Gifted

by JoMarie DeGioia

  “For now.” Donnic walked to the door. “I’m going to make sure the estate is secure. I’ll be back to let you know.”

  Kelwin could tell Donnic didn’t want to leave but he was going to do what he did best.

  “Thanks, Donnic.”

  They waited for Donnic’s report together. He wiped a few more of her tears away. “Did he make this mess?”

  He suspected the truth but she shrugged. “I wanted to hurt him. He made my head hurt and I fell to the floor.”

  “My God.”

  “I saw the fireplace poker and…”

  “And?”

  “And I threw it at him.”

  The confession was whispered.

  “You’re gifted, Alyssa.”

  “I don’t know. I think it’s just because you and Malcolm and Dalton are gifted. I never felt anything like this before going to Rosemont.”

  “Then why does Dalton want you?”

  Her gaze slid away. “He wants to put me in the Pageants and then…”

  “Malcolm was right. The Pageants are awful, Alyssa. Malcolm told me about them.”

  She waved a hand. “I know. Dalton says I can be a Champion or whatever. And then he wants me to have his children.”

  “What?” Kelwin came to his feet. “He was going to…”

  “No, no. Later, when I’m done with the Pageants.”

  He fisted his hands. “He has it all figured out. Use you, hurt you and then make you have children to compete. He’s as bad as Malcolm said.”

  She nodded, more tears spilling over her lashes. “I don’t want any of that. It doesn’t matter. I’m not gifted. Not really.”

  He sat next to her and couldn’t resist kissing her again. Her lips trembled under his and he felt that warmth flow through him. He pulled back and caught the small smile on her face. She flushed and his own face was hot. Great. Donnic would know they’d kissed when he saw two blushing idiots in the cottage.

  But at least by the time Donnic returned the color had come back into Alyssa’s cheeks. Kelwin wrapped her in the oversized cloak she’d must have worn all the way from Rosemont and put her on the horse in front of him. Donnic followed on his mount and the three of them headed for the Merrickwood estate.

  When they arrived in the hall, Kelwin quickly took in the conditions of the place. It was very different from Rosemont. Electric lights burned bright and furniture covered in shiny fabric crowded the hall. There was plenty of food on the table, which surprised him.

  He looked at Donnic. “What’s with all the food?”

  “I told them Alyssa was back and that she’d probably be hungry.”

  The servants looked haggard but he saw them exchange a few smiles and looks of obvious relief. When they spotted Alyssa they surrounded her. She appeared stunned by their support, but thanked them. As for the soldiers, they just looked confused. When Alyssa went to the table to sit, Kelwin waved Donnic over.

  “What’s with the soldiers?” he asked.

  “They were like this when I got here,” Donnic said. “I think those three are the ones who took her from Rosemont.”

  Three big guys sat on a bench, their elbows braced on the table in front of them. One kept shaking his head like he was trying to wake up.

  “How do you know?” he asked Donnic.

  “Look at them. They look guilty as hell.”

  Kelwin sent his gift outward and felt their guilt. They hadn’t hurt her, which was a huge relief. They thought about how they grabbed her, carried her for miles and how Dalton told them to put her in that cottage. One soldier in particular felt really bad. Kelwin stepped closer to him. He had his head in his hands and was rocking back and forth in his seat.

  “Lord Merrick,” he heard him mutter. “Lord Merrick.”

  “What happened to Lord Merrick?” Kelwin asked him.

  His head shot up and the anguish on his face was startling. “He made us do it. Lord Dalton made us do it!”

  As the soldier’s voice rose, others in the hall began to talk. Accusations against Dalton flew but he put them aside as he looked at Alyssa. She held one hand to her throat, her eyes wide as the maids began to shout and cry.

  “What the hell is going on?” Donnic shouted.

  Kelwin shook his head. He wanted to grab the soldier but he didn’t dare touch him. He placed his hands on the table in front of him instead. “Tell me what happened to Alyssa’s father!”

  “Dalton did it. He pushed and Lord Merrick…”

  “Dalton killed him?”

