Marysvale (17 page)

She gulped. When she continued, there
was a slight tremble in her voice.

“
It sniffed me from head to
foot. Its stench was horrid; but it was nothing in comparison to my
fear. They killed my horse and ate it slowly while I watched. I
thought they were going to do the same thing to me, but they
didn’t. The same monster then beat me. I’m sure it wasn’t using its
full strength, but it was enough. I was bloody and had some broken
ribs.”

She stopped, trying to keep her
composure. I’d heard more than I wanted, and I hoped she wouldn’t
go on. She was alive and that was sufficient. I had no desire to
hear the rest of the tale, both for her sake and for
mine.

It was Jane’s turn to put her arm
around Sarah, as she continued, “That same, disgusting beast drug
me by the hair, through the forest, and back to this cabin. It
flung me onto the porch and left.”

Jane and Hannah had tears in their
eyes.

“
I never knew,” muttered
Jane.

I was horrified by the brutality and my
mind reeled, trying to figure out why the Brean had left Sarah
alive. From the little I knew, it seemed like that was the first
time they had let anyone live. But why?

Sarah recovered and wiped the tears
from her eyes.

It was happening again…I felt strangely
detached; rational enough to know what was happening, but not sure
what to do about it. The anger grew. Why now? What did Sarah have
to do with it? Did her pain trigger it? My face flushed and my
hands shook. Fighting to control the fury and confusion, I clenched
my fists and closed my eyes. Taking deep breaths, I tried calming
down in a fruitless effort. My eyes felt like fire, as if they were
going to burn through the skin. Unable to hold them closed any
longer, I gave in to the rage. My eyelids flew open and that
strange powerful vision burst forth. All the souls of the forest
creatures filled my sight, in that same indescribable kaleidoscope
of colors and hues. This time I wasn’t filled with amazement; I had
a purpose. The anger gave me strength and a focus that I didn’t
otherwise have. My vision expanded and the hills folded away, like
peering through a powerful spyglass. The souls of living creatures
flew by, but I wasn’t interested in them. I was hunting for
something specific, and I found it miles away…the dark vortex of a
monster, silently stalking its way through the woods, unaware that
it, too, was being hunted.

C
ONSUMED
by rage, I felt powerful—sure I could easily
defeat the monster in battle. Everything faded from my sight,
except my target. I studied the way it moved, how it hung in the
shadows, slinking along the thicker parts of woods for cover, and
always sniffing the air. I leapt to my feet, hatred boiling in my
veins. Instantly, a warm, gentle but firm hand wrapped around my
wrist and restrained me, and a familiar voice floated dreamily
through my consciousness. It infuriated me. It was trying to
distract me from my prey.

I whirled on Sarah and was greeted with
the veil that blocked her soul from me.
After all that’s
happened to her, why was she trying to stop me?
She’s
scared,
I thought.
And it’s time for me to see what she’s
hiding.

I focused my newfound energy on the
shroud and slowly, against her will, it began to open a crack. But
it wasn’t fear she was hiding, it was hope. It certainly wasn’t
what I expected, and it startled me. Her hands reached up and
gently held my face, her eyes pleading not to dig further; not
because she wanted to hide something from me, but because she was
trying to protect me from some knowledge that could hurt
me.

It was enough to break the strange
trance. When the last of the anger had seeped away, I felt deeply
ashamed for what I had done. I’d broken into a friend who
purposefully didn’t want me there; one who had somehow taken
measures to keep me out. I had forced my way in and took something
that wasn’t mine to take. I felt terrible. I tried to pull away,
but Sarah held me firm.

She said something to me, and now that
the fury was over, I could finally comprehend her words.

“
You have to fight it, John.
I know anger can be a powerful force, but using it is never a good
choice. It’s a lonely road—one where true friends aren’t willing to
follow; and it’s a hard one to come back from. If you act in anger,
mistakes can be made, and people you love can be hurt.…”

She let that hang for a moment, like a
deserving knife in the heart, and I knew that she knew what I had
done.

Then she continued, “If you keep giving
in, the next time it will be easier, and then easier again, until
all regret and remorse have waxed cold. However,” she said softly,
“as with any temptation, the more you fight it, the easier it
becomes to control, until you become its master and not the other
way around.”

The shame I felt was so great that I
wanted to get on Smoke and run long and far and hide myself. Sarah
had another plan: she pulled me close, wrapped her arms around me,
and embraced me in a loving hug.

Quietly, so only she could hear, I
whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

She whispered back, “You’re
forgiven.”

Jane and Hannah exchanged bewildered
looks, as they tried to figure out what had just happened. Giving
up, Hannah simply stated, “That was strange.”

Jane, on the other hand, started to ask
Sarah a question; but before she could get out anything more than,
“Does he…?” Sarah, almost imperceptibly, shook her head and Jane
fell quiet.

The next day was bright and sunny, but
noticeably cooler. Jane and Hannah had slept in Sarah’s room. I
tried to give up my bed, but all three insisted that it wasn’t
necessary, claiming they always slept with Sarah in her amply large
one. Being vastly outnumbered, I finally retreated to the safety of
the loft.

