Page 83 of Anywhere

“Please, Mari, we really need ta talk about dis mornin’, and…”

“There is nothing to talk about. I told you then, and I will tell you now. I will never forgive you for what you did, and you have lost the right to call me your daughter. Just go away.” I grabbed the cloak off the back of my chair.

“I’ma so sorry, Mari. Please let me in,” he said, and my bottom lip wavered as I stared at the wooden door. “Ya dinnie understand. I jus’ want ta explain.”

I grabbed my canne from where I had it stashed in the closet and stopped to lay my hand on the door. “Da, ya broke me heart dis mornin’. Ya showed me colours in ya dat I never thought I’d see. But I understand now dat those colours be yer true nature, for it is in time of our greatest tests dat our inner demons or strength be shown.” I closed my eyes as the pain in my heart equaled the pain along my back.

“Ya promised to protect me, ya promised ta love me. What ya did was neither and instead ya chose ta hurt me for da only sliver of happiness I’ve ever taken from dis world. But, I be wantin’ ya ta know, dat yer never gonna break me soul. I dinnie care about yer reasons, but I will make ya da promise dat yer neva doin’ it again,” I said, my accent coming through with the dark rage. “Leave me be. I din’t care if I never see yer face again. Go sit wit the daughter dat is worth somethin’ to ya, ‘cause ya showed me yer heart fir me, and it be blacker den me hair.”

I could hear him crying on the other side of the door, and all it made me want to do was punch him. How dare he cry? Before I could open the door and follow through on my violent thoughts, I went to the far side of the bedroom and grabbed the small statue that was the release switch to the hidden tunnel. It was the one Rhys had always used to sneak through to get into my room when we were kids. The tunnel hadn’t been used for years, and I made a small ball of fire in my hands and tossed it in the air to light the way. Using my canne, I pulled down the thick cobwebs but stopped when they became so thick that I could barely see.

Disgusting.

Waving my hand in the air, the fireball got bigger and bigger until it touched the walls and the ceiling. Reaching back, I punched my arm forward, and the sizzling fire rolled away, consuming the webs and whatever else was lurking down here.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, I released the door, but it took several hard pushes to get it to move enough that I could squeeze out. I winced as the rock rubbed my back.

Leaping over thick roots while weaving through the trees I took off at a fast pace. Someone was blocking my sight, maybe the same person who tried to kill me. Or I think they were trying to kill me, I wasn’t certain. In my demon blood-induced haze, I remembered someone coming in before Rhys found me. The voice was not one that I recognized, but he kept asking me questions, and when I hadn’t answered, he yelled at the demons.

Whoever had been there wanted information from me. Even though I couldn’t remember, I was determined to find out who had almost killed me. If it hadn’t been for Rhys’s quick thinking, I have no doubt that I would’ve died on that dirt floor and my body long decayed by the time anyone found me.

Reaching the caves was a long run, but I had nowhere else to be. It was times like this that I wished Belle and I were closer. A sister to lean on would’ve been nice, but the moment my younger sister was born with dark red hair and bright green eyes, she was treated differently. She trained with me out of boredom, but other than that, we had nothing in common. Most of the time, it felt like she would’ve preferred to be the only child and have all of Da’s attention. I guess she was going to get her wish, because I didn’t care if I never saw him again. I’d already begun to make plans to leave the castle. Where I was going, I didn’t know, but I couldn’t stay one minute longer than necessary.

I envied Elewyen and the covens of women who hid from the rest of the world. They lived peacefully as a unit and loved and cared for one another like people should. She was free to roam wherever and whenever she wanted and didn’t have a man telling her what to do. Yes, she’d just been tied to Rook and Rhys, but Rhys wasn’t the type to take up the patriarchal mantel and begin ordering her around like a servant. I highly doubted that, for all of Rook’s bravado, he was like that either. Well, he might try, but Elewyen could hold her own. I smirked at the thought and what she would do to them if they even tried.

