As Madeira’s face darkened, Autumn knew she had made her point. Perhaps, Emma wasn’t a valuable enough bargaining chip. Perhaps, her trust was something Madeira could operate without. That wasn’t the point though. The point was Madeira now knew what Autumn was capable of. Autumn had proven that she could find ways to manipulate those around Madeira, ways that could turn her allies indifferent to her, at the very least. Autumn didn’t think she could turn any of the woman’s friends against her completely. Her words could only go so far, but they could do enough damage to make the spiritist’s life difficult, if not miserable.
The point had been made, and Autumn pushed that subject no further. She’d let Madeira show her own hand before putting any of the many plans floating in her head into effect. Instead, once she had seen Madeira’s reaction, Autumn piped up again. “We are very lucky, the both of us, to have found Madeira, aren’t we?”
Emma’s head bobbed again. “But it’s not just us. Wait until you meet everyone.”
The little ghost got very excited when she began to talk of the many wondrous people who lived with her and Madeira. She prattled on at such a pace that Autumn couldn’t keep straight who was who, only that they lived at the Manor Emma called home. Raj’s name popped up several more times, but there were others. A man named Allister, twins named Moritz and Amelie, and a black-eyed woman named Lani, but their place in the home and relation to either Madeira or Emma were lost completely in Emma’s excited delivery of the information.
One being Autumn did tuck in the back of her mind was the last one Emma mentioned. Jomi. He was a ghost, if Autumn followed Emma’s happy ramblings closely enough, but something in Emma’s voice changed when she spoke about him. There were equal measures care and caution. He was part of their family but maybe not meant to be fully trusted. If he was a ghost his own people had to be cautious around, Autumn would definitely have to be wary of him, considering she was not a part of this limited circle. Still, she relished the idea of the company of someone who might understand the difficulties she faced. Emma was too young to comprehend these things fully, but that also made her Autumn’s easiest route to Madeira. She’d have to try to form some bond with them both.
Emma was halfway through saying something about the house when her eyes suddenly brightened. “We’re home.”
Bolting forward, Emma left Autumn and Madeira alone together. Cautiously, Autumn turned sideways and stole a quick glance at the house while keeping Madeira in her peripherals. There was a wrought-iron fence and trees and flowers smattering the grounds within. The house itself was elegant in just the way Autumn would expect from someone of Madeira’s heritage. She was a Craven, after all. Hers was the single most influential family in all of Alvadas. Autumn was sure Madeira would work her way to carry that kind of influence here.
Autumn breezed through the iron fence and froze. Something was watching. Not something. The house. She could feel it reaching out to her, as if tendrils rose up from the ground that ran back to house and told it of her presence, of what she was and what she felt like. Autumn had lived a long time, and long life brought a variety of experiences. This had never been one of those, and Autumn didn’t like the feeling.
She glared at the house. “What’s this?”
Madeira had stepped up next to her and spoke, introducing ghost to house, house to ghost. “Autumn, meet the Infinity Manor. It’s going to keep your book nice and safe for a while.”
Perhaps it was that she had spent so long without the contact of others. Perhaps it was that it felt as if the house was looking into her soul. Either way, Autumn didn’t like the house and would have said so if there hadn’t been more pressing concerns. Madeira meant to keep her book. Its safekeeping was not her intention. Keeping a tether on Autumn was.
Autumn stated as much. “The child is gone. We’re two grown women. I think we can be honest with each other. Keeping it safe isn’t the goal. You’re holding it hostage, and I understand that, right now, I can do nothing to stop that. I just want to know where it will be. I want to see where it will be kept. And I want your promise that you’ll look after it.”
If Autumn had real hairs, they would have been standing up on the back of her neck right now. She could feel the thing watching her, and she didn’t want to have to go inside it. But Madeira was set on holding her book of fairytales, and Autumn had to know where it was. Her soul shuddered as they stepped through the door with a heavy Okomo ram knocker. She was too off put by the sensations that came with proximity to the Infinity Manor that she didn’t even crack a smile at the sign outside.
If she thought that the hosue disturbed her, the scene awaiting them inside was even worse. Chattering away before the fireplace, Emma stood recounting the happenings of the evening, and there, above the mantel, was Raj in all his fearsome glory. But Raj wasn’t Raj, not the Raj Autumn was expecting. Emma was telling the story of the day, but the thing she was speaking to was nothing more than a taxidermized tiger head mounted above the fireplace. It was snarling, a predator ready for the kill, but it was a thing long dead. The horror of it, that Emma considered him real, talked to him as if he was alive, sickened Autumn, and if she had a stomach, it would have turned.
As it was, she was unable to hide the sense of horror, the vague disgust that this delusion had been left so long. Emma turned and saw the expression plastered all over Autumn’s face. Mistaking it for terror, she turned back and chastised her bondmate. “Raj, stop it. You’re scaring Miss Autumn, and it’s not nice. She’s a friend, and we don’t hurt friends.”
