Winter's Heart

by J. E. Taylor

  Some of the flames shot back to the pyre before she could harness them again, and Lisa gave Herk a side-eye.

  “I saw the man who killed my family!” Cheri pointed towards the circle of flame holding the Canicula’s prisoners. “He slaughtered my family with that thing.” She nodded towards the bloody man-made claw. “Mr. and Mrs. Canicula are the real monsters in this town.”

  Even Constable Jones seemed frozen with indecision.

  The townspeople were no better. Just like Herk, they seemed to be grappling with the poison they had been fed for generations. And they all seemed to be looking to Herk for direction.

  No one knew quite what to do now that the white tiger was here and not living up to the expectations painted for centuries.

  Herk looked down at the bloodied man-made paw as well as the pristine one another child held. Both looked rudimentary. He pointed to the one that another little girl named Mary held. “Press the end in the snow.”

  Mary did as Herk asked. When she pulled it out, she said, “Mr. Canicula killed my family, too and he and Mrs. Canicula came to the cabin and killed Tommy and Joe. They drank their blood,” she said and scrunched her face. “And then told us we were next.”

  Lisa clenched her fists, and the fire flared brighter. It took her a moment to get it back under control. Luckily it didn’t devour Mr. and Mrs. Canicula. She was not the judge and jury and would not be the one to take justice into her own hands, even if that was what she wanted to do.

  Herk wiped his face and paled as he stared at the pristine tiger footprint. “Where in the cabin did you find this?” he asked Cheri.

  “The locked trunk.”

  “If it was locked, how did you get it open?”

  While Herk seemed unconvinced by the evidence and even his parents’ actions, Lisa knew better. Herk asked lots of questions when his mind was having trouble reconciling the truth in front of him with his feelings. She was sure this was as much of a loop as it was for her.

  “He picked the lock,” Cheri said and pointed at the tiger.

  The children seemed to move closer, each putting their hand on his fur in both a protective and grateful manner.

  “Cheri found us in the caverns. She ran all the way there in her nightshirt,” Lisa said, knowing he would understand just how frightened this child must have been to flee without winter protection.

  He stared at her and then glanced at his parents.

  “Don’t believe that lying witch,” Mr. Canicula snarled.

  “The hunting cabin was the only place I could think of where your father had a place to hide things. And we never could figure out where the key to that trunk was,” she added softly, bringing up memories of their childhood adventures in the woods while he processed everything.

  He swiped his hand down his face, and Lisa could tell that the past few minutes were spinning in his head by the way his eyes seemed to widen as he stared at the bloody man-made paw. His gaze lifted to the white tiger in the center of the group of children, and his gaze narrowed. He took a wobbling step towards the beast.

  Lisa grabbed his arm, steadying him the way he had helped her when they climbed off the wood pile meant to be their death. She had always felt a connection to Herk, always thought of him as a big brother, which was why his proposal threw her so hard, and even now as he stood debating on his loyalties, she felt that connection.

  “Don’t do anything stupid, brother,” she said, keeping the lion’s share of her focus on the ring of fire burning around his parents.

  He stared into her eyes for a long time. “He tried to kill me.”

  She nodded.

  Herk turned to his parents. “Lock them up. Their trial starts tomorrow.”

  Lisa snuffed out the flame and Constable Jones and his deputies descended on Mr. and Mrs. Canicula like flies on spoiled meat.

  Chapter 15

  Lisa sat on the couch in one of the empty homes near the town center with both her arms bandaged. The burns from the melting iron still itched and would be a reminder of this entire ordeal. The six orphaned children, including Cheri, sat on the floor with crayons and paper, coloring as they waited for the sentencing of Mr. and Mrs. Canicula.

  The past few days had been reveal after reveal of the atrocities the Caniculas had delivered to Opal over the centuries. From the burning of Elijah’s love at the same stake they had tried to sacrifice Lisa and Herk on, to the slaughtering of families over the years, including Lisa’s parents and grandparents.

