Lady Thornton took her usual path for her morning exercise. She made a left out the front door of the manor and then passed by the small chapel that was on the west side of the property. From there she would head north towards the orchard, where she would walk for thirty minutes before returning to the manor. Ray knew this without seeing her because he had been watching her for days, memorizing her routine and marveling at her tenacity and her ability to avoid him. On a few occasions, he had put himself in her way, and she had made an abrupt turn and walked away. She even went so far as to cross over the lawns to make a beeline for the house. She never once looked at him or made any indication she had seen him. Stubborn woman, she is so different from the rest. She has to be the one.
He leaned back against the trunk of the tree he was resting in. He sat perched on a large limb. His leg hung down and he swung it back and forth as he brought his flute to his lips. He played a note. It rang out crisp and clear, reverberating across the still of the morning fog. His fingers glided across the flute as his lungs filled the instrument, and a song escaped from it and carried across the lawn, past orderly garden beds and around the chapel to the orchard where Lady Thornton was enjoying her exercise. Though he could not see her, he could imagine the look upon her face as his music reached her. She would hesitate and look about, expecting attack from some unknown quarter. She would pull her shawl tighter against her small shoulders and try to walk away, but she would find that quite impossible.
The music was like a beacon, none could resist, not even Lady Thornton. Ray swayed with the music and closed his eyes, preparing for the meeting. The forest around him stirred; the music had awoken more than he had intended. It did not matter, only the small folk would be roused from their hidey holes, and even then they would be silent watchers. Ray opened his eyes. A pair of foxes came out of their den and sat down at the base of the tree. They sat back on their hind legs, their bushy tails wrapped around them, clever eyes focused just beyond the forest. A deer ambled out from the forest and kept hidden in the brush. He spotted her ears flickering from side to side, large liquid eyes watching the rise as did the other birds, badgers, and other forest creatures that joined her.
The song reached its height and with it brought Lady Thornton over the rise. Her hair was braided down her back. A few wisps had come loose to frame her face. Her large dark eyes searched the horizon, looking for the source of the music. Knowing her fear of him, Ray remained hidden as he called her to him with the music. I'll wait, just for a moment longer. Once she enters the forest, she will not be able to run. Lady Thornton could not fight the pull, and she took small deliberate steps towards the forest, her gaze intent on the woods. She looked prepared to run like a startled rabbit.
She stopped at the pathway that marked the end of the walkway and the human domain. Her pink gown was a bright spot against the gray mist that swirled about her. She looked ethereal and haunting standing there watching the woods. She's stronger than I could have imagined. For her to resist at all is a wonder. He increased the tempo to end her hesitation. He could see her conflicted look as she fought the impulse and her better judgment. She has heard the stories the villagers tell. It is fueling her caution. She clutched her black shawl tighter just as he had seen in his imagination. She seemed to make up her mind as she came closer.
Catherine glanced over her shoulder. Is she being followed? He lowered the flute from his lips and focused on the gray mist behind her. The momentary lapse of the song weakened the spell, and she took a step back. The small folk he had summoned with his song whispered, excited and curious. The song lost effect on them and they were losing patience. I may lose control if I do not do something soon. He could not shake the feeling that she was being followed, and he dared not let anyone else cross over.
The wind blew around her hair, and the tassels at the edge of her shawl whipped about her waist. She did not move in one direction or the other. The small folk were hopping about the shadows. They dared not leave the protection of the trees, but they wanted her. Ray could taste their want. They were creatures of impulse and instinct. They could sense what she was, and they knew she had no defense. Patience or you will frighten her away. She saw them moving about, he knew from the widening of her eyes. He put the flute to his lips, prepared to begin the song anew, when something flew out from the forest. He cursed his lack of foresight. One of the small folk had taken matters in hand.
A bird shrieked and Lady Thornton twirled in place. She stumbled back as the shadow of the bird fell over her. She turned to run but stumbled and fell to her knees. Ray jumped down to give pursuit until he saw the owl settle upon the branch of a tree just above Lady Thornton. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. This is better than I could have planned.
