Page 14 of Liberty

I found them in the master bedroom. Oak had already placed her in James’s bed and was pulling the blanket over her body; her tiny shoes lay on the chair close by. She looked small within his giant bed. So human, so damn fragile.

“He wouldn’t have approved of you bringing a human into his home, you know. It’s too much temptation to overindulge,” Ellis said behind me, his arms crossed over his chest.

“He’s not here,” Oak stated, his words held a note of finality to them.

“He’s not,” I agreed, “But don’t you think he would want you to honor his wishes in his home while it’s still in his name?”

“Which name is that?” Oak turned to me, his neck bulging with restraint. “James Jones, James Johnson, James Smith, James Hatter? He’s had so many names over the years; it’s impossible to figure out which you would be referring to. Besides,” he sighed, “I think James would want us to get to the bottom of this.”

I was still in denial. I wanted to be in denial. Even when I knew it was too late, I knew the truths; I couldn’t turn back. “Bottom of what?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t feel it,” he hissed at me, then like a switch, he looked down at her, and a look of tenderness crossed his face. A look I had never seen on the man, not even two hundred years ago, when we all fought and bet our way over a girl we thought we loved.

“I feel something,” I admitted.

“Me too,” Ellis confirmed. “But, there is no telling what it means. It could be a curse.”

“Oh, it’s a curse, all right. Anytime I’m stuck in a room with you both, I feel like the most cursed person in the world. As far as the girl, though, pure luck that we found her, that’s all.”

Even as the words left my mouth, I didn’t believe them. Still, to let on that I feared something more was at work here was not an option. Whatever this was, I feared it. I feared that after it was all said and done, after we finally left this estate that was a key player in taking my life, everything I’d known will have changed. We would change.

“You’re lying,” Ellis accused even as he looked slightly confused that the accusation had left his mouth. “I – I don’t know how I know this. But I do. We all know we were meant to find the girl. ‘Why’ is the real question.”

Oak pulled up a wooden chair and placed it next to the head of the bed, then sat down, crossing his arms and stretching his legs as he watched her. “What do you plan on doing there, Oak?”

He didn’t answer for a long moment, but when he did, he stated it as if it was the obvious fact. “I will watch her until she wakes up.”

“That could be hours.” He knew this as well as I did.

“I’ll wait.”

“You need blood. You’ve weakened yourself tonight.” Ellis leaned against a dresser as he spoke.

“I’ll live.”

He would, but he needed blood to keep his strength and senses up. “An unfortunate side effect of our disorder.”

We all chuckled under our breath, just as my fingers itched to touch her again. I stepped forward cautiously, not disregarding the way Oak watched me. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know. I need to touch her,” I confessed.

Oak’s body tensed as if he had to protect her, no matter what. “You don’t need to do anything.”

Typically, this was true. Hell, I usually wouldn’t want to do anything at all. But the itching and burning in my fingers grew, urging me to lay them on her skin. I reached for her, and Oak blocked her. He would not make this easy, and why should he? Not when I spent my whole life giving him all the reasons in the world not to trust me.

But this, he needed to. “Please.”

It was one word. A beg, a plea. A phrase I rarely uttered, but it was all I had to offer him.

“If you hurt her, I’ll stake you myself. It’s been a long time coming, and you fucking know it,” he threatened.

I did know it, and I wouldn’t blame him for it. Still, when I stepped forward this time, he didn’t stop me. I took a deep breath and laid my hand upon her bruised and broken skin and closed my eyes. Warmth filled my fingers, then traveled up my arms before the feeling of fire licked my skin. I gasped at the same time as Ellis and Oak.

“What the actual fuck,” Ellis whispered, and I opened my eyes just in time to see her split skin knit together, and her bruises fade. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

I swallowed, trying to make sure my voice wasn’t shaky. “Yeah, neither did I.”