The woman that crouched over the man brought herself up to one knee and gracefully formed her hands into fists. Gabrielle looked down at her own hands and realized that she was still holding the old knife.
The forged steel was rough, with only the edge of the blade glimmering in the patchwork sunlight. Gabrielle brought her attention back to the group of savages in the room. As her eyes found the closest woman and their eyes met, she felt a deep scream from within her soul.
Life came roaring into her. It was the same feeling that she had when she fought Arawn’s ghost the night before. She felt like she'd just run a marathon, met her true love, and felt her body fill with all the life and love contained in the world.
The world faded away, leaving only the peace she found within herself. A smile emerged on her dirt covered face as she brought her eyes back to her attackers. She didn’t understand this new power she had, but it didn’t matter. The bangle on her wrist vibrated violently, tickling the soft part of her wrist.
The woman raised one eyebrow and her sinister smile transformed into a savage snarl. The fire in her eyes focused into a beam and tried to tear right through Gabrielle. The woman shifted on her knee and then brought her other foot forward so she was crouching. This was her moment.
“Here we go” Gabrielle muttered to herself.
What started as a gurgle beneath her ribs, thundered, clawed and ripped its way out of her mouth producing the guttural sound of a thousand souls. Gabrielle lunged forward, towards the woman crouching on the floor.
The woman tried to stand, but Gabrielle had moved too quickly. Gabrielle brought her knee up and smashed it into the left eye of the woman turned monster. With a howl of pain, the woman rocked backward and brought her hands to cover her eyes.
A horrendous scream came from one of the other women as she lunged from across the room to Gabrielle. Her arms were outstretched and saliva dripped from her mouth. Gabrielle twisted around and ducked, missing the grabbing paws of her attacker by inches.
As the other woman ran past Gabrielle, she brought the small knife around and scrapped it across the ankle of her second attacker. The woman stumbled forward, writhing in pain. She collided with shelving that still clung to the opposite wall and sent small jars clattering to the floor.
The woman howled like a dying animal as she lay on the flour-covered floor of the bakery. Crimson blood covered her hands as she cradled her wound and cried out in pain. Gabrielle paused for a moment in disbelief. She looked at her own hands and then back to her second attacker.
“How, the Hell, am I doing this?” she said aloud, still confused by her new ability.
She didn’t feel normal. She felt like there were a thousand volts of electricity rushing through her veins. Gabrielle felt truly alive for the first time in her entire life.
With another roar coming from a third woman, she rotated as her next attacker crashed into her and the two went rolling on the floor. The small knife slid across the shop and the two tumbled over and over as one attempted to gain purchase over the other. Gabrielle threw out her elbows, knees, and fists, relying only on her instinct to guide her.
The two finally came to a stop with Gabrielle underneath her attacker who was slapping, scratching and biting with all her might. Gabrielle put up her hands and managed to fend off most of the blows.
Two other women stood almost an arm's reach away, howled with delight and encouragement as their comrade clawed at Gabrielle’s face. Fear broke Gabrielle’s confidence as she realized she couldn't get out from under her large attacker.
The woman raised her hands in preparation for a massive blow. Gabrielle seized the opportunity and threw her fist in a jab, smashing the large woman’s nose and spurting blood across her face. The hit, no matter how perfect, didn't deter the ravenous woman. In a horrific display of madness, shy licked away the mess from her upper lip and smiled a gruesome blood-filled grin.
Gabrielle wriggled her small frame and slapped at the woman. Just as her attacker was about to bring another fist down on her, a stone collided with the woman’s face and sent her rolling from atop Gabrielle.
The other two women soon became the victims of the marksman, as a barrage of stones flew over Gabrielle and hit them without mercy. They all howled in fury and snarled as they did their best to block the attacks. After a moment, their rage was all directed at their new attacker and they began to move towards the window.
