Page 214 of Eldritch
Tears wavered in my eyes, the relief so unbearably overwhelming, I couldn’t move at first.
The priestess smiled back at me, one brow raised. “It seems the goddess has decided.”
“Where are we?” Her eyes were the first indication that something had changed—they seemed brighter, the way they’d always shone when we were younger. The sickly pallor that I’d gotten used to seeing in her cheeks had warmed to a healthy pink.
It was her.
My sister.
The one I remembered.
“Aleysia.” I rushed toward her and fell to her side. “How do you feel?”
She looked down at herself, lifting her arm, where grime covered her skin. “Well, in spite of looking like I crawled out of a grave, I feel good?”
I chuckled. “Do you remember anything?”
Brows knitted, she stared off for a moment. “I remember…the church. And creatures coming out of the ground.”
“Nothing after that?”
A darkness clouded her eyes. “There was something else. Dreams. A nightmare, but…I feel like I’ve seen it before.”
“What was it?”
A mist of tears wavered in her rounded and fearful eyes. “A tree. A horribly mangled tree in the woods.” She stared off as if she were looking at it right then. “And there was a beast inside of it.” The fear in her eyes dulled to an unfocused stare. “Four, three, two, one, one, two three, four.”
“What is that? What are you counting?”
“Moros…he took me to that tree and gave me to the spider who wrapped me up in its webs.” Aleysia winced, breaking her stare, her hands trembling in her lap. “I was so scared. I would listen for its movements. When its legs would strum the web. One, two, three, four, four, three, two one. The way it’d walk along the delicate strands. I felt … connected to it somehow. As if it were moving inside of me.”
“You said Moros took you to his mansion.”
Eyes pinched tight, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t recall bits of what I told you. There were times I’d have moments of absolute lucidity and then something dark would take over me. Speaking to me in a voice I didn’t recognize.” The focus in her eyes dulled as though she were lost in thought. “Compelling me. I couldn’t tell if the lucid parts were the dreaming moments and I was still stuck in that awful tree.”
“You escaped, though.”
Her eyes held a high shine as she nodded. “There was a break in the webs. I managed to tear through. I ran. Out of the tree. Through the darkness. The Crone Witch found me at the edge of the wood.”
“She put you in that pantry for a reason, didn’t she?”
Lips pressed together, Aleysia lowered her gaze and nodded. “I fear so. As I said, I suffered…fits. I couldn’t remember a thing, but I’d wake and she would show me where I’d scratched or tried to attack her. I left a terrible bruise at her throat when I had attempted to strangle her once.” She raised a trembling hand to her mouth. “Oh god, it was something terrible. I did terrible things,” her voice cracked with panic.
“It’s okay.” I tipped my head to break her of the image in her mind. “Do you remember me finding you back at The Crone Witch’s home?”
“Yes, of course.” Her brows pinched together again. “I was so angry at you.”
“Why did you feel anger towards me?”
She scratched at her head. “I don’t even remember now. I was out of sorts and nothing like myself.” Swiping up my hands, she held them to my chest. “You have to know that, Maeve. I would never feel such hatred toward you.”
“I know.” I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead. “You’re better now. We’ve arrived at the mountains.” I glanced back at the priestess. “We’re safe.”
The smile on her face faded when she turned toward Father and the unnatural shape of his leg. “Father…your leg …”
“I’m fine. Just a scratch.” He chuckled, but as he hobbled over to us, the wince of his eyes betrayed his words.
“We’ll get them properly fed and settled into their own beds.” The priestess waved toward the Lyverian men, who helped Aleysia to her feet.
