Ashes of Iris

by Stephanie Poscente

  Jude pulled into the lot beside the castle while she took hesitant steps down the stairs, wobbling in her unfamiliar shoes. When he stepped from the truck, her stomach filled with nervous energy and her hands began to shake. She stopped halfway down, thinking it would be easier to have him come to her and avoid a potential stumble. Muted sunlight bounced from the light blue fabric of his shirt and sent a wave of shine through his hair. His smile was bright as he moved toward her, the gravel grinding under his weight. Climbing the first two steps to stand in front of her, he reached out a hand and she took it slowly, the sight of him threatening to destroy her mask of confidence.

  “You are stunning,” he said, sweeping his eyes from the top of her head to her feet.

  She felt a flush creep up her neck at his gaze and looked away, smiling in spite of her worry and thanking him quietly. After a moment, she remembered her circumstances and brought her eyes back to his face.

  “Would you like to come in?” she asked, motioning to the castle doors and watching for his reaction.

  His eyes – though already bright – widened in excitement.

  “Yes, I would,” he answered, following her as she turned to climb the steps.

  Praying she would not fall and cursing the senseless shoes strapped to her feet, Sophie led the way into the entrance. She was careful to stay beside Jude and watch him as he surveyed the room. The smile had faded from his lips though his eyes remained wide. She followed him, keeping her hand in his, as he took slow steps into the center of the room.

  “Incredible,” he whispered, reaching out a hand to stroke a wide painting near the main stairway. Sophie did not respond, but smiled when he turned to look at her.

  “The wedding isn't for an hour,” she said. “We could walk around. If you want to, I mean. You seem to be enthralled by this castle.”

  “Enthralled, yes,” he laughed, squeezing her hand gently and sending the butterflies raging in her stomach, against her better judgment. “Is it so obvious?”

  “It is now,” she whispered. He did not hear. Or if he did, he did not respond.

  They took a familiar path, winding through the hall that would lead to Sophie's courtyard. Her mind wandered briefly to the cottage beyond the wall of trees. Jude was silent. Sophie hesitated to be the first to speak. She watched his face as they walked, his head turning, his eyes scanning each corner and peering into each open doorway. When they emerged into the small seating area across from the double French doors, she slowed her steps.

  Peering through the decorated glass, she prayed that Lukas was not watching. The thought of his anger made her anxious. In an attempt to move them along, she pulled on Jude's arm, but he resisted, sitting instead on the sofa and pulling her down beside him.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, placing an arm behind her and pulling her closer to him. “You seem troubled.”

  “I'm fine,” she replied, the answer sounded almost robotic. She had used it too many times.

  “Sophie,” his tilted his head and gave her a small smile. She looked into the warmth of his eyes and wondered how anyone could lie so well. For a fraction of a second, she wanted to ask him outright of his motives, ask him for the truth, but something stopped her.

  Her head snapped toward the window as movement registered in her periphery, and her eyes followed the form of a small red-headed woman walking toward the patio. Her green eyes piercing through the glass, locked on Sophie's face.

  “Oh my god,” she whispered, urgency rising in her chest. She stood swiftly.

  “Sophie, what's wrong?” Jude asked, standing alongside her. He followed her gaze, seeing the woman who had now stepped onto the stone patio and was only feet from them, separated by the boundary of glass.

  “Nothing,” she answered, pulling her hand away from his. “Wait here, okay? Please,” she added when he opened his mouth to protest. He nodded once, but did not sit.

  Pushing the door open and slamming it shut before Aggie had time to enter, Sophie pressed her back to the door and started to speak.

  “Aggie, what are-”

  Aggie held up a hand, and glanced around Sophie to Jude, who was standing just inside the door, concern and confusion plain on his face.

  “Who is that?” she asked quietly. “That man?”

  “He's,” Sophie paused, “he's a friend of mine.”

  A laugh erupted from across the courtyard and Sophie knew then that Lukas had indeed been watching her. He had sent Aggie in his place, being bound to the shelter of the tree-line, to discover the truth.

