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  “Perhaps it’s time I changed my practices a little.” Turning to Gabrielle, he smiled. “Perhaps my mistakes have been taking girls who are too old to be trained. Maybe I should be choosing those that can still be molded to what I want.”

  “No! You leave her alone!” Heather shouted in protest as the man walked over to Gabrielle and ran his fingers through her matted hair. Unable to move under the strong hold of the guard, she stood, a tear rolling down her cheek.

  “No!” pleaded Heather, falling limp under the restraints. “Please, I will do whatever you want. Just please don't harm her. I’m the one that you desire.”

  His evil pride came back as his power was once again validated. He let go of Gabrielle with a small smile and walked back over to Heather.

  “Well now, that’s the type of obedience that I was looking for. Was that so difficult? Was all of this worth coming to the same outcome?” He looked up and down the young girl before turning his back to her and walking to Gabrielle.

  “Sadly, the die has been cast, and I find that you leave me wanting. There is too much fight and passion in you, and I have no use for that.”

  The room went cold with the inference. Lord James ran his hands through Gabrielle’s hair. His foul breath washed over her face, and she found herself holding her breath.

  He grinned, showing the most suggestive and disgusting expression Gabrielle had ever seen, and causing her to turn her head in disgust. At this, Lord James grabbed her face and forced her to look at him.

  “Now, that’s no way for you to act towards your Lord. There will be none of that as long as you live under me, and under me is exactly where you will be.” Lord James licked his cracked and peeling lips.

  He forced Gabrielle’s chin up to his putrid mouth and smashed his lips against hers. Gabrielle forced down the urge to vomit, and she could hear Heather screaming in the background. When he pulled away, there was a wicked grin plastered on his face.

  “You will do just fine. Just enough fight in you, but not so much that I can’t beat you into submission,” he said as he began to pace in front of the girls.

  “Unfortunately, I now find myself with one too many women and too much spirit between the two. This must be fixed, but how will it be done?” he asked, looking from one girl to the other. Heather tossed in the guard’s arms, trying to get to her sister but falling short.

  “Now, now. None of that. You had your chance, and you threw it away. It’s now your sister’s turn to remove herself from a life of filth.” An expression appeared on his face so foul it could have made a blind man wince.

  “I think there is a lesson in this for you. Yes. I think this will prove my position nicely. I will show you what comes from disobedience. I won't tolerate it in the slightest.”

  He walked towards Heather, but his eyes never left Gabrielle’s. “I have decided that you will still prove useful to me after all.” Lord James winked as he grabbed Heather’s arm. He motioned to the guard to release her but followed this with a warning.

  “If you attempt any foolishness, I will dispose of your beloved little sister.” Heather froze with this as she was released. Leading her by her upper arm, he took her across the room to Gabrielle.

  “Look at her. She is quite beautiful, is she not?” he asked Gabrielle with a sly expression. “She’s a beauty that should be protected by all, cherished to the end of time. Yet if this beauty turns its back to you, it can bring all life to an end.” He yanked on Heather’s arm, causing her to yelp and tears to flow down her cheeks as she looked back at her sister.

  The two girls stood motionlessly, crying in fear for one another.

  CLICK.

  The familiar yet terrifying sound caused Gabrielle to cry harder.

  “You will obey me. You will do all that you are asked, and you will never dishonor me. No matter your beauty, I will remedy the foolishness on your part swiftly and harshly. Make note of that.”

  She stood wordlessly, frozen by the fear that coursed through her body.

  “Now, come with me so that we may discuss a few things about your future,” he said to Heather.

  Having little fight left in her, she gave a fleeting glance to Gabrielle and mouthed, “I love you” as she was led away. Lord James led her from the fireplace, through the draperies, and to the balcony.

  Gabrielle stared in fear as the curtains flung open then fell still, and her sister disappeared out of sight. She strained to hear what was happening out on the balcony, and it maddened her to not know what was going on and if Heather was all right.

  The guards were completely aloof as if this was an everyday occurrence. It was as though they were void of all human emotion. The fire crackled, and Gabrielle felt a woeful sensation pour over her.

  After what felt like an eternity of silence, she heard footsteps coming from the balcony. The Lord emerged from the curtains with a grin on his face, but Heather was nowhere in sight.

  “What happened to Heather? What did you do to her?” Gabrielle’s voice trembled.

  “Your lovely sister and I have finally come to an arrangement, and I feel that you would appreciate its implication.” He then motioned for the guard to release her and waved her over to him before disappearing back on the balcony.

  Gabrielle looked at the guards, who stared forward, not even acknowledging that she was in their presence.

  Slowly, afraid of what she might find, she walked to the wall then pulled the curtains aside. With her eyes closed, she listened intently, but heard only the wind from the other side of the draperies.

  Gabrielle tried her best to act brave, but she could not bring herself to open her eyes and venture through the barrier to the balcony for fear of what she might find on the other side. A hand grabbed her by her hair and pulled her out into the night.

