Beneath the Watching

22. Mabel

22

MABEL

Stefan left me to go meet with Ilya and some others. It seemed like they were stuck in endless meetings, and I knew they were trying to figure out how to get Kiara back. Lucian stopped by a few times to check in on me, making sure I was adjusting to life here as well as asking for personal antidotes on his daughter. I filled him in where I could, and he enjoyed the stories of us clubbing and having a great time together. He was, of course, unhappy to hear of Kiara’s mental health struggles. I shoved down my unease around the man, attempting to humor him and provide a connection with his offspring.

I was trying to open up more and not hide behind my quirks and be more sociable. Stefan had done the same when he told me about what happened with his sister, Zyra, and their mother. It helped me understand his own reluctance to get close to anyone and I couldn’t blame him, considering all he’d gone through.

Servants and cooks were bustling around me in the castle’s kitchens, and they’d finally given me my own workspace. All it took was for me to be a bit friendlier and stop seeing others as a threat, and I’d started making some friends. There were many questions I couldn’t answer, but I still found ways to start building relationships.

“I can’t believe you actually thought about using dirt to make brownies,” Tiffany laughed at me. She was one of the first girls I’d warmed up to. “It's still dirt.”

“Yeah, but it's not dirty dirt. Not like in the Third Realm. Nothing dies here, remember?”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Oh my God yes things die here. Just not as quickly. Please promise me I won’t find you in the gardens with a measuring cup.”

I laughed, picturing myself doing exactly that. “Fine, I won’t.” I grabbed a handful of asparagus and began chopping it for a food processor. “You do know there’s tons of beneficial minerals in dirt though, right? And it smells good.”

She stepped over to my table and started pushing the vegetables through the slot of my appliance. “I’ll tell you what—pine trees.” She glanced up at me. “The bark and the meat; there’s a bunch of nutrients in them. Let’s go get some later and make some stuff with that.”

Why did I never think of that? “Yes!” I exclaimed. “That’s a great idea. I can’t believe I never thought of that.”

Closing the cover of the mixer, I pushed the button and we both stared at it while it pulverized the contents. I let Tiffany remove the container and dump it into my mixing bowl. “You do know it was just a fleeting thought about dirt, right?”

She eyed me suspiciously. “Mm.”

“I swear. Okay, I do like the idea, and I know I make weird stuff but not that weird.”

“Uh huh,” she droned.

I stopped stirring the ingredients. “I will ban you from my bakery when I open it.”

“What are you gonna call it? The Sludgery?”

Somehow, my spoon found a nice green, mushy lump that I accidentally sent flying in Tiffany's general direction.

Which she then gathered from her chest and sent back my way.

That was how we found ourselves trekking off into the woods to gather pine tree ingredients, having been booted out of the kitchen with a stern warning from the head chef. I knew I shouldn’t go far so I insisted to Tiffany that we stay in the woods right by the castle. She didn’t question why and didn’t seem too eager to wander off into the wilderness.

Tiffany pulled out a small sharp-looking knife from a holder at her waist and began sawing a tiny offshoot from a larger branch. “We’ll just take a couple like this,” she said, placing the twig in a basket hanging from her wrist. “This is a white pine, the one over there is a red. Go take a sample.” She pointed several feet away.

“Okay,” I replied. “We can’t stay out here long.”

Stefan didn’t want me going outside and Benjamin and Jack never came with me to the kitchen seeing as I was always surrounded by people, including a couple of members of the Black Guard who were stationed right outside the doors. Ever present, I realized I hadn’t seen them when we’d ducked outside. They’d practically become invisible due to my familiarity with them.

Keeping an eye on her, my feet crunched pinecones and other debris and I stopped underneath the tree she’d pointed out. I was too short to reach any low hanging branches, so I jumped a little bit and grabbed the first limb I could. With my other hand, I snapped a twig off. Sap stuck to the side of my hand, and I tried wiping it off on my leg to no avail.

“Is this enough?” I called over to Tiffany. There was no answer and I looked around, trying to find her.

The woods had gone completely silent. Not even the sound of the wind disturbed the utter quiet of my surroundings. The atmosphere felt different as well, as if the forest had been uprooted and replaced in an entirely different location and yet somehow it still appeared the same. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, just underneath an irritating buzz that began to fill my head. The buzz was disembodied, like the music I used to hear—which the voice had informed me was my magic awakening. Unlike the music, the buzz was staticky.

