by Megan Curd
Choosing my words with the utmost care, I finally gave a response. “May I have time to think about this? It’s a serious decision. I’m honored by the possibility, but it should be considered from all angles first, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Rebecca looked taken aback at my kind decline for immediate immortality. “I’ve never had someone turn down my offer. I can’t guarantee I’ll leave the offer extended indefinitely.”
I inclined my head in acknowledgement and took her hands into my own. I was going to have to lay it on thick so she wouldn’t be left offended. “That’s completely understandable. Would you be kind enough to leave it on the table for a short while so I have time to weigh my options?”
Rebecca looked back at the rest of the committee.
“I see no problem with that,” said Antony.
“Nor do I,” agreed Memaw.
Roslin murmured her consent, making Rebecca outnumbered. Although she was clearly the leader, she couldn’t move with the rest of them on my side. Nodding her head, she turned back to me. “Very well. I’ll give you three weeks to decide.”
“A year, perhaps?” I asked, hoping to negotiate to something in the middle.
“Six weeks.”
“Six months?”
Rebecca shook with irritation. “Fine. Six months. At that point, we’ll reconvene here, you bringing us your decision. Agreed?”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Finally pulling her hands from mine, she consented defeat. “You may go now.”
Memaw came forward and began to pull me into the hallway before Rebecca called out once more. We stopped short as Rebecca spoke from behind us. “Before you leave, please take the spare coat on the rack. I believe it will fit you well, and you may find you enjoy the way you look in it. We’ll see you in October to hear your decision.”
I turned to say thank you, but the room was empty. Looking at Memaw, she shook her head slightly. I walked to the coat rack and pulled the black jacket off, sweeping it around my back and putting my arms through. I buttoned up three of the four silver rimmed buttons just like the others, allowing the collar to brush my own jaw line. I felt a thrill of invincibility, knowing only five others wore these jackets. I smiled at Memaw, who reluctantly returned the smile back. “I match you now,” I said, gesturing to the jacket she was wearing.
“You do indeed. Ready to head home?”
I nodded. “I’m ready to see Liam.”
“As you should be,” Memaw said, smiling. “Let’s go.”
For some reason I felt like the next six months were going to go too fast for my liking.
THIRTY-ONE
When we found ourselves back in the shower of the basement, the water was still on. Jumping out quickly, Memaw followed suit. I reached to turn off the water but Memaw grabbed my arm with one hand, wrapping the other around my mouth. I jerked from the sudden headlock she had put me in, trying to crane my neck to understand what she was doing.
“Don’t. Say. A. Word.” She breathed. “Ankou is here.”
Every muscle in my body tightened as though they were rubber bands stretched to their limit. Memaw whispered so low I almost missed it. “Do you promise not move if I let go of you?”
I nodded slightly, unable to do anything more. Memaw released her grip and I whipped around to look at her. “What are we going to do?”
She grabbed my hand, tip-toeing out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, scanning the entire place. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. “No matter what, don’t tell them where my port is. We’re sworn to secrecy to protect the ports to Adaire. Do you understand?”
I nodded again. There were creaks from upstairs as someone stepped on the loose floorboard in front of the pantry door. Memaw kept my bottom jaw in place, locking it shut before any words could come from my lips. “Chris may be up there as well if Ankou is still here. If nothing else, Jamie’s here. Liam is obviously upstairs and may be in serious danger. No matter what, there’s going to be a fight when they see us. You understand that, right?”
Unable to do anything else, I blinked my eyes and pushed against her rock solid grip. As I closed my eyes and began to focus on shifting, she gently shook me. She looked hard into my eyes, then nodded, apparently resigned. “You don’t need to shift, Ashlyn. You know how to fight in your own form.”
After saying that, she placed the palms of her hands together and rubbed them as though she was warming them up. Pulling them apart, a spear was emerging from nothing. My mouth fell open. “You’re teaching me that trick if we don’t die up there,” I said, trying to make light of the situation.