  As she felt herself being pulled through the fabric, Gabrielle kept her eyes closed. She stumbled over something as she was forced out onto the balcony, and when she opened her eyes to see what it was, she found herself face to face with the man that had caused her so much pain.

  Lord James still maintained the chilled look on his face, but he seemed content. He grabbed Gabrielle by her shoulders and pulled her to within an inch of his face.

  “When I tell you to do something, you do it without question. You do it right when you are commanded to do so! Never make me wait!” He shook her as he shouted in her face. Droplets of saliva landing on her nose and lips as he spoke, yet she remained strong in her stance.

  He then shoved Gabrielle, causing her to fall on her backside. She turned to investigate the object she had stumbled over, and a small scream escaped her lips when she discovered Heather bleeding from a newly opened wound across her forehead.

  “Your sister will serve as your very first lesson. Never cross me for as long as you live!” She looked at the man in horror, and tears of anger, fear, and sadness flushed her eyes, blurring her vision. The salt from her tears stung the fresh wounds on her cheeks as they ran down her face.

  Gabrielle reared her head and spat at the man that stood over her, angry at the brutality that he so easily displayed. Her aim was exact, and she managed to hit him in his eye. Letting out a loud yell the Lord struck her across the chin.

  “A further lesson it is, then!” he spat as he stepped over her and bent down to Heather. He grunted as he stood Heather up on her feet, and her eyes forced themselves open. She looked as though she were numb to the situation and had finally given up on fighting back.

  Lord James forced her to stabilize herself, holding her underneath the arms and looking at Gabrielle. Heather tried to look at her as well but found herself barely able to keep her eyes open and her head up. He escorted her to the railing of the balcony and leaned her over its edge. Heather didn't fight him.

  CLICK.

  “NO! DON’T!” Gabrielle shrieked as she crawled to her feet, tears freely flowing from her swollen eyes. He paused and looked at her intensely. His cold eyes tore through her like a spear through g
ame.

  His anger and cynicism were replaced with nothingness. He smiled at her, and then Heather disappeared over the railing.

  CLICK.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Gabrielle felt the air — and the life — flee from her body as she watched her sister lifelessly tumble over the railing. Her eyes widened, and the next thing she knew she was squeezing the rail, bile rising in her throat, preventing any words from escaping.

  Lord James stepped aside with a wide grin on his lips, displaying his action with pride in his chest. The tears ran dry. She wanted to cry more than ever, but something was keeping the tears from coming.

  The pale light of the moon and stars made Heather appear like an angel as she lay on the ground below.

  Gabrielle imagined herself back in her bedroom on a stormy night, looking out of her window at her father lying in the same position that her sister held now. One moment he was there on the ladder, removing the branches from a tree, and then the next he was gone.

  In the window, Gabrielle saw the face of her father change into Heather’s face. One moment she was there, and then the next she was gone.

  Why does this happen? Gabrielle thought, defeated. Papa, Alexandra, Fionn, Heather.

  Why did I think I could get us out of here?

  “Don’t feel sorrow for her, young one. She made her decision. Your future is still yet to be decided.” These words rang through her ears as she turned to face the man that she had known only for a brief time yet despised enough to last forever.

  CLICK.

  The Lord looked pleased with himself, as though he had just vanquished a mighty demon. Gabrielle stared blankly at him as he reached out his hand for her in a twisted but sweet gesture.

  Suddenly, the bracelet that she had been wearing for what seemed her entire life felt warm. She looked down at it, examining its texture.

  CLICK.

  She brought her gaze back to the man that stood in front of her and stared into his monstrous eyes. The look on his face slowly changed from contentment to something that greatly pleased her: defeat. Her gaze found its way up the wall of the castle to the night sky, filled with stars.

  She felt the railing dig into the small of her back, and her view inverted as she looked at the ground upside down. She felt her body rotate, and she found herself looking down at Heather. The distance between the two girls becoming smaller and smaller as she let herself tumble over the edge.

  CLICK.

  Is this what it feels like to fly? Gabrielle thought as the chill of the wind rushed past her body. She smiled as the pain left her and she found herself feeling calm in the fact that she would soon join her sister once again.

  Through the sound of rushing wind, she could hear Lord James yelling. He was enraged that she had bested him, and this made her smile.

  She was now so close to Heather that she could smell the fresh, dew-covered earth below her. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, enjoying the remainder of the fall.

  CLICK.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  A flash and twitch and Gabrielle flung her eyes open to find that she was no longer falling toward Heather, but rather she was standing on her own feet.

  Head swimming with utter confusion, she looked around happy to be out of the dream but confused because she knew that she was not back in her own home.

  Her stance began to falter, forcing her to look at the ground. Shocked, Gabrielle noticed that she was not, in fact, standing on the ground. Rather, she was standing — and not very steadily — on the top rung of an old ladder. Darkness and chilled air danced around her as a feeling of dreaded familiarity stabbed at her mind.

  The ladder she stood on was tilted against the side of a house. A branch scraped around her head as she battled her strange foe and peered into the window before her.

  There, looking back with almost an equally terrified look, was herself. Dim light filled the room, making it nearly impossible to see much, yet she knew she was looking at herself.