My friend was nowhere to be found, and I couldn’t see the castle. Where the building once stood, there was a deep ravine with low-lying brush and some wetlands. It was as if the fortress had never existed.

I started yelling for my friend but there was no answer, and I didn’t expect one. Something way beyond my control had happened, and I had no idea what to do.

He’s coming .

My hair stood on end when I heard the voice in my head break through. “Who’s coming?” I asked.

He’s coming .

Frustration built up inside me over the pointlessness of having communication with an otherworldly being that didn’t do a thing for me other than to mostly make nonsensical or useless statements.

The voice hadn’t given me one single practical piece of information, ever. It just went on about things changing and told me about a stolen baby—who I’d since learned must’ve been Kiara. Still, it had nothing to do with me.

“Go away,” I muttered. “Wait. How do I get back to the castle? Where am I?” Regret filled me over my dismissal of the voice. What if, for once, it was helpful?

There was no answer forthcoming. Uncertain what to do, I walked back to the pine trees where Tiffany and I had been taking samples for my bread making. I dropped the little branch I’d been holding and turned in a circle, hoping and praying I’d find my friend.

It felt like hours had gone by, but I wasn’t sure and neither did I have a reliable source to tell me how much time had passed. The sunlight dimmed quickly, and the shadows toppled, leaving me alone to sit in the moss and scattered pine needles.

“I thought you said someone was coming?” I taunted the voice.

Wait.

Somehow, I knew the voice wasn’t talking about Stefan and I could only imagine how worried he was. A pang of guilt twinged in my breast. I knew he didn’t want me leaving the building and it had been difficult enough to convince him I’d be okay in the kitchens. Having Tiffany as a friend was a comfort to me and I enjoyed her company. Under no circumstances did I think I’d be separated from her when we were mere feet from the castle and in full view of its inhabitants. It figured the one time I did something fun, like go outside, that I’d be thrust into whatever this was.

Sighing, I sat down and rested my head on my knees. Maybe if I closed my eyes and reopened them everything would go back to normal? Dissociating wouldn’t work, not like it used to, so I didn’t bother trying to shut everything out. I’d come really far and stopped using my ridiculous coping mechanisms and had started opening up to people and letting them see me. Falling back on old habits would only hurt, not help me.

Stunted magic affected your mental health.

Startled by the revelation, I jumped up. “Where are my parents? Aren’t you my magic?” I asked the disembodied voice. “What Realm did they go to?” If nothing ever died, they had to be somewhere.

All I had were vague memories of a woman and a field full of daisies. No memory of a father. After that, I was placed into foster care and passed around through wealthy homes and treated like a doll—and expected to act like one, too. My childhood was not typical, and I was more than aware of the horror many endured while being a part of the system. I did have bad experiences, just not the stereotypical kind like black eyes and broken bones.

No, mine was saved for emotional and verbal abuse and always delivered with a pleasant smile. “Remember your place,” still echoed in my head when my guard was down.

“Sit still and smile.”

“Don’t show your teeth.”

“Don’t crinkle your eyes.”

“Don’t speak.”

Those were the things that had always run through the back of my head like I had a personal narration system. All I wanted was a family of my own, a place where I belonged and was accepted.

Instead, I embraced being different and allowed myself to be as off-putting as possible. It worked pretty fantastically at keeping people at bay and very few had ever broken through my barriers other than Madison, Kiara, and Al.

Your parents are dead.

The voice tore through my self-reflection, and I hiccupped as my tears started falling. In my heart, I’d known. I’d believed Colette. I’d always had that deep unexplained knowing they were gone. It didn’t lessen the blow of hearing the words, but it felt like a finalizing moment coming from the voice and it blew away my wishful thinking. I’d seen enough magic here in the Fourth Realm to know nothing could bring them back where I could see them.

Your magic was stunted. Except me.

“How was it stunted? What do you mean?” I waited, but no answer came. “Where is everybody? What happened?” My surroundings hadn’t changed back, and the castle was still gone. The stars had come out overhead and the moon was shining brightly.

Turning to examine the area once again, I suddenly came face to face with the man in black. I stumbled backwards, landing on the ground and he took a step forward. I didn’t know how long he’d been standing there or listening, and I was stunned at his appearance. There’s been no warning and he looked very real.

“Who are you?” I asked, making no move to get up. As tempting as it was, I didn’t reach out to feel his leg or try and make sure he wasn’t an apparition. His image was foreboding and if I had to guess, he wouldn’t take kindly to a stranger feeling his pants.

