by S D Hegyes
“We also know that God works in mysterious ways, and he sent her here as a test to us all, to see how we’d react with the devil among us—especially Preston. She’s nothing more than a test of his faith and his devotion to Shaded Glade.”
When he put it that way, it made sense. It was still a load of bull, but as Sorsha looked around, she saw other members nodding their heads and agreeing with Andrew’s judgement.
“Preston and Sorsha will marry this spring after Preston turns eighteen, per our traditions. He will be in charge of converting Sorsha to our ways, of making her one of the best members our community has ever seen.”
Andrew raised both hands up and beamed broadly at his congregation, and they clapped and cheered for his brilliance.
Beside her, Preston sneered at her. “When we’re married, Sorsha,” he whispered in her ear. “You’ll be dead in a week. I won’t be married to a freak.”
She spun around toward him and gave him her most charming smile. “Oh, dear,” she said, patting his cheek with her free hand. “You won’t last a week with me as your wife. And you’re too weak to kill me.”
“Is that a challenge?” he asked with a smirk.
Sorsha pretended to think about it, putting her finger to her chin and tipping her head up and to the side in thought. “Mmm, no. It’s a fact.” She gave him another sweet smile. “You’re nothing but a peacock, Preston. Parading around like you’re the best thing since sliced bread, but deep down?” She had the satisfaction of watching his eyes narrow at her. “Deep down you’re nothing more than a terrified little boy who still wishes he never vowed to marry me. Congratulations, I guess. Wishes do come true.”
His mouth fell open in surprise and he released her hand in shock. It was the only motivation she needed. She spun away from him, head held high and walked out of the church. She ignored the claps and congratulations aimed her way.
Six months. She had six months to escape this hellhole. She’d succeed if it was the last thing she did.
Preston’s warning flitted through her mind. “And in the meantime, I’m gonna have to buck up and prepare for a fight,” she told herself aloud.
4
Preston and his lackeys weren’t Sorsha’s only concern. As she walked through the community back to her house, she thought about Private Thaddeus and the deck of cards.
Her mind kept returning to the events that had led to his disappearing and the card changing. The only logical explanation she could come up with was that he was somehow stuck in the card.
She just had to figure out how to get him out.
There was no way she could do that at Shaded Glade though. She wasn’t about to wait for her mother to push her father home from church either. He'd only punish her for leaving without them or Preston.
That meant she had to get changed and get out of the house before they got back. That in itself wasn’t a problem. The problem was where to go from there. The national monument was usually her first choice, but it was open to tourists, and she didn’t feel like dealing with people.
Besides, she didn’t feel like trying to sneak into a place she could enter quite easily once the tourists left.
No, she needed to find somewhere quiet and secluded, somewhere she could experiment with the changed card and see if her theory was correct.
She opened her front door without needing a key and strode toward her room. No one in Shaded Glade locked their doors. What need did they have for it? It wasn’t like anyone was ever going to break in. Most didn’t even know it existed in the first place.
Shaded Glade was about a thirty minute walk south west of the national monument. Tucked in a curve of the local stream, fresh water surrounded it. Most of the women cleaned their laundry during the spring, summer and fall in the water rather than at home.
It wasn’t that the community was against electricity and technology. It was that they were stingy about wasting it when the sun and the creek were just as good at getting laundry clean. If not better.
To avoid the rest of the community coming home from church, Sorsha would have to cross the creek. It wasn’t a problem. Just tedious. It was wider in enough areas that she’d get wet crossing it. She hated getting wet when she had to walk places. It took too long to dry off, and walking in wet shoes left blisters on her feet.
Still, it had to be done. There was no way she’d walk past anyone from the community when she made her escape for…
She shook her head. She still didn’t have a clue where she was going.
I need to find somewhere to hide while I am testing my theory, she thought as she pulled her dress off and hung it in her closet. She pulled on a pair of black leggings and a tank top. Then she switched the flats she’d worn to church for a pair of socks and sneakers. It would have to do.
Sorsha grabbed the deck of cards from the drawer of the small table next to her bed and shoved it in her back pocket. Satisfied she had everything she needed, she turned and left her room. She left the door wide open so her parents could see she wasn’t home without having to enter.
Not that it would stop Father, she told herself. He’d search her room. Or rather, he’d have her mother search her room. She suspected she’d find her closet open when she returned for the evening.
It’s a good thing I’ve never kept a diary. I don’t think my secrets would be my own if I did.
There was no denying that her father, at least, held no respect for her. She knew her mother did, but her mother was her father’s tool, and had been for as long as Sorsha could remember.
Not that Sorsha blamed her. Her mother’s ability to make people confess the truth was magic, no doubt. A kind of magic that was easier to hide, but magic nonetheless. And it didn’t work on her husband. How refreshing would it be to know the man you married would never feel the urge to always tell the truth? To know you could keep secrets from one another without trying because it just… didn’t work like it did on everyone else?