Lady Thornton laughed at herself upon seeing the owl that had perched itself upon a branch at the edge of the garden path. It blinked large liquid eyes and hooted softly.
She pressed her palms to her chest. "A bit late for you, is it not, Miss Owl?"
The owl hooted back, "Careful, missus."
Ray frowned and wondered who had sent the owl. He had assumed because she came from the forest she was an ally, but in times like these you could never be certain. He hesitated to interrupt and frighten Lady Thornton. He decided to instead wait and watch. Lady Thornton shook herself. She was visibly shocked to be conversing with an owl.
"She'll know you crossed the barrier. She's always watching," the owl elaborated.
"Owls cannot talk," Lady Thornton said.
"You are correct. They do not in the other realm." The bird ruffled her feathers and tilted her head to watch Lady Thornton
"What do you mean by other realm?"
The owl clicked her beak. "A creature like you should know, unless..."
"That's enough, Tabitha." Mr. Thorn stepped up. The owl had said too much. He was not prepared to reveal everything to Lady Thornton just yet. This woman needed a delicate hand, he had learned. She had not seen him approach and she squeaked in alarm.
She rounded to face him and snapped her jaw shut. The owl, Tabitha, gave him a pointed look, if owls could do such a thing, and clicked her beak at him as well. She shifted on the branch, rocking from one foot to the other as if she wanted to say more but dared not in front of Ray. She turned her dark eyes back to Lady Thornton. "It was nice to meet you, missus." Then with the flutter of wings she was gone.
Lady Thornton stared after the owl with her mouth hanging open. Though Ray as a rule found humans unattractive, he had to admit Lady Thornton's naiveté had a certain appeal.
"That bird talked," she sputtered.
"It did," Ray said. He did not want to overwhelm her with too much information at once.
"Birds do not talk."
"Well, apparently they do." He smiled, and she turned to look at him. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. She glanced over her shoulder, considering fleeing, most likely.
She shook her head as if to shake off the very notion of talking birds. "I am sorry I must be going—" she started to say, but Ray Thorn ran around her, blocking her exit.
"I closed the gate; it's time we talked." He folded his arms over his chest.
"What are you talking about, what gate?"
"One of the gateways between your world and the Otherworld. That's not important right now. You've been avoiding me, Lady Thornton."
A complicated series of emotions flashed across her face, but she settled on indignation. "I have no obligation to you, sir. Please let me by."
He was impressed she had made an attempt to assert her authority. From what he had seen and knew of her, she was not the type to do so. She must be truly terrified. She tried to walk around him, but he shot his arm out to stop her once again.
"You cannot go until I release my spell. I guard the gate, and none pass without my permission."
"Saying a spell is real does not make it so, Mr. Thorn." She sidestepped him. He did not try to stop her; she had to learn.
She made it a few feet before she collided with the invisible barrier. She was unprepared for the collision and she hit her head against it. Sparks of light flared where she had touched it, and rippled outward like a rock being thrown into a pond. She stared at the spot for a few moments, her hands clutched at her side in fists.
"This is highly improper, Mr. Thorn. Please let me go," she said in a small voice, with her back turned to him.
A curious reaction, most humans shout, scream, or beg for their life. She pretends to be calm though I can smell her fear. Her fear was like a thick perfume clogging the air between them.
"Not until you hear what you must."
"I demand you let me leave!" She spun around and rushed at him, fist raised. He caught her hand easily and spun her so that she had her back pressed against his chest. He felt her heart hammering against him, and she shook with pent-up anger.
"I will let you go if you promise to listen," he whispered in her ear, and gooseflesh rose along her arm.
She nodded mutely in response.
"The other day, do you remember what we saw?"
"Nothing, it was a hearse for that poor woman Miss Smith."
"That is not true and you know it."
"I do not know what you're talking about." She squirmed in his grip and tried to break free. He released her and she fell to the ground. She landed on her knees and stared up at him with her wide frightened eyes.
