CHAPTER 17 “All Thieves Must Pay”
“All Thieves Must Pay”
I wake to the sound of scratching against glass. My eyes snap open, my ears bleeding as the irritating noise becomes even louder.
“What the hell is making that noise?” I cough, my body sore from the hunt in the woods.
Springing out of bed, I glance around myself, for a second confused as to where I am. My heart grows as the events from earlier flash back in my mind, of how I finally faced my deepest fears and desires and let go.
I will never hide myself again, from anyone. For anyone.
It’s a liberating thought, one that gives me hope that maybe someday, I will finally find a man that will love me for who I am. The entirety of me, not a bland version of a woman that he wishes to have by his side.
A pang hits my chest, sudden sadness overtaking me.
I will be leaving soon, just after I gather enough information for my thesis. I will never see Nikolas again.
My heart aches as realization strikes me, of how I have unintentionally grown attached to that brooding male, how he’s crawled under my skin and made a home for himself in the deepest part of my soul.
I don’t truly know him, I console myself; it would be a very dangerous thing for me to form a bond with a man that holds so many secrets.
And yet, there’s something very strange yet so alluring about Nikolas, something that keeps me wanting more while at the same time warning me to keep my distance.
My thoughts flood with the other two mysterious figures that reside in the mansion.
Rein.
Hunter.
Did I imagine seeing them in the forest tonight?
No, I shake my head. If there’s anything that I excel at, it’s in my iron firm memory.
One that’s infallible, even under the most stressing of circumstances.
It has always set me apart from my colleagues at work, an extra something that has my professors in university fighting over me to be on their research teams.
I know what I saw.
Another thought strikes me then, one that’s even more disturbing perhaps. What were they doing there? There has to be a reasonable explanation for them being out in the woods in the middle of the night. Watching us.
“It doesn’t make sense,” I mutter, pacing my darkened room.
Another scratching noise interrupts my pondering.
I spin around, certain that I heard it coming from the high arched window. Going over to it, I inspect the glass. “Strange. There’s nothing here.” My gaze flies to the forest.
Ice washes over me.
A little girl of no more than eight years is standing slightly in front of the dense tree line, a light floral dress on her, staring straight at me. Her body still, unmoving, as if not breathing at all.
“Why is there a child out at this time of the night?”
Frantic, I bolt for the door, grabbing the extra clothing and pulling them on as I fly for the main entrance. Not caring for how I look, I run out the front door, desperate to help the little girl that might be in trouble.
A heavy feeling of dread creeps into my system as I approach the trees. My mind races, alarm bells going off. I stop about halfway, my feet not budging.
“What is your name?” I shout, keeping a calm tone so as to not scare her away.
“Are you lost?” Silence. I take a step forward, needing to see her from up close.
“Are you in trouble? Do you need help?” I keep walking, appearing calm and collected, my insides doing somersaults, screaming at me to not go any further.
Six feet separates me from the paralyzed child.
I notice that her skin is pale and yet it doesn’t look unhealthy.
Her eyes are a stunning shade of blue, like the brightest shade of sky on a hot summer’s day.
Beautiful chocolate ringlets adorned with baby pink satin ribbons fall freely down her tiny body.
I tilt my head, conflicted.
I take a step closer.
My insides claw at me, demanding I return to the mansion.
My hand reaches out, barely two feet now separating me from the little girl.
The child turns, bolting for the woods, her locks flying behind her as she disappears from sight.
“Wait!” I yell, springing into action and running into the ominous forest as all sense of distrust and self-preservation abandons me. “Stop!”
I storm after her, dodging between the thick trunks of the ancient trees, my gold locks getting tangled in the talon like branches. A heavy silence hangs around me, only the deafening sound of my blood pumping in my ears keeping my company.
A sudden clearing erupts before me, halting me in my tracks. A lake stands in the middle of it, its ebony waters perfectly still, not even a ripple on its glass like surface. The little girl stands at its edge, looking in, as if frozen in place.
“Get away from there!” I shout at her as the girl begins to ascend into the sinister looking depths. A terrible feeling sweeps through me as the child keeps moving, her tiny body disappearing almost completely as the water surrounds her.
The girl’s head goes under the surface.
I lunge forward, diving into the icy lake as panic for the child’s safety overtakes the acute fear for my own life and well-being. Treading water, I glance around, spinning in a desperate attempt to see the barest hint of her, praying that I won’t have to drag a lifeless body out to shore.
The full moon hangs low in the sky as minutes pass and I unconsciously swim further and further away from shore.
I dive, my head going under, lifting my eyelids as I take in my surroundings.
The deepest pit of black stares back at me, not a single fish or blade of grass visible in the obsidian like waters.
My hair blazes gold, like a delicate thread of never dying hope in the darkest depths of hell itself.
I hold my breath, swimming down, trying to make some sense of the growing shadows.
A sliver of silver appears before me.
I swim towards it, hope blooming in my chest. My lungs strain against the pressure, the adrenaline pushing me forward, urging me to hold on a little longer.
“Little thief...”
I spin around at the faint voice, my hair blocking my view as the strands wrap themselves around my face.
“Little thieeeeeeeeeeeef...”
My heart hammers, fingers locking up from sheer panic as I remove the strands from my eyes.
A wraith-like creature stares back at me through empty sockets, its skeletal limbs reaching for me as its fish-like tail swings back and forth in the currents.
I scream, bubbles of air escaping my lungs, hands and legs flapping wildly.
“You shouldn’t have returned, little thief,” the raspy voice echoes in my ears, shivers of dread erupting over me as all blood leaves my body. “You shouldn’t have tried to take something that doesn’t belong to you.”
Claw-like fingers wrap around my necklace that’s become a part of me, like a fifth limb, ripping it from around my neck. Ripples of energy explode around us, the intense shock waves pressing down on my chest, compressing my lungs.
“You thought you had escaped me the last time, didn’t you?” Gleeful cackling follows. “Foolish girl, you should have run away with him when you had the chance. I wouldn’t have been able to follow. You will never leave, now. Your soul—just like the souls of his family— belongs to me.”
I gasp, my throat burning up, lungs screaming for oxygen, pleading for some relief. Water rushes in, filling my mouth and sweeping into my airways.
My limbs turn stiff, mouth gaping open. My eyes are wide, unblinking, locked on the full moon illuminating the ebony lake.
“Sweet dreams, little thief.”
My body sinks, the dark waters swallowing me up.
Until nothing else remains.
Until all turns black.