No. She couldn’t blame her mother for wanting to stay with the man. And it wasn’t like he was ever overly cruel to Sorsha. He’d never laid a hand on her, as far as she could remember.
He dug at her abilities. Called them an affliction, but he’d never harmed her that she could think of. Her father’s words were cruel, but words she could handle.
She tugged at the end of her braid for a moment, trying to think of somewhere she could go, somewhere she could be alone. Where could she test her theory about Thaddeus being trapped in the card.
Glancing out the window, she could see the silhouettes and shadows of several community members heading home.
With a curse, Sorsha darted for the door. She remembered to grab her jacket even as she started to close the door, and she nearly closed it inside as the door snapped shut.
She picked up her pace, going the opposite direction of the church and its members. She glanced up at the sun, wishing the sky wasn’t so clear as she tried to stay in the shadows of the homes. The last thing she needed was for anyone to see her and follow her from the community.
At the stream, she glanced back, but there was no one behind her. She waited several moments, her eyes trained to any slight movement from the community. She could hear the voices of several people laughing and talking amongst each other, but she couldn’t make out any words said. She didn’t think anyone had noticed her disappearance though.
She sat down and rolled up her leggings before she peeled off her socks and shoes. Since she didn’t know exactly where she was going, it might be best if she took them off to wade the stream. At least then she could walk after crossing without hearing the squishing sounds of her shoes as she walked.
She held them in her hands as she forded the stream and then sat back down to put them on once more. She used her jacket to dry her feet before she slipped on the socks and shoes.
With a smile, Sorsha chose a direction that went away from Shaded Glade and started walking. She didn’t know where she was going exactly, but she knew she was gettin
g away. At least for a little bit.
I wonder if this is all I’d have to do in order to leave Shaded Glade for good.
The thought didn’t last long. She knew she could leave Shaded Glade. She was eighteen after all, as she’d pointed out to her mother, and her father couldn’t control her.
Why did she stay then?
Where would I go? I don’t have any money. I guess I could bum it for a bit, but that’s just making it more difficult on myself.
The truth was, Sorsha hadn’t thought about leaving because she didn’t have anything that could prove she was who she said if she ever left. ID? Nope. Passport? She wished. Birth certificate? Not that she’d ever seen.
Plus, your parents could have you dragged back on the account of you being crazy.
It was something she tried often to forget. Sometimes, she succeeded. Sometimes she didn’t. She’d spent a month in a psychiatric ward as a child. She didn’t know why she’d gone. Only that it paired with her missing memory that revolved around red smoke, fanged teeth, and crimson eyes.
She shuddered and walked faster, determined to put more distance between herself and Shaded Glade. She found herself heading toward the national monument, despite being open. At least there, she’d be on familiar ground and she could go from there.
Thirty minutes later, Sorsha stood several hundred yards before the gates. She watched cars pass her both directions as they entered and left the grounds.
She let out a deep breath, glad to be free of Shaded Glade’s smothering nature. She spun around in a slow circle, wondering where she could go for the rest of the day. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten lunch.
It was something they usually did when they returned from church. As soon as they walked through the door, Sorsha would go to her room to hide from her parents. Her father would sit in the living room with his glass of whiskey while her mother made lunch.
Putting her hands on her stomach, Sorsha looked about once more. No way was she going back to Shaded Glade to get some food. She’d have to figure something else out.
Huh, she thought to herself as her gaze fell upon a tall, two-story motel building to the west of the national monument. I don’t remember that being there before. Then again, I almost never look beyond the monument.
She shrugged to herself and turned away from the gates. She followed the curve of the entrance down to the main road before she glanced up at the motel again.
Little Bighorn Motel. Her face split into a wry grin. Very original name. Then again, maybe it had only been built recently to attract more tourists. The nearest city was an hour away, so it made sense that they might try to invite guests to stay in town rather than elsewhere. It didn’t make much sense to build a motel here otherwise.
She guessed it looked like any hotel. The outside was white with hunter green trim. It was two levels with the room entrances facing the road. The door to each room was also white with a dark green number painted on it. She couldn’t make out the numbers well enough to count the rooms, not at the distance she stood. The fact that she could see them well enough to know they were numbers was interesting enough.
The parking lot was nearly empty. She could count the number of cars there on one hand, and there was no doubt in her mind that most of them probably belonged to employees. Maybe she could sneak into one of the rooms as someone was cleaning it and take a look around.
Maybe she could sneak into one of the rooms and use it to test her theory.
The idea appealed to her, but he quickly dismissed it. No. Someone would notice her in the motel. Maybe even report her to the authorities, who’d then force her back to Shaded Glade. Better not to take any chances.
She studied the building again, counting the number of doors on the outside. Thirteen on the bottom floor. Sixteen on the top floor. The missing rooms on the bottom floor had to be where the office and front entrance were.
Sure enough, glancing back to the first floor revealed an entrance and a wide window with a sign hanging inside lit up with the word VACANCIES.
As she stood at the edge of the road, studying the motel, a dark sedan pulled into the parking lot before the front entrance.
