Page 43 of The Soulless Witch

“That’s it,” I whispered, leaning my forehead on his shoulder. “Drink. Get your strength back, baby.” A low snarl reverberated through his body, his nails digging into my back in warning. I chuckled under my breath, then let the dizziness sweep me off my feet.

Chapter 23

Isaac

“Stoplaughing,youoaf,it’s not that funny!” Alice grumbled, wiping her face after she finished licking her plate. The pastry was an unexpected delight our mother had surprised us with for my sister's birthday, and being the glutton she was, Alice insisted on having two pieces, eating them almost simultaneously without bothering with a fork.

Wiping my tears, I grinned at her embarrassed face. It was rare for her to smile these days. For some reason, she was always lost in thought, and every time our parents were near, she’d tense up and look ready to run away. Yet when I asked her about it, she always said the same thing, ‘It’s better if you don’t know.’

The door opened and our mother strode in, drying her hands on a towel and looking at each of us. Her smile was different too, lifeless somehow, forced.

“How was the cake?” she asked, glancing down at our empty plates.

“Delicious!” I grinned, licking the last of the strawberry cream off my lips. “Thank you, mom!”

Our mother’s smile turned warmer, her eyes bright and full of love like before. But when she stepped closer to take the plates, Alice flinched. The warmth drained from our mother’s eyes, leaving only hollowness behind. I watched them stare at each other as if having some strange conversation, neither moving, neither speaking. She reached for Alice and my instincts screamed to move. Without thinking, I grabbed my mother’s wrist just before it touched my sister’s face.

They both looked at me in shock, and I could swear I saw fear flash in my mother’s eyes.

“Isaac?” my mother said hesitantly, that empty smile returning to her face. “What is the matter? Are you alright?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but I realized I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know why I even grabbed her; I just acted in response to the fear that was radiating from Alice. But that was our mother. She wouldn’t hurt us. If anything, she had been protecting us our whole lives. She defended us from the others in the pack who called us weak and useless; she shielded us from the witches who occasionally attacked us; she even sheltered us from our father’s harsh words. There was no reason to fear her. I must have felt wrong, I must…

“He’s just being silly again,” Alice laughed dryly, catching my arm and forcing me to release our mother. She gave me a warning look before letting out another squeaky laugh. “He is just jealous that I had two slices and he got only one. He kept saying how it wasn’t fair, and how he wanted another cake for himself. You were just going to guilt Mom into making you one, weren’t you?”

Our mother looked at Alice, then back at me, suspicion still lurking in her eyes.

“Weren’t you, Isaac?” my sister insisted, her voice growing sharper, just like it did when she was cross with me.

“I…I really want more cake,” I said, looking at our mother pleadingly. “Alice refused to share the second piece with me! She is so mean! Please, Mom, my birthday already passed and there wasn’t any cake then! It’s not fair!”

Our mother sighed, the deep line on her face softening.

She walked back into the kitchen without a word, leaving us to stare after her. I was just about to ask Alice why she lied when our mother returned with a plate in hand. There had been four pieces of the tiny cake she had prepared, and our father had said he didn’t want any, leaving his for Alice to claim. But our mother loved sweets almost as much as we did.

Putting the plate on the floor between us along with two forks, she smiled.

“Here, but share this time. I’ll make another whenever we get more supplies. I know things are tough right now, but one day, I’ll bake you all the cakes you want.” She picked up the two forks, handing each of us one. There was only one bite missing from the corner of the piece, and I could smell the frosting on our mother’s lips.

“I don’t want it anymore…” I started, offering the fork back to her. There were tears swimming in her eyes as she patted my head.

“Eat and wash your faces. Your father won’t be happy if he sees you looking like that.” She got up and strode back into the kitchen. The sound of running water and dishes clanking filled my ears as I looked back at Alice. She was staring at the door, anger and sadness battling on her face. When she felt my eyes on her, she put her forefinger to her lips, pointing at the cake.

“Eat,” she said out loud, pushing the entire piece toward me. “You wanted it, right?”

Her eyes were shining with something I couldn’t quite understand, but her insistent gaze made me reach for the pastry. We had been laughing just a few minutes ago, happy and content after a day of playing and lazing around. Now that time felt like a distant memory, and the strange tension in the house was suffocating me.

“Alice, what is going on?” I whispered when I was almost done with the cake. “Why are you acting like—”

Alice jumped to her feet so abruptly, I almost fell over in surprise. Picking up the empty plates, one with still a few bites left on it, she looked at me.

“That’s enough. If you have any more, you will regret it,” she said, and for a moment, I was sure she wasn’t talking about the cake. “I’m your big sister, so I’ll clean up this mess. Go wash your face.”

Without waiting for a reply, she disappeared into the small kitchen where the sound of the dishes being washed paused. I listened to Alice’s steps as she strode out of the house, then I headed for the bathing room.

Stopping in front of the dark mirror, I stared at the cream smeared around my mouth. What was going on? Why was everyone acting so strange? Something was happening, and it was tearing us apart. I wanted us to be happy like before. I wanted to see my mother laugh; I wanted to see my father pretend to be serious when he was fighting a smile; I wanted to see my sister grin with joy and forget about the fear that was making her look like a shadow of herself.

I wanted to know. I wanted to help. I wanted my family back.

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