  The soldier shook his head. “No.” He swallowed, his eyes gazing at Alyssa with obvious regret. “He did much worse.”

  Alyssa stood and ran over to him. “Kelwin, what’s happening?”

  He turned to her. “What did the maids tell you?”

  “They said my father isn’t dead. Not really.”

  “What does that mean?” Donnic asked.

  She grabbed onto Kelwin’s arm, her grip tight. “He’s here in the castle, Kelwin. That’s what they said.”

  “Can you take us to him?” Kelwin asked the nearest maid.

  She was an older woman with a kind face. “Yes, my lord.”

  The hall was in an uproar, wailing and shouting echoing off the polished stone walls and floor.

  “Go,” Donnic said. “I’ll try to get this settled.”

  “Thank you.” Kelwin waved to the maid. “Take us, please.”

  She bowed her head and hurried toward the stairs set into the left side of the hall. More lights burned here but as they made their way high above the hall they turned down a dark hallway.

  “What’s down this hallway?” Alyssa asked. “There’s nothing down here.”

  “The baron is down here, my lady,” the maid said. “Your father.”

  My father? Both her face and her thoughts showed her fear.

  Easy, Alyssa. I’m here.

  She grabbed on to his hand and held tight as they followed the maid down a dimly-lit hall to a wooden door closed tight.

  The maid turned back to Alyssa and took her free hand. “We’ve been looking after him,” she said. “It’s no use.”

  “No use?” Alyssa asked. She looked at Kelwin. “What does that mean?”

  He could only shrug. The maid grabbed the handle and began to open the door. Kelwin heard her murmuring a prayer under her breath and his stomach churned. What the hell was inside this room?

  He stepped in front of Alyssa and pulled her along behind him into the room. It was dim in here too, lit by one small lamp set on a table near a narrow bed. The maid approached the bed with her shoulders slumped. Then he saw the body on the bed. The man looked dead but as they stepped closer he could see his chest rising and falling slowly. He had hair like Alyssa and Thomas and, though his features were slack, he looked like them too.

  “Damn it,” he muttered.

  It was Alyssa’s father.

  Chapter 20

  Alyssa gasped. “Papa!”

  She let go of Kelwin’s hand and ran to the bed. Her father was stretched out and covered with thick blankets. A small fire burned in the hearth beside the bed and the room was comfortable. He looked much thinner than when she’d seen him last. But he was alive!

  “Papa, wake up,” she said, touching his shoulder.

  The maid began to sob. “He won’t wake up.”

  “Why?” Alyssa’s heart began to pound. “Has he been here since he fell in the lake?”

  “No, my lady.”

  She ran her fingers through his hair. It was clean and soft, and she knew he was well taken care of. “Did Lord Dalton know he was here?”

  “No. The soldiers brought him up here after Dalton…”

  “After Dalton what?” Kelwin asked.

  Alyssa had forgotten Kelwin was here. She glanced at him. He looked very worried and she shivered. He wouldn’t get into her head, though. She knew him well enough to be sure of that. She turned back to her father.

  He didn’t look like he was hurt but
he wasn’t moving. “Did he really drown? Is that why he’s unconscious?”

  “No, my lady. He didn’t drown.”

  Alyssa looked into the maid’s eyes and knew. Dalton had done something to her father to leave him in this condition.

  “He got into his mind,” Kelwin said.

  The maid nodded and adjusted the blanket over her father’s thin legs. “He’s been here ever since.”

  Alyssa ran her hands over her father’s face, his chest and arms. “He’s so thin.”

  “We get broth down him and keep him clean and warm. That’s all we can do.”

  “Thank you.” Alyssa picked up one of her father’s hands and held it to her cheek. “Oh, Papa.”

  His skin was warm and she felt his pulse with her fingers but it was like he was a living statue. Yes, a statue. She wouldn’t even think the word “corpse.” She wouldn’t think he was truly dead, no matter his condition. He had to be in there somewhere.

  “In there somewhere,” she murmured. Hope flared in her and she turned to Kelwin. “Can you read his thoughts, Kelwin? Can you tell me if he’s okay?”

