Whisper

by Krystal Jane Ruin

  I curl up against the giant stack of pillows they set up for me. “What happened to you guys in the forest? From my perspective, you just passed out.”

  “Pretty much,” Jerod says. “Everything was normal. I mean, it wasn’t normal because there was ice on everything all of a sudden, and it’s the middle of summer. I know we’re in the mountains, but come on. I meant, I felt normal. Then I smelled something really sweet, like honey or syrup. I touched the leaf to see if it was just sap or something. I’m not really sure why. But as soon as I got a concentrated dose of it, my head got really heavy, and I just couldn’t stay awake anymore.”

  Griffin nods. “Same. Then there was like a bright light in the sky. I felt like I could see something in it, but then I was just dreaming, I guess. We woke up just as suddenly.”

  “It was like I was tucked into a warm, fuzzy blanket,” Jerod says, “and then it was just jerked out from under me. I was in the woods again. And cold. And it felt like only moments had passed, but you were gone. And then you just showed up. Out of nothing.”

  “She said she had protections around the lake to keep people away,” I say. “I’m going to have to go back in there though. If I don’t fail.”

  “You won’t,” Jerod says with conviction. “If you can put up with years of being stomped on by our awful parents, you can do this. I’m serious. I couldn’t have gone through what you’ve been through. You know me. You’re the stronger twin.”

  “You’re not weak,” I say.

  “I am. It’s okay. I’m not going to stay this way.”

  Silence falls in the room as we all lose ourselves in our thoughts. I reach for the sword and hold it in my lap. The designs in the iron are long faded by time and water. Only the imprint remains. The blade isn’t sharp, but it’s pointy. The spirit didn’t really tell me how to get Aric inside, but I’ll take a cue from Jerod and just stab him with it. Easier thought than done, for sure.

  I run through different scenarios in my head, but they all end with me getting knocked out or watching Kaius die.

  Of course, this wasn’t the original plan, was it? Morgana was supposed to lock him up for a short spell, and then she would let him out, perhaps by killing her brother’s wife or mistress. Aric would kill all the males, and they would run off into the sunset together—far away from the highlands. Far away from the spirit of the lake. Morgana clearly hated her family. It would have been easy for her to sit back for a few days and let Merlin butcher everyone.

  I’m not Morgana. Or Morgan Le Fey. I love my brothers. I’m not going to let Aric kill them. And I’m not going to let this curse continue. It ends with me, even if I have to take myself out with him.

  A dark aura coats the sword—it’s deep mahogany and swirls around the iron in slow, seemingly deliberate circles. It’s freaking me out a little, but I feel the power in it as well. I can see how the first Arthur would have wanted to hold on to it.

  It’s unfortunate that Aric is tied to this family forever, but I have to give Morgan Le Fey and Morgana credit for one thing. They weren’t stupid. They took full advantage of Aric’s fears and sense of self-preservation.

  “If something happens to me,” I say, breaking the silence, “promise me that you’ll make sure this sword gets back to the lake.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to you,” Jerod says.

  “Just…please.”

  “How would we get it to her?” Griffin asks.

  “She’ll let you in if you have the sword with you.” I know she will. She wants it back. For whatever reason, she feels responsible for Aric. And maybe she should. She’s the reason he’s so strong. She helped him perfect his power. Since she can do little else, she’ll do this one thing very well.

  “Nothing will happen to you,” Jerod says again.

  I push the sword back to the foot of the bed. Against anything reasonable, I’m starting to feel a little attached to it. To the energy coiling and vibrating around it. Humming.

  Breathing.

  37

  Ashes To Ashes

  We call Kaius as soon as we land, and the call isn’t answered. We stop by Griffin’s apartment. He’s not there. We leave Jerod behind with the sword and head to the office.

  Knots form in my stomach as Griffin and I run inside. The walls are thick with Aric’s energy. It covers the walls and floor and ceiling like toxic mold.

