Maury was off in an instant, light on his feet with a burst of
speed. He knew exactly where the witch had headed, he assumed as soon
as all hell broke loose in the kitchen. He didn’t break stride as
he took the stairs by two’s until he got to the top landing, about
to turn left to the attic. He came to a halt once he saw the old
woman slumped against the wall in the hallway to the right. Not
trusting her, he stepped carefully towards her and he watched her
chest rise and fall rapidly. He scented the air finding the scent of
fear and terror but anyone in that state could react in unpredictable
ways. He knew that at any moment she could strike out with her magic
even though she was forbidden from attacking any of them simply from
being startled.
The witch’s hair hung in thick damp strands like a chunky veil
in front of her face but seemed to pay him no mind when he gradually
lowered himself to his knees before her. On a good day he figured
that she would have loved to see a guardian in that position
preferably with a bowed head and almost like she read his thoughts
she let out a half-hearted giggle. Maury continued to stare at her
and had the urge to brush her hair from her face but did nothing
until she lifted her head and looked him in the eye. In the quiet,
without the constant snarl she usually wore he could almost see what
she had been in her youth. The colour of her eyes was the only thing
that stayed vivid on her face but he could see the beauty she used to
have still reflected there until her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He cleared his throat to speak but never got the words out…she
did. “There is something bad in this house.” She said quietly.
“It’s an evil thing, stained and it wants through to this world.
I could feel its intentions.” Lifting a shaking hand she pointed a
gnarled finger toward the door at the end of the hall. “Whose room
is that?” Maury looked away then and his nostrils flared as he took
in the scent of vanilla that has been hers since her birth and he
knew that was Kyra’s room but only asked. “Why? What is it and
what does it want?”
Gertie cackled fully before she spat out. “Why, a way in of
course! Be prepared Guardian.”
Now she tried to stand and put out a hand on the wall to help
push herself up so she didn’t have to touch Maury; he who didn’t
offer her a hand to help her anyway. As she scrambled herself up the
wall and back on to her feet, he stayed squatting on the floor with
his eyes trained on Kyra's door. When he shifted his gaze back to
Gertie he asked again gruffly. “What is it witch?”
She spoke even softer now while her eyes darted back to Kyra’s
bedroom door. “It will drain her dry Guardian and use her bones as
a tether itself to this world.” As he stood, the witch’s eyes
didn’t waver from the room ahead. Before he could stop himself he
reached out and touched her elbow in an effort to lead her away and
back downstairs but the moment he touched her, she jumped and hissed
like an animal, cornered against the wall and wrapped her arms around
her withered body in an effort to protect herself from some invisible
harm that she thought was coming to her.
Maury stepped back with his hands in the air and while the shock
could not be hidden from his face, the witch cowered, shaking and
soon after a crooked smile formed as he looked at her and said. “Wow
for a witch you sure do spook easy.” Gertie straightened herself
and kicked her chin up defiantly. “I am a Caretaker; there is no
use for my magic other than protecting my mistress.” The last word
was spoken softly. He slowly lowered his arms. “So you can’t
protect yourself?” he asked out of genuine curiosity.
The look she gave him was distant, remembering the agreement made
long ago that caused her pain. For a few seconds she seemed lost in
that place when Maury was just about to clear his throat to bring her
back. Quieter than he had heard her since they met she said simply.
“If at that point I am protecting her by using myself, as the
shield...” her words fell away and he stuffed his hands in his
pockets looking her straight in the eye, knowing what her answer
would be but he hedged anyway. “So…that means?”
“No,” she replied, not being able to hide the hurt she loosed
a breath. “No I cannot protect myself.”
No comments:
Post a Comment