Page 28 of Seduce & Destroy

A faint giggle from outside the manor rattled through the open windows with the wind. It was a chilly evening but the old insolation in this building often made the air thick and stuffy. That sound anchored me, and my hand let go of the cool metal weapon at my back.

I wasn't going to end this war.

Not now. It was too reckless, too soon, and I wasn’t done with Laney yet. I recognised her laugh from a mile away. In Richard cold eyes, it seemed that he hadn’t noticed.

“Words, Whether.” Richard said, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yes, Sir.” I replied as I turned on my heel and followed in the direction of the sound. “You can trust me.”

And as I strode toward the backdoor, Richard Ravencroft returned to what I presumed was his office. No harm done.

As I grew closer to where Laney’s laugh originated, my lungs filled with a smell akin to gunpowder. Smoke. And Laney’s giggle had been replaced with a soft rhythmic humming. It was a stark reminder that that was way too close. I had twenty-three more days to do this. If I had pulled my gun out then, I would lose her forever.

Exiting through the backdoor, I entered the fresh air of the forest, and after a minute of walking, I saw a distant fire pit with two bodies either side—Neenan and Laney. When I approached where they sat, the temperature increased, and the humming morphed into singing. I couldn’t yet decipher the lyrics, but the voice was powerful and beautifully feminine. Laney.

There was no background music, just the acoustic notes of sustained vocals. It almost made me stumble as I kept my eyes on the target, negating where my feet landed on the uneven ground.

I stopped before I reached them. Simply overcome by her grace, my aggression and need for answers were stifled. Instead, I stood and enjoyed the ambiance in the bubble that Laney’s singing had created. Even Neenan appeared transfixed where he sat opposite to her with his bare feet out. Both their heads bowed, and I could now see a necklace shimmer in the light of the flames clutched in her hand.

Tomorrow is Tilly’s funeral. This was a vigil.

As she finished the song, reality dawned on me. I have no business being here. Especially as Neenan looked right at me and nodded for Laney to look too.

In an instance, I turned around.

As I was leaving, I heard Neenan’s faint whisper. “She wouldn’t understand.”

But I understood. The Ravencrofts destroyed my family. It was only right that they felt an ounce of our pain, but I was naïve in assuming that death would hurt leadership. Collateral damage came with war, I knew that, but Richard wasn’t wallowing in grief, Laney was. And I couldn’t stand it.

Instead of heading inside, I walked into the surrounding forest and kept a steady pace. It was safe enough. The gates were secured, my gun was in my jeans, and my boots could fracture a face if I swung it hard enough. I would be alright.

The dark night didn’t have the allure that I thought it once might. The deep foliage was empty, still, and even with minimal light carried a natural splendour that eclipsed any fear I might have with comfort. There weren’t many paths to follow so I straddled fallen beams and evaded nettles and brambles.

A prickle halted my movements as a branch of brambles stuck to my clothing. It pierced the skin on my leg, but only enough to lift skin, not draw blood. It still stung though. As I nursed the wound, something caught my eye. A beam of moonlight lit a green open space ahead.

I strode right to it, so soon the woods opened to a path of gravel overgrown with weeds. At the end of the gravel path was brick, blackened as the stone crumbled with age.

Mama warned me to not go too deep in the forest. Bottom lip entrapped in my teeth; I was afraid this was what she’d feared I’d find—our ancestral home turned to dust.

Chapter 11

LANEY

Sat on the cold pew of the abandoned Church on the outskirts of Great Tenor, I wished I were anywhere else. There were so many things that I wanted to have told Tilly. I was sure she would know the answer to my Kenna question. She would talk me down from my anxiety about the impending war—a war she was a casualty of. It was a realisation that struggled to compute with my worldview.

Father was beside me, but his impassive face looked no different than on the average occasion. We were in the second row. Tilly’s husband sat directly in front of me, his eyes red from restraint, as his arm wrapped around Tilly’s mother. The sight caused the kind of devastation in my heart that left a mark. I’d already cried this morning, but it wasn’t enough to cleanse the hole in my gut.

Nothing could erase the damage. In times like these, I yearned for Grandfather’s warm hug. It was already a rare moment in his self-isolation when I could feel his enveloping presence, but the absence of him hollowed my heart. I’d hoped that Kenna could be that calming pillar in my life, perhaps, naively.

The ceremony was small. Only those that directly knew her were invited.

Neenan stood on patrol at the side of the Church. He gave me a glance every now and then, checking for tears. I knew he kept an extra handkerchief in his pocket just for me.

The pastor placed his book down on a stand to the left of the closed casket, causing a hush across all the attendees and a stabbing sob from Tilly’s mother. This was happening. Too quick. “It saddens me to be gathered here today for the loss of such a young life–” The pastor began, sharing stories and anecdotes of the way she impacted us all.

I held strong until my name was mentioned, releasing the floodgates of grief that I had suppressed. With it, an insidious sense of emptiness returned to my gut. I had no one left. Who did I have now that she was gone? Why did I need the comfort of others so badly? Stupid!

I bowed my head and cried into my hands. My father didn’t move to console me. Not even Neenan came to give me his handkerchief. Stupid girl, no one cares.

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