by Ivy Hayes
Gregory wraps me in a hug as soon as I stand up. I let his embrace smother me, as I am confident the fighting is over. “Thank you for finding me,” I say into his chest. He leans back and caresses my hurt arm, “Of course, I will always find you. Are you okay?” Motioning at my cut.
I shrug, “It’s just a scratch.” Then I turn to look around the room. The other two strangers are both laying dead. Stann has stopped fighting, but Den is still holding him tight. Lord Cliffden is approaching me and Gregory. I move protectively in front of Gregory.
“Stop,” I growl at him.
He stops his approach and says, “You can relax, I am not going to fight.” Gregory does the opposite of relaxing, he pushes past me and punches his father square in the face. The punch has so much force, he is thrown to the ground. Gregory moves to jump on him, but Grant appears from nowhere and holds him back. “Gregory, stop!”
“Fuck no. He was just going to watch as that monster tortured Ash.” Lord Cliffden is looking up at his sons, “I was going to. I wouldn’t have let them kill her though, not unless she proved to be a shifter.”
Gregory is struggling to get past Grant, “The torturing would have killed her!”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, she is dangerous! I saw the way she expertly killed Ted.”
"He is only dead because he hunted me down!” I shout, “I don’t want to hurt anyone, I just want to live!”
Lord Cliffden stands up and brushes off his clothes. Gregory is glaring at his father, like he wants to throw him back down again.
Everyone was drawn by our yelling and they start to circle around the four of us. I am sure the fight is going to contine when Grant speaks up, “Can we all just calm down and discuss these events?”
Den shouts in, “I think that is a wonderful idea.”
Gregory says through clenched teeth, “Fine.” Grant finally releases his hold on Gregory, so I move to grab his arm - hoping my hold will keep him from attacking his father again. It is not that I am protecting his father, I am worried what it would do to Gregory, if he actually did manage to kill him.
I say, “Let’s clean up a little bit before we start. Gregory, you need to put on some clothes and a few of us have some wounds we need to bandage.”
Grant adds, “I can find something to cover the bodies until we decide what to do with them.”
“I will get some booze,” Nash adds, “I don’t know about you lads, but I need a drink after this.”
“I'll help, Nash,” Tom says. He looks sick but is doing a good job of holding himself together.
“Hurry back everyone.” I say, then turn towards Lord Cliffden and stare him down, “You will not leave this room, or move, for that matter.”
“Fine,” he waves me off like my request annoys him, but he won’t bother making a fit about it.
THIRTY-ONE – GREGORY
I make a mad rush outside to gather my clothes then run back inside to get dressed. I don’t want Ash out of my sight any longer than necessary. I thank the stars we barged in when we did, if it had been seconds later, the torture would have started. Her screams would have echoed through me until the day I died. I am already going to have a hard time forgetting the image of her strapped to that table.
But we weren’t too late. When I flew in the door and saw her still alive, my relief was immediate. Then I saw Ted standing above her, poised to rip off her fingernail and I burned with rage.
Our plan had worked perfectly and he released her when he noticed the turmoil at the entrance. The others were able to provide enough of a distraction for me to get Ash off the table. When free, she proved again how superior she is. She had total control over the fight in seconds and Ted was completely at her mercy.
She would have killed him, but I didn’t want that on her conscious again, so I stabbed him from behind. It won’t bring back everything she lost, but we will both sleep better knowing he is no longer alive or searching for her.
The danger is over, but we are not out of the woods yet. Stann and my father still pose a threat. If they inform the other Ridders of what happened here, Ash and I will never be safe, no matter where we go. Also, I exposed my identity to everyone in this room. I need to make sure no one will talk about what they saw. I trust the ones that came with me to fight, but they need to know they can never mention either mine or Ash’s ability.
When dressed, I walk over to Ash and give her a deep kiss. She is in the middle of Nault binding the cut on her arm. It looks like she already helped bandage him, based on the strips of cloth over his arms. I hold the kiss long enough to pour all of my emotions into her. My elation at finding her alive. My desperation for all the trouble to be behind us. My anger at the situation. My absolute love for her. When I pull back, I can see the mirror of my feelings in her eyes.
“Kids, I am sitting right here,” Nault says.
“Sorry,” but I don’t blush or look away from Ash, “I didn’t think I would ever kiss her again. I wanted to take the most of this moment.”
He lets out a quick groan, “I understand, but you could have waited for me to look away, or anything other than this.”
Ash lets out a tinkling of a laugh and I finally look over at Nault. “I will remember that for next time.”
“There better not be a next time. All finished, not too tight, Ash?”
She gives her arm and bend, “Nope, it feels fine. Thanks!”
Ash gives me a small squeeze then she and Nault start clearing away the weapons and bandaging supplies.
I look around, Grant and Big Walt moved all the bodies to one side of the room and they are covered up. I head towards some chairs in the corner, grabbing a couple and moving them towards the side of the room opposite of the bodies and torture table. To my surprise, my father followed me and helped.
