Page 7

CHAPTER 7

ELLA

T his had possibly been the longest day of Ella’s life. At least the life she remembered. Nothing had gone right, and everything felt like it had taken too much effort. The guests were demanding. The wash water was too hot. The linens would not come clean. She snapped at Sissy for asking if Mr . Tenebris had ordered an evening meal. She wanted to stuff cotton in her ears when Lillian prattled on about her wedding. She wanted to wish away Clara’s ability to speak so she wouldn’t have to listen to the girl gossip about Thane . It was too much for her today.

And that was because of Thane . He had invaded her dreams for the last two nights. For two days now, when she brought his evening meal, a meal he never ate, he asked her something. Last night, if she’d ever left Riverton . The night before, where he could get his horse shoed. Each time she left him, she felt exhausted and confused.

And then there were the dreams. It was no longer a faceless man but Thane in place of him. Thane , standing in the distance, speaking words she could not hear. She’d run to him only to find he was gone or had moved further away. Dreams of a lake with no bottom and a valley filled with tears. He consumed too many of her thoughts. The worst part was she didn’t know if she was happy or sad that she had lost the faceless man.

Mrs. A bustled into the kitchen with a tub full of dishes. Thankfully Clara had dish duty. She and Sissy had cleaned the rooms.

“Room five had to check out early,” Mrs . A said.

“Ella and Sissy are on room duty today. I have dishes and mopping.” Clara held up the mop she had not been using.

“And yet there is still a tub of dishes,” Mrs . A huffed as she set the tub near the sink. Clara rolled her eyes and dragged herself over to the wash water.

“I’ll clean it in the morning,” Ella said. She and Sissy had just finished the laundry, and her back hurt. Plus she wanted to bathe before she met with Thane . She felt an excited nervousness about seeing him.

“If you do it tonight, we can rent it tomorrow,” Mrs . A snapped. “ It won’t take long. Now go.”

“Fine.” Ella grabbed clean linens and stomped up the stairs.

Thane’s midday meal still sat on the tray outside his room. His trays always came back barely touched. She hoped he ate elsewhere.

“Ella?” Sissy called, walking up the steps, carrying a bucket. She looked at the same door Ella stared at.

“Don’t start. I’m not in the mood,” Ella warned, unlocking room five. The scent of unwashed bodies and stale linens greeted her. The two men who had stayed in the room were here working on the railway, and the entire room was covered in a fine black dust. It would take hours to get the room clean. Ella tugged the corners of the sheets from the first bed.

“Are you alright? You don’t seem like yourself.” Sissy went to the other bed.

“I’m fine.” Ella tossed the dirty sheets on the floor.

“Does this have something to do with Mr . Tenebris ?” Sissy asked, shaking a pillow from its case.

“Why does everyone seem to be so worried about him? He’s just a man. We have an inn full of men. Mr . Crawford is a man, and no one asks about him. No one wonders what that old goat does all day,” Ella snapped. Sissy’s eyes rounded in surprise. “ I’m sorry, that isn’t your fault.” Ella flopped onto the lumpy bed, which squeaked under her. Her mind raced with all the things William and Lillian had said about marriage and life. “ What do you want out of life, Sis ?” Ella asked as she watched Sissy move around the room. Her movements were smooth and well-practiced. She would make a good wife and mother.

“Oh, I don’t know, the same things every woman wants. A husband that loves her. A few children. Maybe a milk cow and a few chickens. Oh , and a large hearth to cook meals in. I’d also like a cast iron pot, one with a lid that fits.” Sissy smiled.

Ella looked down at her hands. Her knuckles were chapped from the lye in the wash water. Her eyes had looked dull in the mirror this morning. That seemed to be happening more and more. Her hair had lost its luster. Whoever she used to be was fading into whoever Ella was. “ I don’t want those things.”

Sissy sat down next to Ella . “ Well , of course not, silly. Those are my wants. We can’t have the same. Did something happen?”

“The inn is closing, and I fear marriage is my only option. William thinks we should marry. And that we’d have children and I’d help at the mill and…” Ella could feel tears of frustration burning her nose. “ I don’t want that, Sissy . William says he loves me, but I don’t think I can love anyone. I think I lost that with my memories.”

Sissy smiled and brushed the hair that clung to Ella’s cheek. “ You can’t forget how to love. You just haven’t found the right one.”

“But what if I never do?” Most of her memories were lost. But the shadow of an old love was still there like a clean spot on a dusty mantel.

“I think you have. You just don’t know it yet.” Sissy looked to the hall.

Ella looked up to see Thane standing in the doorway. He looked tired, his hair a tousled mess. He looked like he was fading too. Ella stood, wanting to go to him to ease away whatever deprived him of sleep. “ Are you alright?” The words surprised her.

“No. But that’s not your fault.” He ran his hands through his dark hair. “ I seemed to have missed the evening meal.”

