Murder

by Sandra R Neeley

  “A creature that sounded like perhaps it didn’t belong here, hadn’t been given permission to shelter here, something unusual you’ve never heard before,” Enthrall said.

  Simon looked down at the large, wooden netting needle in his hand and then up at Enthrall. “Everyone I come across, follows your rules, Enthrall. We all just want the same thing,” he said.

  “But…” Enthrall encouraged, knowing there was more to it than just that simple statement.

  Simon thought about it. He didn’t want anyone in trouble, or losing their chance to live in peace, but he wasn’t going to risk his own place either. “But maybe all of them haven’t exactly asked for permission,” he finally said.

  Enthrall smiled just slightly. “I know that we have several more inhabitants than I’ve granted sanctuary to. And as long as they follow the rules, I’m fine with that.”

  “Really?” Simon asked.

  “Yes, really. There are really only one or two that I’m concerned about. I watch them closely. As long as they break no rules, they can stay.”

  Simon nodded. “I heard a roar this morning. Frightened Serafina something fierce. Kept the children and Serafina close by all day, just in case we have to go into the water,” he said, indicating the bayou that flowed lazily behind his home.

  “You have any idea where it came from?” Enthrall asked.

  “Further west. Toward Aubreigne’s direction. I wouldn’t worry about her, though. I’d be more worried about whatever it was that roared, if it was roaring at Aubreigne,” Simon said, smiling.

  “Agreed,” Enthrall chuckled. “If you come across anything, or hear tell of anything, please let me know?” Enthrall asked.

  Simon nodded. “I will,” he answered.

  Simon took a seat in front of his house, watching the two males walk away from his place.

  As Enthrall and Lore walked off down the path that lead through the trees, Lore spoke. “To Aubreigne’s?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Enthrall answered.

  “We should mist there, so we get there more quickly,” Lore said.

  “Good idea,” Enthrall answered. He began to ghost away as Lore’s mists started to gather, both of them headed to Aubreigne’s little cottage on the outskirts of Whispers.

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Murder surveyed Aubreigne’s little cottage from the air as he cautiously brought them down in her front yard. He saw nothing out of place, but knew for a fact, Aubreigne didn’t overreact — ever. Instead, she usually handled things herself, to the detriment of the person or creature forcing her to have to handle anything at all. So, for Aubreigne to have been truly frightened, whatever caused it must surely be a force to reckon with.

  “Do you have an idea of where the roar came from?” Murder asked.

  “It was all around us, but… maybe from the back of the house. Maybe a little more concentrated there?” Aubreigne answered, not seeming very sure herself.

  “Stay with me. Let’s see what we can find,” Murder said, reaching out a hand and waiting for Aubreigne to slip her hand into his before he began to walk slowly toward her home, examining the ground they’d walk on before every step they took, and his eyes flicking over every part of the cottage he could see from there.

  “Let’s go around back before we go inside,” Murder suggested.

  “Okay,” Aubreigne answered quietly.

  Together they walked around her home, very slowly, looking for any sign that someone other than Aubreigne had been there. Finally, when they got to the back of the cottage, just at the corner, where only a few steps later sat the low window that led into Aubreigne’s bedroom, were footprints. Very large footprints. Very large cloven footprints.

  “You weren’t wrong, Aubreigne. He’s been here.”

  “Who?!” Aubreigne demanded, shaken to have her sense of being watched confirmed.

  Murder had let go of her hand and was closely examining the window of her bedroom. He leaned close and opened his mouth, breathing warm air onto the window to make it fog. “And he got in through this window,” Murder said. “Come take a look.”

  Aubreigne hurried to his side and looked at the window where he’d exhaled onto the window pane. There were hand prints on the bottom of the window where someone had obviously lifted the window.

  “But, I had it locked,” Aubreigne said.

  “What are we looking at?” Enthrall asked, ghosting into place just behind Murder and Aubreigne, with Lore’s mists swirling into place just beside him.

  Murder spun, his fists raised as he shoved Aubreigne behind himself. “You don’t surprise a male like me, Enthrall!” Murder snarled.

