Chapter 21 #2
Dark clouds swirl in patterns, stretching out over the river, out to the south. I spin in a circle as I trace the pattern it’s making, the blood chilling in my veins.
The clouds form a dark, giant swirl, centering right over Silent Bend.
And as I stand here, the flakes drifting down, I feel the temperature dropping. It’s freezing. More than that, it has to be far below freezing.
That sky, this weather. It isn’t natural.
Curses.
The Hanging Tree.
The southern Estate, Jasmine’s cursed swamp land.
Somehow, I know. This storm, that sky. It isn’t natural. Something is coming beside the King in just a few days.
“Have you ever seen anything else like this?” I ask as I hear Rath step beside me.
“Just once,” he responds without further explanation.
I feel the temperature drop even further. My body starts to shake. “I think maybe this is exactly what we needed. People’s homes won’t be prepared for these temperatures.”
“Pipes will burst,” Rath agrees.
“People won’t be able to stay warm enough,” I continue. “And those skies, it’s going to scare a lot of people away.”
“Katina just came from the grocery store,” Rath says. “She said there was almost nothing left on the shelves. Bread and produce gone. The water bottles were cleared out. People were warned this morning that things were going to get bad.”
“Will it be enough to make them leave town?” I ask, not quite daring to hope that this will be enough.
“Not everyone.” Rath puts his arm around me as a harsh wind picks up, chilling me straight through. “But those who know the true history of this town will recognize what is happening. Many will try to warn the others.”
My thoughts turn inward as my eyes look up at that sky. A dark, depressive stone settles in my stomach and I cling tighter to Rath’s side.
“Would he be ashamed of me?” I ask quietly. “Henry. My father. Would he be ashamed of what I’m doing?”
Rath doesn’t respond right away. As usual, he thinks deeply about what he says before the words escape his lips.
“Everyone has to make their own decisions about their fate and future. Your father made his, and it wasn’t easy.
You must make your own decisions, Alivia. You were born into a high calling.”
“He asked me to stay away from the House and the King,” I breathe, creating a big cloud of white. “But I don’t know how he expected me to accomplish that.”
“Parents always desire what they think will be best for their offspring,” Rath says, hugging me tightly back. “But in the end, the individual must make their own choices.”
Choices. I’ve had many, many of them to make since arriving in Silent Bend. Have I made the right ones?
“We should call Sheriff McCoy,” I say, clinging to Rath for just a few moments. It’s nice, just for a little while, to have someone support and help me.
“He’s already on his way,” he responds. “He should be here any minute.”
As if on cue, the tops of the lights of his cruiser peak into view, followed by the car. We watch him as he rolls up the driveway and then park just to the side of us.
“You got a witch in that House of yours, as well?” Luke asks as he steps out into the snow beside us, as I let Rath go. I fold my arms over my chest, hugging myself tight. Luke puts his hands on his hips and stares up at the slowly swirling sky.
I shake my head. “I think something a lot bigger than us isn’t happy about something that’s going on.”
We’re all quiet for a moment, because just then the far off sound of thunder ripples through the air.
“There was a state of emergency issued for west Hipsbro County this morning,” Luke finally says.
“The meteorologists are going nuts, calling this a once in a lifetime phenomenon. I’m surprised you don’t have science geeks showing up at your door yet.
I swear, that storm looks like it’s centered over your house. ”
It’s true. It’s difficult to tell what is directly at the center of the eye, but it does look like it might be the Conrath Estate.
“They’ve called,” Rath says. “I wouldn’t grant them access to the property.”
Luke nods. “Well, that’s probably good. The officials are recommending everyone get out of town until this clears out. It’s supposed to get a lot worse. They’re recommending people head up to Jackson or down to Biloxi.”
I nod, feeling something lift off my chest. “That’s good. Are people leaving?”
Luke shrugs. “Some. I suspect more will by morning when even more pipes break and the temperatures reach zero.”
“Are you going to be headed out of town soon?” I ask, looking over at him.
Luke meets my eyes and there’s complicated emotions there, it’s easy to tell. Luke and I have come to understand each other, but he doesn’t like what my presence here has done to his town. “I’m needed here to protect and serve.”
I nod, because I knew that would be his answer. “You going to be okay wherever you live? Enough water, heat?”
“Rath here had a pallet of water delivered to my place about an hour ago,” Luke says, nodding in his direction in gratitude. “And I’ve got a wood burner, so I’ll be okay.”
I nod. “I’d, of course, tell you you’re welcome to stay here if you need, but that might not be a wise idea considering the house guests I’m about to be entertaining.”
Luke gives a small, humorless chuckle. “I hope you’ve already dismissed your staff for a while?”
Rath nods. “They all left about two hours ago. They’ve been given paid leave and an extended vacation to San Diego until I tell them it’s time to come home.”
Luke laughs again. “San Diego. Now there’s a good idea. How about we all take a good long vacation until this blows over?”
And I chuckle, too. The idea of a vacation seems so ludicrous now. So human and mundane.
“I’m going to keep doing as much as I can to keep getting people out of here,” Luke says as he takes two steps back toward his cruiser. “You heard anything from Jasmine, yet?”
I shake my head. “She’s laying low. You heard of any more attacks?”
“Two teenagers,” he says, a hard edge to his voice. “And a construction worker. We’re up to six people from town now. I think that’s part of the reason people are leaving. They’re afraid.”
“They should be,” I say. And I hate the confession.
Luke opens the driver’s door. “Alivia?” I look back up at him. “I’ll be around, but I really hope I don’t have to talk to you much until all this is over, so if you don’t hear from me…”
“I understand,” I nod.
He gives me a thin-lipped smile. He climbs into his car, and pulls around the driveway and back toward the gate.