Chapter 30
Chapter thirty
Skye whimpers, grabbing my waist and burying herself into me. She’s holding me tight against her like she’s trying to claw her way back into my womb. It’s almost as if some primal part of her remembers me and knows that I was once her haven.
Lochlan has moved from his spot next to the couch and has slowly made his way to my side. His body quivers in what I think is anger, but I’m too nervous to move a muscle and check his expression. All I can focus on are Skye’s terrified noises and her grip on me.
The Axeman lets out an amused, sinister laugh as his bright eyes take the three of us in before he confidently crosses the room, striding past us to the fridge tucked into the corner of the small kitchen.
I turn my body in sync with his so I can keep eyes on him, forcing Skye to step with me, and farther from him.
The Axeman says nothing as he tears open the fridge.
My nerves jump with anxiety and terror as I watch him.
I pull Skye closer. The Axeman grabs a water bottle, slams the fridge closed, then lifts himself onto the butcher block counter top, facing the three of us, arranging his mask slightly, before taking a large, lengthy gulp from the bottle—the plastic crackles and pops as he chugs over half of it.
Lochlan steps forward, his own axe squeezed tightly in his fists, and raises it above his head.
The Axeman pulls the bottle from his lips and glares at him. “Don’t even think about it. You harm a single hair on my head,” he gloats. “And they pay the price. My accomplice will make sure of that.”
My stomach drops. Accomplice? What accomplice?
“Now,” the Axeman says, jumping from the counter. “Give me the girl.” He glowers down at me. “I won’t ask twice.”
Skye cries quietly at his words, clutching me tighter.
“No.” Lochlan’s voice is laced with pure fury. A tone so unlike his usual, chipper self. “You can’t have her.”
The Axeman laughs, then steps toward me menacingly. The anger in his bright blue eyes could ignite the entire forest surrounding us with just one glance.
Lochlan lunges at him, screaming. “I said NO!” His face contorts with uncontrolled rage as his fist makes contact with the Axeman’s chin.
The window behind us explodes.
A loud, tortured, piercing cry of pain erupts into the air.
The world is a blur of noise and motion as someone grabs my arm and tugs me, forcing me back to my feet and out of the cabin.
I hit the front steps, tripping over my own feet, falling to the ground hard.
My head slams onto the wooden handrail, rendering my senses useless.
The world spins as I grapple to comprehend my surroundings.
“RUN!”
I look up and see Lochlan. He’s pulling on me, his face covered in blood. When I notice he’s holding Skye, the terror in my chest eases. Her arms are wrapped around his neck, and he’s holding her with one arm as he reaches out to me again with the other. “Get up! We need to hide from the shooter!”
I scramble to my feet and follow him into the dark safety of the forest. The shooter? It can’t be, can it? I thought they were helping me earlier by making sure I was going the right way to find Skye. Maybe Josh was right, and I was just being a foolish idiot. I don’t know what to believe anymore.
Lochlan comes to a stop once we are deep into the safety of the forest, carefully releasing Skye before he bends down and puts his hands on his knees as Skye runs right into my arms, hugging me tightly. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you,” I murmur, caressing her hair softly.
“Is she okay?” Lochlan wheezes. His breathing is as rapid as my own.
Skye pulls away from me enough to turn toward him. She nods and then rushes into his waiting arms. He lifts her into a bear hug, making her giggle. “I’m okay. Thanks for protecting me.” Her voice cracks in between laughs as he spins her.
The sound of her crying breaks my own heart into a billion little pieces, but her laughter fills me to the brim with so much happiness I feel like I’ll explode from it. Is this what it feels like to love someone this fiercely? This entirely?
We need to get back to Windermere and end this. That’s the only way to keep her, and everyone else, safe.
A branch breaks behind me. Lochlan drops Skye and throws her behind him just as the Axeman steps out of the tree-line. His mask is torn, and though it still hides almost the entirety of his face, his left ear has been mangled.
The gunshot in the cabin. The blood on Lochlan’s face. The bullet must have hit the Axeman.
“Give. Her. To. Me!” he screams, raising the axe and running toward me.
Another gunshot blasts through the air, surprising us all when the bullet grazes the Axeman's shoulder. He goes down with a strangled groan.
“GET TO WINDERMERE!” Lochlan yells, grabbing Skye’s hand and taking off into the forest. “This way!”