  “Lore does it all the time. You didn’t have a problem with him just showing up,” Enthrall said, one eyebrow raised, wondering what had the usually even-keeled gargoyle on edge.

  “I do now,” Murder spat, glaring at Lore as his mists dissipated and he solidified beside Enthrall.

  “What did I do?” Lore asked, affronted.

  Murder had turned back to Aubreigne’s window, and he didn’t turn back around to answer Lore. “You know exactly what you did,” he said under his breath.

  Murder looked down at the ground and taking Aubreigne by the hand began to follow the tracks of the person who’d been watching her in her own home. Those tracks became fainter and harder to see as they led off through the thick grasses behind her home, and eventually seemed as though they led into the trees in the distance.

  “He ran off in that direction,” Murder said, looking out toward the trees. “Seems to have been in a hurry from the look of the prints. They are spaced far apart and very deep in the ground until they hit the taller grasses.”

  “He who?!” Aubreigne asked, irritation filling her voice.

  Enthrall had looked at the window, then followed Murder’s steps, looking for himself at all the evidence Murder had found. “Sonofabitch,” he cursed quietly, as he came to stand beside Murder looking out over the field behind Aubreigne’s home where it met the thicket of trees and swampland in the distance.

  Murder pulled the drawing Aubreigne had given him out of the pocket of his trousers and handed it to Enthrall without a word. As Enthrall unfolded the sheet of paper to see what it was, Murder turned back to Lore. “You owe her an apology. You left her in Hell. You made no move to get her out or to convince your brother to release her. And before that you took advantage of her naivety. You used her to hurt your brother and didn’t give a damn what it did to her,” he accused with a low rumble beneath his words.

  Lore’s normal response would be to make light of the situation, or some sarcastic response to let the accuser know not only was he out of line accusing Lore of anything, but that Lore didn’t really give a damn either. But this was Murder. Murder was as close to a brother as Terrus was. Closer even if truth be told, Murder had been at his side when even his own siblings were not.

  Lore nodded. He clasped his hands behind his back to signify that he was hiding nothing and prepared to receive whatever Murder felt was justified. “You’re right. About some of it. I did take advantage of her naivety. I did it only to hurt my brother. My actions were, and are, unforgivable. I make no excuse for my behavior.”

  Murder narrowed his eyes, watching Lore, not anticipating an admission of guilt.

  “But I am not the male I was then. I am far from it, and years, nay — eons, of pain and punishment, not only myself but those I love paying the price for my crimes, for my failures, for my actions, have molded me into the male I’ve grown into today. I am proud of the male I have become. For the first time in my life, or lives, if you will, I almost like myself. And I know, I KNOW, I am a good male now. I will always put those I love before anything else. So, I stand here before you, admitting you are right. I was so wrong. And I caused her to be hurt for almost as long as I was lost, wandering, suffering myself. But I had no idea she was alive. I had no idea she was in Hell. Acaelo said he’d killed her. She was human. I had no reason to believe otherwise. I s
till don’t understand how she’s alive today, Murder. She’s human! How did she survive?” Lore shook his head. “But that’s beside the point. She was there to begin with because of me. I will apologize to her every single day and beg forgiveness. I will. But I don’t know what else I can do to try to make up for it. I fear nothing can make up for the Hell she’s endured — quite literally. Tell me what to do, and I’ll happily do it. I am truly, truly sorry for my actions.”

  Murder didn’t know what to ask him to do to make it better. Lore was right. There was nothing to be done to make it better. “Just make sure she knows,” Murder finally said.

  Lore inclined his head. “I will.”

  “And if you see any way to offer her any relief or assistance at all. Offer,” Murder added.

  “I already planned to.”

  Aubreigne, who’d stood by watching, finally had enough of waiting. “Okay, now can someone tell me who is stalking me?!” she yelled.

  All three males turned to look at her.

  Enthrall started. “I can’t be sure until someone actually lays eyes on him. But…”

  “I’m about ninety-eight percent sure,” Lore added.