  Mrs. Canicula had cooperated. Spilling truth after ugly truth, including poisoning Lisa with tar-tea to destroy the magic inside her. She didn’t know why it didn’t work. And all throughout her testimony, Mr. Canicula glared at her from the defendant’s box.

  The most damning evidence was the children’s testimonies. They didn’t divert from one another. Each one witnessed their parents’ death and then Mr. Canicula swept them away to the cottage, tying them up for his amusement. They were vampires alright, and with the children, they chose to make their deaths a display of blood and gluttony.

  Lisa’s stomach had churned and almost spilled their contents at the description. She looked at the children, silently admiring their bravery for facing those vampiric monsters.

  Elijah stepped into the doorway leading to the kitchen. “Breakfast is ready.”

  Crayons were dropped, and a flurry of arms and legs filled the space as everyone ran to the kitchen table. Lisa followed and stopped next to Elijah, watching as the children climbed up on chairs and started helping themselves to bacon and eggs that Elijah had whipped up.

  “Are you okay?” he asked and brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

  She shook her head. “Not particularly.”

  The Caniculas had been found guilty on all counts. If sentenced to death, it would be her duty to annihilate them with her magic. Which meant death by fire, and that was never pretty or humane.

  A knock at the door interrupted them and she crossed to open it. Herk stood on the other side, his face drawn with exhaustion. Finding out he was the son of an immortal had seemed just as hard as his father’s betrayal.

  He was flanked by two officers, and his arms were behind his back.

  “Death.” He grimaced as he said that lone word. Then he met her gaze.

  Lisa swallowed hard.

  He let out a little laugh. “They aren’t sparing me either.”

  She blinked and her eyes widened.

  Herk didn’t do anything. Why are they sentencing him to death?

  “What?” she asked to make sure she’d heard him right.

  “Guilty by association. Monster blood and all.” He shrugged a shoulder.

  Her gaze hardened, and she shook her head. She turned toward Elijah. “This is not right—” She waved at Herk in the doorway. “—He did nothing wrong.”

  Elijah’s open jaw was enough to announce his equal shock at the sentencing. “But he’s innocent.”

  She looked back at Herk and the guards holding him hostage. She couldn’t let this happen. “Killing an innocent man is not part of the deal.”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Winters, but the jury demanded the complete destruction of the Canicula bloodline.”

  “And what of the Winters’ bloodline?” she asked and stormed out the door past the guards.

  She marched towards where the crowd was forming. This town seemed to have a taste for public executions, and it had to stop. It was as if the Caniculas had truly destroyed the humanity of this little town.

  She made her way through the crowd until she stood before three posts and more wood piled than before. The middle post was empty, but Mr. and Mrs. Canicula were bound to the other two and struggling in their bonds.

  When the guards with Herk went to pass her, she put her hand out. Flames licked her fingers.

  “Do not go any farther,” she said. “He is not one of them. He is my half brother.”

  “But he is also a Canicula,” the judge said from her station to the right of t
he pyre. “And therefore must be eliminated.”

  Chants of “burn them” started behind her, and she realized the Caniculas’ evil had spread to the human hearts of this community.

  “Herk is not evil. I will not abide by this ruling.” She turned towards the crowd as the chants continued.

  The frenzied looks in their eyes saddened her, and when Elijah stepped into her sight in tiger form, his eyes magnified her despair.

  “My job as the fated one is to rid Opal of evil.” A tear escaped, sending a hot path down her cheek. “What I see and hear before me is evil.” She choked on her words. “This bloodlust is evil.” Tears now flowed freely as her voice echoed above the chants.

  She turned towards the pyre and pointed. “They are not the only ones who harbor evil in their hearts. If you cannot recognize it in your own soul, there is no hope for Opal.”

  Only a few catcalls of “Burn them!” remained. The rest of the crowd looked shamed at their actions.