I don’t have the energy to ask him how he’s sure, all I can do is pray that he’s right and follow after him and Skye.
We run, and run, and run. Only stopping long enough to drink water and rest for moments before jogging toward the castle again. As soon as we break through the tree-line, we see the towering gates of Windermere awaiting us.
The sun has nearly set entirely in the sky, leaving us with muted darkness, only broken by the reddish hue leftover by the stubborn slice of sun that refuses to fall wholly.
Skye is silent as she clutches my hand, her tremors of fear hitting me like an electric shock. We hide in the trees while Lochlan sneaks around the wall to check to see if there are any more nasty surprises awaiting us through the massive wrought iron gates.
There are so many things I want to tell my daughter, but I keep those thoughts to myself. They’ll only confuse her, and she doesn’t need any more stress on this nightmare of a day.
When I find Pierce, I’m going to slit his throat for putting her through this.
There’s a soft whistle—Lochlan’s signal that the coast is clear. Skye and I hurry around the gate and duck into the garden where Lochlan is waiting for us.
“Where is everyone?” I ask as we head further into Pierce’s massive garden.
It’s gorgeous. The flowers are all in bloom, and the small pond is filled with lily pads with frogs perched on top of them.
It would remind me of a Disney movie if it weren’t for the fact that we’re being chased by a man with an axe who’s trying to steal my kid.
Skye tugs on my hand. “This way! There’s a cabin back here we can hide in!”
I glance over at Lochlan. “She’s got to know this place better than we do,” he says with a shrug. “We can hide in there until we figure out how to sneak into the castle. It’s better than sitting out here like ducks waiting to get our heads axed off.”
I can’t help the chuckle that leaves my body.
He’s got a point. We follow Skye a little further until we see a small fixture hidden behind the overgrown hedges and trees.
I don’t think I’d call it a cabin, per se.
It’s more of a shack, but beggars can’t be choosers, and we need to hide from the Axeman.
Lochlan goes in first to check if it’s clear when a branch breaks behind me. I turn to see the man in the ghillie suit and throw Skye toward the open door. “Go get Lochlan!”
“I swear I come in peace,” the Ghillieman says in a strange robotic voice before tossing the rifle to the ground. They take a step back and raise their hands into the air.
I rush forward and grab the gun.
“Check to make sure it’s loaded,” Lochan instructs, coming up from behind me.
The gun is completely foreign in my hands. I’ve never held one before, let alone used one. “I don’t know how,” I admit, looking down at the rifle like it’s some type of dangerous animal waiting to strike.
“Grab the handle on the bolt there,” Lochlan says, stepping to my side and pointing to the metal thing on the side of the gun.
Skye is hovering behind us in the doorway.
“Lift it, then slide it back.” An empty shell casing pops out of the rifle, hitting the ground near our feet.
“Now slide the bolt back into place and put the handle back down to load it.”
I do as he says, then lift the rifle as I’ve seen in the movies. It’s heavier than I expected. I have to readjust a few times before I point it at Ghillieman. “Why are you following us?”
Ghillieman sighs. “Can I take my mask off before I explain?” The robotic voice reminds me of the voice Pierce used in the mock escape room.
That feels like light-years ago, even though I think it was just yesterday.
Time seems to have no power here. I reluctantly nod my head in approval at their request. I want to know who we’re dealing with.
They reach back and rip the mask off, throwing it to the floor at my feet.
The person standing before me isn’t what I expected.
It’s a woman. An older woman, to be precise.
Her brown eyes are wary, but kind. Her hair is mostly gray and pulled back into a long braid.
Tendrils of flyaways are coated with sweat and stick to her face.
The laugh lines around her lips remind me so much of my mother’s.
She doesn’t look like the type of person who could murder two people.
“Who are you?”
The woman flashes me a melancholy smile. “I’m Rebecca. I’m the one who left you the map to find her.” She points to Skye. There’s a startled gasp from behind me as Skye rushes toward Rebecca.
“Nanny!” she yells, throwing herself into her arms.
Rebecca cradles Skye, and I can’t help the flush of jealousy that stains my soul. She knows my daughter better than I ever will.
“Rebecca,” Lochlan drawls. “Who are you and why are you here? Why are you helping us? What’s in it for you?”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.