By the time they made it close to a ramshackle cabin tucked deep in the swamp, Orelia was drenched in sweat. Orange glowed from inside the home, and a human woman and her young son played in the grass near the front steps. The boy gripped two sticks, usingthem for support. Both of his knees were bent at unnatural angles, and he walked on unsteady feet. Despite the pain she knew he must be in, he laughed as he kicked a ball around the best he could.
Vade pulled her behind a tree out of sight of the humans. “You’re not going to like what comes next, so stay behind this tree and don’t look,” he whispered as he freed his axe.
“That poor boy’s name couldn’t possibly be on your stone!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down.”
Vade made to move around the tree, but she grabbed his arm. “You can’t kill him!” she whisper-yelled.
His eyes turned more menacing in the dark. “I’m not.”
Her heart sunk at the realization.
“Stay here. I’m serious, Orelia.”
She pulled on his arm when he tried to move. “I will not let you do this. That boy needs her! Who will take care of him? What could she have possibly done to warrant this?”
“I don’t ask questions, you know that. Just because it’s mostly men that do horrible things doesn’t mean a woman can’t. You don’t know what crime she’s committed.”
“And neither do you! Listen to them. Does that sound like an evil woman to you?” They stared at one another, listening to the boy’s bright laughter, the kind only the innocence of a child could offer.
Vade yanked his arm free and peered around the tree. When he looked back at her, uncertainty flashed across his face. With a sigh, he sheathed his axe over his shoulder.
Finally, she seemed to have knocked some sense into him.
Vade locked his cold eyes onto hers. Without breaking his gaze, he lifted his arms on either side of her.
“What are you—”
Shadows shot out from his fingers, and a second later, three unsteady thumps echoed in the night. She looked around the tree to see the mother lying lifeless at the end of the stairs, neck snapped.
Orelia whirled on him. “You absolute—” Shadows wrapped around her face, covering her mouth, concealing her furious words.
Vade grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. She tried to claw at him, but he wrapped his arms around hers so she couldn’t reach. Vade held her tight, his front pressed firmly against her back. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Look.”
“Mama?” The boy’s sticks moved quickly through the grass, carrying his crooked knees closer. “Mama?”
Tears brimmed in Orelia’s eyes at the genuine fear in his voice.
“Mama!” the boy screamed.
A man whipped open the cabin door, and his eyes went straight to the unmoving woman. He descended the steps, crouched by her side, and put two fingers to her neck.
Orelia thrashed again, but Vade held her still. He was a monster. Forcing her to watch as he destroyed a family’s entire life.
“Owen, are you okay?” In the light of the single lantern outside the door, she could see the man’s face was bruised on his right side, and dark purple circles sat under his eyes. The boy stumbled over, and the man wrapped him in his arms before pulling back and looking him over. “You’re all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Owen wiped away his tears. “What happened to Mama?”
The man looked at the boy’s mother. “She must have fallen, son. But it’s okay, I’m here. I’ve got you.” He hugged Owen tight, burying his face in his little shoulder.
Orelia waited for the father’s tears to come, but they never did. She recoiled when he smiled and let out a deep and thorough breath. “Oh gods, we’re going to be okay.” He glanced up at the sky, mouthing something that looked like, “Thank Santh.”
Orelia frowned. She wasn’t sure if the father was thanking the god of protection for keeping Owen safe, or for something else.
He kissed the boy’s forehead, picked him and the sticks up, and carried him into the house, leaving the woman lying on the ground without so much as a glance back.
The shadows slid away from her mouth, and Vade let her go. She couldn’t move. She just kept staring at the dead woman with unseeing eyes that felt like they were looking right at her.