Gabrielle rolled to get a view of her savior. All she saw was a blur of long hair disappear around the corner. The mixture of red, brown and gold hair that belonged to her savior glistened in the morning sun. With thundering roars, the three attackers leapt at the woman, stumbling from the store and disappearing around the corner. Gabrielle pushed herself onto her back and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of relief.
Her moment was broken by the growls that came from the remaining two women. Gabrielle sat up as the woman that she first struck pushed herself from the floor. The woman that she'd cut was limping her way towards Gabrielle.
Gabrielle jumped to her feet and backed away from the women and out of the shop. With her feet on the cobblestone walkway again, she could hear screaming coming from inside the shop. Gabrielle looked down the street in either direction and tried to decide where to go. All around her was horror and violence.
The air was filled with the stinging smell of smoke and off in the distance she could hear the small explosions of musket shots. This was a revolt, and Gabrielle had found herself right in the middle of it.
Another scream erupted from the store making her flinch and run into the street. She had to get away from her attackers before these two either gained the strength to follow her, or their friends came back for her. Her eyes danced from building to building, looking for one she could hide in.
A little face stuck out to Gabrielle amongst all the despair. Three shops down, on the opposite side of the street, there was the small girl from earlier. The ghost that she'd chased in the garden. A tiny face peered at her from the open doorway of another shop. The little girl wore no emotion, only a blank slate that looked at Gabrielle, as if she were looking through her. In that moment, the girl gave a small smile and disappeared into the doorway, leaving it open.
“Do you want me to follow you?” Gabrielle asked herself as she looked into the darkness with caution.
Both times she'd followed this girl, she'd been led into a trap. Another scream came from behind Gabrielle, jarring her from her thoughts.
“Well, run or fight. Your call,” she joked, looking over her shoulder.
With a leap of faith, Gabrielle ran across the street to the open doorway. She slammed the door behind her, leaving the Hell outside.
Gabrielle felt a poke at her back. In a moment of clarity, she turned and noted the lock-bar that spanned the width of the door. She grabbed the rod and secured the doorway. Gabrielle took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
I hope I made the right decision.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The world was still ending outside, but in that moment Gabrielle found peace in the quiet that surrounded her. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before allowing the world to trickle back in.
As the adrenaline subsided, every scratch and nick began to make itself known and every muscle in her body screamed. Gabrielle examined the heavy door that was now barred. She hoped she hadn't been seen by the women as she entered the building but there was no way of knowing for sure.
She made a silent prayer that the door would hold if she was discovered. Accepting her circumstance, she turned to see where she was.
Gabrielle was alone in a large, dimly lit room. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the poor light as she took several steps into the empty room. The floor creaked and moaned in the silence, sounding louder than she thought it should. She took a few more steps; each creaked and reverberated like thunder. As she neared the center of the room, everything finally came into focus and she stopped. Gabrielle stood in the cente
r of Morrigan’s tavern.
Her eyes widened and her jaw fell open. All her worries and concerns fell away and all she could do was focus on finding Morrigan. Her thoughts flooded with nothing but finding him. Her eyes shot through the shadows, across the tavern floor, to the door that was next to the bar counter. This was the very door she'd come through with Morrigan on the night of the gala. She ran to the door and flung it open.
Pop.
The sound amplified through the sleeping hall. The door crept backwards and closed in her face. She stood for a moment, nose to the door. What now? Gabrielle thought to herself as she leaned her head against the wooden door in defeat.
“You know what amazes me? Just how well you ruin my plans. I'd be willing to bet that you actually enjoy angering me.” Arawn’s voice tore at her ears as she stood.
Gabrielle let her shoulders drop, as yellow light illuminated the wall in front of her. Slowly, she turned to face another monster.
Arawn sat at the opposite end of the bar. The room was now illuminated by several small lanterns that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
He had an eerie look of contempt and pleasure on his face as though he knew something she didn't. He sat on the bar with his legs crossed, leaning against one of the pillars as he drew long sips of a red liquid from a port glass. An old bottle sat on the counter next to his arm and Gabrielle struggled to read its label in the faded light.