“Son, how long have you been a shifter?”
"Really? That's the first thing you say to me?"
"It's something I need to know."
I am annoyed by his inquiry, there are other things I want to talk to him about, but I answer him anyway, “Do you remember the first time I killed a man in battle, a little over eight years ago?” I ask, and he nods a yes. “That was the first night I shifted.”
“You have been hiding for so long. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Are you kidding? I am lucky I didn’t.”
“I wouldn’t have hurt you. I put the Ridders and this life behind me when I fell in love with your mother.”
“Really? If this life is behind you, why were you here?”
“Ted called on me when he first got to town. I didn’t want to get involved, but they convinced me a dangerous shifter was here. They told me all the truth, but they spun the tale in a way that made the shifter seem mad and deranged.” We set the chairs down, then turn back to grab a few more, “I was trying to protect the town.”
“She is not mad or deranged. And don’t call her ‘the shifter’ anymore. Her name is Ash.”
“I won’t. When the stories start getting told with everyone, just remember I was only trying to do what I thought was right.”
“I will try, but I am not feeling very forgiving. The woman I love was almost murdered.”
“But she wasn’t.” He says this in a way that should absolve him from all blame. Feeling my temper rising, I change the subject to another question I had.
“What does mom have to do with any of this?”
“What?”
“You said you left the Ridder life behind when you fell in love with her.”
“Oh yeah, she is going to kill me. She always wanted to be the one to tell you kids.” He stopped walking, then grabbed my arm, in a comforting way, “She is a shifter. She can change into the most beautiful cat.”
Mom has soft blonde hair, so light it is almost white. The same color as the stray cat that has been around the manor, forever. As if he could tell what I am thinking, “Yes. She is the white cat that has been coming around for your whole life. It was our way of ke
eping tabs on you boys.”
So many lies in my family. I hid the truth of what I was. My parents hid the truth of my father’s past and my mother’s ability. I had so many years of feeling terrified and lonely, for no reason. I wonder what else I don’t know.
"Now I can see why you both laughed when Grant asked to move the stray into the manor. We are going to need to have a family meeting when this is all over. We need to clear the air, we can’t afford any more lies or secrets.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Look what almost happened because of them.”
Feeling self-conscious, “What do you think mom will feel about my ability?”
“I am sure she is going to be through the roof pleased. Even more when she learns you fell in love with another shifter.”
“So, you will accept Ash?”
“I still want to hear her whole story. I will keep an open mind towards accepting her.”
“I will take that because I know you are going to love her.” We gather the rest of the chairs and walk back in silence. Grant, Samuel and Big Walt are already seated, so we join them. Nash and Tom walk back in and start pouring drinks for everyone. Den and Stann see that as the cue to sit as well. Ash and Nault are the last two and she sits down next to me. I immediately reach out and drape an arm over her shoulder, needing to touch her. She nestles closer to me and I lean down to whisper, “I love you.” It is quiet, but not so quiet the others cannot hear it. She blushes, and I feel her shoulders lose some of their tension.
Nash hands us our drinks and we both take a long pull. Tom is walking around the circle giving everyone a top off. It seems the others needed a drink just as bad as Nash did. I dip my head back and chug my drink down in a flash, then hold it out for the refill. No surprise at all, but Ash does the same. It’s not often that a good strong drink is the answer, but this is one of the times it is. A wee buzz will do wonders to take the edge off and reduce tension.
I just sip the next round, hoping it will last through the conversations. I give Ash a one-armed squeeze with the one I have draped over her shoulder and I say, “Where should we start?”
THIRTY-TWO – GREGORY
“I can start,” Ash said, “since my portion is roughly the start of all of this.”
“Okay with everyone?” I look around and everyone nods.
She takes a quick drink then starts. “Before I begin, I want to thank all of you who came and helped rescue me. I am sorry for any lies I have had to tell, it is not something I wanted to do, but it is something I had to do.”
“None of us blame you,” Nash said, “Besides, the truth is out now.” Ash looks at him and gives him a slight smile.
“I should probably start with a little bit about my clan. We were based in Naven and though we were primarily shifters, there were a couple non-shifters and some children. There were about twenty of us that lived with each other. We clung to each other for the chance to be ourselves. Most of us had been alone before we found the clan and all we longed for something akin to a family.
We had safe places to shift, safe houses in case we needed a good hideout and most importantly, a strong community. We relied on each other for everything.”
A single tear fell down her cheek, but she didn’t slow down. “We were harmless. We had two rules: keep the secret of the clan and never use our abilities for harm. Which is why the attack surprised us. I still have no idea how the Ridders found our home.” She paused to take a drink.
“I can’t be sure how many attacked us, but I could hear a lot of screaming. I only encountered two of them in my human form. I had to kill them both, so they couldn’t report my identity. I was quick and they both died painlessly.” Ash looked over at Den, “I am sorry it was your cousin I killed, I hate that I caused you any heartache.”
“I understand, Ash. I have already forgiven you for it.”