  Astrid sits behind reception with deep purple circles under her eyes. She hops down from the chair and rushes up to us the moment we step off the elevator. “Where is Kaius? Everything is falling apart. The lawyers are calling. Investors. Clients. We’re doing the best we can, but we need him.”

  Relief floods my veins. “You haven’t seen him?”

  “Not since yesterday.” Her bottom lip quivers. “Even then he was only here about five minutes. Just long enough to run up to his place and grab something. I know he needs to mourn, but we still have a business to run. Where is he? What’s going on?”

  I ignore her and turn back to the elevators with Griffin. “If he’s not here, then maybe he’s still alive, at least. I hope.” We should probably check his room. What if he came back and—

  My phone rings, and Kaius’s name shows up on the screen. I put him on speaker. “What the hell, Kaius?”

  “Sorry, I stopped by a diner to pick up some food for everyone. I’m on my way back to Griffin’s. What’s wrong?”

  “Astrid is up here freaking out. No one knows where you are. She said you stopped by yesterday, and I didn’t know for sure that something didn’t get you.”

  “No, no. I just needed a few more things. I packed too quickly Saturday. I talked to McGregor. He’s going to hold everything down. Everything is fine. I guess people haven’t gotten the memo yet. Come on over. We can fill each other in when you get here.”

  I hang up and sag against the elevator wall.

  Griffin rubs my shoulder. “It’s okay. He’s fine. McGregor can run things.”

  “Who the crap is McGregor?”

  “He’s the second majority shareholder after your family. He’s the grandson of Marcus Prince, the guy who was vice president when Holton ran the company.”

  I relax a little more. “Oh. Gray hair? Forty-something? Drives the Bugatti?”

  “He just turned fifty, but yeah.”

  “I didn’t know his name was McGregor. I always just called him Fancy Guy.”

  Griffin chuckles. “He does have the nicest suits.”

  “Dear, dear Jade…” Aric’s fuming voice shakes the reflective walls. “You can’t save them forever.”

  Griffin eyes the ceiling of the elevator and frowns.

  “Did you hear something?” I ask. No one’s ever heard anything but me—not until Dad died.

  He half shakes his head. “I—I don’t know. Just…hissing or something.”

  “It’s Aric.” The door opens, and I run to the car. I can’t get away from him fast enough. “If I survive,” I say as I buckle myself in, “I’m moving out of that building.”

  I lock my arms around Kaius and squeeze him tight.

  He laughs as he hugs me back. “No one’s dead. I got authentic Mediterranean cuisine. The chef is from Morocco. He even came out and talked to me for a few minutes.”

  I let him go and join Jerod at a small dining table overrun with mail.

  Kaius eyes the sword propped up by the front door. “Holy shit. Is that Excalibur?”

  “It’s cursed,” Jerod and I say in unison as we organize delicious-smelling dishes on the table.

  Kaius throws us a twins-are-so-annoying glance and slowly approaches the sword. “Magnificent,” he mutters.

  “We can’t keep it,” I say.

  “Why?”

  “It’s cursed,” Jerod and I say again.

  Jerod laughs. “Seriously though, bro? It burns everything it touches. It’s only here because some ghost-lady said we could kill Merlin with it. Then we have to give it back before we all die horrible deaths or worse.”

>   “Trap Merlin,” I correct. “You can’t kill something that isn’t mortal.”

  Kaius lifts his brows. “Excalibur is supernatural?”

  I shrug and take the plate Griffin hands me.

  Kaius carefully raises the sword and gives it a few practice swings. “This is really nice. It would be cursed.” He sets it back down with some reluctance and joins us at the table. “Ghost lady?”

  “The spirit of the lake,” I say.

  “The lady of the lake is real?”

  I nod and pop a stuffed olive into my mouth.

  “What does she look like?”

  “Scary. Pale and creepy, and she has no eyes.”

  “She has no eyes?” His face tinges a little green.

  “I mean, she has eyes, but they’re just an eyeball. There’s no color or pupils or anything.”

  He wrinkles his nose. “Nice.”