  “Justice is not the same as bloodlust. Executing Mr. and Mrs. Canicula is just. Executing Herk makes you no better than them.” She pointed behind her at the pyre. “I am willing to be the hand of justice, but I will not murder an innocent man because of your unfounded fear.” She gave one last glance at the crowd before turning to the judge. “Rethink your sentence.”

  The judge recoiled, her face reddened and scrunched in anger. “The judgement stands.”

  Lisa clenched her fists. Magic swelled inside her, and she met Herk’s gaze, shaking her head slowly before she closed her eyes. The tiger roared, but she ignored him. Evil must be annihilated, and the innocent must be protected.

  “Justice,” she whispered and concentrated.

  White light filled her vision and all she saw were human hearts. Nearly a dozen of them were blackened and shriveled, including the judge’s, but the multitude of them carried vessels filled with the light of hope.

  Screams filled the air along with gasps. She opened her eyes, and the people with evil shriveling their hearts became human torches in the crowd. Lisa turned towards the pyre. Mr. and Mrs. Canicula smiled at the pandemonium, drinking it all in until they realized Lisa was looking at them.

  Lisa only saw the root of evil blackened and sickened within these two monsters. Fire leapt from her, sweeping forward like a wave, leaving only ash floating on the air where the Caniculas had once been bound. Not even the iron shackles remained.

  Herk’s wide eyes stared at her. She turned back to the crowd now bathed in ash. Wind swirled and Elijah stepped from the grey mist. He started running towards her, and she couldn’t understand the horror in his gaze.

  When he was close, he leapt through the air, turning into the tiger before he hit her, slamming her down to the ground with the force of his weight. She smelled singed fur just before everything went black.

  Hushed whispers surrounded her, penetrating the blackness, but Lisa could not make out the words, nor could she escape the darkness pulling her into oblivion.

  Chapter 16

  A cool dampness caressed her forehead. Lisa moaned and tried to open her eyes, but her lids seemed crusted closed. She lifted her hand to wipe them, but a cloth swiped across her eyes instead.

  “Shhh,” a deep voice softly cooed and then that heavenly dampness wiped her eyes again.

  She blinked them open but couldn’t quite see clearly. It took her a few blinks to focus on the face hovering over her. Blue eyes peered down from a face that held deep creases of concern.

  “You scared us all for a spell.” Elijah continued wiping her face and neck with the cloth before dipping it into a bucket next to the bed she was laid out on.

  “What happened?” she whispered with a voice hoarse and raspy.

  “You became the hand of justice smiting evil. It was something to behold.” He smiled, but his concern still hung on the air. He kept methodically wiping her face and neck with the cool cloth that smelled of honey and peppermints. His lips held tightness even though he tried to smile for her.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked after another swipe of coolness.

  His smile faded and he sighed. “I didn’t react as fast as I should have.” He closed his eyes for a moment and then went back to washing her gently with the cloth.

  She lifted one of her hands and stared at the bandages covering her skin. What she saw was red and angry with patches of blisters poking out from under the gauze. Her last memory of singed fur surfaced, and she looked closer at him. His arms had bandages that looked like those on her hands, and her gaze jumped to his.

  “I burned you?”

  He sighed. “Rest. You’re pretty doped up on medicine right now, and you need the sleep.” He gave her a grimace of a smile.

  “But you’re hurt,” she said and started to sit up. Every muscle protested with a scream of pain, and she fell back.

  “I’m fine.” He swiped her shoulder and arm with the cloth. “But we nearly lost you.” This time when his gaze met hers, tears glossed his eyes. He swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at her. “The doctor should be back to check on us in a little while.”

  She relaxed back into the bed and glanced around at their surroundings. Her heart lurched in her chest at the metal bars surrounding them.

  “Jail?”

  His smile softened. “This was the only place they could really sterilize to address our wounds. The doors aren’t locked, and there hasn’t been anyone in the jail for a while. We can control infection better here than at the doctor’s office or someone’s home.”