There was a pause as the girl listened to whatever the disembodied tiger head had to say, and Autumn took the opportunity to cast a glare in Madeira’s direction. Giving credit to this child’s delusion was only cementing her reasons for staying behind, but Autumn didn’t let her gaze stay on the mistress of the house long. If anything, she should be happy that Madeira had kept the child around. Emma was her best chance of getting her book back.
Emma nodded to whatever the tiger had said. “I know she’s new, but she’s a good person.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, but as it was with most children, the whisper wasn’t soft enough to hide her words. “You know how a lot of people don’t like Maddy? Well it’s ok, because Miss Autumn already knows how good a person Maddy is. She trusts Maddy, which means we can trust her.”
Another pause and another nod. “She’s a little boring, but you’ll get to like her. So no hurting her, ‘kay? ‘Kay.”
Emma turned back to Autumn, beaming a smile. “Raj says you’re ok. He even says you can pet him if you want. He won’t get you, because you’re our friend.”
Autumn didn’t want to let Madeira out of her sight, but she had to play into the child’s delusion for now, no matter how much the thought sickened her. Trying to break it would do Autumn no favors. She needed the child to trust her, so she drifted up to the tiger head and harnessed her mists into a single projection in the flat of her palm. She meant to use it to press the fur flat as she stroked the tiger’s head, but the outcome was different than what she intended. Responding to the chaotic energy of Autumn’s mist and the way that played through the air, Raj’s fur bristled at her touch.
Pulling her hand back into toward herself quickly, Autumn laughed, forcing a timid smile to her materialized features. “Oh. He didn’t like that. I don’t think he trusts me just yet, Emma. Maybe we should give him some time to get to know me. Why don’t you tell me about him? He must be quite remarkable to have got himself a bond mate as amazing as you.”
Emma beamed at this, and her excitement bubbled over. “He really is, Miss Autumn. He’s the reason I wasn’t scared of you at all when you showed up. Raj makes all the scary things go away. Whenever something scares me, he roars, and the scary things become the scaredy-cats. Nothing is scarier than Raj, but I don’t have to be scared of him. Uh-uh.”
She shook her head and brushed her fingers through the tiger’s fur, and Autumn realized that there were few loves out there truer and more loyal than the love this girl had for her tiger and the love he had had for her. Autumn remembered brushing Maro’s fur the same way, and all at once, her heart broke for the child. If this was Emma’s delusion, then Autumn would let her have it. Love wasn’t something she would take away from the girl.
“You don’t have to be afraid, because Raj loves you, and he’s gonna protect you from all the bad things in the world.” Autumn beamed a smile at Emma when the girl turned to her. “Maybe one day, he’ll roar for me, and the things I’m afraid of will go away too.”
Emma smiled, then turned back to Raj, stroking his head again.
Autumn twisted to see if Madeira was still in the room with them.
The point had been made, and Autumn pushed that subject no further. She’d let Madeira show her own hand before putting any of the many plans floating in her head into effect. Instead, once she had seen Madeira’s reaction, Autumn piped up again. “We are very lucky, the both of us, to have found Madeira, aren’t we?”
Emma’s head bobbed again. “But it’s not just us. Wait until you meet everyone.”
The little ghost got very excited when she began to talk of the many wondrous people who lived with her and Madeira. She prattled on at such a pace that Autumn couldn’t keep straight who was who, only that they lived at the Manor Emma called home. Raj’s name popped up several more times, but there were others. A man named Allister, twins named Moritz and Amelie, and a black-eyed woman named Lani, but their place in the home and relation to either Madeira or Emma were lost completely in Emma’s excited delivery of the information.
One being Autumn did tuck in the back of her mind was the last one Emma mentioned. Jomi. He was a ghost, if Autumn followed Emma’s happy ramblings closely enough, but something in Emma’s voice changed when she spoke about him. There were equal measures care and caution. He was part of their family but maybe not meant to be fully trusted. If he was a ghost his own people had to be cautious around, Autumn would definitely have to be wary of him, considering she was not a part of this limited circle. Still, she relished the idea of the company of someone who might understand the difficulties she faced. Emma was too young to comprehend these things fully, but that also made her Autumn’s easiest route to Madeira. She’d have to try to form some bond with them both.
Emma was halfway through saying something about the house when her eyes suddenly brightened. “We’re home.”
Bolting forward, Emma left Autumn and Madeira alone together. Cautiously, Autumn turned sideways and stole a quick glance at the house while keeping Madeira in her peripherals. There was a wrought-iron fence and trees and flowers smattering the grounds within. The house itself was elegant in just the way Autumn would expect from someone of Madeira’s heritage. She was a Craven, after all. Hers was the single most influential family in all of Alvadas. Autumn was sure Madeira would work her way to carry that kind of influence here.
Autumn breezed through the iron fence and froze. Something was watching. Not something. The house. She could feel it reaching out to her, as if tendrils rose up from the ground that ran back to house and told it of her presence, of what she was and what she felt like. Autumn had lived a long time, and long life brought a variety of experiences. This had never been one of those, and Autumn didn’t like the feeling.
