Page 61 of To Free a Soul
Silence was all that answered back when she called out Katerina’s name multiple times. There was no point calling outto Orpheus, since he was making his way to the centre of the Veil.
The lack of any response twisted her gut with worry, and she placed her foot on the bottom step of their porch.
She paused.I told myself I would never enter his home unless invited.She steeled herself against breaking that promise and climbed the stairs. As she ascended, a crushing weight settled upon her shoulders and chest.
Lindiwe didn’t knock, just opened the creaky door.
Inside was bright with candlelight, and she was taken aback by what she saw.
A large table, gigantic in comparison to a human, sat off to the right. It was bare, with nothing on top of it except discarded gems, twine, and metal, as if someone had been in the middle of creating an ornament. Pushed under it were dining chairs, one designed for a human and one that Orpheus obviously sat upon.
Oh wow. He’s done so much more to it than I thought.
Underneath a long windowsill was a metal washbasin with a small wooden bucket inside it. Glass bottles of purple, yellow, and even a pale red filled with unknown liquids, likely some kind of steeping herbs, rested against the wall above the counter.
To the left were two chairs with armrests situated in front of a stone fireplace. The smaller one had an array of animal hides over it to make it soft and comfortable, whereas the larger one was bare wood.
The timber floor was cold against her feet, and she thought it was a shame that it wasn’t covered in more animal hides to make it warmer and more inviting.
However, that wasn’t what left her in awe.
She’d been right that those five-tined antlers would be used to decorate, and they had been fastened to many others and attached to the ceiling to create a chandelier. Lit candles were fitted to it, which illuminated much of the house.
Attached to it, and the ceiling, were dozens of glittering trinkets. Some dangled lower than others, and they were all so different that some gleamed with pretty crystals, while others had charms made from interesting rocks and bones. More lined the walls, the windowsills, and even the backs of their chairs.
That must be Katerina’s handiwork.Lindiwe doubted Orpheus would have picked up this kind of craft.It looks like she wanted to make their home prettier.
Which, oddly enough, made it look like a witch’s home decorated with amulets, talismans, and spells. If there had been a single plant inside, she would have thought Katerina had changed her mind about witchcraft and embraced it.
Being in this room, with everything designed to allow for Orpheus’ height and mass, Lindiwe had never felt smaller.
A hallway to her right snagged her interest.
She opened the first door she found on the right and entered a bedroom. Inside was a massive bed and a box of black clothes.
I’m surprised that’s all there is.
She didn’t go deep in, as she was encroaching on his space too heavily already. Backing up, she opened the door straight across the hallway.
Inside was a much smaller bed, a cupboard, and a side table.Do... they sleep in separate rooms? Why?From what she’d seen over two years ago, sharing intimacy should have allowed them to share a bed. Something caught her eye just as she was about to back out.
The corner of a book poked out from underneath the bed. When Lindiwe knelt and drew up the cover, a pile of journals sat hidden away. She reached out to grab one, but halted right before her fingertips made contact.
She was tempted, bad as it was, to open one and read it.
Lindiwe pulled away.
Although she often detailed parts of her life in her journals, she always knew she’d be leaving them with Weldir, who would read them. Even though she wrote nothing truly private, Katerina likely had. And she wouldn’t violate those intimate thoughts by reading them.
She backed out of the room to go to the final door at the end of the hallway. It was lacklustre. It merely held a bathtub and a small bucket to rinse one’s body.
Now that she was done with her unguided tour, she left.
Katerina wasn’t here, and she didn’t know why.
There were no traces of blood or torn clothing, even when she went outside to inspect the state of the garden. There were no claw marks or evidence of carnage anywhere.
“Katerina isn’t here,” Lindiwe said out loud so Weldir could be informed.