The man peered down at me, his eyes as dark as coal. The moon shined on his face, highlighting his harsh features. I couldn’t decide if he was beautiful or terrifying at night, where he looked more at home than the time I saw him reflected in the water of the stream. He cocked his head. “Stand up,” he ordered, his voice both seductive and stern.

I scooted backward and shakily stood up. “Why are you here, what do you want with me?”

“I am Josiah,” the man said. “I am going to speak with you.”

Taking another step backward, I tried to see where the castle had been, hoping it’d reappeared. All I really wanted was for Stefan to come and get me out of here but there was nobody to be found.

Before I knew what was happening, Josiah had seized my arms, and everything went black. I abruptly found myself inside what appeared to be a home’s living room. After I got over my shock, I realized he’d done what Stefan referred to as transitioning and effortlessly moved me to another plane.

Dark wood paneling surrounded me, and beautiful oil paintings lined the walls. Bouquets of white roses with what looked like blood on them were set on small tables between mahogany-trimmed leather couches. The air felt different here and I had to wonder where the man had taken me. It wasn’t anywhere I’d been before, for sure.

Letting out a breath, I asked, “Take me back, I don’t want to be here.”

An invisible force pushed me down onto the couch behind me. “Have no fear, I won’t hurt you,” Josiah said, coming closer. “You are going to ask the Sentient some questions for me.”

“Sentient?” I suspected he was talking about the voice, but I wasn’t going to admit to anything until I had a better understanding of what was going on.

He made no move to make himself comfortable and stood looming over me. “The voice in your head. Word travels fast; I know you’re an oracle.”

“It doesn’t tell me much of anything,” I stated. “I ask it questions and it doesn’t say a thing. I’m not sure I can help you.”

It dawned on me that if he had personal knowledge of me like that, he might have even more. “Can you tell me anything about my parents? The voice said they were dead. If you tell me what you know, I’ll ask the voice something.”

Reckless as it was, I’d decided to demand something of him. He didn’t strike me as the type to make bargains with, but he’d had the opportunity to hurt me in the past, and he hadn’t. I had something he needed, so I doubted he’d injure me.

“Yours and others were killed to halt specific bloodlines. I removed you as a child and placed you in the Third Realm.” Josiah continued to stare at me in his unnerving fashion.

Shock ran through me, stopping me from breathing. My teeth were clenched so hard they threatened to crack. “You?” I stammered.

“Yes, I knew your parents. Your father, specifically.”

I was stuck with one-word questions. “How?”

He stared at me for a moment. “You look like him. They were killed through no fault of their own and I transitioned you.”

He gave me about fifteen seconds to absorb this information before he continued. “I’ve given you an answer, now you will give me one. Ask the voice who brought Sem to power.”

“Some?”

“ Sem .” Josiah emphasized the name.

This was new territory for me. I’d never had an audience when trying to communicate with the voice Josiah had called a Sentient. I didn’t want to cooperate with him just yet, still reeling from what he’d told me, but it felt like I had no choice, and I couldn’t see the harm in it.

“Sentient, can you tell me who put Sem in power?” As I waited, I lifted my gaze to the man standing in front of me and got a closer look at his eyes. They weren’t completely black, as I’d thought before. A pearlescent coal-color surrounded his pupils, giving the impression of smoke. “I like your eyes,” I said, and then blushed when I remembered my goal of being less awkward. “I’m sorry, they’re just different. Kinda cool.” I glanced down at my lap when he narrowed his eyes.

“Has the Sentient answered you?” I shook my head. “Ask again,” he ordered.

The atmosphere in the room shifted and I repeated my question aloud.

An Ancient .

The voice finally answered, and I took a deep breath. “It said an ancient person,” I told Josiah.

“The Ancients...,” Josiah said, and closed his hands into fists. “Ask it for a name.”

“Do you have a name for the Ancient?” I asked.

No. I can’t give that to you.

"No you don’t have it or no you can’t give it?” Josiah would ask me for clarity, so there was no point in waiting to make the request.

He moved away, releasing me from his hold, and sat in an armchair. He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment before moving forward slightly. “Ask it why,” he demanded.

“Can you give me more information?” I asked the voice.

No. There is much movement .

He wasn’t going to like the answer I’d received but I gave it anyway. “She said there’s too much movement.” Josiah ran a hand through his hair and got up, obviously unhappy with what I’d said.

