Winter's Heart

by J. E. Taylor

  “How is that even possible?” she spit out.

  He stared at her but didn’t say a word.

  Lisa leaned back and laughed. He was talking gibberish. That would mean he was hundreds of years old and he really was some type of strange monster that looked like a twenty-five-year-old man. That was just not possible.

  “Right. And I’m the Queen of Sheba.”

  “Proof it is.” He closed his eyes, and the wind picked up, sending a funnel into the small cavern, spraying smoke everywhere. A fresh breeze cleared the smoke, and the white tiger stood right where Elijah had been. The tiger cocked his head and raised a single brow, challenging her.

  She stumbled back and fell on her ass. The knife clattered on the rock next to her. Her wide eyes matched the shock pounding her heart in staccato beats.

  Her mind stalled at the implications. “But... how?”

  The wind blasted through the opening again, and she squinted trying to blink through the blinding smoke. This time when it cleared, Elijah stood tall and crossed his arms. His eyebrow remained cocked the way it had as a tiger.

  “I am a tiger shifter.” He shrugged. “The Caniculas were my people’s natural enemy. I am the last one of my kind thanks to those vampires. They thrive on chaos and fear, and when desperate, they will drink the blood of the innocent. They are the true evil haunting Opal.”

  She laughed again and picked up the knife to give her some edge against Elijah if she needed it.

  She could not see the Caniculas in the same light that Elijah was painting them. Herk’s father was an asshole, so maybe he could be some long lost relative of those he was describing, but vampire? Come on. They didn’t even have pointy teeth.

  “If you had told me they were power hungry bastards, I would have believed you, but monsters, like out of a fiction book?” She shook her head.

  He licked his lips. “Randolph Canicula?” he asked, and her smirk faded. “And his lovely wife Serinya whose hair looks as smooth as ancient Egyptian hair plates? Not a usual name these days, I’m sure, but it was fairly popular when she was created.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “You could have heard their names in Opal or seen her on the street.” She was beginning to doubt this man had any honorable intentions like she’d originally thought. “They practically raised me after my parents died, so why should I take the word of something that is supposed to be evil? That’s supposed to have killed people in my town. My home. Give me one good reason why I should stay here. Why should I not do my duty and kill you?” She pointed the blade at him.

  “Because I have not breached the barrier since I woke three years ago.” He pointed towards Opal. “And I have every reason to. Randolph Canicula burned my fated mate at the stake at what they call the great fire circle just before he dragged me to the mountains and bound me in ice for three hundred years. But I didn’t because revenge is not justice.” He sent a glare at her and wiped his mouth. “And because deep down you know that tea was poison.” He pointed at her.

  As much as she didn’t want to admit it, in the very essence of her soul she knew he was telling her the truth. And with Mr. Canicula’s reaction to her today, she conceded that Elijah was more trustworthy than either of the men who had lived under the same roof with her since she was four.

  “Have you ever killed before?” she snapped, still gripping the knife like it was her last hope.

  “I’ve killed to eat.”

  She recoiled.

  He rolled his eyes. “Squirrels, pigs, deer, all manner of beasts.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and mistrust laced her mouth with bitterness. “Define all manner of beasts.”

  “Bears, wolves, other large cats. But your real question is, have I killed people?”

  She nodded.

  “I have never killed a human being, and I do not intend to start now.” He took a seat on the opposite side of the fire and waved for her to sit.

  Deep down in her soul, she recognized the truth.

  “Then who is killing the townspeople of Opal?” she asked and lowered the knife. She took a seat on the ground and put the blade down to show she was willing to trust him, but it was close enough to leave the alliance uneasy.

  He shrugged and reached behind the nearest rock. She tensed until she saw a canteen in his hand along with some dried jerky.

  “You said you were thirsty,” he said and offered her the canteen and half the food.

