Wild Keepers

by Dee Bridgnorth

  It seemed that he was. He lived in a middle-class part of the city. From across the road, she watched him walk towards a house. A woman rushed out of it, down the steps, and they embraced openly. Then they walked into the house, their arms around each other. Leonora had dared to peer through the front window. What she had seen had stabbed her in the heart.

  A fire, its flames flickering gently. Horace was sitting on a sofa in front of it, and a young boy was sitting next to him. He was reading to the boy from a book, while a baby played at his feet. The woman that she had seen was sitting on a chair, doing needlepoint.

  He was married. And he had a young family. Why hadn’t he told her? Why had he led her on, making her think that she had a chance with him?

  Leonora slunk away, tears blurring her vision. She didn’t want to go back to the boarding house she lived at. She didn’t know where to go, to make herself feel better. And then, she thought of the theatre. She wanted to dance.

  She managed to sneak in and went to the costume room. With jerky hands, she chose a wonderful costume. She dressed carefully and walked out onto the stage. Then she danced as Giselle, when she has realised her lover has betrayed her. She danced so hard that in the end she fell with exhaustion.

  She had nothing. No career, or not the one she wanted. And now, the man that she loved with her whole heart had betrayed her.

  Suddenly, she heard slow clapping. She peered out into the empty theatre. Who was it? Who was watching her?

  A woman walked forward. Leonora squinted, trying to make out who it was. Then she recognised her. The new seamstress. A woman Leonora had barely spoken to.

  “Well done, Leonora,” said the woman softly. “A beautiful dance, full of pain. But you know you will never be able to perform it for the masses, don’t you? It is a dance for the prima ballerina, which you will never become. And the man that you love has betrayed you.”

  Leonora had cried, then. It was true. It was all true. She was nothing.

  “I can show you another way,” whispered the woman. “You can become powerful beyond measure. You will be able to live forever. And you can have your revenge upon the man who has hurt you so badly.”

  Leonora’s eyes had widened in horror as the woman kept speaking. Give up her humanity? How was it possible? But then, she had seen the beauty of it all. The truth of it. She could become powerful and never have to endure the pains of this life again. And she could make Horace pay.

  She had been inducted into the Vilgath and became a demon. It had been the best decision of her life. And she had lured the unsuspecting Horace into the costume room that night. She had placed the ill-wish in the corner of the room, just as she had been instructed.

  And then she had lit the match, cursing him and all the male children of his line to die at the same age.

  She had watched the theatre become engulfed with fire, the flames licking high into the night air. He was dead. He could never harm her again.

  Except that she didn’t feel the satisfaction that she had expected. His death was supposed to be the end of it, but she still wasn’t satisfied. Not until all men had paid for it.

  She had drifted around the city in the many years since then. She had immortality, but she was still restless. She had changed her name from Leonora to Leonie, to keep up with the times and evade detection. Sometimes, she had come back to the theatre and walked its corridors in the white dress she had worn the night of the fire. Reminiscing about it all.

  But then, she had wanted to come back in her former role. A strange yearning to dance again and remember what it had been like.

  And the temptation to cause havoc again on the theatre and the company was too strong to resist. She could ruin it, once and for all. The company that had refused to make her prima ballerina.

  She converted the girls. Rachel, Isabel and Jessica. She had tried to convert Ariane, the costume designer, but she had resisted. Leonie had made sure that she would never speak to anyone about it. She had lured her to the costume room, where the ill-wish was still in place, and appeared before her in her true form, lunging at her. She had been going to kill her anyway, but Ariane had keeled over, dead from fright.

  And then, David Wagner had tried to seduce her. Sending her flowers. Trying to kiss her. It had been too much. She had lured him to the costume room, too. What she hadn’t been expecting was Maya walking in there and finding him before she had left. Maya had raised her eyes to the ceiling and saw her hovering there in her true form. Leonie had played with the idea of killing her then decided against it.

  Perhaps Maya Roberts, principal dancer, could be converted, as well?

  It would be perfect. Maya was prima ballerina, a position that Leonie had coveted for so long. It would be so satisfying to have the star ballerina as one of her lackeys. A fitting triumph for being denied the position, all those years ago.

  But then, the bodyguard had come into the picture. Evan Watts. Her heart had flipped when she had first seen him. It was Horace…but how could it be? He was dead and gone; she had watched him burn in the room. Although apparently, he still made appearances in the theatre, from time to time. Standing on the top of the staircase or watching the stage from one of the boxes. Haunting its corridors.

  Leonie had realised that the bodyguard wasn’t Horace, or a reincarnation of him. Evan had the same last name. He was a descendent of Horace. The family likeness was uncanny. And Evan had tried to seduce Maya, leading her away from what was her destiny.

  Leonie couldn’t have that. And it was even more satisfying. The chance to destroy a descendent of Horace, who was doing the same thing to an unsuspecting dancer. One who she had earmarked for Vilgath.

  It would be the cherry on the cake, destroying Evan. Although she knew he didn’t have long for this world, anyway. She had checked his age on his employment form. The curse that she had placed on Horace’s male line would ensure he would be dead before the year was out. If the ill-wish was still in place. It had survived the fire, of course, and she had made sure that it stayed in place in the costume room.

