Snow Heart (11 page)

“How dare…” Alric yelled then paused. He’d lost his composure for a split second. This was Aunty and he couldn’t allow himself to yell at her. She was important.

“Tch.” Aunty turned away from him. “You’re just like your parents. All you ever think about is hurting people. Those bastards might have hurt you in ways you’ll never be normal again. But still, Alric, you don’t have to be like them.”

He ground his teeth together and started to walk away. “She’s said similar things to me. Every time I hurt her that girl never stops trying to help me.”

Aunty smirked, following after him. “And?”

“And I want her dead,” Alric replied.

She snatched hold of his arms and forced him to turn around. “Stupid fool. Stop pushing everyone away from you. Don’t you get it? There are some people out there who care about you. Me being one of them.”

“Hell yeah.” Aunty laughed, pulling Alric into her arms. “You’re my nephew, Alric. I might not have been here a lot but I’m here now.”

He slid his eyes closed and absorbed her warmth—the same warmth that embraced him on the night he murdered his parents. It was the same warmth that took him in even while everyone else called him a Monster and a Demon. Aunty was finally back on Macter land and there to be a mother to him—something he never had.

CHAPTER 14

“You’re having one,” Aunty said bluntly. “And that’s final.”

Alric glowered at her across the table, almost wishing he could strike her down with a bolt of lightning. Aunty wasn’t a Cursed-One so his powers over her were zilch. She’d already insisted on unchaining Nieves which was a drawback on his future torture. Nieves was even given a room of her own. The arrival of his aunt put major blockades on his plans.

Then again, if Nieves tried to leave the Macter land he would enjoy demonstrating a little of his power. He could hardly wait to see the look of surprise and terror on her face when the time came about.

“Well.” He thought, “Maybe I should have listened after all.” He turned his eyes to Nieves who was sitting a little crouched at her end of the table. Her shoulders were slouched as if she wanted to shrink away from Aunty’s view.

Alric smiled and turned back to Aunty. “Why don’t you spend time with Nieves tomorrow?”

Nieves’s eyes were surely widening, Alric thought.

Aunty let her face change into an expression of ‘Are you stupid?’ but for some reason it slowly moved into something calmer and more sweet—something that was new for the hardcore Aunty. “I guess. Who knows, she might become part of this family.”

"What is she suggesting," Alric growled wishing he could blurt it out loud.

The door slid open, scraping lightly against the floor. “Aunty,” muttered a soft child’s voice. Alric knew the voice belonged to Eliza even before she came running through the doors to galumph Aunty. Jacob as usual followed slowly behind her, being sure to remain silent as possible.

Rusuto walked in with a smile on his face. “Guess who I brought?” he joyfully sang the words.

“Let me guess,” Alric said dryly. “The whole god forsaken family.”

“Uh…” Rusuto stood their dumbfounded. “No. But I’m sure if you give me time I could round everyone up in the large gazebo. Then again it is rather chilly outside and we wouldn’t want anyone to catch a cold.”

“Who is this?” asked Aunty, slightly unfamiliar with Jacob and Angel. She knew Eliza from short visits from the little girl but she had never seen Jacob or Angel in her life. She also had never met the next person to walk into the room. “Who is that?”

Rusuto leapt at Dan, wrapping his arms around him. “My child prostitute.”

“What the hell!” Dan shoved him away quickly. “Like hell I’m a prostitute.”

Angel laughed, kneeling onto the ground next to Aunty. “I am Angel. Rusuto has told us so much about you. By the way, I just love your hair.”

Aunty of course smiled at the compliment. “I like her already.”

“I apologize for interrupting,” a man said in a cool mellow tone. He slowly walked to the door’s entrance and gave a look to Alric—asking permission to enter. Alric gave a nod and turned his head away to catch sight of the star-struck Nieves. Apparently she remembered the man from the night he kidnapped her from Boris’s house.

Alric used Leon for small tasks and missions. He was one of the Cursed and one of the only ones who didn’t get abused. Leon was like a tamed kitten, doing whatever Alric asked without a second thought. To other people Leon was a puppet but he was much smarter than that.

Being at Alric’s side had benefits—freedom outside of Macter land.

“Alric,” Leon stated in a soft tone then began to gently whisper in his ear.

The Head Macter’s face became all too lifeless, as if blocking out all emotions that would come to mind. He lifted to his feet and proceeded to follow Leon to the door.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” asked Aunty with full authority.

Alric looked over his shoulder at her. “Out. I’ll return when I choose.”

†

“Rusuto,” Nieves asked as he led her back to the room. “Where is Wilhelm?” She still hadn’t learned of his whereabouts—even though she heard from Bartolemé that Wilhelm wasn’t allowed to be murdered.

The smile on Rusuto’s face wavered only a little. “It’s his cursed-night.”

Nieves’s felt confused. “His what?”

“The Cursed-Ones turn into foxes at night according to a certain pattern,” Rusuto explained. “Tonight happens to be Wilhelm’s night. He’ll be in fox form until… well, sometimes it’s a day and sometime it’s a month.”

“An entire month!”

He laughed wholeheartedly, sliding open her bedroom door. “Yes. I’m afraid so. There’s no reason to worry about it. Wilhelm has lived with the curse for twenty-five years.”