“What are you?” I asked. With his unique eyes and the differences in transitioning me to wherever we were, I knew he wasn’t like Stefan or Ilya—or anyone else I’d met. When Stefan had brought me here, it wasn’t instantaneous. There was also the clear level of indescribable authority Josiah seemed to possess. It seemed reasonable mountains would relocate themselves if he only breathed in their direction.

I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.

Josiah leveled his gaze at me and faintly curled his upper lip revealing two small sharp canine teeth. “I am many things,” was all he said.

My pulse escalated. Was he some sort of vampire? He didn’t seem to be like the ones I’d seen before in the castle’s main hall; his skin wasn’t white enough and neither was he outfitted like them. “Are you a vampire?” I hesitantly asked.

“I believe I just stated I am different.” He left the chair and crossed the room, stopping in front of me. “I will make use of you again. Please let your boyfriend know my business with you is done for the moment. No need to bring you to Sem.”

Josiah paused. “I know you’re trying to get to Kiara. Help her—if you can.” He held his hands out and I ignored them. “Where are we? Is she here?” I asked.

“You’re in a part of the Second Realm. You can’t help her here. Get up, I’m taking you back.”

“This is my chance to help her. How do you know I can’t?” I raised my voice, “Some crazy guy has her and she could be in trouble.”

I waited before asking, “And can you give me more information about my parents?”

Josiah tilted his head at me. “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“Can you help her? Help me?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m afraid that’s not possible nor do I have anything to gain by doing so. Some things are better left alone.”

Consoling myself, I knew I had more information on them than I’d had before. I backed away from him and searched for an exit, forcing myself to be content with what I got.

As foolish as I was being, I still had to try to help Kiara. I had no plan, no idea what I was doing just as Josiah said, but I figured if she was in this realm somewhere, she’d know her way around. Plus, if she supposedly had so much magic, she could transition us home once we got away from the guy who had taken her.

Spotting a door, I ran toward it. At the same moment I curled my hand around the knob, a hand clasped my shoulder, and I was shoved onto the floor. Landing with a thud, I twisted around and saw a dark fog coming through the walls. Josiah was bent over me with a scowl on his face as the mist behind us began to take form.

“Behind you!” I cried out.

The substance coming through the walls began to materialize, rearranging into corporeal figures with skeletal frames covered with dingy fabric. Josiah swirled around and immediately raised his hands.

The ghost-like apparitions appeared fully solid as they floated across the floor. I drew up my legs as fast as I could, intent on putting the door between myself and whatever these nightmare creatures were. I flipped back over, planning on crawling away when I felt Josiah grab my ankle. My chin hit the floor and my teeth rattled.

“Don’t move,” he commanded me.

It looked like he was trying to use magic against the beings, but he was unsuccessful. They continued to advance as I fought Josiah’s hold on me. He was focused entirely on the things drifting toward us and was using his energy in a futile attempt to keep them at bay.

“Stop moving,” he growled at me. “Hang on to me.” He took my arms and dragged them to his shoulders.

“No. Why?” I wiggled away from him, flopping like a fish on my side. He had one hand up in the air, fingers splayed.

“I can only hold them back for so long. If you’d like to get back to your boyfriend alive, put your arms around my neck. I’m getting you out of here.”

He looked pissed and I decided it was a really bad time to have him angry with me and did as I was told. “Why are you helping me?”

“I’m not.” He tugged me flush to his chest and I winced, uncomfortable with being so physically close to a stranger.

A chill ran through me as I looped my arms around his neck. All I could think of was the two deadly-looking teeth I’d seen hidden behind his lips. There was no choice but to trust him and I hoped I was making the right decision.

It wasn’t like I could get myself out of this mess. I was reliant on him to bring me home, return me to Stefan.

His shoulder moved and he wrapped his other arm around me, and we were suddenly back in the forest. My head spun and I dropped softly to the ground, rubbing my temples as I heard my captor-rescuer hiss.

“The Court’s business with her is done,” he said. I glanced up to see Stefan stalking in our direction, staring daggers at Josiah.

Stefan stooped beside me, checking me over before he helped me stand. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I am,” I answered, meeting Josiah’s eyes before turning back to Stefan. “I’m fine, he kept me safe.”

“I’ll deal with you later,” he warned me. He snagged my arm and pushed me behind him.

Josiah took a deep breath. “As I said, our business with her is done. I’ll be in touch, eventually.” He disappeared instantly, as if he’d never been standing before us.

Stefan whirled around. “What did he want with you?” I relayed what had happened and shuddered. “We need to go inside and stay inside,” Stefan ordered.