by HR Mason
“As lovely as this little family reunion is, ladies, I think we all know what has to happen now.”
He aimed the gun toward Runa.
Impulsively, Asta moved forward, using her body as a barrier between the gun and her child.
“Put the gun away, Easton. You don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Of course I don’t. But you’ve left me no choice.” His hands shook.
“There’s always a choice,” Asta soothed, holding his gaze steadily.
Breaking eye contact with Asta, Easton glanced toward Freya.
“Freya, nothing has changed. You and I can still be together.”
“We can?” Freya sobbed pathetically.
“Of course we can. It’ll be just like we planned. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Don’t you love me?”
“You know I do. I’ve always loved you,” Freya cried.
“Then you know what you have to do. Help me get rid of her.” Easton jerked his head toward Runa.
“Don’t listen to him, Freya. He’s lying to you,” Asta pleaded.
“Mother is dead,” Chase screamed as he ran outside. “Now what are we going to do?”
Without even looking at his son, Easton replied, “We’re going to handle it. Just like always.”
“With another one of your plans? You can see how well that worked out, Father!” Chase yelled.
He paced back and forth across the front porch, running his hands through his hair in frustration.
Seeing her husband so agitated, Runa’s stomach clenched. She couldn’t believe he’d fooled her so completely.
Flinging her anger at him, she screamed, “What is wrong with you, Chase? You kept Freya a prisoner, and now you’ve killed your own mother.”
“I’ve only done what I had to,” he insisted numbly.
“Did you ever love me for even a second? Or was I just a replacement for what your father stole from you?” Runa sobbed.
Chase glanced from Runa to Freya, confusion and anger clouding his eyes. He shook his head slowly from side to side.
“I wanted to love you, Runa. I tried. But when I looked at you, I only saw Freya.”
“Enough!” Easton interrupted, pointing at Freya. “You need to take Alina and go back to the third floor! Now!”
“I won’t go back there!” Alina, who had silently observed the entire exchange, began to wail.
She shoved away from the group and ran, her shoes slipping in the wet grass. The wind howled and the rain poured, and Runa feared a strong gust would carry the small girl away. Undeterred, Alina sprinted toward the cliff.
“Alina!” Runa yelled for the child, but the little girl didn’t even pause.
“Freya, we have to go after her,” Runa insisted, grabbing her sister by the shoulders and shaking her.
“No, Freya. You go back upstairs now. I’ll take care of everything,” Easton commanded.
“Don’t listen to him, Freya. We have to get Alina,” Runa warned.
“You must think of your child. She’s all that matters,” Asta admonished.
Spinning toward Asta, Freya glowered at her. “Think of my child? Like you did? Why should I listen to the mother who gave me away?”
Asta recoiled as if she’d been slapped. “I’ve regretted that choice every day of my life.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to reason with Freya.
“I don’t care about your regrets,” Freya snapped.
Knowing they were in danger, Asta thought quickly. Stepping toward Easton, she pleaded with her eyes. Slowly, he lowered the gun. She inched closer and placed her hands on his chest.
“Easton, my daughter is just a replacement for me. You don’t love Freya. I’m the one you’ve wanted all along. This is all about me. Let her go. I’ll stay with you.”
Easton’s face lit up, and he brushed his fingertips across Asta’s cheek lovingly. “You promise? You’ll stay here with me?”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Just let them all go.”
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted,” he murmured, his eyes glued on Asta.
“I know I am, Easton,” Asta whispered.
At that, Chase stopped pacing, clenching his fists at his side. “You stole my wife from me and you never even loved her? This was all about some sick obsession with her mother?”
Chase ran toward his father, slamming into him like a raging bull. His eyes were wild with madness, his face twisted with rage. Father and son fell to the porch, grappling and clawing. Punches flew, and primal, guttural sounds filled the air.
When the deafening sound of a gunshot rang out, Runa screamed. Untangling himself from Chase’s body, Easton stood, panting.
Runa tried to stifle her screams as she watched blood gurgle from the hole in Chase’s chest. Her husband was dying, but all she could think of was Alina, running scared toward the ocean. She knew she had to find the child.
Without another thought, Runa sprinted off the porch toward the cliff, leaving her mother and sister behind.
“Nothing else matters now,” Easton mumbled. Turning to Asta, he gave her a chilling smile. “We’re going to be so happy. Everything will be perfect.”
Freya’s face grew pale, her knees nearly giving out as she finally understood the truth. “You never really loved me at all, did you, Easton?”
“No, I didn’t.” Easton shrugged, looking dazed and disoriented.
Asta saw resolve and determination flash across Freya’s face. She knew her daughter finally understood the truth about Easton’s lies. They needed to escape, and they must do so quickly.
Looking at Freya, Asta flicked her eyes toward the cliff, hoping she understood the meaning. Nodding almost imperceptibly, Freya reached out and gripped Asta’s hand.
In one swift movement, both women began to run, feet pounding as they jumped from the porch and angled toward the cliff. They ran for their lives, managing to gain a bit of a head start before Easton realized what had happened. When the confusion wore off, he pursued, screaming at them to come back.
