Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Eleanor
Misery creates monsters.
M y mother’s steps falter at the knowledge we are now on borrowed time. My heart misses a beat as fear pounds in my veins. I only hope she has a plan extending beyond the simple escape she engineered. The dogs howl periodically, closing in on us. Will they tear us limb from limb? Or incapacitate us so Jonathan can show the village what happens to women who dare to defy him? I already know, and yet I still risk it.
I would prefer the first option. I have witnessed his lessons. My blood runs cold thinking of the brutality he dispenses to those he deems unworthy. No one is safe, not the men, the wives, nor the children.
My mother slows, then stops. I search her face. Why are we stopping? They will be on us before we know it. She pants, her breath misting the air as she turns to face me. She pulls off her backpack, unzips it, and tugs out the drawstring bag full of my bloody rags. Now they make sense. My heart stutters in my chest, and I shake my head, my hair flying out around me, tears welling in my eyes.
“No, Mama.”
Her hand cups my cheek, her eyes warm but unwavering. “I’m going to lead them away from us. You keep running. You see the tallest mountain?”
My eyes lift to the giant pointed shadow rising to meet the moon. “Yes.”
“Head in that direction. There will be a man with a black truck. He has the same eyes as you, and his hair is probably a little gray by now. He’s taller than your brother. His name is Steven. You can trust him. He’s waiting for you.”
“Us,” I correct, reminding her that she will be leaving with me. Together we will start a new life.
“Yes, my darling girl, us. Now make haste. Do not slow, pause, or stop, no matter what you hear. Jonathan will make our lives hell for this. Remember that, and use it to keep going.”
She splits to the left, leaving me alone on the path toward the mountain. I stare for a moment at her retreating figure until she fades into the night, fighting the instinct to follow after her. I pick up her bag, drag in a breath, and force myself into a jog, a steady but relentless pace, one which my mother should be able to catch up with. Just like when playing chase with the young ones—make it a game, but not unobtainable. With every step, a cold sinking realization weighs down my limbs. She’s not following me. My legs slow, my lungs burning, and I stop, straining my ears. There are no howls. No growls. No excited yips. That means they are on a trail and don’t want to spook their prey. Whirling around, I search the dark still woods. Mama.
I glance between the mountain and the path I’ve trodden, biting my lip. I’m not a coward. I swallow hard, shifting the backpacks against my shoulders. I will not leave my mother to her fate alone. I can’t conceive of a life without her at my side.
I begin trekking back. There are several forks on the trail I’m unsure of, but I don’t hesitate. I follow my instinct, a tugging in my chest leading me on.
Male murmurs float in the air, sending a trickle of cold sweat down my spine. They must be close.
“Found her!” someone shouts.
No, not someone. James. Fuck .
The trees ahead thin into a clearing, and I shift behind a thick trunk, peering into the night. James moves into the clearing, his hand curled around our mother’s arm as he yanks her toward Jonathan. A few of the dogs snap at their heels in excitement. But it’s not all of them, meaning some are still lurking in the woods around me.
He throws her to the ground, her knees slamming into the dirt in front of Jonathan. Instead of staring at the dead grass, meek and subservient like a good woman, she tilts her head back and stares at him with defiance. Their side profile is visible to me, the moon a spotlight for their showdown. Jonathan positions himself at a ninety-degree angle to them, facing my direction.
“Where is she?” Jonathan snaps.
“Gone. Out of your reach and set for a life of love and acceptance, choosing her own path without fear.”
“Your daughter will only know fear, Katherine. I should have fed you to the ring the second you bore a daughter. Your defiance is infectious.” His body nearly vibrates with his intensity, his eyes never leaving Mama. “Don’t worry; I’ll snuff that out of her. She will breathe because I allow it. She will eat on my command and know her place is in my bed, with her legs open.”
“My daughter can read. She can write. She can manipulate equations and knows her worth isn’t in the hands of a man who doesn’t deserve her. You cannot bend her to your will, Jonathan. She is educated, smart, and she will thrive in the world you have tried to keep out of her reach.”
I suck in a breath as Jonathan’s face twists into something terrifying. He lifts his head and scans the trees. His gaze passes by me, but I still feel scalded to my soul.
“The dogs will find her trail, Katherine, and you have sealed both your fates.”
My mother laughs, the shrill sound echoing around us. What is she doing? “Your dogs will be in a frenzy following a false trail of blood and pain you yourself created.”
George emerges from the trees, a shadow congealing from the darkness. He bares his teeth as he carries one of the bloody rags in his hands. The remaining dogs follow him, snarling at the cloth.
“Eleanor,” he calls. “If you value your mother’s life, you will make yourself known.”
“Sorry, Jonathan, but she’s long gone,” my mother says with glee.
He takes a menacing, measured step towards Mama.
He’s going to kill her.
My body trembles as he removes an object from the waistband of his pants. A gun flashes in the clouded light from the moon. No, no, no. The brand on my hip throbs—a reminder of his brutality.
“If you come out now, I will spare your mother.”
Lies . Like the devil, Jonathan is an expert deceiver. When your life depends on understanding the subtleties of a man who can snuff your life out, you learn to read him. And right now, I am one hundred percent certain Mama is about to die, regardless of my actions.
“Get it over with,” my mother snaps, showing a backbone I never knew she possessed.
“She’s out there, Katherine. You expect your daughter to abandon the one person she has ever received love and comfort from? This is why we allow the parental bond to flourish. It ensures mutual obedience. You threaten one, the other conforms.”
Silence settles around us as my mother churns over his words. He’s right. But mutual obedience also fosters a love he can’t touch. Jonathan doesn’t understand the boundlessness of that love, because he’s never experienced it.
