Page 69 of Reap the Night
No…Give her to us…
“Get back!” Ingrid ordered the specters. “You willnotharm her.”
The specters keened as Ingrid reached for me. “It’s all right, dear. I have you. I have you now.” She helped me up, her fingers chilly against my skin.
I could feel the spirits around us, vibrating with the need for action. Was she holding them back? And where was Daisy?
“Take the box,” Ingrid said to me.
I scooped it up, and we hurried for the door. But the pressure behind us grew, and Ingrid cursed.
“They’re too strong.” She shoved me toward the exit. “Go. I’ll hold them off.”
I clung to her. “I’m not leaving you.”
The blizzard rose behind her, pressing closer, pushing against the shields she had up.
“You have to, my sweet child. They need you. They need you more than I do.” She cupped my face. “You can stop this. You can save us all.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. I’m not her. I’m not?—”
“Yes. Yes, you are.” Tears tracked down her cheeks. “I felt it from the start, knew it deep down, and when the impostor tried to take your place, I knew it for certain. You are Arabella reborn.”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel it. I don’t?—”
She began to hum the lilting tune from the kitchen and warmth bloomed in my chest. “I remember now,” she said softly. “I remember the words.” She began to sing. “Safe and warm in my arms, I am your haven, child. Never fear the dark or storm, I am your haven, child…”
Memories swirling in my mind. Of another time. Another place, but always her. Her laugh. Her embrace. Her hand in mine. Her love. So much love.
“No matter how far or long you roam, I’ll be your haven, child. And even when I’m dead and gone?—”
“I’ll watch over you, my child.”The words sprang to my lips, and I knew.
The connection I’d felt to her. The love I felt now… “Please, don’t leave me.”
She kissed my cheek. “I’ll never leave you, child. I’ll be right here.” She touched my breastbone. I love you.” Warm air kissedmy back. “Always…” She pushed me hard, and as the room rushed away, the blizzard surged and swallowed her.
The door slammed in my face.
Hands grabbed at me, soothing words filling my head. But I had to get back in the room. Had to get her out. Had to save her. Had to?—
“Orina, stop! Stop it!” Hemlock shook me. “It’s locked. Ingrid saved you and locked the door. She’ll control the spirits because she’s the spirit keeper, and that’s her job.”
I fell limp in his arms. “No…She’s more than the spirit keeper.” I pushed the words past the constriction in my throat. “She’s more than a sentry.” I lifted my chin, staring at him through tears. “She’s my mother, and I…I’m Arabella.”
Chapter 25
We gathered in the sitting room closest to the safe room. Ordell and Hemlock had been silent and watchful since my revelation, but I could sense that they had questions. I was grateful for them holding back because I needed a minute.
It took a while for the connection to fade, for the emotions of my past self to mute so I could come back to the now. To Orina. But they were there. Proof of who I was. Proof of who I’d been and what my purpose was now. The white wings had wiped Arabella’s memories but not all of them. Not the memories of her mother. They settled in my mind now, a part of me and yet separate.
I released Daisy from the spirit trap the only way I could figure out how: by smashing the damn thing. Turned out that these traps could only hold one spirit at a time, so Daisy going in had forced it to eject Ingrid.
She’d been willing to sacrifice her freedom to help me, and that…that mattered.
She emerged in a rush, dispersing as mist before taking form. But she looked different. Her eyes weren’t dark pits any longer. I could see her warm brown irises.
“Thank you for freeing me,” she said.