  She took it and tested a small sip from his canteen. Cool, crisp water washed over her tongue, and she took a longer pull of the refreshing drink. It flowed down her tight throat, easing the dryness of the fire-heated cave. She put the jerky aside, not ready to eat just yet. Her stomach was in too many knots.

  “So, what’s your story?” He took a bite of the jerky, and just the action of his lips pressing against the dried meat sidetracked her for a moment.

  She shook the thoughts away and focused on his blue eyes, but that was no better. “What do you want to know?” she asked, trying to focus on anything else but the shifter across the fire.

  “Let’s start with your name.” He smiled, and it completely disarmed her.

  “My name is Lisa. Lisa Winters.”

  “Lisa, please start at the very beginning,” he said in a soft voice that almost lulled her into trusting him.

  She took another sip from the canteen and handed it back, avoiding the food he had offered. Her stomach was nervous enough, so food would just turn it into a roiling mess, especially if she was going to start at the beginning of her own short tragedy.

  Chapter 11

  With a deep breath and an internal pep talk, she glanced at the cave’s opening. A snow squall had just started, wiping out the vision of Opal in the distance. The snow didn’t reach where they were. Neither did the howling wind, but it provided the perfect backdrop for her to start her sad story.

  “I wasn’t born in Opal. I was born in the lowlands where it never snowed. I still remember the vast green fields and the even greener trees lining the winding river that our house was on. It was just as stunning a view as Opal’s white opulence.” She traced her finger on the rock floor, taking in the natural chill radiating from the surface. “I was four when the floods came. Our house was destroyed when the river rose, and we were left with nothing but the clothes on our backs.” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

  Elijah threw a few more logs onto the fire. The blaze devoured the wood, warming the rock and her surroundings.

  “My father decided it was time for us to see his home.” She smiled. “I was amazed by the mountains and all the white blanketing the land.” She closed her eyes. “Did you know snow has a scent?”

  “Yes.”

  His soft answer opened her eyes, and the wistful look on his face made her want to cross over and wrap her arms around him until he smiled again. Instead, she dropped her gaze to the flames and continued.

  “Newly fallen snow has the same smell as a freshly cleaned baby, and I can remember stepping out of the carriage and inhaling. That was the first taste of Opal I truly had. And it was glorious until the scrumptious smells of the bakeries mingled with the scent of the snow. It was a lot for my four-year-old self to take in all at once. I had wanted to cherish each one separately, but they layered together, cheapening the experience.”

  She let out a small chuckle at the memory of that first day. Lisa had been awed by Opal. She could still feel the tingle that traveled her spine as she took in the town center.

  “By the time we got to the town center, I was so in awe of the place that I stopped walking and just stared up at the grandeur of the town hall. I had never seen something so tall.” She sighed. “My parents were in a hurry to get to the house we were staying at, but I didn’t want to leave that spot. It was as if the place called to me. When they tried to move me along, I don’t know what came over me. Maybe I was tired from the trip or had sensory overload, but I jumped right into tantrum mode and my fingers started shooting sparks, like min
i strips of gun powder being lit. The sensation overwhelmed me.” She glanced at Elijah. “That was the last time I had the ability to tap into magic until last night.”

  “I’m surprised you were able to produce any at all,” he said and took another bite of food. He nodded to her pile, but she shook her head and offered them to him. “You should eat a little,” he said and pushed her hand back.

  She broke off a small piece and chewed on the end. “I don’t know how I did it. I’ve been drilled in so many failed training sessions since I turned eighteen and not a flicker.”

  “The tea should have made it impossible.”

  Lisa bit into the jerky, taking a bigger piece of the salty hide to make the memory of the black sludge on her tongue go away. “I should have known,” she said and looked at him. “That stuff, it was gross. And Mrs. Canicula kept telling me it would help me find my magic.” She shuddered.

  “What happened at the town hall?” he asked, pulling her back to the conversation.

