Page 61 of Heir to a Curse

He stopped to stare at me a moment and then placed a kiss on my nose. “Is something?”

“I love you,” I told him, feeling it like a physical thing in my gut. “I don’t know if the former me ever said it. Or how it’s possible because my head doesn’t work like everyone else’s, but I do.”

His smile in that moment was radiant. Like the one of his youth that I’d missed so much. I pulled him into my arms and gave him a kiss filled with everything I felt, and it lasted a while. He finally pulled away, breathing out slowly, but unable to hide his own tears as he turned to lead us back to the path.

We made our way down the stairs and back through the weave of spaces glimpsing into other parts of the world. Links or perhaps even weaknesses in the doorways between worlds. It was an exercise in breathing for me, holding back the tide of emotion, so I tried to focus on something else.

We passed the French speaking one again and I asked, “Why these places?”

“Family,” he said softly. “Sometimes new doors open when family moves.”

And that made sense. It also made sense why the door to the mansion was the furthest away. Was that the most recent move? The last century or so? “Is there a shrine at each?”

He nodded. “Not all as big, but focus on family.”

That I understood too. They were gathering places, a connection to link the family together, and therefore, Xiang to the other world. Did that mean if the shrine was destroyed, the doorway would be as well? I shivered at the thought. How horrible would that be? Stuck here, and not even a glimpse of any other human life.

As we got close to the lake and the door back to the mansion, I had to work to breathe. I thought about all that I had waiting for me in my world, and what I was leaving behind here. I’d lived my life alone. Was I ready for that to continue? It was then that I made up my mind.

“Will you come back with me, for a little while at least,” I begged.

He seemed undecided.

“Let me make you a little tea,” I offered, trying not to sound like I was desperate. “Just a little while,” I said. “Please.”

He nodded. “Little bit.”

I had to work to keep from jumping up and cheering. We approached the door and I reached out to open it. What would happen if someone was near when we went through? Would they see us?

Unlike the other spots we’d passed, this one was so overgrown with forest, I couldn’t hear anything. Not voices, or even animals. It was a bit eerie. I wondered if it was always like that, how had he ever found the door? Had something changed? Perhaps Sofia’s death? Since I wasn’t a true blood relative maybe that was why the door was overgrown, and the surrounding area so silent. My heart lurched at the thought the door was fading, soon to be reclaimed by the world. Fuck!

When the door opened, and Xiang tugged me through without hesitation, the difference was unmistakable. Xiang’s world, even with the giant bugs and monsters, was still and quiet compared to mine. But the door that brought them together, would soon close forever.

We stepped out into the light of a day, sun bright overhead, birds singing, and the rustle of trees around us. We stood in the door of the shrine, staring at my little cabin which looked the same. And my heart flipped again, thinking of Xiang and all he’d been deprived.

I led him across the bridge and to the cabin, pausing at the door, fearing I’d forgotten my key, or locked myself out, but it was open. “Come in, sit, please,” I begged him. “Let me make you tea.” And something to eat. I would have to pack. Food, water, tools. Enough for a few days at least. Which meant distracting Xiang.

I put the teapot on the stove to warm, and found my phone beside the bed, a little stunned to discover I’d lost almost five days in the short trip to Xiang’s world. Time moved differently. No wonder I seemed to have lost a bit of weight. Five days without eating was a lot.

There were messages from Addy, and the guys, a few from Montana. Only Addy’s seemed overly concerned about my absence. She demanded I call her soon, saying that hiding in the cabin wasn’t the best way to grieve. She had no idea.

I opened the fridge to see if anything was still edible. The berries were okay, though needed to be used. The lettuce was dead, but the eggs seemed okay. I threw together a batch of hardboiled eggs and cut up the strawberries while the water heated for the tea. There were two boxes of protein bars in the cupboard. The ones I normally kept in the truck because life on a construction site didn’t often have set break times. I pulled those out and put them aside. They would buy me some time.

Xiang wandered the space, looking out of place in his elegant robes. I’d have given him a palace if I could. He deserved one after the long trial he’d endured.

My stomach growled, and I stuffed my face with some crackers and cheese, all which I added to a tray of the last of the fresh fruit and veggies, before carrying it to the table. The teapot sang and I grabbed it up, putting a hot pad under it and adding it with the little tea set to the table, then going in search of my few tea choices.

My heart raced as I moved around the room, making mental notes of things I would need. What to pack. There was so much. And yet I didn’t think any of it would help.

My phone rang. I glanced at it. Addy. Fuck.

I answered on the second ring.

“Why haven’t you been answering my calls,” she demanded. “Are you sick?”

“No, just in my own world for a few days. Sorry,” I promised her as I sorted through the tea and picked one that I thought Xiang might like.

“I’ve been worried sick. No text messages, no callbacks. I even sent Montana out to check, and he said you didn’t answer your door. I was about ready to send the army in.”