She teased back. “I can’t die, I just have to cover for you.” Winking, she brushed past and in a flash was up the stairs, slinking around the corner. She looked back just long enough to motion me forward.
Steeling myself, I took a deep breath and then followed Memaw up the stairs, preparing for whatever was in the other room.
* * *
Memaw had tried to ready me for whatever was around the corner. However, after peeking around the wall that we were hiding behind, there was no way to not freak out. My stomach rolled from the sight in the living room. Before turning to vomit, Memaw caught and pulled me against her chest, my face hidden from the view. “It’s okay, Ashlyn, we can handle this. It’s okay,” she whispered.
She let go and I swayed for a moment before collecting my balance once more. As I did, Ankou’s wheezing voice filled the air like a noxious gas. “The Assassin and her granddaughter should be back anytime. I wish I knew where they would enter so we could position our guests just right,” he lamented.
Jamie’s voice trilled out an excited sigh. “My Lord, Ashlyn’s unskilled. When she sees the mortal she’s so attached to, she’ll throw a fit. Let me take care of her.”
I seethed in indignation. Unskilled? That’s what she thought. My fingers were blue from squeezing the spear, waiting on Memaw’s motion for action. She didn’t look in my direction. She was totally focused on the conversation.
“Why do I have to be bait?” whined a voice I would know anywhere. Chris hadn’t been in the room when I caught a glimpse of Liam, bound, gagged, and bleeding profusely from his head. Liam had filled my vision and broken my heart at the same time. It was lucky Memaw had grabbed me before I could gather enough courage to run to him.
“You’ll do as you’re told, child,” Ankou hissed.
Jamie was still playing her role as seductress. “Chris, love, you have such an important role. When we have them where we want them, if you’re hurt, we’ll mend you immediately.”
My heart stuttered. Was Chris maimed in some way? I could taste blood from biting down on my tongue so hard. Why weren’t we moving in on them?
“What about our guest of honor?” Jamie said.
Ankou breathed in a voice that was almost a whisper. “Ah. Let’s wait to introduce them to one another if need be. It doesn’t need to happen any sooner than necessary. I want to break Emily slowly. She deserves to feel some of the pain she has inflicted on me over the years.”
Memaw whispered, crouched low beside me. “Wait for my move. Don’t look at Chris, Liam, or whoever else they have out there. Focus only on your target.”
I blanched, knowing that inevitably someone would die today. Memaw would hopefully be able to finish them off without my help. “Who’s my target?”
Memaw closed her eyes tight. “Unfortunately, Jamie.”
I grinned. “Awesome.”
“Don’t get so excited. I’m warning you right now – ” Memaw stopped in midsentence, listening to Jamie talking.
“I can’t wait to see Emily crack,” Jamie continued, obviously relishing the thought. “She’s losing her edge as it is.”
This put Memaw over her personal limit. The insult to her supposed decline came too soon after losing a fight to me. It seemed hit home a little harder than it would have any other time. Stepping out from behind the wall, she responded pleasantly enough to my once best friend, but at the same tim
e making it clear she was anything but happy. I followed her, assuming our cover was blown anyway. “Losing my edge, am I?” she drawled.
In a motion that was invisible, a flash of orange light shot across the room from Memaw to Jamie. Lifted off the floor, Jamie hung in the air, terrified. I looked at Memaw with wide eyes as she pushed both of her hands forward, palms toward her target. Jamie slammed into the wall behind her, rattling two photos off the wall. They crashed to the floor but were muted in comparison to Jamie’s crash. She slid into a crumpled mess on the floor, unconscious.
In shock I looked toward Memaw. In the moment of distraction, I was blasted off the floor and slammed into the opposite wall. I didn’t fall to the ground. Pinned against the wall three feet in the air, it felt as though someone had put manacles on each of my limbs to hold me in place. Try as I might, there was no way to move any part of my body.
Ankou smiled at Memaw. “Yes, you really are losing your edge. How are you going to let your only granddaughter be taken out so easily?” He circled Memaw as he spoke, his right hand’s palm constantly directed toward me no matter where he went. Whatever he and Memaw were doing, it originated in their palms. I watched carefully, hoping to pick something up since there was no way of being any use otherwise.