  “You said ninety-eight percent this morning and you reduced it since then,” Enthrall interrupted.

  “Yes, but now I’m estimating in the opposite direction. It’s the percentage of how sure I am that something came back with us, instead of didn’t come back with us,” Lore explained.

  Murder took Aubreigne’s hands in his. “I will watch over you. He will not get to you or to Deaumanique.”

  “Who?!” Aubreigne shouted.

  All three answered at once. “The Dark One.”

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  The Dark One hung back in the shadows of the huge ancient cypress trees and watched the activity of those who congregated outside his little demon’s home. He both heard and felt the thought of Aubreigne being his as it passed through his mind — and he flinched. “I will not have ONE. I will have many. Many, many, many,” he began to chant the word in the ways of a long lost people.

  Then as suddenly as his silent chant started in his head, it snapped to a halt. The gargoyle, Murder was his name, reached out and took both of his little demon’s hands in his. The Dark One, being the Dark One, acted on instinct. He threw his head back and roared again, his fury at another touching his, driving him to behave recklessly. The Dark One looked down at his own hands, where his clawed fingertips had pierced his skin, then he realized what he’d done. He’d alerted them to his presence.

  All three males rushed him, and the gargoyle brought along Aubreigne. The Dark One snarled at himself before announcing his frustration again. “She is not yours!” he bellowed, chastising himself before rushing away, fading to nothing just as the four in pursuit of him arrived at the place he’d just been standing.

  “He’s gone!” Murder stated, holding Aubreigne close to him.

  “We have to find him,” Enthrall said. “He’s loose out there, and who knows what he’s capable of.”

  “His powers are limited when not in his own realm,” Lore offered.

  “In what way? He’s managed to get into Aubreigne’s home, and the safeguards she placed in her home to keep evil out of it didn’t even stop him. And he’s obviously able to transport from one place to another,” Murder said irritatedly.

  “And he’s also decided she’s his,” Lore added.

  When the others looked at him, he explained. “What? You heard him. He bellowed ‘she’s not yours’. I think that kind of says it all.”

  Enthrall stood in place, looking around at the hoof prints, where the Dark One had stood and watched them all until he could take it no longer. “I won’t allow him to hurt you, Aubreigne.”

  Aubreigne nodded. “I know that, Enthrall. And I thank you.”

  “None of us will allow him to hurt you,” Murder promised.

  Aubreigne looked at Murder. “How did he manage to get through my safeguards? They are specifically to ward off evil. To keep the inherently evil from my home. How? How did he get through?”

  Enthrall pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. He looked over at those standing with him. “Maybe he’s not inherently evil.”

  “What?” all three asked.

  “He is the Dark One!” Murder exclaimed.

  “He is. But he wasn’t always,” Enthrall answered.

  “I don’t even know what to ask next,” Murder mumbled, pulling Aubreigne closer to him and scanning the surrounding landscape again to be sure they weren’t being watched.

  “He’s been alive, or some form of it, before any of us, except for Lore. He bargained with the male who was the Dark One before him, and ended up as he is today. He’s tried before to gain his freedom, and each time, he screws it up so badly he gets sent right back.”

  “Makes sense,” Lore said, nodding his head. “He doesn’t look a lot like the Dark One I remember from the days before time was counted.”

  “How would you know this?” Aubreigne asked Enthrall.

  “I knew him once. In Paris, just after I was turned. I was forging a path that would have brought me right to him. He approached, befriended me, and we were friends of a sort before I realized who exactly he was, and left him to his own devices.”

  “You were friends with the devil?” Lore asked. “And yet you think me unpredictable.”

  “He’s not the devil, per se. He’s just playing the part at this particular moment,” Enthrall said. “This is going to take a while. Are we going to stand out here the whole while?” Enthrall asked.

  “Let’s go inside. I’ll make us some lunch and you can explain,” Aubreigne replied.

  Chapter 12

  Phrygia had just gotten out of a long, hot bath when she heard a knock at the door. She was in the kitchen making herself another cup of tea, intent on settling in and reading one of the books she found on the kitchen counter.