Slowing my pace as I neared the caves, I got low and snuck around the outer edge of the forest. There was no doubt in my mind that Rhys had killed all the demons, but it was the unknowns that I was more worried about. The witch I hired had been someone I used in the past for other small things and had no ties to any Faction. So how had she gotten involved?

Closing my eyes, I strained to hear inside the tunnel, but only silence greeted me. Avoiding the bright spots where the moon was shining through the tall canopy, I darted into the dark cave. I didn’t have Rhys’s gift for seeing in the dark as if it were daylight but being an Adair, I could see better than the average person. It took a moment, but once my eyes adjusted to the pitch-black space, I could make out the dark impressions of footprints in the dirt.

I followed the trail down to the cell I’d been kept in and knelt to stare at the mass of prints outside the door. I would’ve been happy to find anything that helped point me in the direction of this mystery man.

There was definitely more than just Rhys’s shitkickers. His large boot with the unique tread was easy to pick out amongst the other impressions. There was a demon, a woman’s boot, and another man’s imprint. Pulling out my phone, I quickly took a picture of the footprints and the inside of the cell.

A glint caught my eye, something stuck in the sand just inside the cell. Using my finger, I gave it a dust off and pulled out a man’s ring. It was a skull with small black gems for eyes and the letter R on the side. Holding it up, I stared at the piece that looked like one of the rings Rook would wear. It couldn’t be his…could it? No, he had no reason to lure me out here. He wouldn’t know the way even if he wanted to.

The sound of a man’s voice echoed down the long tunnel, and I shot to my feet. Stuffing the ring in my pocket, I darted out of the cell and listened to the voice that bounced around the cavernous space. Daring to get closer, I turned and tiptoed back the way I’d come.

“Why ya callin’ me? We agreed no communication.” The man’s voice had a deep, thick accent that was very guttural. I didn’t recognize who it was.

I needed to get closer. One silent footfall at a time, I inched my way back up the long tunnel.

“Naw, me never agreed ta dat. I’z said no one would get hurt if he fell in line. Dat hasn’t happened, has it?”

The voice was suddenly very loud, and a there was a flash of blue light from the tunnel opening as a small blue ball of fire was created.

Shite

Turning, I ran back the way I came. I looked at all the cells and finally darted into the one across from where I’d been held, slipping through the narrowly open door. Spinning, I stood behind the door and away from the small window opening.

“Shut da feck up! I’z be sick of yer bullshite. If tings dinnie start turnin’ in me favor, ya can firget me playin’ nice. Me next move will be ta kill one of dem.” I shuddered with the threat. Who was he talking about? “Dat be a mistake, da demons be daft.”

He was talking about me, I knew it. Who the hell was this man? My heart was hammering hard as I bent and silently slipped one of the blades from my boot. The bright blue ball filled the outer chamber with its eerie light. Taking a deep breath, I focused on calming my mind as I prepared to attack if it came to that.

“We be runnin’ outta time. Ya know dat.” The cell door across the way banged, and unable to help myself, I peeked through the narrow crack where the hinges met the wall. He was dressed in all black, with a quiver of arrows on his back and a sword at his hip. I knew right away by the way he walked this man was a trained warrior. I watched as he knelt and dug round in the dirt as he continued to speak to whoever was on the other end of the line.

“Ya fecked up. It be dat simple. Ya said it would work, but I ‘ave yet ta see him run off inta da sunset.” He stood, and before he could turn around, I moved away from the crack. “Naw, I din’t want ta hear yer shite excuses. Feck, feck, feck!” he screamed, and dread coiled its way around my body. “Naw, I’z no talkin’ ta ya. I cannie find somethin’.”

The ring in my pocket suddenly felt very heavy, knowing this must be what he was after. The sound of his boots seemed loud as he stomped out into the open space outside the cell. His shadow was cast on the wall of the cell I was standing in, and I held my breath to see if he was going to search the rest of the cells.