At first Mason seemed unsure of what to do. He stood as mute as a shadow, his forehead creased in internal struggle. Finally coming out of it, he strode over to her, lightly grasping onto her arms.
“Norabel, I…”
“Don’t,” she said, turning away from him and taking a couple of steps towards the wall. After everything she had been through, she didn’t have the strength to face him.
“I’m sorry,” he said earnestly. “I didn’t know.”
She went up to the corner of the room and rested her head against the wall. It was childish, she knew, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to see his face. She was sick of waiting for Mason to notice her; sick of trying to hide her own pain as she went along with everything he told her to do. It wasn’t right, the way Mason treated her. It wasn’t right.
“You left without me,” she said, trying to make her feeble and tired voice strong. “I promised you I would be there, but you still went anyway.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea that…”
“I tried to tell you,” she exclaimed weakly, hugging her arms to her chest. “Three times! I even spoke his name to you two nights ago, but you waved me off, saying you’d deal with it later. Did that not ring a bell when I didn’t show up at your house last night?”
“Norabel,” he said despondently, coming to stand right behind her.
Her back stiffened and her shoulders tensed, hoping he wouldn’t touch her. “I thought you would come,” she admitted, her eyes brimming with tears. “I told myself that I just had to hold out a little longer until you showed up to save me.” She shook her head. “But you never came. He carried me away to the stronghold, and I thought…I thought that might have been…”
She stopped, taking in a gulp of air and pressing a palm into her eye to stop herself from crying.
“What happened?” Mason asked, the notes torture in his voice.
Norabel sniffed, shut her eyes closed, and shook her head. “He was so drunk, he passed out while he was waiting for me to wake up.”
He gulped down hard and nodded stiffly.
“Why did you never listen?” she asked in a whisper. “Why do I feel like you can’t stand to be around me?”
He shook his head and tried to reach out for her shoulder, but she took a step away. “Norabel, that’s not…it isn’t how I…” he clenched his hand into a fist. “I wasn’t thinking straight! I haven’t been thinking straight since…” he trailed off, but they both knew what he was talking about.
Finally finding her courage, she turned around to face him. “I just want to help you, Mason. I was your friend.”
“Was?” he asked, sniffing hard. His eyes were shining with moisture.
She bit down on her lip and shook her head. “I can’t carry on like this. If you want to be my friend, then be my friend! But if you want me to leave, then put me out of my misery and tell me to leave! Because you can’t have it both ways.”
The cut on her lip re-opened as she spoke, but she hardly noticed it past the rushing of blood in her ears.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said, his sincere blue eyes meeting hers. He took a step closer but didn’t try to touch her again.
“I didn’t want you to go either,” she stated, looking down to her hands. “Do you have any idea how much it hurt when you wouldn’t see me for those four years?”
“I couldn’t,” he shook his head. “I wish I could tell you why. But I…I can’t.”
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, grabbing a handful of her dress. She wished she could sink into the floor and escape from this conversation, but she had waited so long to ask these questions; she couldn’t go now.
“No…” he shook his head.
“This whole time, you’ve made me feel like it was somehow my fault that your parents died.”
“No, Norabel. It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. It was my fault my parents died.”
Her face stilled with shock as she raised her eyes to meet his. “I thought the Pax was responsible for killing your parents.”
“They are,” he said, half chocking out the words. “They did. But I was supposed to be there that day. If I had been, they might not have died. But I wasn’t. I had left. Against my father’s orders.”
“Why?” she asked quietly, feeling her anger subside.
He shook his head adamantly. “No, I can’t. I can’t say.”
Norabel’s eyes fell and rested on one of his hands. Moving her arm slowly, she gingerly curled her fingers around his palm, causing him to look back up at her.
“I’m sorry you have to bear this burden alone,” she whispered. “I can see it’s eating you up inside.”
Mason moved his hand so he could wrap it more firmly around hers.
“If you won’t tell me what it is,” she continued, “then will you at least let me help you to forget? As,” she took in a breath, “as your friend?”
“I…” A pained expression crossed his eyes as his gaze washed over her face. “You’ll still have me?” He shook his head in disbelief.
Her eyes flicked to the bedroom window. “What you did for Hunter…”
“I didn’t do it for him,” he said, placing a feather light hand on her shoulder.
She lightly squeezed his hand and pulled away, going over to the bed to sit down. The anger seemed to drain out of her. She never much wanted it there in the first place. And although the thought crossed her mind that Mason should be the one to try and earn her friendship back, she didn’t like how bitter and resentful the whole idea sounded. She just wanted to be happy again.
Mason seemed to have a harder time accepting this. His face was wrought with guilt, as if he thought he didn’t deserve her response. Hoping to get his mind on other matters, she motioned to the door and asked, “Will Ashlin be alright? She seemed livid.”
He stared at his fingers as he told her, “I think she’s in shock. She just killed the chief of Breccan. He was unarmed at the time.”
Norabel’s mouth opened in surprise.
