Disclaimer: They are not mine, they are NOT mine, they are SO not mine! Sigh.
Dedication: This story is dedicated to Lady T for filling in for me, for putting up with my oddities and for going above and beyond the call of duty. The girl is a saint! ; )
The storm began sometime in the late afternoon. Of course, I had known it was coming since the day before when we had been riding in the woods. Nature has a way of showing us these things if we pay close attention.
The thunder came first and the dog was afraid. He started whining some time before it came in earnest. I took pity on him, as he had been very friendly that afternoon when Thomas had forced me to pet him. I could hear the almost constant rumbling of thunder, and the wind picked up immediately blowing cool and then warm air fiercely against my body as I went out to get him. The old panic crept in and I almost couldn't go to him, but his eyes were wild with fear and he was not barking or growling at me.
He licked my arm, whining softly as I untied the long rope from the tree with shaking fingers and took him into the house. My heart was in my throat as I closed the door behind us, but the dog merely sat before me on the floor, obviously very relieved to be inside.
I tried to comfort him by talking to him softly as I went through the house, closing and barring the windows from the rain that had not yet started. I shivered when a chill wind blew into my face through one of the windows as I struggled to close it.
The dog followed me everywhere, padding softly from room to room. I decided to name him "Shadow" because he refused to leave my side, and I was surprised to find that he was a comfort to me. I have never liked storms myself, and this one was ominous from the beginning.
It was late in the evening when the dog barked, nearly scaring me out of my wits. I went to the back door and peered out. The thunder boomed and lightning flashed, but it still had not yet begun to rain.
I could hear a great commotion in the chicken-house and, although I was afraid of the storm, I was even more furious at the ridiculous fox who was in all probability killing my chickens at that very moment. I grabbed a large stick that I kept at the back door for just this purpose. I opened the door and Shadow ran out before me eagerly toward the chicken coop.
As I neared the coop, I realized that the dog was now nowhere to be seen. The lightning flashed brightly, making things very clear for moments at a time and I called out to him, cursing myself for not having asked Thomas the dog's real name before he left. The chickens were silent by this time so I stepped a little further into the edge of the woods calling the dog loudly.
I took another step and suddenly, as the lightning flashed once again, Silas Hamilton's cold face was before me, less than a foot away. I screamed as a large, bloody hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me further into the woods. I tried to hit him with the stick, but he wrestled it away from my grasp easily and threatened me with it before throwing it well out of reach.
The rain finally came and as it did the forest floor grew slick. I struggled against his grasp, but he continued to pull me deeper into the woods. I cried out and fell as my foot slipped on the wet leaves and as I looked up the lightning flashed again revealing a large black form on the forest floor several feet away. As he pulled me to my feet, I struck out at him in anger, but he was too quick.
"You killed the dog!" I screamed, hot tears rolling down my cheeks, mingling with the cool raindrops. He laughed, an evil frightening sound.
"The dog did not seem to care for me," he shouted over the thunder. "Obviously, he takes after his master." His eyes were filled with hate. I looked around us quickly and noticed that we had reached the path.
"I offered you more than you deserve yesterday, Mrs. Richmond! I was willing to marry you to get what I wanted. You are a proud and foolish girl!" His eyes were crazed as he looked down at my body. "Did you think I didn't see you with him yesterday?" He leaned closer. "He will not have you either."
It dawned on me that I was not going to make it out of these woods alive. I saw myself lying still and lifeless on the wet forest floor like the dog and the panic welled up inside me. I began trying to think of an argument, anything to gain myself a little more time. "If you kill me, you will not get anything, can't you see that?"
He laughed again, throwing his head back and laughing like a fiend into the rain. "You are the most ignorant woman I have ever met!" he shouted. "What do you think you were signing all those days you came in, ignoring everything I said and hastily scribbling your signature on anything and everything I handed you?"
He pulled me closer and glared at me. "Who do you suppose will inherit the mill, your house and your holdings in the event of your tragic and -- inevitable -- death?" My eyes grew wide with fear as I realized what he was saying. "It would have seemed less suspicious had you married me and let me kill you slowly, as I had planned, but then you would not marry me if I was the last man alive, would you?"
I struggled to sound convincing, "Perhaps I was a bit hasty in..." He bellowed with laughter at that, and I tried to strike him again.
He grabbed my wrists more tightly and turned me around with his hands. One arm moved to my throat and I realized that he meant to choke me. He pulled me tightly to him, and I could feel his hot breath on my face as his arm tightened around my neck. I struggled, but I could feel the panic rising in my chest as I fought to breathe.
Suddenly, and completely without warning, I was knocked face-first to the ground. I gasped for air and turned to see Thomas standing over us with a tree limb. He must have hit Silas from behind with it. Before I could speak, the lightning flashed again and I saw Silas bending over the lifeless form of the dog pulling a long knife from its side. I tried to warn Thomas, but I still had not recovered my breath. I kicked at him and motioned frantically behind him.
Thomas turned around just barely in time and the two of them fought over the knife for some time. It was very dark and the thunder and the falling rain made it impossible for me to hear what was happening between them. Silas was a very large, strong man and Thomas, although very strong for his age was much younger and less experienced. I found my feet and was finally able to stand again just as a huge bolt of lightning struck very close.
The whole woods grew light as day for several moments and my heart froze as my mind struggled to take in what my eyes were seeing. Silas was standing back, repulsed, as he looked in shock and disgust at Thomas kneeling before him.
As the lightning flashed, I could see Thomas on his knees with the knife deeply impaled in his chest. Blood was spreading out in a slow and curious pattern, the rain causing it to run in dark red lines down his shirt to his waist.
All of this my mind saw and took in as if in a dream, but the most intriguing thing I remember -- that I am absolutely certain that I saw, was the stunned look on his face as he held out his hands and looked at them, with a strange, wondering look in his eyes. Long white bones that looked like claws of some kind protruded straight out from them, three on each hand. They were almost a foot long in length, and it was obvious that Thomas had never seen them before.
He looked at me then, horror and rage in his eyes as he screamed, "Run, Elizabeth!"
"Run!" He screamed again furiously when I hesitated.
I screamed back at him in anger and terror, furious with my inability to help him. Lightning flashed again and I looked deeply into his eyes one last time before I turned and ran. I ran because it was the only thing I could do for him. It was what he wanted -- for one of us to live.
It was black and the heavy rain was pelting down into my eyes making it difficult to see, even when the bright lightning flashed, revealing the path for moments at a time. Eventually, I could make out the house, and I ran toward it with everything I had left in me.
I didn't stop running until I reached the steps that led up to my bedroom, where I finally dropped to the floor, exhausted and emotionally destroyed. The last thing I remember was my cheek rubbing against the coarse fibers of the rug as my body shook fiercely, wracked with bitter sobs.
X~O~X
Logan blinked and looked down at his hands with a start. He was shaking. He breathed in a deep shuddering breath as his mind spun slowly back to the here and now.
What the girl had described was as close to him as he had ever imagined someone could be. He remembered the fear he had felt the first time the sharp metal claws had ripped painfully through his hands. He wondered what bones would feel like, coming through the skin. He felt a strong compassion for the young man who had died so long ago.
He got up and poured himself another glass of scotch. Before he even swallowed, he was already pouring the next one. It seeped down into his body, warm and comforting, as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, reminding himself that this was an just an old, old story and didn't mean anything to him.
He walked back to the bed, stretching and cracking his neck. He set the book down gently and removed his shirt, wiping his face with it before he threw it on the floor. He stretched out onto the bed on his stomach, holding the book closer to the light as he opened it carefully, and turned the page.
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