Page 51 of Echo
“Is it safe for you out there?” What if there was a bigger and stronger monster outside and he was hurt?
“I’ve defended this land for hundreds of years. Don’t worry about me. This is what I was cursed for.”
I bit my lip and stood.
“I’ll be back before the sun rises,” he promised, turning into Aaron Falin for a brief moment to grab me by the chin andkiss me with a soft gentleness that seeped into the cracks of my armor.
Why did that promise hurt so much?
I cleaned up, listening too closely to the sounds outside. Every howl and roar gave me pause.
I’d been promised that someone would be home by morning countless times. It always opened this deep pit in my stomach, because I knew they were after someone who could hurt them.
Whether it was my dad after another gang or Aurelio dealing with a rival family, there was always that chance they wouldn’t come home. I guess what really scared me about this pit in my stomach was that I shouldn’t have been scared for a monster who’d trapped me here.
A loud bang hit the wall, and I jumped in surprise. Ranger ran to the door and barked.
After a couple days of him being calm and silent, it unnerved me. A loud roar that I did recognize made Ranger settle down, like he knew that things were handled now.
Screams came from my porch, and I gripped the curtain, tempted to see what was on the other side.
“Do not show yourself, Little Rabbit. Stay in the house,” Echo growled as if he could hear my thoughts. Or maybe it was the curtain moving, either way I released my grip.
Unholy screams filled the air all night. I couldn’t sleep. The sounds were from a nightmare. The clock ticked, but it was impossible to know how much time passed, because I was too busy watching the curtains and door.
A shadow appeared in the corner of my eyes, but I knew it was Echo without looking, since Ranger didn’t react. When I finally focused on him, he was worse for wear. He was covered in enough blood I knew it wasn’t all his, but the open gashes told me at least some of it was.
I ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit and towel. I knew he was hurting, because his chest heaved and his eyes were tired. He also laid down on the living room floor, as he tried to catch his breath.
After cleaning him up, I sewed up the deeper wounds. He never growled or yelled at me, like I’d thought he would. Even when I poured alcohol on the worst spots.
Nights like this were exactly why I hated that promise.
Once any immediate danger of him bleeding out was over, I gathered blankets and pillows to make him comfortable.
“I’ve had worse, Little Rabbit.” He finally spoke, and barked out a short painful laugh. “It’s been a long time though. I didn’t realize how much you Rinah Witches were keeping out.”
“Why did this happen then?”
“The barriers are broken.” He grunted. “Beasts of all kinds are drawn to a Rinah witch. You are here and there are no protections in place anymore.”
“I’m not a witch.”
“You’re a witch,” he spoke in that serious tone. “You just don’t practice.”
“Not a witch.”
“When you figured out I was the dog, Mark said something about you always coming up with wild stories,” he said, and I froze, forgetting about that. How I’d begged for Mark to realize that the dog in the house wasn’t Ranger. That explained why I never found the other dog. “As a witch, you would be attuned to the supernatural and like I said, Rinah witches draw in the supernatural. No matter where you were, monsters like me were following you.”
Why did that explain so much?
People following me that no one else could see. All the times I was convinced I was crazy.
“That said, when the sun rises, I need you to get the barriers back up,” he said.
“Won’t that trap you here again?” I frowned.
“Yes.” He nodded. “But it’s also going to keep them out. I don’t intend to go anywhere, so keeping them out is more important. More and more are coming every night.”