“Now the whole village knows,” he added, shaking his head in remorse. “And on top of that, they think we tried to poison the stronghold with Black Powder. So now everyone is going to hate us. All our hard work has been ruined over the course of one night. Auberon’s been turned into a hero and a martyr, and we’ve been turned into the monsters that killed him.”
“It sounds like you’re giving up,” she pointed out gently.
“I just don’t see any way of turning Breccan back in our favor,” he said, curling his fingers towards his palm in frustration.
She gave him an encouraging smile. “I didn’t give up going back home just so you could quit on me. What happened to raising the fever to get rid of this sickness?”
“That was before…I just don’t know what to do now.”
“There is always a way forward,” she told him. “It’s the Pax that tells us we’re stuck, that we can never get it any better than this, that it will rule our lands till the end of our days. The only way it can work is if people choose to believe this. And if you’re one of those people, Mason, then Galerance has lost a great warrior.”
“How can you say this to me?” he asked. “How can you be so nice after…after what I did to you?”
She looked down at her lap and smiled sadly. “Things get better. They always do. You can always find something to laugh at every day.” She looked back up to him, saying, “That’s what you told me when we first met. I was sad about my grandfather dying and having to move to a new home. You were nine years old, but you were the first one that could get me to smile after it happened.”
“I remember,” he said, his eyes filling with the memory of it. He went over to her bed and sat down next to her. “You were standing outside of a dress shop, waiting for your mom, and I had slipped away from my brother who had gone into the shop across the street to look at the daggers on display.”
“I didn’t know how I was going to stand it in Breccan until y
ou came up to me,” she admitted.
“You had looked so sad, standing on that street all alone.”
“I wasn’t sad after.” She closed her tired eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath. “I know things can’t go back to the way they were, but I wish we could at least try to remember once in a while what it was like back then. Otherwise things will be too bleak.”
“I’ll try,” he whispered. He raised his hand as if he was about to touch her face, but then drew away. Standing to his feet, he cleared his throat, saying, “I should let you get some rest.”
Before he could leave, she called out, “Will you send Ashlin in please?”
“Ashlin?” he repeated, confused.
She nodded, and he promptly left to go get her. When he returned, Ashlin took a timid step into the bedroom behind him, wondering why it was Norabel should call her in. However, it wasn’t just confusion that Norabel saw on her face. She could see torment there as well. Everyone, even Mason, believed she killed a man in cold blood.
Clearing his throat, Mason turned to the door, saying, “I’ll leave you two…”
“No, stay,” she said, calling him back in. “I want you to hear this as well.”
“What is it?” Ashlin asked, looking crestfallen and defeated.
Norabel’s mind went back to what she had seen at Ashlin’s house in the woods. She wasn’t sure what it was that she was hiding, or if it was her guardian that she had seen outside the stronghold speaking with Auberon last night. She realized that there was still the very real possibility that Ashlin was working against them, yet despite this, she couldn’t forget that Ashlin was a girl like any other. Though she put on a tough display, she was vulnerable just like the rest of them.
“Auberon’s death wasn’t entirely your fault,” Norabel told her.
“Sorry?” she asked. Her fingers were wrapped around her wrist, and her thumb was pressing into the skin as if rubbing at an irritating sore.
“I don’t know how, but the Pax must have known that something like this would happen. They were ready for it. Not just ready; they were planning on making it even worse.”
“I don’t understand,” Mason said, scrunching his forehead.
“You heard about the Black Powder,” she continued. “What you don’t know is that they trapped their own men inside a locked room, planning on killing them with it. They were willing to sacrifice those men so that the Harbingers would look like monsters. If they did that, then no one would want to join us.”
“Well it seems to have worked,” Ashlin despaired, staring down at her wrist and pressing into her skin even harder.
“I didn’t tell you so you could feel sorry for yourself,” Norabel asserted. “I told you because I wanted to let you know that I don’t believe you to be a cold-blooded murderer. Auberon must have been planning to get himself killed. Whatever he did or said to you to…” she shook her head, “He only did it so you would kill him. I’m not saying what you did was justified, but even so, you can’t let their plan beat you. This isn’t done yet. Not by a long shot.”
Ashlin seemed stunned by her words. She stopped rubbing at her wrist and opened her hands to stare down at them. Her right hand was stained in blood from where she had stabbed Auberon, but the left was the healthy peach color of skin. After a moment of contemplation, that warrior passion returned to her face, and she gave a nod of her head, both thanking Norabel and affirming that she wasn’t quitting yet.
“Glad we still have you with us,” she commented as she turned to leave the room.
When she was gone, Mason cleared his throat, saying, “Thanks.” He motioned with his head to where Ashlin had been a moment ago. “That was…”
“It was just the truth,” she said. “Everyone deserves to hear the truth.”
He looked sadly down to the ground and nodded. Going to the door, he placed a hand on the post before glancing back and saying, “Goodnight Norabel.”
She watched him retreat down the hallway before she curled up on the bed, her heavy eyelids drooping, sending her off to sleep once more.