  Kelwin didn’t look like he had any of the hope she was clinging to. His brow furrowed and his eyes clouded. “Alyssa, I don’t know…”

  She placed her father’s hand back on the blanket and took Kelwin’s in both of hers. “Please, Kelwin. Please see if you can find him? Maybe you can bring him back.”

  Kelwin shook his head. “This is way beyond what I can do.”

  “No.” She tugged him closer until he sat on the bed next to her. “Your gift is very strong. Lord Malcolm told me that. And what about the raid? You stopped that.”

  He let out a slow breath. She knew she was grasping at any sliver of a chance that her father could be rescued. It didn’t matter. She had to try anything and everything.

  “Please, Kelwin,” she asked again. Her throat was tight and tears burned in her eyes. “Please try?”

  Kelwin swallowed, then gave a nod. “I’ll try.”

  She jumped off the bed and let him get closer to her father. The maid was sobbing softly now, slumped in a chair in the corner Alyssa hadn’t noticed before and mopping her face with a cloth.

  Alyssa clutched her fists to her chest and watched as Kelwin placed his hands on her father’s arms. He didn’t even wince at the contact. She couldn’t guess if that was a good thing or not.

  His blue eyes were intent on Papa’s face, searching as he began to slip into his mind. He shivered, just a small shaking of his body, and closed his eyes. Every expression was clear on his face. He frowned as he leaned closer, then he sat up and opened his eyes.

  “Well?” she asked. “Did you find him?”

  He didn’t answer, he just released her father’s arms and smoothed the blankets. He was stalling and she knew it.

  “Kelwin, will he be okay?” Her voice cracked. “Tell me.”

  She placed her hand on his shoulder and he straightened. He hung his head for a minute, then faced her. She knew what he was going to tell her.

  No!

  He flinched as her thought struck him hard. “I’m sorry, Alyssa,” he said. I’m so sorry.

  She stepped away from him. “No, he can’t be gone. You must have felt something? Heard something?”

  “I’m sorry, no. There was nothing inside him.”

  The maid cried loudly now, and Alyssa wanted to wail along with her. Hot tears poured down her own cheeks and she swiped them away. “N-nothing?”

  Kelwin shook his head again. She fell on her father’s chest, crying as loudly as the maid as everything crashed down on her. “Dalton did this,” she sobbed. “He took my father’s mind and left us nothing.”

  Kelwin didn’t answer, but there really wasn’t anything more to say.

  “I can’t let him go,” she said. “Please don’t make me let him go.”

  The maid’s cries stopped and she knew Kelwin was talking to her but she couldn’t make out the words. Her heart pounded, each beat sharp in her chest as she clung to her father’s body.

  “He still breathes, Kelwin! He still eats! How can he be gone?”

  Again, Kelwin had no answer. She felt as cold as she’d been on the horse riding from Rosemont or in that cottage before the soldier had built the fire. As cold as the bottom of the lake she’d believed was her father’s unmarked grave.

  Kelwin put his hand on her back and she felt his warmth seep through to her, thawing her.

  “Your servants take good care of him, Alyssa. He’s not in pain.”

  “You don’t know that,” she whispered.

  “I do.”

  She lifted her head and faced him. “How?”

  “There’s nothing inside him to feel anything.”

  Her breath left in a rush. She clung to Kelwin now, burying her face against his chest as he patted her back. Her father was lost. As lost as if he’d truly drown in the lake like Dalton said.

  “How long can he stay this way?” Kelwin asked the maid.

  “We’ll take care of him, my lord. For as long as it takes.”

  “He’s going to die, isn’t he?” Alyssa asked.

  Kelwin shrugged. “I’m not sure, but probably.”

  She sniffled and wiped at her face again. “I can’t tell Thomas.”

  “Don’t you think he’ll want to say good bye?”

  She closed her eyes again. The thought of her little brother hugging their father for the last time was too much to consider right now.

  “Let’s go down to the hall,” he said. “I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”

  Alyssa stood and straightened her shoulders. Merrickwood was hers again. Hers and her brother’s. Kelwin nodded to the maid and left the room. She bent down and kissed her father’s cheek. He was so warm yet his skin was slack. Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed.

