Oaths in Blood: A Gothic Novella by Sara Sterling

Author:Sara Sterling [Sterling, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sara Sterling
Published: 2021-06-23T22:00:00+00:00

ALISTER AWOKE WITH a jerk that made his bones cry out in agony. Every movement brought a new torture. The days in which he could live painlessly and move at will were gone. He was now a broken, withered old man, confined to a bed and reliant on a dim-witted nurse who always took her time coming when he called.

He didn't know what had awoken him, but he was grateful for it. He had to empty his bladder, and it was better if he had time enough to call for the fool nurse instead of suffering the humiliation of waiting as she changed his soiled bedsheets.

He reached a shaking hand for the cord next to the bed and gave it a sharp tug. He heard a soft ringing from down the hall. When he was well, he never would have allowed a lowly servant to sleep outside of the servants' quarters, let alone next to his own bedroom, but these days, the faster she could arrive, the better for him.

He waited less than a minute before ringing again, this time with all the strength he could muster. Still, he heard no sound of her movements.

"God-damned woman!"

He reached again for the cord, but a sudden sound stopped him. It came from the corner of the room, a shuffling of some sort.

He waited for the sound to come again, peering into the darkness. "Miss Stewart?"

No response.

Keeping his sights fixed on the direction of the sound, he reached for the cord again.

"You needn't bother," came a voice, deep and as dark as the corner from which it was coming.

The pounding in his chest sped up. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want with an old man? Money? There's little of it left."

The voice didn't respond.

A match sparked to life, the flame flickering and finally growing constant, illuminating the man's face as he lit a cigarette. He sat in Alister’s chair which only infuriated him more. It was too low for Alister to get out of without assistance and it had remained empty for years. The man used the same match to then light a candle on the small table next to him and Alister saw that he had two intruders. A woman stood next to him. The man, young and handsome looking and dressed in fine clothes, and the woman, older than her companion yet aged beyond the years she possessed. A dark glare pulled her eyebrows together.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled, leaning back in the chair. He waved a hand towards the woman. "You have to ask?"

Alister narrowed his gaze, taking a closer look. His stomach sank like a stone as he recognized her. His lips turned up in a sneer. "I told you never to come back here.”

"Hello to you too," she said. Her voice was rough and worn. The years had not been kind to her since she left his house. Her clothes were fine and new, but they couldn’t hide the hard years she wore on her face and hands.

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