Chapter 21
Lorcan clasped his hands firmly behind his back as he looked out the stronghold windows, watching as the villagers filled up the main square for Auberon’s memorial service. It was not set to start for another thirty minutes, but already the place was packed with villagers ready to pay their fallen chief the respect he deserved.
“It seems it worked,” Lorcan commented to the man standing behind him. “Auberon will be recognized as a hero for decades to come.”
“Hmm,” the man named Brin mumbled, deep in thought.
“Is something wrong?” Lorcan asked, the faint lines of worry tugging at the corners of his eyes as he faced the man.
“You tell me, Chief Lorcan,” Brin challenged. “Remind me again what Amias feels about having loose ends.”
“I already told you, it won’t be a problem,” Lorcan affirmed.
“I’m sure you’re right,” he nodded. “Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what Amias says when I give him my report.”
“Yes, I guess we will,” Lorcan snapped.
Brin narrowed his eyes at him before turning to walk away.
He had just reached the door to the meeting room when Lorcan called out, “What are you going to do with Ashlin? As Auberon’s replacement, I think I deserve to know.”
“You’ll know when I need you to know,” he replied gruffly. Then, tipping his hand to his head in salute, he said, “I bid you good day and good luck, Chief Lorcan.”
The new chief of Breccan held his breath as he watched the most secretive man in all of Galerance leave the room. Then, returning to the window, he stared down at everyone gathered below and tried to grasp onto the fact that he was, at once, in charge of everything he saw, and at the same time, in charge of nothing.
*
As the crowd dispersed after Chief Auberon’s memorial, Hunter kept his eyes peeled as he stood by his post, watching the faces of those that passed by. The entire village had been given the day off from work in order to honor their fallen chief. No one seemed to be in a particular hurry. They all mulled about this way and that, trying to decide what to do with their new-found time.
“You looking for her?” a voice asked from behind him.
Hunter turned to see Emmett taking a spot by his side. A dull stab of pained prodded his heart as he realized who Emmett was referring to. Yet, despite the hurt he felt at having been deceived this whole time, he couldn’t deny the fact that he really was looking for her in the crowd. He had been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days, and the only solid conclusion he could really come up with was that he still longed to be near her.
Of course, Hunter didn’t want to unload all these feelings on Emmett, so instead he said, “I’ve been meaning to ask you; how did you know that I knew Norabel?”
Emmett shrugged and looked down to his boots. “I heard Fletcher teasing you.”
“Teasing me?”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged again. “She’s your bowl maker.”
Hunter ran a hand through his hair and awkwardly cleared his throat. “You didn’t tell her that, did you?”
Emmett shook his head. “Some things you have to tell a girl yourself.” Then he flicked his head towards the crowd, saying, “Speaking of which.”
Hunter followed his gaze and soon spotted Norabel walking amidst a casual stream of villagers. Three of the guys that he had seen at her house a few days ago were walking with her, but thankfully the girl called Ashlin didn’t seem to be there.
“You should say hi,” Emmett suggested.
Hunter’s heart started on a rant. He wanted to say no, but he immediately found himself relenting.
“Do you want to come?” he asked, hoping for some small semblance of moral support.
“Nah,” Emmett shook his head. “You go ahead. I’ll cover your spot for you.”
Hunter stepped away and was about to dive
into the crowd towards her, when he glanced back. He knew that Emmett held Norabel in high regard, and opting to stay back was a selfless act of kindness towards him.
“Hey Emmett,” he called out. “Thanks.” He waited until the young official nodded in understanding before he stepped into the crowd.
*
It was Logan that spotted Hunter first, giving Norabel a gentle tap on her arm and saying, “I think someone’s coming to see you.”
At once her palms began to clam up in panic, and she stood up on her tiptoes to look through the crowd. Sure enough, she could see Hunter making his way over, politely excusing himself as he brushed past several people. When Mason saw this as well, he took a step closer to Norabel, subtly standing so his left arm was covering her right.
“Hunter,” Norabel said, speaking his name with a degree of uncertainty. She was happy to see him, of course. She hadn’t seen him since he had dropped her off at her house the morning of Auberon’s death. But she was scared because she wasn’t sure if he was there to say goodbye.
“Norabel,” he greeted her, giving her a polite smile yet still opting to remain a few safe feet away. Then, noticing the guys standing on either side of her, he nodded to them, saying, “Hello.”
“I’m not quite sure how I feel about cohorting with a Pax,” Archer said, narrowing his eyes on Hunter.
“We aren’t cohorting,” Mason said, his jaw pulled taut as he spoke. “He’s just choosing not to turn us in.”
“And betraying my uncle in the process,” Hunter added in defense.
“Who’s your uncle?” Logan asked politely.
He tweaked his head, admitting, “Chief Lorcan.”
“You failed to mention that bit of information!” Archer exclaimed.
“Does it matter?” Hunter said. “As long as I keep my mouth shut?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about it here on the streets,” Logan suggested, keeping a careful eye on the villagers standing nearby.
Hunter nodded in agreement. “I should be going anyway. I just came to say…”
Chasing Shadows (Saving Galerance, Book 1) Page 28