Page 75 of Backwoods
Around him, everyone in the house had fallen silent. He turned and saw awestruck expressions, as if he had just poured a pail of water over the wicked witch and shrunk her into nothingness.
“She’s dead,” Amiya finally said softly. She reached for Nick’s hand. “Can we go now?”
51
There were other helpers serving the Overseer, but with Miss Lula’s killing, none of them presented any resistance. After Amiya hurried to a bedroom upstairs and dressed in her own clothing, Nick, Amiya, Raven, and Ossie strode to the front doors of Westbrook and flung them open. No one said a thing or made a move to stop them.
“All of you can leave,” Amiya said to the house staff. “No one’s going to keep you imprisoned here anymore. Someone needs to tell the so-called field hands, too.”
The captives milled around inside and didn’t follow them to the doorway. To Nick, they looked lost and fearful. The psychological trauma they had endured might have damaged many of them beyond repair. Others would surely need extensive counseling to rejoin the ranks of citizens in the ordinary world.
“There’s one more thing I have to do before they can leave,” Nick said to Amiya. “I’ve got to deal with the Overseer.”
“Why?” Fear pinched Amiya’s features.
“We’re marked,” Raven said. “The Overseer’s brand keeps us here. We’d all die if we tried to leave.”
“That’s what I’ve heard, too,” Ossie said.
Amiya was shaking her head in either disagreement or disbelief.
“I’ve seen it, it’s true,” Nick said. “There’s no other way. It’s my responsibility, my family’s obligation.”
“I don’t want to believe any of it,” Amiya said. She pressed her lips together, closed her eyes for a beat, as if gathering her resolve. She looked at him. “But I’ll follow you wherever you go, Nick.”
The significance of her newfound faith in him wasn’t lost on Nick. A month ago, he had proposed to her and she had declined. He hadn’t earned her trust; he realized that now. He hadn’t shown himself worthy of a lifetime commitment.
All of that had changed in less than a day, triggered by the most unlikely series of events imaginable. He was determined to validate her belief in him. He would show her he was the kind of man who would put it all on the line, not to fulfill his own selfish desires, but for the benefit of his family and all that was right in the world.
“I’m kind of surprised the Overseer isn’t here already,” Raven said. “With everything that’s been going on. Something like this should’ve gotten his attention.”
“I have to go to him,” Nick said.
Raven blinked. “Go to his house? Umm, no way. You remember what happened last time, don’t you?”
“It’s exactly why I need to go there again.” Nick took in the confused, frightened looks among the gathered group. “And I need to do it alone. This is a family matter.”
“I don’t understand,” Amiya said.
“I don’t know if I understand it all yet, either. But I know what I’ve got to do.” He stepped forward and gave Amiya a light kiss on the lips. Then, he dug the remaining flash-bangs andmatches out of his pockets and gave them to her as she stared at him with a confused frown.
“Hang onto these,” he said. “I’ll be back soon. Promise.”
52
Wandering like a phantom through the night, Nick traveled to the Overseer’s house. A widely spaced series of lanterns illuminated the narrow dirt path along the way.
He had no weapons. He’d left the shotgun back at the estate, having run out of ammo anyway, and he’d let the others keep the rifle. Neither of those firearms would have been any use in a fight against the Overseer.
He didn’t know how he understood such things. A powerful sense of intuition guided him. It overrode reason, logic.
Maybe he was just too tired to think anymore. Emotionally, mentally, and physically, this had been the most grueling day of his entire life.
It’s not over yet. The most difficult part is yet to come.
He came around a bend in the path. The Overseer’s small house lay ahead, standing within a grove of trees. It had been restored just as the other structures had been. Flickering light shone through the front window.
His grandfather’s pickup truck was parked near the house. The vehicle looked thoroughly anachronistic in such a setting; itwas akin to discovering a rocket ship in the midst of a remote African village.
