Beneath the Watching

30. Stefan

30

STEFAN

We found Mabel on the floor in the library, cradling Kiara on her lap, tears streaming down her cheeks. The vision of my sister, who I’d held in my lap in a similar manner, kept creeping into my consciousness.

I’d come to trust Mabel in a way I’d never trusted a woman before, letting her fully into my life, being honest with her, and treasuring her. It was miraculous, when I thought about it.

The night my sister had given me the little gold ring had been the last time I ever saw her and while the memory was painful, it was cherished. My fingers curled around the thin band of gold I kept in my pocket. I’d give it to Mabel. There would never be anyone else I’d rather see it on.

Both my sister and Kiara were victims of other’s greed and quest for power. I wouldn’t miss Kiara by any means, but I was concerned for Mabel. The woman had been one of her best friends and Mabel had her own magic—though thankfully she wasn’t a source of it.

“Get out of my way,” Ilya snapped, shoving me to the side.

Mabel moved, laying Kiara back down on the floor and coming to stand by my side, clutching me around the waist. “She didn’t want to be here anymore. She killed herself,” she said quietly, hiccupping.

Fully expecting Ilya to blame her, I said, “It's not your fault.”

He ignored me, examining the woman he loved. He checked for a pulse in multiple places and brought her neck up to his mouth before he shook his head. “She’s gone,” he muttered in disbelief. It was obvious she was gone, but I understood his reluctance to accept the fact.

Ilya turned to Mabel. “What did she say to you?” he demanded.

She swallowed. “She was upset with everything that happened. She was very upset. She said she was done, and she was leaving.”

“What else?” Ilya said, his tone stern. I expected him to be a lot angrier than he was but already, a faint resignation was evident in his posture. It was almost as if he’d expected tragedy.

Mabel raised her eyes to meet his. “That was it. She was a mess, really upset. She said she didn’t ask for any of this. I’m sorry, Ilya, but she really did seem like she was done here, as she said.”

Not once, in the entire time I’d known Ilya had I ever seen him cry but I swore his eyes glistened. I didn’t think he had it in him to cry. Demons just didn’t do that, no matter what they faced.

“I can’t go get her,” he told me. “She went somewhere we can’t reach.” He stared at her with a sad finality.

Mabel asked, “How do you know?”

“Suicide sends you to a different Realm,” he said, smoothing Kiara’s hair back from her forehead. “It's an act of mercy from the fates. If you can’t cut it here, you’re sent there, to a certain Realm. Far away from what troubled you.”

Ilya went down on his knees and picked the body up and we moved out of the way. He carried her corpse out of the library, leaving the space.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Mabel, “I know you tried to help her.”

She nodded. “I did.”

“Ilya’s gonna try and go get her,” I told her. “I know it.”

“But he’s the one who troubled her. She couldn’t take being used by them.”

This was nothing I hadn’t already known, having deduced as much through my conversations with him. “I know but there’ll be no stopping him. Once his mind is made up, that’s it. He doesn’t stop until he’s forced to.”

“Are you going to go with him?”

We exited the library. “No, but I need to talk to him. He could get hurt when he tries, it’ll be considered an act of defiance.”

“He’s taking all this better than I expected. I mean, I’m upset but we kinda always knew, me and Madison, that she’d break one day. Just didn’t expect this to be the way...”

I grabbed Mabel’s hand as we turned down the hallway. “She was your friend and I’m sorry for your loss,” I paused and kissed her temple before continuing. “Hopefully she'll find some peace.”

“Hopefully,” Mabel agreed, quietly.

Mabel stayed in our quarters while I went to the lower levels of the castle. It wasn’t often anyone died in the Realm but when they did, they were brought to what was called an Intermission room. Here, cadavers were laid out, sometimes in a change of clothing, to await whatever was next. Sometimes the body would simply disappear, and sometimes it would go through rapid decomposition.

Ilya was standing beside a marble table where Kiara’s corpse was now displayed. “Has Lucian been notified?” I asked.

“No,” he rasped.

Moving closer to the table I examined her for any signs of change. For my friend’s sake, I prayed she wouldn’t transform into a pile of sludge. “Ramone?”

“No,” Ilya replied, forcefully. I nodded.

Several seconds passed before the air wavered and Ilya’s hand dropped to the table. He’d been holding Kiara’s, but she quietly disappeared.

The time I’d spent with Kiara had been short, only a couple meetings when Lucian had decided I’d train her to withstand temptation from Ramone via psychological weapons. It was no secret no love had ever been lost between us.

I was fully aware of Mabels’s close friendship and Ilya’s feelings for the woman, although his motivations behind the emotions may have left a lot to be desired. My girlfriend and my best friend were handling this unexpected event in a much better manner than I could have imagined. Mabel was never one to cry or whine but I knew she’d be hurting.

“When are you going to tell Ramone?” I asked Ilya, who was standing perfectly still, staring at the table that held his woman’s body moments before.

“He might already know,” he replied. I knew he was referring to the invisible thread that had connected the love of his life with the other man, the thread whose severance would’ve likely notified him instantly.

My hands slid into my pockets as I waited. “Do you need me to go with you?” I prompted, after he’d remained silent.

Ilya ran a hand through his hair and then gripped his chin before dropping his arm. “Yes, come with me.” He turned on his heel and headed out of the room. “We’ll go later on today,” he called over his shoulder.

A thought occurred to me, remembering what Mabel had told me about the gilded bottles of wine my peers drank from occasionally. “Wait,” I said, and Ilya stopped. “That wine—did Kiara drink it often?”

“Not really, I don’t think. Why?”

“Have you tested it?”

He became irritated. “Extensively. What’s your point?”

“Mabel said she threw away a bottle and it reappeared. Do you think it affected Kiara at all?”

Ilya’s shoulders sagged. “I appreciate what you’re doing but I’m responsible for her—me and Ramone. There’s several of those bottles around so I’m sure your girl has seen them more than once.”

He was likely correct, so I let the subject drop and watched him walk away to begin taking care of business. I’d told Mabel not to speak of the liquor, but too much had happened and I’d needed to know.

I didn’t have to ask what he was taking care of first. I knew he was going to inform Lucian that his long lost and recently returned daughter was dead by her own hand.