Four people climbed out of the vehicle, and her body hummed with power. Sorsha shuddered as she looked over them, breath caught in her throat. Her power had never reacted to anyone before. Who were they? Were they like her?
The driver was easily the shortest among them. He had short curly black hair, black eyes, and dark skin. No one in the community had dark skin. Sorsha was pretty certain everyone in Shaded Glade would have kicked this man out for being different.
She had her father had the darkest skin in Shaded Glade. She’d even heard a whisper or two about their being in the community—especially her since she was a pariah. They'd accepted her father because of his devotion to the community. Hers was tolerated because of her father.
This man was the darkest she’d remembered seeing in a long time, and it fascinated her, but the other three caught her attention just as easily.
There was another man the complete opposite of the black man. He was built like a tank and had pale skin with just a hint of gold running through it. How he’d fit in the small car, Sorsha didn’t know.
His hair flowed down to his shoulders in soft waves, and he sported a neatly trimmed beard around his mouth in matching shades of golden brown. His eyes were green eyes squinted when he smiled, revealing laugh lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth.
The only woman among the four was tall, thin and blonde. She carried herself in a way that screamed sensual, and even Sorsha appreciated her beauty and the power it probably brought her. The woman glanced around as she got out of the car and saw Sorsha watching them. The woman smiled and waved at Sorsha, eyes blue as the heavens above.
Sorsha blinked and waved back, stunned. What else could she do?
The woman’s movement caught the attention of one of the other men. He was pale, but there were warm undertones to his skin.
She’d been in Shaded Glade too long. She’d never seen an Asian man outside of movies, and she didn’t know enough to even begin to guess his culture.
His hair was black and the front was slicked back with oil, making it hard to tell just how long it actually was. His brown eyes held dark shadows. She could see exhaustion and misery in those eyes, but there was something else as well. Something she didn’t recognize or understand.
His black jeans hung loose around his hips, but the shirt and jacket he wore made sure he was covered.
Her skin heated and she jerked her eyes back up, wondering why she found it a shame he was wearing a shirt at all. When he smirked at her as if he knew the effect he had on her, she licked her lips and turned away.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him frown. The woman with the four laughed at him, as if she found Sorsha’s dismissal of them the funniest thing she’d ever seen.
Sorsha’s stomach rumbled again, and she cursed her inability to snag food before she left Shaded Glade. In the past, when she’d gone to the monument after hours, she’d always taken something with her to snack on. Why hadn’t she this time?
Turning away from the motel, Sorsha headed west along the main road, deciding it might be best to try her luck in town. She had to eat before she could concentrate on trying to find a place to hole up with her ghost and cards.
Unable to help herself, she took one final glance back at the four heading toward the hotel entrance, and it shocked her to see two pairs of eyes on her. The woman stood with her hands on her hips, turned away from Sorsha, saying something Sorsha couldn't hear.
The man though, his eyes remained on her, dark and dangerous. She shivered as she met his gaze, finding herself licking her lips again. His gaze flickered to her tongue as she did so, and she wondered, however briefly, what it might be like to taste him.
Her power rippled through her, and she glanced down to see orange smoke drifting around her hands.
With a
curse, she shoved them in her pockets, but not before she glanced up at the man and saw his wide eyes.
His eyes darted from her hands to her face once before he smoothed over his expression and narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.
That was odd. Had he noticed the orange smoke? No one else had so far. There was no way he could have.
Her body hummed with power once again, and her stomach growled loudly.
It didn’t matter if he had seen her or not. She had to get some food before her stomach decided to devour itself instead. Turning away from the motel’s new guests, Sorsha strode toward town. Her shoulders curled in as she tried to appear small and unnoticeable.
5
After an hour, Sorsha had managed to score something to eat, although she didn't like how she got it.
She hadn’t been above knocking on doors and begging for food. However, as she’d walked past an alley, her luck changed for both the better and the worst, depending on one's viewpoint.
A man kicked open the back door, grumbling about orders being wrong and wasting money, even as he threw a stack of closed styrofoam boxes in a trash can.
Sorsha’s mouth watered with the scent of roast beef. Her eyes stayed glued on the trash can, even as the man gave it a swift kick that spun it in a circle and almost sent it flying.
She waited until the man had gone back inside before she made a move.
Dumpster diving was not usually her thing, but she’d take what she could get. She dove around the trash can. It smelled like dead opossum and almost made her lose her appetite. She pulled out a couple of the styrofoam boxes.
Sorsha ducked down beside the trash can, making herself as small as she could—just in case the man returned—and opened the first box. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables. All still steaming fresh from the oven. She didn’t know why anyone would throw out such a feast, but she didn’t think about it too much either. Their loss. Her gain.
She shoved food into her mouth, ignoring the smell of trash and concentrating on the food before her. When she’d finished the first container, she closed it and tossed it back into the trash can. Then she dived into the second one, polishing it off and throwing away the empty container as well. She covered the trash can again and looked around for some way to clean her hands.