Memaw was continually repositioning herself to counter Ankou’s movements while always watching Jamie. The two were swaying back and forth, fast as cobra strikes. One second they would be three feet away from me, the next they were on the other side of the room. They seemed to evaporate into thin air at will.
Jamie was beginning to stir, which made me nervous. Two on one was never good, no matter how skilled Memaw was. Struggling against my invisible bonds in an attempt to break free, they became tighter. Something invisible clamped against my airway.
Ankou turned his gaze momentarily to me. “I wouldn’t move too much, little one. You’re only going to cause yourself to die sooner by fighting against the binds.”
“Didn’t you see the jacket she was wearing, Ankou?” Memaw countered. “She’s one of us now. She’s beyond your reach.”
I was glad the block gagged my throat. If I had known accepting the jacket was accepting immortality, it would still be on the hook in Adaire. Liam wasn’t unconscious, he was dead. His right arm hung oddly off the couch, and his head was congealing from a blow he must have received before we returned home. It felt as though someone had shoved a white-hot branding iron straight into my heart. I killed my best friend. He told me he loved me, but I never had the chance to say it to him. Tess lost her last son. Memaw didn’t tell me what I was doing in Adaire. I had to fix this. It had to stop.
The heat in my heart seemed to be spreading like wildfire to every other part of my body. There was no way to understand it or stop it. If it weren’t for being bound and gagged, I would have been doubled over in pain.
Memaw had her back to me now, facing Ankou, Jamie, and Liam. She chuckled as Ankou took in the jacket. My own grandmother had incited a mutiny more treacherous than even Ankou could think up.
“Rebecca sees quite a bit of potential in her if she’s already taking lengths to make her immortal,” Ankou said. “It also convinces me you’ve created the link to bridging our realms.”
“Even if that’s true, it’s not something you could recreate,” Memaw said.
“You forget I have your lovely daughter MaKenna at my disposal,” Ankou said lightly, playing with a ball of green light that was slithering between his fingers like a snake. “Plus, I have your grandson now as well.”
Ankou turned to Jamie, who had recovered from her slam against the wall. She was standing a safer distance away from Memaw, rubbing her head. “Jamie, why don’t you bring your pet out here.
I shivered with anger. Glaring at Jamie, she winked my way. She blew a kiss as she skipped away, going into Chris’s room through the hall behind her.
Ankou returned his gaze to Memaw. “You’ll be happy to know MaKenna has made you a grandmother time and time again. Too bad none of the children were what I needed. I disposed of them quite humanely once this became evident.”
The damage this information was inflicting on Memaw was undeniable, although she was trying hard to not show it. During the conversation, it dawned on me that focusing on things other than the pain was possible. That, or it was subsiding. No one was paying attention to me at this point; Memaw was completely engulfed in the torture Ankou was inflicting upon her. Ankou was engrossed in watching her suffer.
It was at this point I tried ever so slightly to turn my head. Focusing completely on being free from the invisible bindings, I just tested my muscles to see if they would respond. They did. Excitement overruled the pain. The ability to undo whatever spell Ankou had used to pin me against the wall was within reach.
Instead of doing it immediately, I decided to wait for the opportune moment. Unsure of when it would be, that meant I had to endure the pain no matter how excruciating it became. Waiting until it meant the most would give the move the best chance of helping.
As if Ankou felt this revelation, his head snapped to me, black robes billowing behind him in an invisible wind. “Are you comfortable, little one?”
Instantly the pain was a thousand times worse than it had been. There were no words for this pain. If there were a way to make it end - if I could die - I would take it. My eyes rolled back in my head, body convulsing. Somewhere Memaw screamed. The pain was absolutely overwhelming. It was impossible to care about anything beyond the moment I was in, the unbearable ripping of my limbs. I had to be in the process of being pulled apart.
