Blood Curse by Brekke Elle

Author:Brekke Elle [Elle, Brekke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter thirty-three

Rini and Aunt Sedna pushed through a crowd; neighbors gathered, staring in shock at the leveled barn. Georgina Maclean sobbed, wrapped in the arms of Aunt Aileen. Lilith and Lumina held each other, trembling with silent tears running down their twin faces.

“Ach, part ye way. Donna dawdle around here, make yeself useful. You, Martha, go an’ make tea for the girls. Isabella, go an’ bring blankets. Donna make that face at me lass, or ye’ll regret it. Go an’ donna be idle. Quick, they’re near to frozen.” Aunt Senda sent people this way and that as she marched toward the splintered wooden remains.

“Joban, ye an’ Atticus go an’ get me fresh fir boughs. Gibran, bring me Cooper an’ Valo. They’re the strongest males left. An’ Kurt Gordon, aye, fetch him as well. Ah, Alexander,” she caught Rini’s father by the arm. “What think ye? Can this be lifted?”

Her father’s face was sad, and he looked doubtful.

“Auntie, you know I will try, but all that weight would be a challenge if we were at full strength. We are down Gabriel, Seamus, and Fritz. We can try, but I wouldn’t hold out hope.”

Rini’s throat closed. The Moon had tried to warn her. She had given them the aisling. Why did they not heed the warning? Could Geoffrey really be ….

Rini’s mind rejected the idea that Geoffrey or anyone could be dead. Death came in the night, thieving the breaths of those weakened by fevers. Death came in the final, shallow breaths of the old and weary. Death came in bright colors on the battlefield. Death did not come so close to Yule, and with so much forewarning.

For all that Rini had known the realness and closeness of death—especially when the Spring fevers took the lives of people she knew in Cully Beinn–she had never been in such close proximity. Children were shielded from the fevers, sent to healthy homes to lessen their risk of infection. But now, in the darkening evening, her breath coming like small puffs of smoke in the frosty air, death came like a herald in brilliant fanfare. She shrunk into her cloak, sinking behind it like a shield.

“Donna give up yet. Geoffrey is too proud to die so quick.” Aunt Sedna flashed a tight smile before marching right up to the edge of the collapsed barn.

“Geoffrey Etainn McLean, ye are a foolish man. If ye want deliverance from this most foolish misadventure, ye must give the males some idea of where ye are trapped. Otherwise, ye’ll be pinned overnight an’ I donna think ye can survive this cold.” Aunt Sedna raised her voice, hollering over the debris. A hush settled across the growing crowd of villagers, as each wolfkind strained his or her ears for any faint sound that Geoffrey had survived the collapse.

Rini counted her heartbeats, hoping wildly for some faint noise. One. Two. Three.

“Auntie?”

Hardly more than an exhale, a muffled voice wafted up from underneath the wreckage. As though a command had been given, the watchers set to work.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.