  Lisa appreciated the redirection. “Nothing really. Just a few murmured whispers before my parents whisked me away to our new home. It was much sparser than the house on the river. But then again, we didn’t have much left, and Opal was the only place we had relatives.”

  “So, you had family here?” He leaned forward.

  “Had being the operative word. By the time we arrived, my grandmother was on her death bed. My parents wouldn’t let me go into the sick room for fear I might catch whatever it was that was wasting my grandmother away. I only saw a glimpse of her through the cracked door, and she looked like a skeleton with a human skin stretched over it. It gave me nightmares for years, and I’ve seen that same affliction a couple of times since my grandmother died. It was as if their life was being slowly drained from their bones, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.”

  Elijah nodded as she talked, like there wasn’t anything said that he didn’t expect or see in his lifetime either.

  “Grandma passed away within days of our arrival. I met Herk at the funeral, and he was such a fun boy. He wanted to know if I wanted to come to his birthday party in a few days. There was a nine-year difference between us, but he talked with me for a very long time. Looking back, it seems a bit strange.” She bit her lip and wondered why he hadn’t gone to play with the kids his age instead of sitting and talking to the lonely new girl. She shook the thoughts away. “Well, my mother thought that was a wonderful idea, but my father was skeptical. When Herk said the party was just for kids, my father gave me permission to go.”

  She smiled. “I remember my mother sewing a beautiful party dress for me, and she did my hair nicely before both my parents walked me to the party. I thought the town hall was the big thing. Well, Herk Canicula’s birthday parties were spectacular, especially for a four-year-old who’d never had more than a cupcake and my parents singing ‘Happy Birthday.’ I didn’t know where to look. Bright, shiny balloons hung from posts leading guests to the actual party spot.”

  Lisa’s smile faded as the memory came barreling back in full color in her mind. The bittersweet memory shed tears from her eyes. “I didn’t even say goodbye to my parents. I just ran towards the colorful chaos.”

  She met Elijah’s gaze, and he handed her the canteen. She was grateful and sucked down a mouthful of water, letting the coolness coat her mouth before she returned it to him. She wiped her face, erasing the tears that had formed.

  “I wish I had hugged them goodbye. If I had known I would never see them again...” She looked out at the swirling snow and pressed her knuckle to her lips.

  Elijah moved closer and took her hand. The calmness of his touch gave her control again, and she squeezed his hand before releasing it.

  “Thank you,” she said, cleared her throat, and stripped her jacket, laying it over the rock next to her. “My parents were late in picking me up, and Mrs. Canicula brought me into the kitchen and handed me a cup of her black tea. She waited until I choked it down before telling me that my parents had died.”

  She picked at a hangnail on her thumb while Elijah waited for her to continue. Her mind shot off like a rocket exploding in a million different directions as she started scrutinizing her memories.

  A slow burn started in the pit of her stomach, making her feel sick. All the hidden things she should have seen were starting to swirl in her head, and she climbed to her feet. Pacing helped and then horrible truths started revealing themselves until the tingling of sparks on her fingertips drew her out of her own reverie.

  “They poisoned me every day since I was four.” The verbal confirmation sent her heart into overdrive as her fingers ignited and flames warmed her skin.

  Elijah sat unaffected by her display. It was as if he had known these things but needed her to figure them out on her own.

  He raised an eyebrow and nodded. “For someone who has been fed poison for sixteen years, you most certainly have a huge untapped reservoir of power,” he said and hopped to his feet.

  She stared through him as a new horrifying thought surfaced. “They killed my parents?” she asked and then focused on his blue eyes. “And fed me lie after lie about you?” Her voice rose higher.

  He put his hand on her arm in an attempt to calm her. The connection doused the fire sparking from her hands, but it did nothing to stave off the building fury inside her.

  “Why would they lie? Why would they...” She paused, and her eyes widened. “Would they kill the people of their own town?” She searched his kind eyes.

