in the sky draws my attention as the first rays of light cut through the darkness. Time is running away from me in leaps and bounds. I can’t wait any longer. I slip my heels off and then set them on the couch. The only way I’m going to find Sage or Ezra is to look for them myself, and I’m not wasting anotherminute.
Ipull at my magic, letting just the smallest amount free to sense who might be around me. There are a lot of hearts and moving bodies behind closed doors, but I’m not worried about those. I’m worried about the ones who linger in the hallways, who could report me for suspicious activity and end my plans before they even begin.
I feel my powers stretching like fingers, combing through the dark, catching souls as I send my webs further and further. The castle is a maze of hallways and doors, and I have some understanding of where I am, but not enough to create a full map beyond the parts I’ve seen.
What I do know is that no one stands in my hallway.
I open the door, mindful that a single squeak could alert someone I’m escaping. I poke my head out and look left and right, just in case there is someone out here I missed.I won’t know if there are others in the castle like Bash, immune to my gift, unless my magic is running at full throttle. Something I’m not willing to do…ever.
I creep down the hallway and try to remember Riot’s path to bring me back to the ballroom. First, it’s a left, then a right, and a set of stairs, then another left. My magic senses beating hearts all around, but as I tiptoe-run through the castle, adrenaline pushes any fear of getting caught away.
I find the ballroom by the smell of death drifting into the hallway. I cover my mouth and nose with my hand and let my webs scan for danger. They don’t find anybody, and I realize it’s because my webs need beating hearts. They didn’t sense the carnage left in the wake of what should’ve been a beautiful night.
Bodies lie everywhere, unmoved from when they fell into piles of blood and vomit. The room looks like a morbid poppy field, the bright colors of dresses like fallen petals of a flower. It wasn’t just the debutants who died. Their friends and family, almost everyone invited, fell as well. By the looks of it, more than two hundred souls lost their lives, but why?
Who would do such a thing?
What did they gain from such merciless deaths?
I walk around the room until I find a dark spot of fabric in the far corner. I run to it, jumping over people, not caring about what I step in, or on, and drop to my knees beside Sage. I don't know what I can do for her, but I pray to the stars that her heart has one beat left in it.
I take Sage‘s hand in mine, but I’m too late. Her skin is cold and clammy and a deathly shade of gray. I’d try to heal her wounds if she were still alive, but I don’t think even my magic can bring back the dead. I wipe the blood from her nose and run my palm over her eyes to close them. She looked so beautiful tonight. Vibrant and full of life.
My bottom lip quivers, and I bite it to keep my tears from falling. This is why I never let anyone in. Sooner or later, they die.
The tingling sensation of a warning pricks at the back of my neck. I should run. I have seconds before whomever my magic senses finds me, but I’m not ready to say goodbye. I want one more minute to honor Sage and ask the stars and Goddesses above to grant her safe passage into the afterlife. I owe her as much, but a distinct metal touch on my shoulder forces my hand. I turn my head, and the sharp bite of steel stings my neck as I graze the edge of a blade.
“Didn’t think it would take this long for you to return to the scene of the crime.” a soldier says and his voice sends a chill slithering down my spine.
I know it without needing to see his face because that rough baritone, which sounds like he’s smoked cigars since the day he was born, haunts my dreams every time I close my eyes.
The blade lifts, allowing me enough room to stand and turn around. I’m careful not to cut myself but shudder when I finally see him, and another line of blood leaks down my neck.
Three years can do a lot to a man. Had I met him in a bar, I wouldn’t have recognized him. He’s grown out the short buzz cut I tried desperatelyto claw at, and gray strands salt and pepper the curly locks. His beard is scraggly and thin, and his belly is round. The wound I left him with has scarred but faded into a series of age and sun-related wrinkles and is nearly unnoticeable.
“Graves.”
I imagined our reunion would be a mirror image of this. He would quake under the edge of my dagger, stunned to see me again, off his game due to shock. I imagined the joy I would feel driving my blade through his heart and the peace I would feel knowing he was no longer in this world.
That same feral curiosity plays on his face. I know it enough to realize Graves is going to kill me again, and I worry he’ll stick around this time to watch me come back to life.
We both know I should be dead.
And I think he’s putting together the pieces of how it is that I’m not.
“So, you do remember me. I was wondering.” The corner of his lip quips up when a shudder ripples through my body.
I stand and try not to trip over Sage as I position myself between Graves and the wall behind me. I’ll need leverage to drive my knife through his chest. He’s so much larger than I remember.
“I’m curious, you look so…” Graves pauses and lowers his sword. His gaze falls to my neck, and I can almost feel the phantom slice of his blade against it again. “Pure. I wasn’t sure it was you at first.”