"You saw Miss Smith postmortem, and it was not the first time, was it?"
She shook her head. "No, it's not true." She whimpered.
"She was following you, wasn't she?"
Tears were running down her face. "I never met Miss Smith, I swear. I should have ignored that song when I heard it and headed back inside. Col. Hawthorn says the Thorn Dwellers are real, but I thought to believe it would be madness."
So that is who told her about us. I should have known. The human has been causing problems for a long time. I will need to pay him a visit.
He decided to change tactics. "Then tell me, Lady Thornton, what of your irises? It was said no one grew Irises half as beautiful as yours, and when others asked your secret, you dared not tell them that you sang to the buds and they grew better because of it."
"Why are you asking me these things?"
He waved a hand, urging her to continue.
"I—have a knack for growing things. There is nothing special about it."
"What about Archibald? You had a rabbit when you lived in the country. One day you left the cage door open and your father's hounds found him. They ripped him to shreds. You held him and cried, and then he jumped up back to life as if nothing had happened. Do you remember that, Lady Thornton?"
She shook her head, her braid swinging back and forth. "He was stunned; the dogs only scared him."
She does not even question how I know these things because she is starting to make the connection, to see what she has avoided seeing for years.
"I want to leave. Please, you cannot keep me here," she gasped.
"Tell me first, Lady Thornton, have you ever seen something from the corner of your eye, for just an instant, but when you look more closely, it's just a boulder or an oddly shaped shrub? Well, what you thought you saw was real. There are strange things that you pretend not to see even when they're staring you in the face. You know it's true, and it's time you admit it aloud."
"What do you want me to say, Mr. Thorn? How did you find out about my illness? How could you have known?" She buried her face in her hands and wept.
This puzzled him. If she is ill, then she may not be the one I have sought. He crouched down beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder. He opened up his second sight. He could see the current of life like hundreds of rivers running through her body; none were polluted with illness that he could see. "What illness?" he asked.
She laughed but it was half mad.
Did I choose wrong after all? It will be my head if she is not the one, he thought.
"Don't pretend you do not know, Mr. Thorn. You have been taunting it with me since the day we met. It is my madness. I have had hallucinations since I was a child, spoken to people who were not there. I spent time at the sanitarium, as a girl, and they cured me, or so I thought. Since I have come here, they've returned." She grabbed onto his shirt front and stared up at him with wild eyes. "Please, do not tell Edward. He will set me aside, I know it. I will do whatever you ask."
Ray sat back on his heels. She thinks she is mad. She will not be ready the way she is now. He swept his gaze over her tearstained face. There was a glimmer of light hidden deep beneath the tangled threads of her soul. The humans damaged her, but she can be repaired. She has to be the one. I have no other options left.
She cried as she rocked back and forth, her arms wrapped around her torso. Her shawl slipped down and revealed her pink flesh underneath. He was shocked by how fragile she seemed. She was not ready; his plans would need to be delayed.
"Lady Thornton, have you ever considered that you might not be mad, that these things might be real?"
She looked up at him with a tearstained face. There was so much hope and desperation in her expression he had to turn away. She is so very human.
"I wish that were true, Mr. Thorn, but these things are not real. How could they be?"
He wanted to laugh, but it might set her over the edge. He was getting too sentimental, time was running out, and he could not be bothered to spare her feelings.
"Humans lie, Lady Thornton, and they hate what they cannot understand. That is how you came to be what you are. Why you deny yourself."
"There is nothing special about me; I am just a woman." Her breathing took on a ragged quality, and she scuttled back away from him. He could see it painted on her face—she was reliving some horrid memory from her past.
She is nearly too damaged. If I press her any further, she will break. With a sigh, Ray stood and walked over to Lady Thornton. She threw her hands up to shield her face. He touched his fingers to her temple and blew a bit of his magic onto her. Her eyes drooped and fell closed. Sleep for now, Lady Thornton, but soon you will be put to the test, and I only hope for your sake that you pass.