Page 69 of The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object 1, The Music Box

I glance behind him and see Constance hurrying down the stairs in her nightgown and robe. Her eyes fill with worry as she comes to stand beside our brother.

I drag my gaze away from her and back to Cornelius. “Whyte will never let me go. He’s petitioned the courts and as soon as he has an order of incarceration, he’ll be knocking on our door to drag me back to Crowscroft. You said it yourself.”

“When did I…?” His brow furrows and he looks across to Ichabod, then to the door of the study. His eyes widen and his gaze snaps back to me.

“Yes,” I say quietly, knowing he can hear me. “We know each other’s secrets now.”

He stares at me silently for a moment.

“Cordie,” Constance says tearfully, “you’re not well. You have been through a terrible ordeal and must rest and heal. Where is it that you think you’re going?”

“She’s going after Whyte,” Ichabod mutters.

“You can’t be serious?” Constance gasps. “Why would you put yourself in that man’s power?”

“I have no intention of doing that.” I smile coldly. “This time he is going to know what it feels like to be powerless.”

“What–”

“She’s going to use magic to punish him,” Cornelius cuts Constance off before she can complete her sentence.

Constance’s expression hurts to look at. It’s been so long since I’ve had the care of another human being directed at me, and it touches some long dormant part buried deep inside me.

“I love you both,” I tell them sincerely. “I’ll always be grateful that you freed me from that hellhole, but I have to do this.”

“For vengeance?” Cornelius shakes his head.

“For justice,” I correct. “For karma, for all the others they tortured, abused, and murdered.”

“They?” Cornelius frowns.

“Do you really think Whyte was the only one who got to live out his sickest, most depraved desires in that place?”

“That’s what he has on all those other highly placed men, isn’t it?” Ichabod sucks in a sharp breath, glancing at Cornelius. “We wondered why he was so well protected. He allowed the others access to the asylum and the patients, and he kept their secrets.”

“Clever boy,” I croon to my brother’s lover. “You will never take them all down, you will never stop them or be able to make them pay. The law won’t touch them. They are the law. It goes higher than you can imagine, and if they think for one second you know their secret, they will come for you. All of you.” I shift my gaze to my sister. “And don’t think they’ll spare your daughter because she’s a child. Her age will make her very…valuable.”

The look of absolute horror on Constance’s face is enough to have Cornelius taking a step towards me.

“That’s not going to happen.” He scowls. “Do you really think I’d allow them to harm any of you? I also have friends in high places.”

“It won’t be enough,” I snap. “You don’t know Whyte the way I do. He won’t stop until he punishes my entire family for daring to take me from him.”

“Cordie.” Cornelius softens his tone. “I can keep you safe, I promise. You don’t have to do this. Once you travel this path, there is no coming back. Killing Whyte and any of his cohort will not erase what was done to you. It will not ease your pain. It will leave a stain on your soul that will never wash clean.”

“Oh, I not just going to kill him.” I smile. “Nothing so mundane. What I have planned for him will make him wish I’d ended him quickly. I will have him begging me to put him out of his torment, and the sound of his screams will be a symphony to my ears.”

“Cordie, please.” Cornelius moves toward me again, and I throw up my hand to halt his movements.

“Don’t,” I warn. “Be very careful, brother. My love for you will not spare you from my wrath should you stand in my way.”

“And my love for you will not allow you to turn into a monster.” He inches towards me slowly, Ichabod and Constance following his lead. As if the three of them will be able to somehow stop me from leaving.

But I will not be thwarted, least of all by my own blood. Especially not when what I have to do is as much for their protection as my vengeance.

I throw up my hands and my magic punches out in a burst of violet lightning, taking all three of them from their feet and throwing them backwards so they skid across the polished floor of the foyer.

“Stay out of my way,” I say calmly. “I cannot guarantee your safety should you interfere.”