  What’s going on? Gabrielle was home, standing out in a storm and peering through a window into her own room at herself.

  Confusion raced through her mind as she lost focus of the interior of the room and found herself glaring at a reflection in the dampened glass.

  The reflection peering back at her was not her own, but her father’s. She was seeing through her father’s eyes.

  Frustration and incomprehension turned to rage as Gabrielle grasped the branch that she had been fencing with and ripped it from its home. Violently, she cast it to the ground and watched it fall.

  Rain began to fall more steadily, and thunder began to rumble. A crack of lightning raced across the sky, illuminating everything around her and making it appear as though it were a summer’s afternoon.

  From the top of her gaze, she could see someone across the yard, next to the tree that her father had hung a swing from that very day.

  A face was peering around the tree and looking directly at her. Suddenly, darkness again claimed the night, and the face was lost. A strange feeling of familiarity came over her as she thought about the face she had just seen.

  Gabrielle grasped at the ladder and leaned into the darkness to get a clearer look. Then suddenly, she again began to lose her footing. Frantically, she grasped out for anything within reach to avoid the fall, but the rain made all the surfaces she could find so slick that it rendered her helpless.

  She waved her arms like she was swimming, but it was no use. The world was inverted once again, and Gabrielle was falling.

  As she fell to her death, Gabrielle reached her arms out to stop her fall. A strange sensation ripped through her body, and she realized that she hadn’t hit the ground, but had gone through it.

  Slowly, she broke through the earth as though she were walking through a doorway. She was once again looking down at the broken figure that was once Heather.

  Gabrielle was moving so fast toward her sister that she didn’t close her eyes but rather stared directly into Heather’s. There her gaze remained as she grew closer and closer to the end of her journey.

  Just at the very moment of the two meeting one another for one last embrace, darkness roared through her vision, once again plummeting Gabrielle into total darkness.

  CLICK.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  With a jolt, Gabrielle threw herself out of the chair she sat in and found herself standing on her feet. There was a large crash, and she threw her eyes open to see what new hell had found its way to her.

  She was lightheaded from standing up too quickly, and her vision was blurred from a few remaining tears. Stabilizing herself, Gabrielle took a deep breath and smelled the distinct scent of chamomile and fresh cookies.

  As her vision cleared, Gabrielle looked around her surroundings. She was in a room. It was warm and inviting, causing her to feel a strange level of comfort. It was as though she had been there before, but many years ago, and she couldn't quite remember where it was.

  Then suddenly, she heard a sweet giggle. The sound of the laughter forced her to realize where she was; she was back in Alexandra’s loft.

  Only, it looked as it had when she’d first seen it, full of life and curiosities. The room was cluttered yet clean. It was all just a bad dream!

  Gabrielle turned and looked back to where she had risen. A teacup and small saucer lay broken on the floor. In the chair next to her, sitting right as rain, was Alexandra, sipping on her cup of tea. Gabrielle nearly fell to her knees when she realized she was safe in Alexandra’s loft and everything that had happened was all just a bad dream.

  “It was just a dream—” she whispered the words to herself to make them real. She shook her head to try and knock the sleep from her eyes.

  That was one realistic dream! It must have been the chamomile that made her drift off.

  “Well now, look who’s suddenly lively,” teased Alexandra, taking a sip from her tea and crossing her legs. Gabrielle broke from her daze.

&n
bsp; “I’m so sorry. I’ll clean up this mess right now,” she stammered, embarrassment warming her cheeks. She dropped to her knees to clean the mess, and Alexandra began to chuckle more steadily as she softly placed her own cup on the small table next to her.

  “My dear, there is nothing to apologize for in the slightest. You made no such mess,” Alexandra assured her, standing and taking a step towards the young girl.

  Gabrielle looked at where the broken china had been and stood in shock as the broken dishes vanished right before her eyes. She stared at Alexandra, searching for answers, but she only smiled and motioned to the chair.

  “Please sit, Gabrielle. There are some things that I would like to discuss with you.” Gabrielle stood dumbfounded and stared blankly at the old woman.

  “What’s happening? Was I asleep? You were… dead…I saw you with my own eyes,” she began, remembering what happened. Alexandra calmly took another sip of her tea and listened as the girl babbled on.

  “Dearest child. I am dead and have been for some time. Those are all merely relative, however. Please sit; it will help, I promise.”

  Gabrielle considered what Alexandra had just told her as a spinning enveloped her head. Realizing this was no stranger than what she had just been through, she slowly made her way to the chair and sat in it.

  Gabrielle wanted nothing more than to wake up in her home, hug her mother, cry about her bad day, tell her of her insane dream, and sip some tea in her father’s study.

  Something told her, deep down, that this would not be an option. Feeling as though she had no other choice, she turned to Alexandra and waited for answers.

  “I will do my best to ease you into what I’m about to say. Be warned, however, that this is in no way easily understood. You must listen with an open mind.” Gabrielle flinched as a new cup of tea appeared on the arm of her chair. She wanted to take a sip but feared what the consequences might be for drinking ghost tea.