  “Jade had to dive into an icy lake to get it,” Jerod says. “She almost died.”

  It’s my turn to laugh. “I didn’t almost die. I mean, probably. But I’m fine. I’m glad you’re still alive.” I pinch Kaius’s arm.

  “Hey!”

  “What’s going on with Dad?” Jerod asks as he fills up all the available space on his plate.

  “The official report is suicide,” Kaius says with a heavy sigh. “Given the recent deaths, and the fact that it runs so high in the family, they couldn’t come up with anything else. There are no other fingerprints. No footprints, other than Jerod’s, and I could vouch for him. They still want to talk to you guys, but that’s just protocol. There’s another reading of the will in the morning. Malcolm wanted everyone to meet at the office, but I got him to do it at the mansion instead. Grandma is furious that I didn’t run it by her first, but she’ll live.”

  “Good.” I give him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

  “Of course. I’m not going back in that building after what happened to Dad. Not until this is over. I just told McGregor that Jerod and I needed a leave of absence, and he said he would be concerned if we didn’t take off. So we’re covered. He’s not the best replacement, but it’s the best we can do.”

  While we eat, Jerod gives Kaius a second-hand account of everything we’ve discovered over the weekend. His version of events helps lighten the mood and has everyone smiling some if nothing else.

  For the rest of the night, at least, we put all the things we have to worry about aside.

  There will be time to worry later. For now, we just need to relax and rest, so that we have strength left to stand and fight.

  38

  They’ve Killed Everyone

  Aunt Cece consented to a double funeral with Arthur and Dad, though Arthur has been cremated. While the plans were put together quickly, so Cece and Enid could get back home to New York, there was a pretty large turnout at the gravesite. Arthur’s urn sat beside Dad’s shiny bronze coffin under the overcast sky and air filled with the sound of tears. Then the family convened at the mansion for the reading of two wills.

  Unsurprisingly, Xacharias Corp has been handed full-body to Jerod, along with all the rental and commercial property Dad owned. His own residential estate and personal accounts, surprisingly, were given exclusively to Kaius. I don’t know if Dad had time to change the will after the divorce papers were served or if he never planned on giving Mom anything. She was here, of course, for appearance’s sake, but upon hearing that she got nothing, not even the jewelry around her neck, she got up and left, and no one even watched her go. I received the deed to the penthouse, along with some money. Even Vivian was given some assets.

  Before he leaves, Malcolm shakes all of our hands and utters condolences. Then my grandmother retreats to the kitchen with Griffin, Vivian heads upstairs with Cece and Enid to help them pack, and the rest of us stand in a circle in the sitting room, quiet and at a loss for words.

  “I’ll file the paperwork to split the company up between us,” Jerod says after a while.

  “You don’t have to,” Kaius says.

  “No, I want to. He shouldn’t have left it all to me. I don’t even know what to do with it.”

  Kaius claps a hand on his shoulder, and they exchange small, solemn smiles. Then he turns to me and says, “You have to save me. This family can’t take any more funerals, and I don’t have a will written up yet, so it would just be a mess.”

  “No one else is going to die,” Jerod says. “There’s been enough of that.”

  “I’ll also file paperwork,” Kaius says. “I don’t know what he was thinking when he slapped that estate plan together, but it’s ridiculous. And either one of you can have the house, if you want it. I don’t care.”

  Jerod’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he ignores it. “I’m not upset that Mom didn’t get anything. I’m just surprised, you know.”

  I shake my head. “I used to wonder if I would be sad when she left.”

  “Are you?” Jerod asks.

  “I just feel tired.”

  “Me too.”

  We collectively stare at the floor.

  “I think I’m just now realizing that they’re gone,” Kaius says. “Like…really gone.”

  Jerod nods in agreement.

  Everything happened way too fast. I keep waiting for someone to blame me for it, but no one does. They’re not even a little mad at me. Would I be, if things were reversed, and Jerod was the one who let out some immortal sorcerer-thing? I really don’t think I would be. And I wouldn’t want him to beat himself up about it either.