  It shone as a beacon of hope to all the heartbroken and betrayed women of the world.

  ***

  Leonie put down her wine glass. It was time.

  “Girls,” she said gently. “Dusk has fallen, and it is time for us to celebrate the night. A unified circle of womanhood that will never be broken.”

  The women stilled. Maya stared at Leonie, puzzled.

  Leonie leaned forward, lighting a candle in the centre of the coffee table. Then she sat down on the floor. The other girls put down their wine glasses, and formed a circle around the table. They all held hands.

  Maya sat beside them. What was going on? But she took the hands of Rachel and Isabel, on either side of her. Perhaps they were going to speak some affirmations, or some such thing.

  Then she noticed the object, placed near the flickering candle. It was a circle and had a strange symbol engraved on it. What was it?

  She was just about to ask, when they all started chanting, in low voices. It wasn’t anything that Maya recognised. And it seemed to be in a foreign language.

  The chanting was lulling. She felt her head tip forward, slightly, and she closed her eyes. Suddenly, she could hear Leonie’s voice rise above the chanting of the other girls.

  “Lord of darkness,” intoned Leonie. “Master of us all. We have an acolyte here, for your approval. A woman who has proved herself worthy of being part of our circle. A woman who we want to become one of us, our fifth member.”

  Maya’s heart started to beat faster. What on earth was Leonie saying? The hairs on the back of her neck started to prickle. This was veering in a strange direction, and she wasn’t at all comfortable with it.

  She tried to open her eyes, but it was as if her eyelids were fused together. Her heart started to beat faster again.

  She had to get out of here. The urge was so strong it was overwhelming.

  She forced her eyes open. The room was in complete da
rkness, except for the flame flickering from the candle. Then she looked at Leonie and the others.

  Except it wasn’t them. They wore the same clothes, but they were no longer themselves. Their faces had transformed. They had leathery, wrinkled grey skin. And their normal hair was gone. They were almost completely bald, with stray wisps falling to their shoulders.

  They were exactly like the creature she had seen, hovering on the ceiling in the costume room. And in the crowd at the shopping mall. Oh, dear God, was she hallucinating again? How was this possible?

  She let go of their hands and sprinted out of the room, knocking the table over in her haste to escape.

  It seemed to take forever to run down the hallway, to the front door. Blind panic consumed her.

  “Maya!” She could hear Leonie screaming just behind her.

  She was almost there. She reefed the door open, and sprinted out into the night, running down the street.

  She couldn’t see where she was going. But suddenly, she careered into someone on the street.

  She almost fell over with the impact, but the person reached out and steadied her before she hit the ground.

  It was Evan.

  “Maya!” He gripped her arms tightly. “What’s wrong?”

  Maya could barely speak. “Oh, Evan. Please, help me! Get me out of here.”

  He didn’t question her any further. He simply picked her up as if she were a rag doll and sprinted off with her into the night.

  ***

  Leonie ran down the street. Maya couldn’t have gotten far, but she couldn’t see her anywhere. Had she simply disappeared into the night?

  She tried to slow down her breathing. Maya’s will had been stronger than she had anticipated. She had expected that the chanting would close her eyes for the duration of the ritual, but Maya had fought against it. And then she had seen them all in their true forms.

  Leonie walked slowly down the street, scanning the houses. She could have made a beeline for any of them and sought sanctuary. That would be the only rational explanation for why she wasn’t here. And yet, she didn’t think that was the case. Someone, or something, had spirited her away. Faster than a normal human could.

  She stopped, suddenly. Evan. Of course. The man who was also a wolf. He was the only one who would have the speed to get her away from here so quickly.

  Hate rose up in her chest so strongly that she almost staggered under the weight of it. She had believed that she had dealt with their feelings for each other. She knew that Maya hadn’t been seeing him since the incident with Rachel. Why had he been on their street?

  Leonie leaned against a fence, thinking quickly. Evan was watching Maya. He knew that something was threatening her. He might have been relieved officially of his post as her bodyguard, but he was still acting as if it was his job to protect her.

  She should have killed him as soon as she realised that he was a shapeshifter. Ambushed him, and made it look like an accident. Only her pride had stopped her. She had wanted to make an example of him in front of the other girls. She had envisioned them all, Maya included, stalking him together and cornering him. She had even fantasised that Maya might be the one to do it.

  And now, he had Maya somewhere. Would she return to the house, or should she pursue her and kill them both?

  Leonie frowned. She had no idea where he might have taken her. And she could still salvage this. Still get Maya onside, if she played it right. She could still have the glorious ending for Evan that she had planned.

  Leonie walked slowly back to the house. Maya would have to come home at some point. All her clothes and belongings were here. And even if she didn’t, she would see her at the theatre. The opening of Giselle was only a week away, and Maya was too professional to desert the production. She would show up for rehearsals tomorrow, the same as she always did.

  Leonie would act concerned, asking her why she had run off into the night. If Maya told her what she had seen around the coffee table, Leonie would just deny it. She would get the other girls to confirm that Maya must have been hallucinating, and shower her with support and love. It had worked so far with Maya. But she must approach it gently.

