The Marradith Ryder Series Part 26
Marradith stood in the doorway.
The blood on the hallway floor was Justin’s. It carried his scent.
“Fiona,” she said, taking a step backwards. “He’s not here. He’s somewhere on the grounds.”
“I’ll find him,” she replied.
The shape shifter phased into a bird. She took flight and was gone.
There was another werewolf inside the house; not Justin or Leighton. Marradith could sense him.
She stepped around the blood and went into the room on the left, a den. The werewolf lay sprawled across the floor, but he was in his human form. He bled profusely from the neck and chest. Marradith stayed back, not trusting him even in this condition.
He had long white hair and pale blue eyes. If he were human she’d have guessed he was in his sixties. He was just as Will had described him.
“Syd?”
It was difficult to speak, to gather breath. He nodded affirmatively.
“Where is Justin?” she asked.
“With Leighton. They fought. Jus…” his breath came in a hiss. “ Justin may be in a bad way. I loved Leighton like a son,” his eyes filled with tears, but Marradith saw anger as well. “But he must be dealt with now.”
“He did this to you?”
“Yes.”
She made a move to go. Syd reached an arm out. “Marradith….”
“Yes?”
“You look just like her,” he said. “I have to tell you something.”
She paused, for an instant.
When she turned back, Scott stood in the doorway.
“Hey, Dee Dee,” he said.
And then he shot her.
***
In the semi darkness, Justin lifted his head.
He had the feeling that he was floating.
His arms hurt like hell.
He realized that if he moved his arms, his whole body moved. He felt weightless.
Beneath him was a sea of red and orange flowers. He recognized the heady sent, though he could not put a name to them. When he looked down he could see his feet dangled above the cement floor. He heard the bubbling and gentle hiss of water. Through the glass above him, he could see the moon rising.
He was hanging. Attached by cords crisscrossed over his arms, and tethered to the walls.
He screamed, and his voice sent echoes through the greenhouse.
***
She woke because she heard his voice.
Justin was screaming.
She sat up, wanting to move quickly, but finding all her movements were in slow motion.
She was laying on a bed.
There was a canopy above her head. She’d seen a room very similar to this one in her dreams. The dreams, which she’d later come to realize, were Leighton’s memories.
“Hey there,” a familiar voice came from the corner of the room.
Scott smiled at her. Marradith’s heart pounded. She was so angry. She closed her eyes for a moment, willing the room to stop moving.
“What did you do to me?”
“It was just a tranquilizer shot, don’t be so dramatic.” he snapped.
She looked at him. It had been three years since she’d last seen him. He’d shaved his head. There was a scar that cut through his left brow, which she had never seen before.
“You’re with The Circle?” she asked. She felt a wave of nausea.
“Look, you might want to lay down a minute, stop all that flopping back and fourth. You’re going to fall off the bed. And to answer your question, yes, I am with The Circle. I’m not the first Ryder that is. Don’t look at me like that, Dee,” he said.
“Nobody calls me that anymore,” she said. “Not for a long time.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I know. You’re grown now. I still imagine you the way you were when you were twelve.”
“You just shot me.”
“I did not hurt you,” he said coldly. “The tranquilizer will wear off. You need to cool your heels, that’s all.”
“Why? To give Leighton time to finish off Justin?”
“I don’t care about Granthem, and you shouldn’t either. I guess nobody told you yet, but Leighton is our forebear. Our great-grandfather.”
He said it with pride. She shrank back in revulsion.
“What’s wrong with you?” she screamed.
“When you see what real power is like,” he said. “You’ll see things differently.”
—
© 2009 Lori Titus
Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears each Wednesday on Flashes in the Dark. She is the short story editor for Sonar4 ezine. Many of her stories have appeared on MicroHorror and Shadeworks, and her first anthology of horror stories, Tales for the Dark, is scheduled for release in 2010.
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July 22nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Hmmm…It’ll be interesting to see where Scott’s allegiances really lie. Can’t wait to find out what’s happening with Justin, too!
July 25th, 2009 at 6:04 am
“Hey, Dee Dee,” he said. And then he shot her.
Damn! That stressed me out. I need more, please.
July 26th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Poor Marradith! That brother of hers just can’t be trusted!
June 16th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Ah he is just power hungry and blinded by it. Poor sap can’t see past what he wants for himself.
Becareful Scott or you could get tazzed.