“Yes, you did. But Ella can get you something.” Sissy pushed Ella towards Thane .

“Right. Um … let me…” Ella looked around the room, remembering it needed cleaning.

“I’ll take care of the room.” Sissy smiled. “ Go .”

“There is some stew left if you would like,” Ella said, stepping to the hall.

“I’m afraid that will have to wait. We must get to Mr . McCoy’s before it’s too late.”

“Too late for what?”

“Too late at night. My carriage driver has bad vision. Can you be ready soon?”

“Yes, I just need to change.” She looked at him once more in the low light. The shadows seemed to hide him. “ Are you sure you are alright?”

“Yes. I’m just eager for this to be over. You have less than an hour,” he said before stepping back into his room.

The kitchen was empty; neither Clara nor Mrs . A were anywhere to be found. The dirty dishes were still in the washtub. Ella quickly filled a bucket with water and hurried back to her room. She washed her face and dressed quickly, checking her reflection in her bedroom mirror. She leaned closer to see her eyes were dark blue-green, and her hair seemed to shimmer a bit more. That was probably because it needed a good washing and she was exhausted.

Ella hurried down the stairs to find Thane waiting in an empty dining room. He , too, had changed into a dark suit and gray shirt, but his hair was still a tangled mess and he still looked worn-out. She paused a few steps above Thane . “ Where is everyone?” An eerie silence filled the inn. There were no guests.

Thane looked around the room. “ I don’t know.” His gray eyes met hers. “ Gods above, I have forgotten how…” Thane let the rest of his words fall, and his eyes roamed up her body.

“You have forgotten what?” Ella took the last step so she was eye level with him.

He watched her for a moment, almost lost in his thoughts. “ That you must be tired since you worked all day. We should go so I can get you back.” He offered his arm to Ella .

“Right.” She looked over her shoulder for any sign of life. It felt as if time had stopped. Thane opened the front door, and they stepped out into the cool night air. “ This is my favorite time of day.”

“Mine too.” Thane nodded to the footman, who opened the door. “ Please , we haven’t much time.”

Ella felt underdressed for the luxurious interior of the dark carriage. The soft seats were covered in a lush black velvet, and the walls were covered in tufted silk with golden threads. She sat back, closing her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of finally sitting down. Thane sat across from her, pulling the door shut as the carriage rolled away from the inn.

The lush greenery that surrounded the inn faded into the plain brown village of Riverton . Lillian had said people once painted their homes and businesses in bright colors. But that stopped when visitors from other cities stopped traveling to Riverton as much. The quaintness of the small village wore off, and now people wanted the warm ocean breezes of the coastal cities.

Now everything melted into one colorless glob. The buildings blended into the wooden boardwalk that faded into the dirty road that cut the city in half. Thane’s polished carriage was a dark shadow against the brown. Like he was.

Thane wore a simple dark gray shirt and loose-fitting trousers tucked into black boots that hugged his calves. His dark suit coat lay next to him. Everything he wore was made for him. It all fit perfectly, and it differed greatly from the homespun look of Riverton and Morro . It was more than his clothing. His hair was a bit too long. His bottom lip was a bit too full, almost like he was pouting. That might have been why she was drawn to him. Neither of them fit into Riverton . Or it was the fact that he looked like a god sitting in the low light of the carriage.

A god she’d sell her soul for a kiss from.

Gods below, Ella , stop it.

“So.” She pushed down the thoughts of his mouth and how it would feel on her neck. “ What exactly did you need my help with? I don’t know much about Mr . McCoy .” Ella narrowed her gaze. “ If you are going to try something, I am not afraid to throw myself from this carriage.” She reached for the door. Thane smiled that stupid smile. The one that made her want to kiss that stupid mouth of his.

“You are safe. You should be thanking me. Lillian told me a certain widow’s son planned on stopping by tonight.”

Ella groaned, sitting back on the bench. “ Weepy - Eye Albert ?”

“I’m not sure if that was his name,” Thane said, reaching under the bench and pulling out a small basket. “ You do not like this Albert ?” He pulled a silver flask and two silver cups out of the basket. “ Brandy ?”

It wasn’t Ella’s favorite drink, but after the day she had, a little drink wouldn’t hurt. “ Please , and no, I don’t like Albert . There is something about him… almost as if…” Ella turned back to the window. Fields of grain and corn replaced the dirty brown houses of Riverton . She had never told anyone about the light.

“As if he sold his soul?” Thane handed her the cup.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“I know his type. Men like Albert have been making deals with my father for years. They always want what they cannot have and are willing to sell their soul for it.”

Right, that was why he said that. Not because he, too, could see some glow. “ And Mr . McCoy , is he like Albert ?” Ella took a sip of the brandy.

“No. He wanted to make a deal to save his sons from a life of hardship.” Thane turned to the window. “ And he has.”