“Thank you.” Continuing her story, “I shifted into my eagle form the next instant and flew away. Our plan if we were ever attacked was always first, protect your identity then get the hell out of there. We did not want anyone risking themselves to save the others. Being seen by a group of Ridders is an eventual death, as they will never stop hunting you.
A few arrows flew past me, but I am fast, so I was soon out of their firing range. I flew for three straight days and only stopped here when I was about to fall out of the sky. The rest you all more or less know.”
Seeing she was done, my father spoke up, “That is not the same story we were told, dear.”
She glared at him with a stare that could start a fire, “Are you saying I am lying?”
“I am not. I am only pointing out that we were told another story by Ted.”
“What did he tell you happened?” I asked.
Surprisingly, Stann was the one who spoke up at this, “He told us that a group of shifters was running a sort of black market organization, using their abilities to charge a steep price for spying.”
“Seriously?” I ask, incredulous at the absurdity of that.
He continues, “Yes. He said they hunted down the group to clean up the streets. One of them, which we now know was Ash, went on a rampage and killed two of them, including Den’s cousin then flew off.”
“I can promise all of you, we were not involved in anything seedy or black market,” said Ash.
“All of us here believe you,” I looked right at Stann, “Don’t we?”
Stann replied, “We do. If I didn’t know you before the accusation, I don’t think I would be able to trust you. But I always liked you Ash and you were nice to us.”
“But that didn’t stop you from standing by when Ted had every intention to torture and kill me,” Ash added icily.
“We were operating under the story Ted fed us. I truly thought you were a dangerous murderer who had us all hoodwinked.”
“And you don’t anymore?”
“No.” He reached over and grabbed Den’s hand, “I realize now that I let my fear rule me.”
My father chose this time to cut in, “I am sorry it was my idea for the torture, Ash.”
“WHAT!” I shout and bolt upright, Ash puts a hand on my arm, stopping me from lunging.
“They were going to kill her outright, but I wasn’t convinced she was dangerous, or even a shifter! I suggested it, as a way to be sure.”
Ash cut in, “As terrible as it sounds, he is likely the only reason I am alive right now. Plus, he did try to stop the torture. If he hadn’t spoken up, the torture would have started before you arrived.”
“And you think that excuses it,” Grant asks, he looks as furious as I feel.
“No, I don’t. But now you know the reason why I did what I did,” my father says.
Nault interrupts everyone by standing up, “Now let’s calm down. There is a lot of blame to be passed around, but pointing fingers is not going to get us where we need to be, which is moving forward. Tom, what do you say you pass around another pour while everyone takes a second?”
“Yeah, sure.” He gets up and starts going around the circle. I use the time to finish my drink and think. I don’t know if I will be able to forgive him for this, but I do remember what he told me before we all sat down. He was only doing what he thought was best to keep the town safe. I can’t get past the fact that he suggested torturing the woman I love. I just can’t.
“Thanks,” I say to Tom when he tops off my drink. I watch him finish the round and I know what we need to talk about next.
Looking at my father, "Why did you lie to me and say the Ridders were leaving town? You had an opportunity to include us, one where we could have discussed your concerns about Ash and you didn't use it."
"I was ashamed. I did not want you boys to know my association with the Ridders."
"So you were willing to let the woman I love be killed, rather than spoil your reputation."
"It sounds terrible when you put it that way." He runs a hand through his hair, looking frustrated.
Grant adds in, "It is terrible
, she was captured because you lied to us."
"She would have been captured anyway," Stann adds in, "Ted was planning on getting his hands on her any way he could and he wouldn't have been detered by either of you being near."
At that, my father looked alarmed, "Ted would have attacked my son to get to her? You're kidding?"
"I am not. You should have heard him talking after you left last night, Cliffden. He considered shifter-lovers as bad as shifters. Your lie is likely the only reason Gregory was not harmed."
It is all so complicated, I take this chance to speak, "This does not excuse the lie, or your part in this father."
"I know, but maybe one day it will be enough."
I want to believe that, as my father has always been someone I look up to. "Maybe. You can start making it up to us by doing whatever it takes to keep Ash safe."
"Of course I will. I know now that we have nothing to fear from her."
"And Stann?" I ask.
Stann looked at Den and said, “Yes. We will do that.”
“And you will point any future Ridders away from her? There are likely to be some coming after these three disappear”
“That goes without saying," my father replies.
Grant speaks up, “Everyone else, none of this happened tonight, right?
A round of agreement went through the room and I know I can trust every one of them to keep the secret of me and Ash.
“Thank you all….now, what to do with the bodies?”
THIRTY-THREE – ASH
Alright, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was rescued, the survivors promised to never turn on me. Ten people now know my other identity and I have no idea what they will do with that knowledge. Gregory is confident that it will get nowhere, but I am not.
It has been two days since the fight and I am still a ways away from feeling normal, but I am getting there. Gregory has been a dream; his constant support and strength are keeping me going. He helped me plant the funeral trees and we even gave the Ridders their own trees – albeit ugly ones.