After breakfast, we all helped with the
chores. I took care of the animals and repaired some fencing that
was badly in need of attention. Jane and Sarah quickly and
efficiently harvested the remainder of the garden and orchard, and
then went to work preserving what they had reaped. It was unclear
as to what Hannah did; she seemed busy, but it was difficult to
nail down exactly how she contributed. Apparently, Jane had trouble
determining it too, because she eventually commented on it quite
sharply—to which Hannah feigned great offense, saying that she was
like the grease that kept the wagon wheels turning: hard to see the
work that it does, but very important. Though, after Jane’s helpful
input, Hannah became much more effective.

It was just about dusk when Sarah
caught up with me outside the barn.

“
John,” she said.

I turned.

The tone of her voice told me that it
was serious. I put my tools down and looked at her.

“
Have you seen
them?”

I didn’t have to answer. As soon as she
asked the question, her eyes floated past me and she noticed the
rifle and the strung up crossbow leaning against the barn wall. I
knew exactly what she asked, and it wasn’t about Jane and Hannah.
Ever since I had discovered my new gift, I’d quickly put it to use
by sweeping the woods every so often. Today, not one, but two Brean
returned.

“
It’s the first time I’ve
seen two of them watching,” she said.

“
Mmm,” I replied. “There was
only one in the beginning. It left and then came back with the
other.”

She pondered this.

“
Tomorrow the girls will be
returning to Marysvale.”

“
Yes,” I said, already aware
of what she planned on asking. “I’ll accompany them.”

She looked relieved. “Thank
you.”

“
Though I’m not as familiar
with the Brean as you are, I don’t think this is a good
development. You should come with us.”

I already knew what her answer would
be—I could see it on her face; but I wanted to hear it
anyway.

She didn’t say anything for a moment,
then replied slowly, “I don’t think it would be good, for a number
of people, if I went to town. You’ll have a better trip if I don’t
go.”

“
A better trip, how?” I
prodded.

She didn’t answer, so I did. “Because
this isn’t just your home…it’s also your prison.”

She nodded slowly, as if I’d forced it
out of her.

“
Why?” I asked
simply.

“
I know this may be asking
too much,” she said softly. “I haven’t given you a lot of answers,
and I’m afraid I can’t give you much more. Please believe me when I
say it’s for your own protection that you do not know, at least for
now. What you don’t know, they can’t find out.”

She looked at me, hopeful that I would
accept what she said and not question her further.

Remembering how quickly she’d forgiven
me, after angrily breaking into her thoughts, I looked into her
eyes and said, “I trust you.”

Her eyes moistened and there was warmth
in her smile that I wasn’t sure I deserved.

Then she said, “I know you must be
concerned with where you are going to live for the winter. I want
you to stay here.”

I started to protest, but she cut me
off.

“
Will you stop arguing every
time someone does something nice for you, and just accept it? This
journey will put you at least four or five days out and there isn’t
anywhere to go without fighting the Brean. You can also put your
mind at ease: it won’t be charity—though there is nothing wrong
with that. I have plenty of work here for the both of us to get
done before the first snow flies, and even after. You’ll be a
tremendous help.” She then grinned and added, “I’ll see to
that.”

I couldn’t deny it would be a great
relief for me, so I accepted.

“
Good. Now let’s go find the
girls. I don’t trust those things, and I don’t want Jane and Hannah
out of our sight. I should warn you, Jane has grown up in a tough
world; and she has a very independent spirit. Chances are, she
won’t like the idea of your coming along. She may think I don’t
trust her.”

“
I won’t take no for an
answer,” I said defiantly.

“
Good.”

We found the girls in the kitchen, or
rather Sarah did; I stayed on the front porch where I could keep
track of the Brean—both of which were still there. I wondered if
they knew I could see them and hoped they wouldn’t stay too long. I
also knew that it wasn’t practical to sit here and watch them all
the time. There had been plenty of times during the night when they
could have come unnoticed and, unlike Sarah, I didn’t put too much
trust in the dog warning us, or any other animal for that
matter—except maybe Smoke. I still debated if it were safer for him
to be locked in the barn or left out in the pasture where he’d have
a running chance if attacked—probably the latter. Still, sitting
here made me feel more in control; at least I felt we’d have a
better chance of survival if they moved on us.

Jane came out shortly, carrying a drink
of water.

“
Here,” she said. “Sarah
sent me to bring this to you. You must be thirsty.”

“
Thank you.”

She eyed the rifle and the crossbow at
my feet.

“
What are those
for?”

“
Rabbits.”

“
No they aren’t. Besides,
you couldn’t hit a running rabbit with that thing,” she said,
pointing to the crossbow.

A plan formed in my mind, and I decided
to bait her.

“
Maybe I could. How would
you know?” I asked.

“
Then prove it.”

“
Sorry, I don’t see any
rabbits, do you?”

“
See, I knew you couldn’t;
you’re just making excuses now,” she accused.

“
How about I make you a
deal?”

“
This sounds more like a
wager,” she said disapprovingly. “And I don’t bet.”

“
Suit yourself,” I said,
acting like it didn’t matter either way. Then mustering the most
conceited look I could, added, “It’s probably better anyway; you
would have lost.”