“Find your daughter and your sister, Freya. I’ll stop Easton,” Asta panted as she ran, pulling Freya along like a lost child.
“Easton will kill you when he realizes you aren’t going to stay with him,” Freya sobbed.
“That doesn’t matter as long as you’re free. I didn’t fight for you when you were born, but I’m doing it now. Go!”
She pushed Freya toward the cliff and took off running in the opposite direction, toward the forest.
As Asta changed course, Easton followed.
With one last glance toward her mother, Freya headed for the sound of the ocean, desperate to find Alina, fear squeezing her chest. When she arrived at the edge of the cliff, she found Runa crouched on the ground, cradling Alina’s small body.
“She’s okay. She’s fine,” Runa cried as Freya approached.
Freya ran toward her daughter and fell to the ground, pulling Alina close and whispering soothing words in her ear.
Runa stood slowly, trying to catch her breath and gain her bearings. When she’d found Alina, precariously perched on the edge of the cliff, she thought her niece would plummet into the unknown. If the girl had taken one more step, it would have been too late. She’d arrived just in time, convincing the child to run toward her rather than away.
Glancing over the edge of the cliff at the swelling ocean below, Runa let the tears fall freely, mixing with the salty sea mist. Closing her eyes, she listened as the water sang a song she’d never heard yet somehow understood. Somewhere deep inside, the sound of the sea resonated in the secret places of her soul.
Opening her eyes, Runa noticed a woman walking along the shore, glowing with an otherworldly light, visible through the thick blanket of fog. As she watched, the woman drew a circle in the sand, enclosing herself inside of it. She placed various shells and driftwood in the center, forming an altar.
As she raised her arms toward the sky, shafts of blue light flickered from the woman’s fingertips. Runa glanc
ed at her own hands, mirroring the woman’s exactly.
The woman turned toward the cliff, and their eyes met. In an instant, Runa understood she was the woman in the portrait.
“I found her,” Runa called.
The woman nodded. Then she spoke, clear and loud, her voice cutting through the wind and rain and landing directly inside Runa’s heart.
“You’re the generation of two.”
Forty-Four
“The generation of two.”
The words echoed in the air, drifting through the breeze and swirling in the storm. Runa remembered what the book said about the generation of two, and her breath caught in her throat. The generation of two would possess all the power but must sacrifice something in return.
Runa looked down at her hands, glowing brighter than ever, the blue light shooting like laser beams through the darkness. She glanced back at the woman, whose hands were still raised in the air. Then she saw Freya standing next to her.
A look of shock and uncertainty bathed Freya’s face as she held up her hands. Identical shafts of blue light shot out of her fingertips just as they did Runa’s. Facing each other, they reached their palms toward each other until they touched.
When their hands connected, a bolt of electricity shot through them, bathing them from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet, the force so strong it nearly knocked them over. Clasping their fingers together tightly, the women held on.
“You’re the generation of two,” the woman on the beach called to them.
Suddenly they heard Asta screaming as she ran toward the cliff, Easton in pursuit. His monstrous eyes flashed wickedly as he raised the gun toward the sky, firing off a shot.
As the sound echoed in the night, Freya and Runa locked eyes. In that moment, they fully understood the magnitude of their power. They were stronger together.
Asta arrived a split second before Easton, standing in front of her daughters. She was intent on saving them, willing to give up her life in order to do so.
“You will not harm my children,” Asta yelled.
“Why can’t you just love me?” Easton sobbed as he pointed the gun at her. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“You’re not capable of love,” Asta screamed.
“I did it all for you, Asta. I got rid of every barrier between us, yet you still won’t love me.”
“You mean Garrett? I always knew you had something to do with his death. What did you do to him?” Asta cried.
“He was my best friend. I loved him. But I loved you more. I did what I had to. Garrett was standing between us. I had to get rid of him.” Easton shrugged, the gun wobbling in his trembling hands.
“I knew you killed him. You’re a monster!”
Ignoring the fact that Easton had a gun, Asta ran toward him, directly in the line of fire.
Understanding what was about to happen, Freya also sprinted toward Easton, throwing herself in front of Asta at the exact moment he fired the gun.
The bullet hit Freya directly in the chest, and she staggered before collapsing to the ground.
Screaming, Asta grabbed Freya, cradling her body as she sobbed.
“No, no, no,” she wailed over and over. “Not my daughter!”
“Freya!” Runa cried as she ran toward her mother and sister.
Dropping to the ground, she placed her hands on either side of Freya’s face, willing every bit of power she possessed into her sister’s body. She concentrated as hard as she could, visualizing her sister’s healing. Sobbing, she pleaded with God, begging Him to help her.
But it was no use. When Runa opened her eyes, she knew it was too late. Freya’s body was still. She was gone.
Runa felt a piece of herself die with Freya, the part she never knew existed until that night. Still, it left behind an empty hole, a vast expanse of nothingness she knew would never be filled.
Asta’s body began to shake as she rose to her feet. Her eyes skewered Easton, her hatred and disdain dripping from every pore as she screamed, “You killed my daughter!”
