Page 6 of The Beast of Ashwood Manor

I shook my head. “H-how is it lifted?”

He raised his chin and stared at me for so long that I looked away. “It can’t be lifted,” he said. “You’re stuck here, just like the rest of us.”

“There’s always a way out of a curse.”

“Not this.”

I pushed the balls of my palms against my eyes. “This isn’t real. It’s not. Wake up, Cale, wake up. You’re being fooled by a mad lot in Ashwood.” After a moment, I peeked out from my fingers to see him still standing there, and I placed them back over my eyes.

“You should come back inside,” the man said.

“No. I-I need to wake up.” Fear seized hold of me. Looking up, I caught sight of the sky, but it looked off, as if a strange yellow hue glowed about it. Something was very wrong, and I was in the midst of it.

A lump formed in my throat. I paced back and forth, curling my fingers in my hair. “Where . . . am I?”

“Calm down,” said the man.

But I couldn’t. Warnings were going off in my mind about the manor, the people, this man. As he stepped towards me, I moved away. I looked around, breathing quickly, and soon, black spots floated over my eyes.

I shrank to my knees, feeling lightheaded. Then I felt his hands on my arms, picking me up.

“Don’t touch me!” I shouted at him. I struggled against him and managed to hit his nose.

I looked away from him, bracing myself for him to retaliate, but he never did.

“You need to calm down,” he growled. “I am not your enemy.”

I shook my head, refusing to believe him. Something was very wrong in this world I was in. My panic had deprived me of air, and I soon fainted.

Therushofeverythingthat had happened in the last twenty minutes had me shaking. Not that any of the others could see. I held it in well. To them, I was nothing more than a shadow that floated from one room to the next, there one second and then gone the next. But this sudden excitement shook them all, and they were unable to keep calm.

After this young man had fainted, I’d hoped they’d all go back to whatever it was they were doing. Instead, the rest of them showed up outside the room I’d taken him to.

“Is he still out cold?” Edgar asked, trying to peer around my shoulder and into the room. He’d come running up to us outside when the young man had fainted.

I crossed my arms, looking from him to Annie, Mary, and Natalie. They all waited, their faces betraying patience. Down the hall, even Royce came up the stairs. The only person missing was Eugenia. Hopefully, she would continue to sleep through all this.

“Is he all right?” Mary asked. “Should we try and wake him?”

“Let him wake up on his own,” I said, staring at them all. “I will sit with him until he does. In the meantime, carry on. You will see him soon enough.”

Annie’s face turned to stone, but she nodded, and Natalie sighed before they both turned away. Edgar joined Royce down the hall, and both of them went back downstairs, talking about what had happened.

I turned to Mary, who remained, as she was the one I called on the most if I needed something, which was rare these days. “Would you bring me a bowl of warm water?”

“Yes, my lord.” Mary nodded at me and left quickly.

After they were all gone, I shook my head and went back into the room. Coming up to the bed, I glanced over at the young man as he lay peacefully. He had started to wake up after his spell outside, but when he looked up at me as I carried him to the room, he closed his eyes again.

I had a feeling he was awake, but he just didn’t want to see all this, so he feigned sleep instead. It was a common thing to see with people who first came here. How mysterious, that after these six long years, someone else would drop into the manor at such a time.

After a few minutes, I cleared my throat, and he jumped.

His eyes jerked open, and he glanced over at me before he shut them tightly again.

Sighing, I pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. “Come now, I know you’re pretending.”

“This is all a dream. I will wake up from it and be in Tolburg soon,” he muttered.

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