“What can I do for you today Arawn?” Gabrielle probed, annoyed at their frequent meetings.
Arawn snickered, but the look of enjoyment ran from his face and was replaced by sincerity. He took another sip from his glass and swirled its contents.
“You know what disappointed me about this era?” he began, ignoring Gabrielle’s question. “Though craftsmen took their time making beautiful things, there were still lazy assholes that ruined it for everyone. Like this port, for example. This is trash!” He threw the glass at the wall, shattering its handmade detail. Her shoulders flinch and tightened in preparation for the battle that she knew was coming.
Arawn extended his arm towards her, but didn't move. A bottle that sat on the end of the bar next to Gabrielle slid across the smooth, wooden surface into Arawn’s waiting clutches.
He smiled a toothy grin and stared at Gabrielle for a moment, clutching the bottle. He then extended one long, skeletal finger with a razor like claw at the end and plunged it into the cork of the bottle, removing it with ease.
Pop.
He reached up and grabbed a new cup that hung from a hook above his head, filled it with the red liquid and sipped again.
“Ah, much better. Shall I pour you a glass milady?” Arawn twirled his hand in a mimicking gesture of courtesy.
“What does this have to do with me, exactly? What does all this have to do with me?” Gabrielle demanded, ignoring his comment completely and stepping towards him in blind agitation. He chuckled into his glass and continued to sip, not even bothering to meet her eye.
“Still as ignorant as always. Or is it that you presume me ignorant and are playing a game with me? Someone who would embark on a journey without considering what was actually happening, why that is something only a child would do.” He spat the word ‘child’, as if it were something foul and revolting.
Finishing the contents of his drink, he threw the glass to the floor, then hopped off the counter and adjusted his jacket.
“Look Arawn, I really don’t know what’s going on, who you are and what you think I did to you. Why am I here?”
“You’re here because something was stolen from me. I will have it returned to my possession and, as a punitive response, I will also end your frivolous tale where it is! Dominion be damned, I intend on splitting your soul in two, little girl! I will not be outwitted by a Sentient!” Arawn took several steps toward her as he spoke.
Gabrielle took one step in the opposite direction, to keep some distance between them, but she wasn't going to let him bully her.
“What seems to be the issue here?” interjected another voice.
The snide expression from Arawn's face faltered for a moment as Morrigan entered the room from the doorway that led to the upstairs. He walked over to Gabrielle’s side and stopped. His lavender eyes burned with intensity and he looked to Gabrielle, nodded, and then brought his eyes back to Arawn.
“You know, Morrigan, it's considered rude to arrive to a meeting unannounced. Especially when you’re not wanted,” Arawn sneered, shifting his weight and turning his body so that he was face to face with Morrigan.
“Well, it’s rather difficult to not invite someone to a meeting in their own home. Wouldn't you agree?” Morrigan's voice was even, almost uninterested but his eyes never left the crimson pits of Arawn's.
“Well this is not your home now, is it? In fact, neither of you belong here. Aren't you both tired of this game?” Arawn took a few calculated steps toward Gabrielle, but his eyes never left Morrigan’s.
“Why do you fight it so? You know, dying is not as bad as you may think. It’s like drifting away into a gentle sleep.” Arawn continued as he rotated his neck from side to side, producing a popping sound as his muscles cracked. “I do encourage the both of you to try it out. Perhaps now?” He snickered and walked sideways, like a wolf would circle prey.
“What exactly do you think you're going to do?” Gabrielle inquired, turning her body to follow him. “We've beat you before and I'm sure you tried very hard. You can't defeat us now or ever. So just leave us alone.” Gabrielle tried to sound confident but only managed to sound like a pouting little girl.
“Ah, therein lays your misconception, Gabrielle. These are not your lives. They are mine. Though I didn't live them like the whelps that did, they do belong to me now.” Arawn was circling Morrigan and Gabrielle. The two turned in tandem, never allowing their eyes to leave his.