“What does your father do that he can change people’s lives so easily?” The brandy tasted sweet on her tongue. It went down far easier than normal.

“Why so many questions?” Thane held up the flask. “ More brandy?”

Ella allowed him to fill the cup. It was small. Two wouldn’t have an ill effect on her. “ I can’t remember anything about my parents. I only ask in hopes it will loosen something in my memories. I’m sorry if I’m prying.”

Thane sat back. “ No , it’s fine. There isn’t much to say about my father. You really don’t remember anything?”

“No. Sometimes I have…” Ella stopped herself from saying more. She had never told anyone about the odd dreams or the faceless man. She hadn’t even told Sissy about places in her dreams that were so familiar and yet so foreign. Places that she longed to go back to. A man she missed.

“You what?” Thane asked.

She had the sudden urge to confess things she didn’t understand. To tell him about all the moments he had missed. The hardship her time away had caused. Away from what? Thankfully , the carriage stopped and the footman opened the door, and she saved herself from that humiliation. “ We’re here,” Ella said, swallowing the rest of the brandy.

“Yes, perfect timing.”

Ella allowed Thane to help her from the carriage. Mr . McCoy’s large stone manor stood dark. No servants or stable boys welcomed them. “ Was he expecting you?”

“Yes,” Thane said, tugging on a jacket with silver threads. It seemed to move on its own, almost as if it were made of smoke.

She must have drunk more than she thought. It was just a jacket. The sun was just slipping behind the mountains. The day’s warmth disappeared, fading into the bruised night sky. Ailith called this the magic hour. The time between the day’s last dance and before the creatures of the night took to the dance floor. This was the time when the space between the mortals and the gods was the thinnest. The time when the things that hid in the dark would snatch children who dawdled, and when the gods would listen to maidens who made silly wishes on the first star of the night. It was also the time that Ella had been found.

Most people feared this time of day. But Ella loved it. It was when she felt the most like herself. A self she barely knew. But something felt different about tonight. Her mind and heart slowed. Her breath sounded loud in her ears. The world around her looked different. Brighter . Harsh . She saw the shadows creeping out from under rocks and behind trees.

Her limbs were heavy and her head light as the part of her she had lost woke. It stretched and yawned, shook off a year’s worth of darkness. She stood ready to do what was being asked of her. What was being asked of her?

Silly girl, you made a bargain. You have two left to collect. Ella smiled to herself. Right . Two left. The voice that filled her head sounded like her, yet different. Colder .

“It’s time.”

Ella jumped at how close Thane was. His breath was warm on her cheek. She followed him. The shadows hissed and cowered from him. This isn’t right, Ella . Wake up, a voice screamed at her. Ella’s voice. But she wasn't Ella . She was someone else. Thane opened the door for her.

Do you remember what to do, dove?

His voice filled her head without speaking a word. She nodded, never feeling surer of anything in her life. The voice still screamed for Ella to stop as they stepped into the dark halls of the manor. The furniture had been covered, as if the occupants had left for a long vacation. The house was empty of life, except for one. Mr . McCoy sat with his back to them.

“I thought you weren’t coming. I hoped you weren’t. I sent my wife and children away. I didn’t want them to witness this. I don’t want it to look as if I took my own life. Please .”

Mr. McCoy picked up a glass that sat on the table next to him. The fire was dying, and the scotch bottle was empty. The time had come.

“You made a deal.” The words slipped from Ella’s mouth before she could stop them.

Mr. McCoy stood, turning. “ You ? I knew there was something about you. I warned Mr . Garvey about you. Will you do the same to his son?”

His words had no meaning to her. She didn’t control the deals that were made. Mr . McCoy’s soul glowed brightly under his skin, and the tethers that held it in pulsed with life. Ella struggled with what was happening. The woman who stood before the older man was not Ella . This woman recognized herself and where she belonged. Ella wanted to be her.

Thane took her hand and brought it to his lips. “ I have missed you so much, my love. Please hurry back to me.”

She had missed him, too, but when she tried to say the words, her mouth wouldn’t form them. Her heart broke for how long they had been apart.

Thane touched her cheek. “ I know, my love. There will be another time to confess our wrongs. But not now. We don’t have much time before you forget everything again. You know what must be done. I cannot help you.”

She nodded and turned to Mr . McCoy as tears ran down his cheeks. He had traded his soul for the fortune his family now enjoyed. His sons would never know the cattle empire they would foster for generations had cost their father his soul.

Ella sadly smiled, giving in to the sweet surrender of what was about to happen. This was the life she missed. Her lips formed the familiar words she knew from a different time. “ You have given your soul for my lord to keep. Now lie down to sleep, for your soul, I shall reap.” As the words left her mouth, the world around her went dark. The last thing she saw was the glow of Mr . McCoy’s soul being taken into shadows that swirled around her.