  A throat cleared from behind Elijah. He turned and Herk appeared at his side.

  “Hey,” he said. The side of his face looked like he had fallen asleep in the sun.

  Lisa’s stomach dropped. “I hurt you, too?”

  His hand jumped to his face. “Nothing more than a sunburn,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Most of us who were near you ended up like this, but it will eventually clear up.” He crossed and took a seat at the foot of her bed.

  “What else is happening out there?”

  Herk looked over his shoulder at the open doorway and sighed. “The townsfolk are somewhere between awed and scared.” He locked gazes with her. “They keep coming to me like I have answers.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how to put people at ease. I just know how to beat the crap out of people. Or run them ragged until they tell me to...” He looked at her pointedly.

  “Sod off?” she said and snorted laughter.

  He smiled. “I think I’ve come to terms with you being my little sister. It certainly explains my insane need to push you and protect you at the same time.”

  “So, you agree you were being unreasonable?”

  Elijah’s lips formed a smirk, and he raised an eyebrow at her as he wiped her other arm with the salve.

  Herk glanced at Elijah and then back at her. “Considering what you actually did, I don’t think I was being unreasonable at all. I just didn’t know my mother was poisoning you.” He looked down at his hands. “I had some time to talk to her alone. She didn’t want to talk at first, but I told her she owed it to me considering I was sentenced to death alongside her, just for being her son. She opened up. Told me about her affair with our father. She said he was kind and pure-hearted, just like you are. And he didn’t shy away from her when she told him what she was. He asked a lot of questions, so you have a great deal of him in you, but when Randolph found out, she made your dad leave town. He never knew my mother was pregnant.”

  That did sound like her father. He always told her to question everything because that was the only way to get to the truth. She nodded.

  “When you and your family came back, it devastated my mother. Your dad had given his whole heart to your mother, and the minute you stepped into town, my father knew magic had intruded on Opal and the prophecy was imminent unless he could change it in some way. He apparently wanted to kill you right then and there, along with your parents, but my mom couldn’t abide kil
ling the child of someone she cared a great deal for. Although, she gave my father some bullshit excuse that worked because...” He waved halfheartedly at her.

  “I guess I am glad she had a heart,” Lisa said.

  He nodded. “I’m glad, too. Although I wish she had clued me in before I made a royal ass out of myself with you.”

  “You didn’t know. It was kind of creepy because I just couldn’t get past seeing you like a brother.”

  “Thank god,” he said and shivered at what might have transpired had Lisa said yes to him. “Anyway, it seems every day was a battle for my mother to keep you alive. It wasn’t until I showed interest that my father backed off because he thought that was how we would be freed. She didn’t know when he figured out I wasn’t his son. He manipulated us all. He knew I would have done anything to keep Opal safe, even try to go after the tiger with you. Which, according to Elijah, would have killed me if I forcefully tried to go through the barrier. So...”

  “He wanted you just as dead as he wanted us,” Lisa said.

  “Apparently.” Herk chewed the side of his lip. “When that failed, he fed me doubts about you and seeded the thought that you might be the one killing people here especially when you pointed out the lack of animal footprints around Molly and then told me the tiger didn’t do this.” He glanced at Elijah. “I thought you had some magical ability to pop in and attack and then be gone.” He laughed under his breath. “But that’s beside the point. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m sorry I ever doubted you.” He met Lisa’s gaze.

  “I’m sorry I ever thought you were a part of this,” she said and tried to sit up.

  “Lay your ass back down,” he snapped at her and then pointed at Elijah, acting more like the Herk she was used to. “Make sure she rests.”

  “You can count on that,” Elijah said and continued to administer salve to her exposed burns.

  “We’ll have to figure out this sister-brother thing when you are better, but I’ve got to say, having a tiger as your protector is actually pretty cool.” He stood and glanced at Elijah. “And he seems pretty fond of you,” he added before he wandered out of the room.