“You cannot harm us here. You have no dominion!” Morrigan shouted, stepping towards Arawn, who did not falter in his steps. He smiled and continued to walk his circle.
“Well now, no dominion? Look who has been paying attention. You know following the rules has never been my strong suit. I'll let the two of you in on a little secret involving my dominion.” Arawn stopped walking and lowered his gaze.
Morrigan moved so that he was in front of Gabrielle but she grabbed his hand and stood beside him. She was tired of hiding from her demons; it was time to face her fears. As her fingers interlaced with Morrigan's large hands her heart beat quickened.
Arawn flew across the room and struck Morrigan in the chest with one strong blow, ripping his hand out of hers and sending him over the bar. Gabrielle swung her arm and managed to strike him in the jaw, but it seemed to have no effect
Arawn stopped, smiled at her and brought the back of his hand across Gabrielle’s face, sending her spinning to the floor. The searing pain reverberated in every bone of her body.
As he stood over her, Arawn’s expression changed from joy to confidence, as though she were a student finally comprehending a lesson. He opened his mouth to speak but was tackled by Morrigan and sent flying to the floor.
They toppled backward, Morrigan landing on top of Arawn. Bringing his fists into Arawn’s face, Morrigan landed several devastating blows before Arawn grabbed one of his arms and twisted it. Gabrielle flinched as she could hear his bones breaking, the sound filling up the empty hall.
He screamed in pain as Arawn rose and tossed him aside as though he were weightless. Gabrielle pulled herself to her feet, rage grinding between her teeth and charged. Arawn, who seemed as if he'd been expecting it, turned and grabbed her by the throat.
Gabrielle could feel the blood leaving her neck, and her vision darkened. Arawn brought his face centimeters from hers and smiled a toothy grin, then threw her against the fireplace. The back of her head struck the hard stone and sent her into a daze. Through blurry eyes, she could see the dark outline of Arawn coming towards her. As he reached her, Morrigan rushed him and thrust his fist into Arawn's stomach.<
br />
Arawn bent forward and Morrigan brought his knee into Arawn’s upturned face. Arawn grabbed Morrigan by his leg sent him spiraling across the tavern. His landing was broken by several tables that crumpled under his weight and Gabrielle yelled out as she watched Morrigan fall limp to the floor.
Turning to her side, she crawled towards him with the last bit of her strength. She willed herself to have the strength that she had in the bakery, but she didn't know how to turn it on.
The old wood was smooth to the touch as she crawled across the misshapen beams that made up the floor of the tavern. She paid no attention to Arawn. Gabrielle had one goal — reach Morrigan.
She could hear heavy steps coming from somewhere around her but she ignored them. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through her stomach as Arawn brought his foot up, kicking her and forcing the air from her lungs.
Gasping for air, Gabrielle fell face down on the floor. Another sharp pain erupted on the top of her head as he grabbed a handful of her hair and hoisted her back to her hands and knees. Pulling on her hair more tightly, he forced her gaze up as he kneeled to her level.
“As I said, I may not have the dominion to kill you.” Saliva trickled down her neck as he spoke. "But I can bring you to the point of wishing you were dead.” With those words, Arawn wrapped his other hand around her neck, lifting her into the air.
As she hung by her throat, grabbing at his death-like claws, her eyes fell to a balcony that looked out over the tavern. There, standing as if she were a statue, was the little girl.
Gabrielle stopped struggling and looked at up at her, mesmerized by her stature. She looked so familiar, but Gabrielle couldn't place her.
She brought her eyes back to Arawn, who was still deep in monologue. God this guy talks too much!
“…I cannot kill you myself, but how about I make you fight for your own life? Perhaps you should be elsewhere. Hmmm, how about...” Once again, Arawn reached out one long claw and tapped the tip of the razor-like nail between her eyes. Gabrielle fell into blackness.
The Gabrielle Series Boxed Set Page 24