  “Caniculas are evil creatures escaped from the bowels of hell. Those skeletons with skin stretched over them are the victims of Canicula greed. The fact they bore an offspring while I slept is even more concerning,” he said and glanced out towards the town. “If they are the same soulless bastards they were back when I walked this earth the first time, then I wouldn’t put it past them to kill members of the community in an effort to frame me.” He met her gaze. “Especially since they had to have known I was awake, or at the very least waking soon.”

  “How did they know that?” She scoffed, still uneasy with the idea of them being actual monsters.

  He pointed at her. “You. You’re turning twenty-one next week if I’m not mistaken.”

  She took a step away from him and nodded, expecting the type of pep-talk that Herk delivered the other night.

  “If they truly believed you were the fated one, they know the fable and would do anything to stop the prophecy from coming true. They knew the white tiger would claim you on your twenty-first birthday.”

  “Wait. What?” She took another step back. Her mind spun with doubt. Doubt for which fable was truth. Doubt for everything she had been taught, for every conversation. For every single lie she was fed. All because a handsome stranger was feeding her a line.

  “What the hell do you mean by claim me?” She glanced across the space at the knife where she had been sitting kicking herself for not grabbing it before she had her mini rant. “I am not claimable,” she snapped and set herself in a fight stance.

  He let out a soft laugh and moved back to his seat by the fire. “I guess men don’t claim women anymore?” Elijah shrugged and leaned against the wall. “But that’s not an option. They’ve made that impossible now.”

  Her stomach dropped to the ground at the disappointment raking her skin. Just a moment ago, the thought of being claimed rubbed her into a frenzy and now that he’d proclaimed it was impossible, she was disturbed? Make up your mind, girl.

  Confusion shadowed her thoughts, and she stepped farther away from him. “Why is it impossible?” she asked, and she despised the pout in her voice.

  “They poisoned you. Hence any union would poison me in a way you do not want to witness.” He kicked at the dirt. “Theoretically speaking.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means that maybe you’re not toxic, but I’m not willing to find out, especially since you seem so dead set against the idea.”

  When she did
n’t dignify him with a comment, he continued, “Theoretically, you should not have been able to produce an ounce of magic. Yet you did.” He waved at her like presenting a gift.

  She stared down at her hands and cocked her head. If she had been poisoned with a serum that was supposed to kill off her magic, why didn’t it work? Was the white tiger the one who was lying to her?

  She crossed to the opening of the cave and swept her gaze over the forest below. Elijah had been nothing but a gentleman to her. If he wanted to claim her as callously as Herk had wanted to, she wouldn’t have been clothed and cared for this morning. He had ample time and opportunity to take advantage of her. But he hadn’t.

  Besides, he wasn’t lying about killing her friend. The timing of Molly’s death just so happened to coincide with his display of kindness.

  However, the thought of the Caniculas being evil didn’t mesh with the fact they’d taken her in and given her a home. They provided food and clothing and a roof over her head. They provided her with a lifelong friend in their son.

  And yet, Mr. Canicula had sent her to what he thought was certain death. Why?

  “What happens if you are killed?” she asked with her back to him.

  Elijah remained quiet and she turned around.

  “Their evil will spread outside of Opal. Deaths will increase tenfold from what you saw in Opal. They’ve been cautious because of the small community, but that will end if the boundary is destroyed. I’m the only thing keeping them bound to this location.”

  “And if I die?”

  His lips formed a grimace. “Then if the lore is true, I would die, too. I’m as bound to the fated one as they are bound to this town.”

  Lisa reached for the wall. “And what if I was to marry a Canicula?” she asked in a hushed whisper, meeting his gaze.

  His rosy cheeks paled, and his eyes widened in true horror. He shook his head. “The Caniculas would inherit your magic, and all would truly be lost.”

  Lisa’s knees weakened and she dropped to the ground. She knew Herk’s ambitions. She knew his obsession with her magic. And she glimpsed the monstrous side of him the other night. Could he truly be that manipulative?