  She walked down the hallway to the living room. The other girls were still sitting there, but the candle had been blown out. Their ritual was over, and it hadn’t worked.

  “Where is she?” asked Isabel, staring at Leonie.

  “Gone,” said Leonie, flippantly. “Her knight in shining armour appeared and whisked her away.”

  The others digested this information.

  “Leonie,” said Rachel slowly. “I think that we should hunt them down and do away with them both, now. Maya isn’t one of us. She resisted the ritual, and now she’s with him. He’s dangerous.”

  Leonie collapsed onto the sofa. “No. We can still get her to come around. We need the fifth member of the circle, and I can’t be bothered targeting someone else now.”

  Jessica stared at her. “Leonie, Rachel is right. Maya won’t be susceptible anymore. She’s scared. I think we will just have to begin again to find the fifth member.”

  Leonie smiled slowly. “I said no. We will softly approach Maya and try to bring her back around. Smear Evan again. It worked once, it can work again.”

  “But what if it doesn’t?” Isabel stared at Leonie.

  “Then we force the issue,” Leonie replied, picking up the wine bottle and pouring herself a drink. “I have a back-up plan that might work brilliantly. And it would mean the probable destruction of the Covenester Ballet Company, once and for all.”

  The girls looked at each other, puzzled.

  Leonie took a deep swig of her wine. “Trust me, girls. I promise you, it will all work out. We will get our fifth member, and then our power will be indescribable. And we will deal with Evan Watts, just as I dealt with Horace Watts.”

  “The man who died in the fire?” asked Jessica, her eyes wide. “You’ve never told us much about him, or what caused you to turn.”

  “I’ve told you enough.” Leonie’s voice was hard. “All you need to know is that no man can be trusted. The Wilis in Giselle knew that, too. They sought revenge on all men, just as we are. And perhaps we can use the Wilis to stage our own production.”

  The girls stared at her, frowning.

  Leonie smiled. “All in good time, girls. I will tell you all the details of my back-up plan very soon, as I formulate it. For now, let Maya enjoy being rescued.” She took a deep breath. “It won’t last for long, and there might just be an opening night that no one is ever going to forget.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Evan laid her gently on the hotel bed as if she were made of glass and might shatter at any given moment.

  He hadn’t known where he was going when he had picked her up in his arms and fled into the night. Maya had been almost incoherent with terror, and he didn’t think a coffee shop or other place was right. He needed to get her somewhere safe, where she could relax and speak to him. Tell him what had sent her fleeing in terror from her house in the dark.

  Then he had remembered this hotel in the city. He had stayed here before, once, and he knew it was secure. It should be, he thought grimly, for the price they charged their guests. Usually only very wealthy people could afford it, and the hotel protected their VIP guests. The place was crawling with security, but he knew that would not be a barrier if Maya was being pursued by something not of this world. Still, it was the best that he could think of at short notice.

  He had roused her enough to walk by his side to check in, but she had swooned again in the hallway, just outside the room. He had picked her up again and closed the door firmly behind them.

  “Maya,” he said, gently, staring at her pale face. “It’s okay. We’re safe.”

  She stared at him. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.” He stroked her arm gently. “This place is built like Fort Knox.”

  She sighed, struggling to sit up. “Can I have some water?”

  H
e poured her a glass and handed it to her. She drank thirstily. He watched her silently, then put the empty glass on the bedside table.

  “Tell me what happened,” he said.

  Her eyes grew frightened again. “Evan, there is something very wrong with Leonie and the other girls in my house.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “We were having a girls’ night in, and it started okay. A few wines, a few laughs, that sort of thing.”

  Evan frowned. “What changed?”

  “Leonie kept talking about something special that was going to happen,” she said. “She lit a candle, and then they all sat around the coffee table, holding hands. I joined them. I didn’t have any idea of what they were doing, but I didn’t want to be rude.”

  Evan shifted uneasily. “A candle. What colour was it?”

  “Black,” she whispered. “And then, I noticed a strange object next to it. A circle, with a strange symbol on it. They started chanting, and it was as if I was being lulled to sleep. I closed my eyes and couldn’t open them.” She hung her head. “Then Leonie started saying something. About me being their fifth member, or some such thing. She called on the Lord of Darkness. I was so frightened I tried to open my eyes. It was hard, but eventually I did it. And that was when I saw them.”

  Evan nodded, his face impassive. “What did you see?”

  “They weren’t the same,” she whispered, shuddering. “Their faces…had changed. They all looked like that creature I’ve seen, the one I told you about. They had turned into monsters.”

  Evan took a deep breath. “That must have been terrifying.”

  She nodded her head. “I ran,” she said. “I ran and didn’t look back. And I would probably still be running if I hadn’t bumped into you.” She stared at him. “Why were you on my street? Are you my guardian angel or something?”

  Evan smiled slightly. “Nothing so celestial,” he said. “I was coming to see you because I was concerned for your safety.” He took a deep breath. “Maya, I discovered something tonight. About Leonie and who she really is. I needed to get to you straight away.”

  Maya swallowed, her eyes as round as saucers. “What have you discovered about her?”