  “He told me everything,” Aggie said. “Everything, Sophie. That man is dangerous. Not only for you, but for him,” she inclined her head toward the trees. “You are risking everything by letting him in. How could you betray them?”

  “I'm not betraying anyone,” Sophie argued, but a voice in her mind agreed with Aggie's words. “I just wanted to be sure of what his intentions are. What if he's wrong? What if Jude isn't dangerous?”

  “What does it matter, then?” Aggie asked, but her voice was kind. “You are not from here. Soon you will leave, go home. You will suffer disappointment, no matter what his intentions are.”

  The words rang true, but Sophie shunned them.

  “I don't care,” she said. “I don't think he's dangerous.”

  Her own lie resounded in her ears. She did not know the threat Jude may pose to them. The warmth in his eyes may very well have been false.

  “He wants a word with you,” Aggie said, ignoring Sophie's words and nodding her head toward the trees.

  “No,” Sophie shook her head and Aggie's eyebrows lifted. “I know what I'm doing.”

  Liar, the word echoed in her mind, but she turned to re-enter the castle. To her surprise, Aggie followed.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed, closing the door again and turning back.

  Aggie shrugged.

  “He told me you'd be difficult,” she said. “He said to accompany you, if you didn't want to see him. So, I'm accompanying you.”

  Sophie's eyes flashed to the trees, her lips pursed.

  “You don't always have to follow his orders,” she said quietly, the frustration apparent in her voice. “You're not his puppet.”

  “No,” Aggie smiled, shaking her head at Sophie. “But I am his friend. And he believes that you are in danger. That leaves little in the way of options, don't you think?”

  With an exasperated sigh, Sophie pushed past Aggie and stomped, as best as she could considering the height of her shoes, through the courtyard. The breeze, once soothing, blew her hair into her mouth and she pulled it away with a whip of her hand, cursing silently. She heard Jude call to her, and glanced over her shoulder. Aggie stood in the doorway, her small body blocking his path, keeping him from following.

  When she stepped through the trees, Lukas was waiting. He did not step forward, because she remained so close to the boundary, but his face was full of anger.

  “Are you insane?” he hissed. Before, Sophie may have flinched at the quiet rage in his voice, but now she stood strong.

  “No,” she answered. “I'm not.”

  “I told you not to let him through the doors,” he went on. “Why will you never take my advice? What will you do, now?”

  “Listen,” Sophie said, putting her hands on her hips and hoped she looked half as menacing as he did. “I know what you told me, but what if you're wrong? What if he's not dangerous?”

  “What if he is?” Lukas raised his eyebrows. “You are willing to take that chance.”

  She stood silent for a moment, contemplating. His eyes did not leave hers, but narrowed as Jude broke through the trees and seized her arm. Aggie stood motionless on the patio, still holding one side of the door frame. She did not move to follow him into the trees.

  “Sophie, what the hell is going on?” he demanded, pulling her to face him. “What are you doing in here? Who was that crazy woman?”

  Lukas laughed darkly, but Jude could not hear. Sophie kept
her eyes on his face, pleading silently for help to answer the questions. Jude shook her gently, and she broke her eyes away from Lukas, locking them instead on Jude's frustrated face.

  “I had to talk to someone,” she said, unable to produce a sensible excuse.

  “In here?” he asked, pulling her toward the break in trees. “There is no one here, Sophie. Let’s go back inside.”

  “I’m here,” Lukas muttered, stepping closer.

  Sophie turned back to look at him, twisting her body so that she was half blocking Jude. When she did, her foot caught on a pile of knotted roots and she tumbled forward, the heel of her shoe catching in the tangles and, before she had a chance to throw out her hands in protection, her head collided with the ground. Jude's arms were around her in an instant, though she felt none of the warmth from before. The sound of Lukas's voice behind her was all she could focus on.

  “Sophie, don't go with him,” he was saying, his voice low and pleading and coated with emotion.

