Page 65 of The Beastly Earl

"Pretty lady. I want."

The sing song nature of the voice made her shudder as she continued to push against the door and nudge the chest back into place with her leg. Behind the wall, she heard another high-pitched sound of outrage as she continued to resist the renewed attempts to push the door open. The disembodied voice muttered several indistinct words behind the panel before she heard a shuffling noise. The sound of shambling footsteps behind the panel became softer until they faded away completely.

Her heart pounding, Louisa didn't move for several minutes, her body poised to push back on the door if someone tried to open it again. When it was apparent the person was gone, the pulsating energy that had flooded her body moments ago began to dissipate. As her unnatural strength disappeared, it was replaced by violent shudders. Louisa's gaze never left the panel or chest blocking it as she stumbled backwards to her bed and sank down onto the mattress.

With the trembling came icy chills, and she reached behind her to blindly find the blanket on top of the bed unwilling to let her gaze stray from the hidden panel. Fingers numb from the cold seeping into her pores, it took her several seconds to grasp enough wool cloth to pull the blanket over her shoulders. She didn't make a sound for fear the evil-sounding voice and its owner would hear her and return.

Louisa had no idea how long she remained silent and still. The soft chime of the mantle clock announced the hour of six, and she shuddered. For the first time, her gaze left the secret door, and she bowed her head. In the back of her mind, she vaguely heard the whisper she needed to go to Ewan. No matter how angry he was with her, he would keep her and the children safe.

The boys. With a jerk, she sprang to her feet and hurried to the door. She was certain Caleb would have come to her if they'd been in danger, but she needed to see them simply to ease her fears. As she threw the bedroom door open, she heard a high-pitched scream coming from the dowager countess's wing. The sound bounced off the stone walls magnifying the chilling cry. The nursery wasn't far from Lady Argaty's suite of rooms, and Louisa's heart began to pound violently in her chest as she ran toward the room where she'd tucked the boys into their beds last night.

"Please God, oh please let them be all right."

She'd only run a few feet when she slammed into an invisible force that brought her to a stumbling halt. Caleb's figure slowly materialized in front of her. His ghostly image was lighter and more transparent than she'd ever seen him. It was if he had little energy to spare in appearing in front of her. He shook his head violently.

They are safe. Argaty is not.

The words were little more than a whisper in her head as her brother's transparent form vanished. Uncertainty gripped her. Caleb had never been weak when he'd appeared to her in the past. Was her mind trying to trick her into believing the boys were safe and she needed to go to Ewan? The screams continued to ricochet off the corridor's walls. Other shouts were added to the screams to become a chorus of horror and fear. The wild cries wrapped around her and heightened her own fears for the boys. She ran forward again only to be halted a second time by an unseen wall.

The force vanished so fast, she almost fell. Stumbling to one side, she braced herself with one hand on the corridor's stone wall to keep her from falling. A soft touch brushed across her cheek before she felt a familiar tug on her ear. Louisa gasped in stunned amazement as she looked around her for a shimmering source of light.

"Devin?"

We. Protect. Go.

The words flitted through her mind so softly, she wasn't sure she'd heard anything at all. Uncertainty held her motionless as she looked toward the nursery with a paralyzing fear as the shouts and cries reverberated in her ears.

Now.

The word echoed in her head strongly this time, and something tugged on her ear hard. Louisa cried out softly in surprise before she obeyed the invisible command and whirled around to race toward Ewan's wing. Behind her the panicked shouts and cries still echoed from the dowager countess's wing, and she whispered a soft prayer as she ran toward Ewan's rooms.

If she'd misinterpreted her brother's cryptic message that he, and perhaps Devin as well, were watching over the children she would never forgive herself. The prayer was answered with an almost nonexistent tug on her ear. The reassuring gesture made her sprint even faster toward Ewan. She had no idea what was happening, but she had to trust Caleb. Her brother had never lied to her when he was alive, he would not do so now.

Unanswered questions collided in her head as the screams from the dowager's wing grew fainter the closer she got to Ewan's suite. Horrifying images streaked through her mind as she remembered the child the an dara sealladh had shown her and the vicious way he'd tortured an innocent rabbit. How could someone so evil be in the keep? Had they found their way into the hidden passageways from the outside? But where had the child come from?

She'd never been to Ewan's bedroom, but she knew it had to be around the corner from his study. As Louisa ran around the bend in the corridor, she slid to a halt. The door in front of her was wide open, while Asadi laid crumpled on the floor near the room's threshold. Louisa sucked in a sharp breath of horror as she hurried toward the boy. He had a long gash on his cheek, but was merely unconscious. The sudden sound of Ewan uttering a loud curse then a cry of pain propelled her forward.

As she reached the doorway of Ewan's room, she froze at the scene in front of her. Horror sped through her, and her stomach churned violently at the sight of Ewan chest and arm covered in blood. She'd never been able to handle the sight of someone bleeding, not even her children's minor scrapes. Bile rose in her throat, and she forced herself to swallow the bitter taste as she gripped the doorjamb with both hands to remain standing.

Pinned to the floor beneath a short, stocky man straddling his chest, Ewan's hand blocked the blade intended for his chest. The blade flashed in the low firelight as it came down again and Ewan's attacker giggled insanely. The laugh sent a shudder through Louisa. She knew that laugh. Desperately, she tried to focus her thoughts on how to save Ewan. She had no idea where McCallum was or even Finn.

With Asadi lying unconscious in the hall, Louisa knew she was the only one who could do anything to save Ewan. Frantically, her gaze swept across the room looking for something she could use as a weapon. Almost as if he had a sixth sense, the man jerked his head in her direction. Louisa opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out as she recognized the hideous, malformed man in her dream. The difference now was the blood splattered all over his face, and she swayed on her feet at the sight.

"Pretty," he giggled with glee.

As the ugly little man scrambled to his feet, Ewan kicked at his attacker's leg in an effort to make the man fall. It didn't stop the repugnant creature from starting toward her.

"Run, Louisa." Even in pain Ewan's voice was a harsh command, but she knew there was nowhere to run. Her only choice was to fight.

"Want Pretty."

The knife he held in his hand was dark with blood, but she forced herself to block it out of her vision. Her gaze met Ewan's, and she saw the stark anger, fear, and helplessness on his face as he used his elbow in an effort to sit up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ewan's metal prosthesis lying on the floor at his feet and she simply reacted.

Surprise crossed the man's hideous features as Louisa ran forward before he opened his arms and grinned. Closing her mind to everything except reaching the metal arm lying on the floor, she darted past Ewan's attacker. Fingers gaining a tight grip on the leather cup of the prosthesis, she straightened then whirled around and swung Ewan's mechanical arm at the man.

She hit her mark with a force that made Ewan's attacker scream in anger. No longer grinning, the man lunged forward forcing her to jump back. A wave of fear rolled over her as she swung at him again. This time, the metal fingers penetrated the large knot on the side of the man's head, forcing her to tug hard to pull the prosthesis free. The man went down on his knees with a cry of pain as he swiped at her with his knife.

Louisa darted out of the knife's path and off to his side. Raising the weapon up over her head she brought the metal arm down as hard as she could onto the man's head. Almost as if he'd not even felt the blow, he swung the knife in her direction again. To evade him, Louisa lost her footing and stumbled backward. The sudden crack of gunfire filled the air causing her to jerk in fear as she managed to remain upright.