  Phrygia froze, thinking if she made no noise, the person knocking on the door would go away. She’d promised Murder she’d stay inside and speak to no one, and she intended to do just that. But then whoever it was knocked again.

  “Damn!” Phrygia whispered to herself.

  Annnd, they knocked again, more insistently. Phrygia very quietly tiptoed to the front door. She’d planned on peeking through the peep hole to see who it was, but it was so high up on the door, she couldn’t reach it. Instead, she just stood there, waiting for the person on the other side to just go away.

  Gaston stood outside Murder’s door, his arms full of seafood he’d harvested for Murder to feed his new female. He’d knocked softly a few times, but then getting frustrated, he lifted his foot and used the toe of his boot to bang against the door. He knew somebody was in there, he could sense their heartbeat.

  “Hey! I know ya’ll ‘dere, yeah! I can hear ya breathin’! Open ‘da door!” Gaston called out.

  Phrygia’s eyes grew wide. His voice — it did things to her. And she knew exactly who it was. It was the male from his friend’s house. The one she’d first been taken to when she arrived. This was the one who’d looked at her as though he’d never seen a woman. The one whose face she’d seen in her dreams last night.

  “I brought ya’ll some seafood!” Gaston called.

  Phrygia reached toward the doorknob slowly, knowing that she was going against Murder’s wishes, but she just couldn’t help herself. She unlocked the door, then slowly she pulled the door open, peeking around its edge at the male on the other side.

  The minute he saw her, his pupils — vertical slanted pupils — dilated. His pouty lips slid into a soft smile. “Hello, mah belle,” he said in the sexiest accent Phrygia had ever heard.

  “Hello,” she answered, smiling shyly.

  “I’m Gaston. I live right over ‘der wit my boy,” he said, using his head to indicate in the direction behind himself, away from Murder’s house. “I saw you wit Murder at Carnage’s house ‘de other day. Thought I’d bring ya’ll some seafoo
d.”

  “Hello, Gaston. I’m Phrygia. It’s very thoughtful of you to bring us some food.”

  “Aw, you welcome. Can I put it inside, meybe?” he asked.

  Phrygia tossed a glance over her shoulder at the inside of Murder’s home, then back at Gaston. “I guess it would be okay. You’re just going to bring it in, right? I mean, you’re not going to stay too long?”

  “Oh, no. I’m not stayin’. I’ll just put it down and I’ll be on mah way.”

  “Well, I guess that’s okay. Come on in,” she said, backing up and pulling the door open for him.

  Gaston stepped over the threshold of Murder’s home, his arms full of shrimp, fish fillets, and oysters, with his stomach doing flip-flops like he’d never experienced in his life. “I’m sorry tah intrude, I jist wanted tah be neighborly, ya know?”

  “It’s no intrusion. I was just relaxing while Murder is out helping Aubreigne. She had someone sneaking around her place last night.”

  “Really? Well it must be somebodeh pretty powerful,‘den. Aubreigne, she can hold her own, yeah. She ain’t afrehd uh much, ya know?” Gaston said, setting his gifts on the counter top.

  “Oh, I just thought she was human,” Phrygia confided.

  “Oh no, she’s a siren. And she got a little demon tchrown in, too. Not too maneh tings frighten her. She’s good people ‘doh, ya know?” he explained.

  “She seemed to be. She’s very sweet,” Phrygia answered.

  “Aw, yeah. Good people. But, ya know, most people ‘round here are. You got da ones ‘dat are just not used tah socializin’. And ‘da ones ‘dat maybe ain’t always been good, but basicalleh, ‘dey was just tryin’ tah survive, ya know?” Gaston said.

  “Yes, I can imagine.”

  Gaston had begun to clean the shrimp he’d brought, pinching off the heads and throwing them to one side, and the tails, still in their shells to the other side. Phrygia had taken a seat on the stool just across the counter from him and was watching him work as he told her about the place she was now supposed to call home.