A certain feeling of sorrow welled inside of her but she pushed it aside until Rusuto left. The room Aunty gave her was not as large as Alric’s—for his was an entire apartment. Nieves slid onto her bed thankful it wasn’t a Japanese futon. In fact her room didn’t hold anything Oriental at all.

A barren desk sat next to the bed while a small one-person breakfast table sat in the corner across the room. Nieves glanced around and saw that there was a single window that held a window seat to it. To her surprise, small stuffed animals sat patiently waiting for their owner to return—an owner that Nieves was oblivious to.

“Nieves,” called Aunty who tapped her knuckle against the door. “Is it safe to come in?”

“Oh. Yes.” Nieves rose from the bed and headed to the door but Aunty was already sliding it open. The shoji door was the only thing in the room that gave hint to the Oriental house.

Aunty gave a smile, her sunglasses atop her head. “Feel like taking a walk?”

Nieves suddenly felt all her tensions disperse. “Yes. Thank you.”

The two of them were heading down the hall chatting about the origin of the Oriental style of the house. She explained that the curse had originated from the fox-maiden who had traveled from Japan to the European countries.

“The house was built by her fox Demons to honor her. Each Demon was granted its own room amongst the house but the largest and highest room of them all was given to her—their maiden queen.

“After our great ancestor betrayed their love, she cursed him to never leave her lands even after she formed herself into a tree—a silver glowing tree that is somewhere among this land. Not many have seen the tree and those who do can never remember where it was. Or how they got there.

“But,” Aunty turned to her with a laugh. “Even if we find the tree, the curse will continue. I’m not a Cursed-One and I’m thankful for that, yet I wish just as much as them for the end of this family’s problems.”

Nieves nodded her head. “I wish I could help.”

Aunty nearly said, “You are helping” but she did not. She swallowed her thoughts.

“Nieves,” someone called from the main entrance of the house. The two women hadn’t realized how far they had walked until that moment. The woman at the door stood there with a dead expression on her face. “Nieves,” she said again.

“Erika?” Nieves’s heart leapt at the thought—her sister was truly alive.

Erika turned from her and headed out the door. “We’re leaving. Let’s go.” Her sister’s expression and voice were still just as empty as ever.

Nieves looked at Aunty then back to Erika who was heading down the steps. “Erika? Where are we going?” Were they leaving back to Boris’s house or were they leaving the Macter land forever?

Erika paused on the last step, the rain falling down as she opened the umbrella at her side. “We are going back to the city. Now get out here so we can go home and pack.” She was dressed in a baby blue sweater—her outfits always included a sweater. She still wasn’t the Erika she remembered, but Nieves was relieved to see her well and alive.

“Go ahead,” Aunty nudged her on. “Get away from this place while you can.” Aunty wanted to know what Nieves would do at the idea of leaving forever.

Nieves nodded her head and headed out the door, onto the porch. The city, she thought mildly. She would once again walk among its streets, its alleys with small coffee shops and book stores. Nieves forgot all about everything in the world but the thought of freedom outside of the walls that surrounded every inch of the Macter estate.

She trotted down the steps to Erika’s side. The feeling of having a sister again was irreplaceable. Her warmth was like fire and her soothing presence was like nothing else in existence. Erika, Nieves thought, was her sister even if she was dead inside.

CHAPTER 15

Leon led Alric to a small white phone that sat neatly in the center of a round dark cherry wood table. The receiver was placed delicately onto the surface meaning someone was on hold. Alric knew who was waiting but he could hardly think of a reason to speak with the person. After all, he was ignored by the person for over a decade.

Yes, he thought to himself. That was definitely her—he could never forget the soft gentleness of her voice. It was smooth like a spring wind and it held a witty touch that made her sound intelligent.

“Sailles.” His eyes lowered to the floor, examining its texture.

He heard her take in a breath and release it. “I… just arrived at the airport. I wanted to call you and let you know I’m coming over to visit you. To see you. And…” She paused unsure what else to say.

“You’re coming here?” asked Alric with a dry tone.

Sailles hesitated before replying. “Yes. I am.”

“Honey,” a soft voice in the background said. There were many softer mumbles but this voice was closer than the others. “The cab’s here.”

“Who is that?” Alric asked in a low suspicious voice.

Sailles gave a laugh like wind chimes. “You’ll meet him when I come see you.” Her voice slowly lost its cheer. “We have a lot to talk about, little brother.”

Alric would have replied in a snappy manner but a child crying in the background stopped his words dead. His throat went dry. What was that, he wanted to ask, letting his eyes widen at the thought.

“Alric,” Sailles called his attention back. “Please don’t be upset but I got married a year ago and… well…” She shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “I have a daughter,” Sailles said with a laugh. Alric was too absorbed by the sound of the child’s cry to think of what his sister had said.

“You…”

“I have a daughter,” Sailles said trying to keep her chipper tone.

Alric nearly threw the phone away in disgust—his sister, his sister gave birth to a child. She had a husband. After all these years she had finally come to see him and… she never told him one piece of that information. Sailles never bothered to tell him she had found someone. Sailles never invited Alric to the wedding—even though, he would not have been able to attend she never bothered.