  “I have snacks,” our grandmother calls from the kitchen.

  Kaius smirks. “Of course she does.” We trickle into the kitchen and surround the center island. She’s laid out four large trays filled with fruit, vegetables, and little sandwiches. I nibble on a pimento cheese square to be polite. I don’t think anyone is hungry.

  My grandmother steps up next to me and slides a folded piece of paper under my hand. She walks away without a word and carries her large glass of iced tea into the sitting room.

  My brothers talk about rugby with Griffin while they pick at the trays. No one notices the note. I unfold it.

  Jade, I know we haven’t been close, but I think it’s time you knew why. In truth, I never thought you would last as long as you have. I was very close to Alara, and when she took her life, it devastated me. In my pain and ignorance, I thought if I wasn’t close to you, that I wouldn’t have to hurt if you spiraled and went down the same path.

  But now I realize that I’ve robbed myself of a relationship with you. And I realize that my silence has harmed this entire family.

  I never believed any of those stories, even though my husband tried often to convince me. It wasn’t until Arthur died, so shortly after him, that I fully understood the truth.

  One night, while you were still a baby, your father called me over to help him calm your brother down. Jerod had a fever, and your mother, worthless as she was, was also ill. My son told me that Holton was talking crazy the night his heart gave out. That he said, ‘someone had to know the truth’ before he died.

  My son didn’t know what to make of it. He’d been holding onto the information for years, and he told me everything he knew that night. I, of course, told him Holton was an old fool. But then I remembered that photograph I found of Megara, and I knew he was telling the truth.

  The blame for what’s happened doesn’t lie with you. We never gave you a chance. Merlin is a poison that has been draining this family for centuries. He has seeped into our DNA and destroyed us. By trying to protect our secrets, we have killed everyone.

  Holton confessed to my son that Megara was working on a solution, but he didn’t have enough trust in her. He worried so much about his own life, and the lives of his sons and grandsons, that he poisoned her.

  He further disclosed that Merlin was imprisoned under the building, and that death would come to the family if he was ever free. My son struggled a great deal to reconcile those words with the world around him. He never w
anted to completely cast them aside, but I know he couldn’t fully believe them either. If he had, maybe he would still be here with us. But you know how strong-willed he was. He was dead the moment Merlin was set free.

  I know this is of little help to you, but I wanted to tell you that you’re not the psychotic child you were raised to believe. You are strong, and you are wonderful, and if anyone can help this family, I know that person is you.

  Moisture forms in my eyes, and I quickly wipe it away. No one should have any faith in me, though. Because I don’t know what to do. I refold the note and go into the sitting room.

  My grandmother sits by the window in the sunroom, looking out over the beautiful and colorful backyard. I sit on the sofa beside her and say nothing. After a minute, her age-softened hand closes over mine.

  There are butterflies on one of the bushes outside. They flit from tiny flower to tiny flower, doing whatever butterflies do.

  “Butterflies are nice, aren’t they?” Her voice is warm, yet distant.

  “Yeah.” I don’t really think about them much. Kaius and Jerod used to chase me with caterpillars, so I never really developed an affinity for anything bug-shaped.

  “It would be nice to be a butterfly,” she says. “They’re completely changed from the time they were born.” She squeezes my hand and then goes outside for a closer look.

  I stare out at the clouds and think about her letter. I also think about Morgana. Who told the men about the threat against their lives? Did Morgana tell Arthur II about it out of anger? Aric wouldn’t have told anyone—that wouldn’t have helped his cause. It didn’t help hers either, but I can see her plan. Aric kills all the males, and Morgana is queen and free from oppression. Boy did that go terribly wrong.

  She probably wasted away in chains, and the men in the family haven’t been at peace since. They’ve worried. They’ve conspired. They have dragged Aric’s crypt around for centuries, probably looking for a way to break the curse on them without letting him out. But there is no other way, is there? It can’t ever be broken. Morgan Le Fey made Aric this family’s slave for eternity.