  She realized then how foolish she had been to ignore his warnings and his attempts to help her. She knew in her heart that something was not right. Something about Jude’s desperate pleas to go back in the castle gave him away. She shook her head carefully. There was nothing but concern in Lukas’s voice now, and she found herself welcoming his protection.

  “Are you alright?” Jude said again. He was crouching down, his strong arms pulling her to her feet. “We need to go back inside. Let’s go inside.”

  Her hands went to her head, a pounding starting in her ears. She nodded slowly, pushing away from Jude and stepping back until she felt Lukas's hands rest on her shoulders. Jude watched her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “I could ask you the same question,” she answered, her voice sounding far away. “Why are you here?”

  “What? Sophie,” he said, “you invited me, remember? You hit your head. Maybe we should find a doctor. Let’s go back-”

  “I don't need a doctor,” she interrupted with a sigh.

  “Ask him,” Lukas coaxed, his hands pressing her shoulders in encouragement. His touch calmed her nerves, but his words confused her. “Just ask him.”

  “Ask him what?” she hissed. Jude's expression changed from confusion to concern when he heard her speak, and he stepped forward, his handsome face pale in the shadows.

  “Come on,” he said. “You need to get inside.”

  “No, I don't,” she argued again. “I want to know what you are doing here.”

  “Ask him about the spirit, Sophie,” Lukas urged.

  “Are you looking for something in the castle?” she asked, finding confidence in his proximity “Or, someone?”

  Jude eyed her carefully, his muscles tensing.

  “I don't know what you mean,” he said, but she did not miss the change in his tone.

  “Yes, you do,” she replied. “You want the witch.”

  The instant the words left her lips, a fire ignited in his eyes and his face transformed from handsome to hungry, like a beast ready to spring for the kill. For the slightest moment, Sophie remembered the statue of the pouncing lion in the Halifax airport. She flinched, cringing into Lukas, who moved his hands from her shoulders and pushed her to the side, angling his body in front of her.

  “So it's true,” Jude snarled, his shoulders rising and falling with the effort of his breath. “She is here.”

  “What do you want with her?” Sophie asked, adrenaline forcing its way through her veins, making her palms tingle and her heart pound furiously against her ribcage.

  “I want to destroy her,” Jude answered. The ferocity behind his words was biting. “She lurks where she does not belong, and her actions in the past have marked her as a demon. She deserves more than death. She deserves destruction in the most hideous of ways.”

  “You can't do that,” Sophie said, forcing energy into her voice. Jude laughed in contempt as she stepped around Lukas and walked to face him.

  “Sophie,” Lukas seized her wrist. She turned to him with a small smile.

  “It's okay,” she said.

  Jude's laugh was severed into silence and he looked around the woods, trying to discern who she had spoken to.

  “Is someone there?” he called into the seemingly empty woods.

  “Yes,” Lukas answered with a low growl and Sophie shook her head, gazing back at him, hoping to dispel the darkness in his eyes.

  “Who were you talking to?” Jude asked, his voice growing high. “Is there someone with you?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “There is. Jude, I need you to listen to me-”

  “Don't be a fool Sophie,” he cut her off. “The witch must be destroyed, of that there is no question. What could possibly make you want to spare her soul?”

  “I don't want to spare her,” Sophie replied, reaching out a hand to touch his arm. She felt the tension in the air thicken, and heard Lukas let out a soft moan. “I just need to use her before you do anything.”

  He smiled at her touch, the warmth returning to his eyes as he looked at her. For a brief moment, she felt relieved. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. His smile faltered, his brows furrowed as though he were warring with some unspoken enemy. She watched as the tenderness faded from his gaze. His uncertain smile transformed to a cold sneer, fierce anger mangling his expression again.

  She did not have time to pull her arm away before Jude twisted his fingers around her wrist and wrenched her forward. Her other arm was pulled violently from Lukas’s grip. He lunged forward to regain a hold on her, but lost her again when Jude clamped his arm around her waist and pulled her into the dull light of the courtyard. She felt it when she crossed the boundary, felt Lukas’s hand jerk away, heard his pained cry as though his flesh had been burned. He called her name, his voice strangled, though she could not see him through her struggle.