She glared at the house. “What’s this?”
Madeira had stepped up next to her and spoke, introducing ghost to house, house to ghost. “Autumn, meet the Infinity Manor. It’s going to keep your book nice and safe for a while.”
Perhaps it was that she had spent so long without the contact of others. Perhaps it was that it felt as if the house was looking into her soul. Either way, Autumn didn’t like the house and would have said so if there hadn’t been more pressing concerns. Madeira meant to keep her book. Its safekeeping was not her intention. Keeping a tether on Autumn was.
Autumn stated as much. “The child is gone. We’re two grown women. I think we can be honest with each other. Keeping it safe isn’t the goal. You’re holding it hostage, and I understand that, right now, I can do nothing to stop that. I just want to know where it will be. I want to see where it will be kept. And I want your promise that you’ll look after it.”
If Autumn had real hairs, they would have been standing up on the back of her neck right now. She could feel the thing watching her, and she didn’t want to have to go inside it. But Madeira was set on holding her book of fairytales, and Autumn had to know where it was. Her soul shuddered as they stepped through the door with a heavy Okomo ram knocker. She was too off put by the sensations that came with proximity to the Infinity Manor that she didn’t even crack a smile at the sign outside.
Don’t mind the ghosts
they live here too
they live here too
If she thought that the hosue disturbed her, the scene awaiting them inside was even worse. Chattering away before the fireplace, Emma stood recounting the happenings of the evening, and there, above the mantel, was Raj in all his fearsome glory. But Raj wasn’t Raj, not the Raj Autumn was expecting. Emma was telling the story of the day, but the thing she was speaking to was nothing more than a taxidermized tiger head mounted above the fireplace. It was snarling, a predator ready for the kill, but it was a thing long dead. The horror of it, that Emma considered him real, talked to him as if he was alive, sickened Autumn, and if she had a stomach, it would have turned.
As it was, she was unable to hide the sense of horror, the vague disgust that this delusion had been left so long. Emma turned and saw the expression plastered all over Autumn’s face. Mistaking it for terror, she turned back and chastised her bondmate. “Raj, stop it. You’re scaring Miss Autumn, and it’s not nice. She’s a friend, and we don’t hurt friends.”
There was a pause as the girl listened to whatever the disembodied tiger head had to say, and Autumn took the opportunity to cast a glare in Madeira’s direction. Giving credit to this child’s delusion was only cementing her reasons for staying behind, but Autumn didn’t let her gaze stay on the mistress of the house long. If anything, she should be happy that Madeira had kept the child around. Emma was her best chance of getting her book back.
Emma nodded to whatever the tiger had said. “I know she’s new, but she’s a good person.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, but as it was with most children, the whisper wasn’t soft enough to hide her words. “You know how a lot of people don’t like Maddy? Well it’s ok, because Miss Autumn already knows how good a person Maddy is. She trusts Maddy, which means we can trust her.”
Another pause and another nod. “She’s a little boring, but you’ll get to like her. So no hurting her, ‘kay? ‘Kay.”
Emma turned back to Autumn, beaming a smile. “Raj says you’re ok. He even says you can pet him if you want. He won’t get you, because you’re our friend.”
Autumn didn’t want to let Madeira out of her sight, but she had to play into the child’s delusion for now, no matter how much the thought sickened her. Trying to break it would do Autumn no favors. She needed the child to trust her, so she drifted up to the tiger head and harnessed her mists into a single projection in the flat of her palm. She meant to use it to press the fur flat as she stroked the tiger’s head, but the outcome was different than what she intended. Responding to the chaotic energy of Autumn’s mist and the way that played through the air, Raj’s fur bristled at her touch.
Pulling her hand back into toward herself quickly, Autumn laughed, forcing a timid smile to her materialized features. “Oh. He didn’t like that. I don’t think he trusts me just yet, Emma. Maybe we should give him some time to get to know me. Why don’t you tell me about him? He must be quite remarkable to have got himself a bond mate as amazing as you.”
Emma beamed at this, and her excitement bubbled over. “He really is, Miss Autumn. He’s the reason I wasn’t scared of you at all when you showed up. Raj makes all the scary things go away. Whenever something scares me, he roars, and the scary things become the scaredy-cats. Nothing is scarier than Raj, but I don’t have to be scared of him. Uh-uh.”
She shook her head and brushed her fingers through the tiger’s fur, and Autumn realized that there were few loves out there truer and more loyal than the love this girl had for her tiger and the love he had had for her. Autumn remembered brushing Maro’s fur the same way, and all at once, her heart broke for the child. If this was Emma’s delusion, then Autumn would let her have it. Love wasn’t something she would take away from the girl.
“You don’t have to be afraid, because Raj loves you, and he’s gonna protect you from all the bad things in the world.” Autumn beamed a smile at Emma when the girl turned to her. “Maybe one day, he’ll roar for me, and the things I’m afraid of will go away too.”
Emma smiled, then turned back to Raj, stroking his head again.
Autumn twisted to see if Madeira was still in the room with them.