“You were never going to stay with me, were you, Asta?” Easton steadied the gun and aimed it toward her as he advanced quickly.
“Mom! No!” Runa yelled as she rose to her feet.
“You said you would stay with me. You promised,” he spat, his eyes crazed.
He continued stalking toward Asta as she backed away, inching dangerously close to the cliff.
Knowing that in another second it would be too late, Runa summoned all the energy she possessed and unleashed it toward the gun in Easton’s hand. A shock of light lit up the sky as a bolt of blue arced directly at him, knocking his gun to the ground.
Stunned yet mad with rage, Easton barreled toward Asta, who stepped out of his path. The momentum was too much for him to control, and he was unable to stop. Losing his footing, he began to slip over the edge of the cliff, grabbing Asta in the process. She tried to resist, to find her balance, but Easton was too strong. Together they fell toward the rocks below.
“Mom!” Runa yelled as she ran to the edge of the cliff. “No!”
She fell to the ground in a heap, covering her face to block out the horror. She beat the wet ground with her fists, sobbing, screaming, trying to wrap her brain around the unbelievable tragedy she’d witnessed. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
They were all dead. Everyone was gone. The price had been too high.
Runa’s body heaved. Grief slammed into her like a tidal wave, and she remained there, drowning in it. She didn’t know how much time passed. It could have been a minute, though it may have been an hour. Time had no meaning as it sucked her into the void.
She jumped when she felt a tug on her sweatshirt.
“My mama is gone,” Alina said, her lip quivering.
Runa’s heart broke into a million pieces all over again. She grabbed the little girl and pulled her close.
“My mama is gone, too. But we have each other.”
Standing, Runa clasped Alina’s hand in hers, determined to never let go. She looked at the shore, where the portrait woman met her gaze, nodding her approval. Smiling sadly, the woman disappeared into the fog.
Forty-Five
Runa sat on the front porch of Everwine Manor, poring over the book. A month had passed since the night her world imploded. She still felt as if she’d barely come up for air, but every day was a little easier than the last.
Alina sang a song as she played on the swing set Runa built for her. After spending her entire life on the third floor, the little girl hated being inside. Runa did her best to encourage Alina’s love of nature. After all her niece had been through, it was the least she could do. She didn’t know much about being a mother, but she was doing her best.
It was hard for Runa to believe that Everwine Manor belonged to her, but as Chase’s wife, everything was hers. Since the Everwines were all dead, she had inherited everything.
Emily had been a lifesaver, helping out with the boutique while Runa tried to pick up the broken pieces of her world. Tawney had been her rock, offering advice and moral support.
As she felt herself emerging from the fog, Runa couldn’t shake the feeling that there was still something she was supposed to do. The problem was she had no idea what it could be. She’d been reading through the book the last few days, certain the answers were written there.
She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the portrait woman on the beach that night. She knew the woman had led her to the third floor to find her sister and niece. Although nothing that came after had happened the way she’d hoped, Runa knew she’d been sent there to save Alina. The little girl had become her purpose.
Runa thought about the portrait woman and remembered the painting had been dated 1900. Looking through the book, she began to piece the woman’s story together. She learned her name was Brynja, and she was the first of their line to leave Norway.
Brynja had a twin sister, Sigrid, who died. They were the generation of two an
d had paid the ultimate sacrifice—Sigrid’s life. Runa knew the generation of two possessed unparalleled power, but she believed the price was too steep. What good was such power if you lost the ones you loved the most?
Flipping through the book, she continued reading Brynja’s story. A light bulb flickered on as she paid attention to the words Brynja used to describe the house Thomas built. She spoke of a turret with stained glass windows, a wraparound porch, and a rose garden in the back. Thomas had called his home Angelica House.
She read on.
Behind the garden, Thomas has planted a large field of angelica. The herb grew well in Norway, and he knows how I miss my homeland. He wanted to bring a piece of home to my new world. Always remember that angelica brings blessings and purification to a home. It wards off evil and encourages harmony. The answers are there if you look closely.
Runa noted that Brynja had written that particular passage almost as if she were trying to communicate a message. Looking closely at the page, she puzzled over the words, trying to decipher the code.
“Angelica, angelica, angelica,” Alina sang as she glided back and forth on the swing.
Runa stopped reading and watched Alina swinging and singing. There was no way the child could know what Runa was reading about. So why was she singing about angelica?
“Angelica, angelica, angelica,” Alina continued in her singsong voice.
Runa closed the book, picked it up, and walked across the yard toward Alina.
“Alina, why are you singing about angelica?” she asked.
“Because the woman told me you need to look there,” Alina answered nonchalantly.
“The woman?”
“The pretty woman who looks like us.” Alina shrugged.
Runa thought about the page in the book she’d just read.
“Angelica brings blessings and purification to a home. The answers are there if you look closely,” Runa murmured.
She took off running through the front yard, around the side of the house, and past the rose garden maze. Behind it, she found a large field filled with angelica, growing lush and wild. At the edge of the field, she stopped and looked around, uncertain.