  She jerked and kicked, unable to scream with Jude’s arm wrapped firmly over her mouth. She was afraid of twisting too far, feeling the pressure his hold made on the bones in her neck. She remembered Aggie’s words, then, and understood. Despite her frantic struggle, she knew it would be impossible to win when matching her strength against his.

  He dragged her to the wall of windows, shoving her to the ground without loosening his hold. She prayed someone had seen, but no one came. In a half-crouch, he dragged her across the grass, still struggling, until they reached the place where the trees met the castle wall. Sophie felt dizzy from fear and adrenaline. Jude’s arm blocked most of her face, making it nearly impossible for her to breathe, and the effort weakened her.

  As he moved them both into the shadows, she felt a sharp jerk and was flung to the ground. She heard a low grunt as Jude collapsed beside her. Her vision blurred as she struggled to inhale, clinging desperately to consciousness.

  In an instant, he was back on his feet, twisting in circles and shouting vague obscenities.

  “Who’s there?” he shouted, sounding almost delirious. “Demons! Show yourself!”

  Sophie lay forgotten on the crumbling forest floor, barely daring to breathe as Lukas stepped cautiously toward Jude, who was beating his fists against the air. Dodging a strike, Lukas seized Jude’s fist and sent him hurtling through the air while connecting another swift blow to his ribs. Jude crumpled forward, sucking in ragged, rasping breaths. His eyes were gaping circles, making him look like a frightened child. Again, Lukas approached him.

  “What is this?” Jude was whispering to himself. “What is this?”

  Sophie’s head began to spin for a second time as she slowly shifted her body, a wave of nausea seeping over her. The choking weight from Jude’s arm on her face had left small red pinpricks under her eyes, and the blood pounded through her throat with stinging pressure.

  Lukas shoved Jude from behind, sending him face first into the dying brush.

  “Sophie, run,” he said, his voice low and rushed. “Now.”

  Wanting desperately
to do as she was told, Sophie forced herself to stand, willing her eyes open and praying for the strength to move. Jude pushed himself up as she stood, his eyes locked on her face. They narrowed into slits, and he stumbled forward to seize her. She tried to back away, one foot at a time, but she knew it was no use. He would reach her before she had a chance to make it out of the trees. Lukas dove between them, and Jude plunged headlong into his body, slamming it with such force that they both tumbled in a heap. Lukas rose quickly, but this time Jude took longer to recover. He shook his head back and forth, his hands running the length of his face over and over again.

  “What is this?” he said again, to no one in particular. “This cannot be real. I will not fall victim to this madness. Coward demon!”

  Lukas had moved to stand before Sophie, his hands pressing on her waist.

  “You must get inside,” he whispered in her ear.

  She nodded. He dropped his hold on her as Jude’s leapt to seize her again and she spun away, heading for the sunlit yard. She did not turn as a piercing crack rang through the air, followed by the sound of a shattering branch, but prayed silently that Jude had finally been rendered still.

  Seconds later, she felt hands grip her throat, pulling her backwards. She fell, gasping in surprise, as the fingers dug into her hair, wrenching her back through the boundary of trees. She let out a shriek, earning a fierce tug on her hair in return. She winced as her roots threatened to rip away from the skin.

  Lukas lay motionless on the forest floor, blood pooling beneath his slackened jaw. His eyes were softly closed. Sophie tried to call out to him through the pain in her head, but he remained still. A mangled tree limb lay splintered beside him.

  Jude pulled her through the brush while she clawed at his hands, trying to wrench herself free. She could hear him muttering to himself, felt his tense body jump at every sound. After what seemed like hours, he dropped his hold, giving her the chance to clamber to her feet and bolt in the opposite direction, but he was too quick. He seized her arms and brought her to face him, his fingers digging into her flesh and muscles like iron clamps. She forced herself not to flinch.