Page 53 of Beneath the Watching

Free will being defined as letting people use each other however and in whatever fashion they desired. It was contradictory and confusing, and distinctly unhelpful. But then again, there’d been peace between the Second and Fourth Realms for a while now so perhaps it’d been effective, in a way.

The document had been lost somewhere, somehow, in the spans of time since it’d been written and all that was left were notes. The treaty was rumored to be in Ramone’s hands, but no one seemed to know for sure and if they did, they weren’t talking.

“You’re planning on taking over,” I remarked. “What of Lucian and Victor?”

Josiah dismissed my question with a wave of his hand. “Inconsequential.”

“Why are you bothering to tell me any of this, I have other priorities. This means nothing to me.” All I cared about was leaving the bullshit behind and returning home.

“Oh, but one day, in the future it will. Don’t get too comfortable.”

“How do you plan on disposing of Sem?” The question was asked solely out of curiosity. From what I’d seen and heard, he was one of the most powerful beings in existence, short of a class known as the Ancients.

Josiah smiled cruelly. “That is none of your concern. Whatisyour concern is bringing Mabel to me.”

I turned on him in a rush and he deflected the blow, gripping my fist and bending my wrist backwards until a snapping sound echoed through the small cell. “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. You will bring her to me, and I will return her to you unharmed. I just need a little something from her, to tide me over.”

Between the look in his eyes and the searing pain in my arm, I would’ve given him nearly anything he asked for.

Except her.

I nodded as horror filled me, swallowing and trying not to vomit.

He released my hand and swiped a nail along his own wrist. “Drink.” Stunned, I looked up at him. “You’ll need this for what comes next.” I’d be a fool to object to the request, it’d be an insult and a waste of opportunity. It could’ve been a trick, but my options were limited.

Raising my good arm, I cradled his hand and placed my mouth over the wound. A shudder ran through him as I let his blood flow across my tongue. Several seconds passed before he pulled away.

I gasped when I felt my wrist bones painfully knit back together, and again when I felt whatever magic he’d passed along plant itself into the marrow of my bones. “What did you do?” I asked but he didn’t answer.

Trepidation coursed through me and before I could stop myself, I said, “What comes next?”

“Your pretty girl is wandering the forest, all by herself, waiting for you. She walked straight into the belly of a beast.” He looked highly amused. There was no way I could get to her quickly enough and what Josiah was implying was she wasnotby herself.

A sense of urgency ran through me while I tried to collect myself. His blood hadn’t seemed to do much other than refresh me and I knew he hadn’t turned me into a vampire. While I did enjoy the occasional glass of blood, vampirism was not a trait I cared to possess. Most likely, he’d injected a tracking spell to locate me in the future via the signature of his blood in my cells.

“Run, crossbreed,run.”

18

MABEL

The sunrise was immediate,the sun crashing through the trees and brightening the skies while the stars winked away. I paced in a circle, trying to decide what to do next. I’d given up on waking in my own bed at home and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to return to the place anyway. I’d asked to be here, and now I was. If I left I knew I’d instantly want to return and it was more a sense of familiarity encouraging me to return to the Third Realm.

The forest was silent as I began walking. Leaving the glittering brook behind me, I tried to walk back in the direction I’d come but when I saw a tiny cottage, I knew I was heading the wrong way. For how much searching I’d done the afternoon before, there was no way I could’ve missed it.

The home reminded me of a gingerbread cottage, with its little picket fence, cobblestone walkway, and cheerfully painted trim. I paused at a tiny gate that’d seen better days, debating whether or not I should ask the voice for help when the front door popped open, and a woman called out. “Come on in child, get out of the cold!”

I looked around, surveying my surroundings as a chill swept over me. It was probably a good idea to get warm, I decided, and unhooked the latch and swung the gate open.

The woman stepped onto the porch, a cheery smile on her face as she wiped her hands on her apron. She had dark hair pulled back from her face and friendly eyes, reminding me of a grandmotherly type, though something told me she was either much younger or much older than her appearance.

Waiting for the voice of guidance in my head, I slowly made my way forward. The woman waved a hand at me, beckoning me to move faster. “Let’s go inside,” she said.

With nothing but silence in my head, I followed the stone pathway. Skipping up the short staircase, I wondered if I was heading to my own doom.

The inside of the cottage was rustic and cozy, decorated with colorful pieces of cloth and multiple trinkets. Small glass vials and other curiosities lined her shelves and I peeked at them, wanting to pick them up for a closer look but holding myself back. The human-looking skulls gave me pause, casually mixed in with the heads and bones of other animals. A wave of discomfort washed over me while I tried to watch the woman out of the corner of my eye.

“I’m making tea,” she announced. “These occasions always call for a steaming cup of herbal tea.”

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