He lifts the gun and presses it against my mother’s forehead. “Last chance, Eleanor.”
Panic settles in my chest, urging me to act in contrast to the weight cementing my feet to the ground. My hands twitch, desperate to do something. Anything.
“Mama,” I breathe, my lips forming the word as a gust of wind whips the dead leaves from the ground and sweeps away my plea. My body shifts, wanting to go to her, even though I know it’s hopeless. But at least I will have tried. Not taking the chance would fill my heart with crippling guilt.
James jerks his head, his gaze finding my exact location. He’s too far away, and it’s too dark to make me out, but his unnerving stare makes my knees tremble. Supernatural sibling power. I understand everything he’s saying without one word spoken— don’t let our mother’s sacrifice be in vain. He’s trapped, the noose already too tight around his neck. I am not. I must live for all of this to mean something.
Jonathan releases the safety, the metal click making me jump. “You are going straight to Hell, Eleanor, for allowing your mother to die in your place,” he says.
“No, Jonathan, but my daughter’s freedom is the beginning of the end for you. Hell has a special place for men like you. Weak. Sick. Perverted. Greedy.” My mother tips her head back and laughs.
A deafening shot rings out. She jerks, her body suspended for an impossible moment, then slumps to the ground. Gunpowder and blood taint the air, and wild animals flee in terror. My hands slam across my mouth, and a scream of pure anguish lodges tight in my chest, suffocating me, stealing my worthless life. My forehead pushes against the coarse bark of the tree to keep from falling to the ground. I’ve lost the only person who loved me. I’m alone. Tears trail over my fingers, my body sapped of every ounce of strength. I can’t do this without her. But if I stay, I will be found, and all this pain will be for nothing.
I force my legs to move. One step, two steps… then I’m running swiftly as a burst of pure adrenaline makes me fly toward the mountain. I don’t pause to find out if I am being hunted. Closed in on. Chased. I keep moving. The burn in my legs spurs me on rather than slows me down. Mama would want nothing less. I burst from the woodland onto a road, spotting a black truck sitting in the darkness, like she promised. Except in her plan there were two of us, not one.
A tall man around my mother’s age lifts his head from his position leaning against the hood. His eyes widen as I pause. Eyes the same color as Mama’s, the same as mine. He cradles a shotgun, his fingers flexing against the glinting weapon.
“Where’s your mother?” he demands.
I shake my head and take a step back, unable to catch my breath.
A snarl rips the night air in two as a terrifying beast launches out of the trees, teeth bared, claws aiming for my body. Pain explodes across my right ear as the dog latches on, no doubt going for my throat. A scream tears through me as my hands grab the body of the animal, trying to wrestle it off. A shot rings out, deafening my screams. Then I’m free, stumbling toward the man as he drops the gun to his side. I shake my head as I clutch my ear and take a step back. Ringing in my ears disorients me, making me lurch to the side. I can’t trust him. Men are horrific creatures.
He straightens and reaches out his hand. “Hey, wait, I’m sorry. I’m Steven, your uncle. Did she explain that?”
“Steven?” I utter. He nods. The name niggles inside my mind. Safe. Trust. Mama promised. A howl shatters the silence somewhere behind me, and my heart pounds harder than I thought possible. They are close. So much closer than I thought possible. I glance behind me, then to the truck. Hot and sticky blood seeps between my fingers and down my neck, soaking my clothes. I have no chance of outrunning them like this. I have to trust Mama. Trust him.
Steven’s gaze lifts behind me as he searches for the threat, his body tense as his eyes frantically scan the forest.
“Where’s Katherine?”
A sob claws its way up my throat and puts me in a chokehold.
“She’s... not coming,” I stutter. She won’t ever be coming again. Her smile, her kindness, her patience, all snuffed out in an instant by him . I vow on the darkness of the forest with the hounds of Hell snapping at my heels, I will send Jonathan to his grave. But I’m not stupid. This is not the time. I’m outnumbered and outmatched. His day of reckoning will come; I swear on the blood shed here tonight.
Steven’s gaze snaps to mine, and he freezes. “What do you mean?”
A tear slips free from the corner of my eye, the hot path blazing down my cheek. “He killed her.”
Steven’s face crumples, and he takes a step forward as the dog’s howls grow closer. I shake my head and meet him in the middle. “You can’t win against them.”
“Like hell I can’t,” he snarls.
“There are six armed men and a pack of trained dogs behind me. We. Cannot. Win. Not now.”
His nostrils flare. “If you are coming, we need to move. Now.”
I suck in a breath and rush after him as he opens the door to his truck.
“Eleanor,” my brother’s voice breaks behind me, nearly stopping my feet. I turn as I reach the truck, and his eyes flick to my ear. There’s a look of utter anguish reflected in his gaze. I’m not the only one who lost the one person who loved them unconditionally tonight.
Steven cocks the gun. “No! That’s my brother,” I whisper as I reach out my hand. “Come with us,” I plead.
He gives a small shake of his head, the icy mask starting to slip back into place. “Be happy,” he mouths as I slide inside, and my entire body trembles as Steven rounds the truck and jumps in. The engine roars to life, the rumble vibrating underneath me. He spins the truck around, the wheels protesting at the tight circle, as Jonathan appears out of the thick woodland, panting and furious. He raises his arm, his gun taking aim without a single sign of fatigue.
Steven’s hand snaps out, pushing my head into my lap. “Stay down!”
He braces the shotgun on my back and fires, shattering the window. I pray his aim is true, but, like all my other requests, I’m not granted an audience.
“Eleanor,” Jonathan shouts, his voice clear despite the chaos surrounding us. “Run. If you dare.”