  “Good eve, Papa,” she whispered.

  ***

  Kelwin left Alyssa alone with her father. It was a lot for her to take in and, after finding nothing in her father to comfort her, he didn’t think she needed him in that room. The soldiers were eating and the table was still set, for her and him and Donnic. Donnic stood when Kelwin joined him at the table. Kelwin’s stomach rumbled as he smelled the rich food but he had trouble thinking about eating right now.

  “What happened upstairs?” Donnic asked. “The soldiers and servants wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  Kelwin looked around and saw that the others in the hall watched him and Donnic. The servants looked worried but the soldiers looked guilty. That was no big mystery, since Dalton had messed with their heads for so long. The maid said that some soldiers brought Alyssa’s father upstairs after Dalton all but killed him. At least they’d been able to do something outside of Dalton’s control.

  He shook his head to rid it of that eerie empty feeling he’d had when he’d touched Alyssa’s father. “Her father was upstairs.”

  Donnic’s mouth dropped open. “But I thought he died.”

  “So did Alyssa.” Kelwin sat down and hung his head. “He didn’t drown. He’s been up there since Dalton…” God, he couldn’t say it.

  “What did Dalton do, Kelwin?”

  “He went into his mind.” He closed his eyes, remembering that emptiness inside her father. “There’s nothing there, Donnic. Dalton scrambled his mind and left nothing there.”

  “Are you sure? You…checked or whatever?”

  Kelwin flicked his eyes at him. Donnic sat beside him, his hands clasped. Kelwin knew he did that to keep from touching him.

  Kelwin rubbed his arms to warm himself. The hall was pretty warm but he was still so cold from what he’d seen in that little room. From what he’d felt.

  “I touched him, Donnic. I put my hands on him like she asked me to and there was nothing inside.”

  “Was she okay?”

  Kelwin shrugged again. “How could she be?”

  Donnic spat out a curse. “So Malcolm was right about Dalton? What you said
about him, what he’s like?”

  “He got rid of her father to take over the estate. But there’s more.”

  “What?”

  “He wants Alyssa to be in the Pageants.”

  “But she’s not really gifted, is she?”

  “She has to be. Dalton wants her and Malcolm said her gift has to be very strong.”

  “Stronger than yours?”

  “I don’t know.” He looked around, then leaned closer to Donnic. “You saw that cottage. It was a mess.”

  “Dalton could have done that.”

  “Yeah, but I think she did it. You felt it once, Donnic. When she slapped you.”

  Donnic rubbed his cheek, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, she slapped me. She was surprised, too.”

  “She was mad. Like she was when she shoved me on the floor the night before the raid.”

  Donnic laughed a little. “She knocked you down better than I ever could.”

  Kelwin nodded. “Well, I guess she was pissed at Dalton after he had her taken from Rosemont.”

  “And the worm left before we got here.”

  Kelwin thought of something then. “He must have sensed us coming. Well, me anyway.”

  Donnic scowled. “Damn, he’s a scary son-of-a-bitch. Do you think he’ll come back?”

  “I don’t think so. Not right away. These soldiers have their minds back at last. I don’t think they’re going to give in to him so easily a second time.”

  He spotted Alyssa as she came slowly down the stairs to the hall. She shuffled her feet as she headed towards the table. Her expression was so sad he felt like he’d been pulled back into her father’s dark little room.

  “Alyssa,” he said softly.

  She sank down into the chair next to him. “All this food.”

  “Eat.” Donnic put a plate in front of her with some kind of fancy chicken dish on it. “There’s a lot of food.”

  “There’s always a lot of food,” she said, her voice flat. “Dalton wanted every night to be like a feast.”

  “I bet the estate wasn’t decorated like this or crammed with so much furniture when your father was in charge,” Kelwin said.

  Alyssa shook her head and took a sip of the water a maid brought for her. “It wasn’t. It was more like Rosemont. Dalton had most of this stuff brought up from Lotherin.” She turned her cup of water on the table. “He insisted I drink wine, too. I never liked it.”