There was no way to tell how long this went on, but when the pain subsided, Memaw was on her knees beside Chris. He had been hauled into the room sometime while I was being crucified against the living room wall. Chris was sprawled out on his back in front of Memaw. Ankou and Jamie stood on either side of him. The exultant smiles they wore were inhuman. It doubled the pain I felt to see Memaw falling apart. She couldn’t do this now, not when our lives were at stake.
Ankou continued his emotional beating of Memaw. “MaKenna is doing well, Emily, don’t worry. She’s completely safe and sound. I would venture to say she’s taken to looking at me as father figure, since her mother abandoned her at such a young age. She still hasn’t forgiven her mother for that. You can understand how damaging that would be to a child.”
He grinned as he said the hurtful words, watching for Memaw’s reaction. She stayed still, holding her hand against Chris’s neck, trying to find a pulse. “She and Aiden have been very busy. You should tell Tess he’s also doing well. Liam might want to hear the news of his baby brother, though. He could pass the information along, don’t you think?”
Liam wasn’t dead? He was as still as a corpse on the couch. Maybe taking the jacket hadn’t killed him. Whatever happened before we returned home, Liam had lost the battle. Ankou grinned evilly at me and then pointed his hand toward Liam. Flipping his hand to palm up, he lifted it upward slowly. As if on strings, Liam levitated off the couch like a rag doll. His chest was pulled upward, his head, arms and legs dangling limply back toward the earth. It was one of the most grotesque things I had ever witnessed.
Ankou pointed his index finger toward the ceiling and made a small circle with it. Immediately Liam began spinning like a top. It was more than I could bear. Screaming, I tried to pull away from the wall but found myself more bound than ever. I shrieked at the top of my lungs, the gag on my airway nowhere to be found. “Stop it, you evil, soulless, murderer! He’s never done anything to you!”
Smiling, Ankou lifted his hand into a stop motion. He seemed to be surprised at my ability to speak. Liam stopped in mid-rotation, limbs flailing like rubber hoses. “You are correct. This man-child has never done a thing to me. However, your grandmother has. You being her seed means you carry on the hateful legacy she’s been spawning for centuries. By you even affiliating with him, he was doomed. I’ll take out everything Emily holds dear, one by one. She will pay, and I’
ll start with someone special.”
With that, he dropped his hand completely, causing Liam to crash to the floor, his legs landing behind his back. There were multiple gruesome cracks as he connected with the floor in the awkward position. I winced from the pain Liam would undoubtedly be in when he woke up.
As if on cue, Jamie disappeared into Chris’s room again. Punching the hooded figure she led out in the back, the figure cried out in pain. I knew who it was before Jamie ripped the veil off, causing her more pain by yanking out a handful of hair as well.
Gagged by a black satin cloth, Jamie forced my mother down onto her knees, facing Memaw. Mom’s deep auburn hair was matted around her face from sweat. Her eyes widened when she saw us. She and I were a mirror image of one another in this moment. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking, seeing me pinned midair against the wall. She struggled against the bonds, causing Jamie to shove her down onto to her stomach.
Jamie smiled at me. “When we came for the visit today, we were met by her. It seemed she might appreciate a vacation, so we decided to take her with us.” She pulled Mom back up and ran her hand across Mom’s cheek. “You look a lot like her, Ash. Same eyes, same hair.”
That was all it took. Seeing Mom touched by Jamie put me over the edge. She had Chris, she had Mom, and she was slowing killing Memaw in the process by breaking her heart. After all of this, yanking my hand away from the wall was effortless. As soon as the one hand had been pulled away, all the bindings fell off and I dropped to the floor. Unlike Jamie, though, I landed on my feet and rushed forward. There was no weapon to wield, but I was beyond any level of fury that could be explained. I could have probably ripped a car in half with my bare hands. Jamie’s neck was going to be no problem at all.
I hurdled Chris’s body and arced gracefully mid-leap to extend my arms and wring Jamie’s neck. Out of nowhere, I was ripped out of the jump by my ankles.