My Brother's Keeper

My mother noted that Paul would be harder to eliminate than Matilda. Just as Matilda had been more challenging than Tristan. We’re traveling up the food chain. Paul Gadwall may not be power-hungry, but he isn’t planning on sitting idly by while Siegfried’s heir comes into power. Not that they have some hidden agenda or family loyalty to the Eider clan.

Something tells me the clan of Gadwall, known for its knowledge and culinary skills, is content with how things are in Coscoroba. They are the primary food providers and, therefore, always have the first pick of the crops and meats.

Odile appears shortly after I start walking. She dances between reflections, occasionally stopping to look at me. Her opaque skin shimmers in the sunlight.

“As each gate opens, do the heirs gain strength?” I ask as she spins and jumps between reflective surfaces.

Does an internal radar go off when the others die? Then, yes. Yes, they do. Odile smiles as she takes a step into the sun.

“Has this happened before?” I question.

Yes, before we were born. How do you think we got here? My sister winks.

“I don’t follow,” I mutter.

The gates had to be opened somehow, she replies with a shrug.

“Price Siegfried’s death opened the gates?”

Yup, as well as our great aunts. Two sets of royal blood opened them. Then Mommy closed them when Pax was born; now we are reopening them. Odile spins again and jumps around in front of me.

I’m about to ask Odile another set of questions when my eyes connect with Paul’s. He’s about a hundred feet in front of me, and he’s armed.

It looks like he heard us, Odile states with a frown. You know the plan.

“Already at gate three, I see,” Paul calls out as I take a few more steps in his direction.

Paul is about six feet tall, with hazel eyes and thin lips. He’s not overly built, but he has some muscle tone. He is not quite what you think of when you think about Prince Charming, but he’s a close second.

“You can say that,” I reply with a shrug.

“How’s your brother?” Paul asks, spinning a large sword in his hand.

“He’s well. Still alive, thankfully.”

My heart is pounding. My only weapon was our mother’s enchanted dagger, and I did not know how to use it for self-defense.

“That’s good. I’m all about the gates opening but not so much about giving the witch’s daughter my heart and blood.” Paul takes two steps and then assumes a defensive stance.

“What would you rather do? Wait another twenty years when the foods run out, and all of us are stuck in Eider?” I raise an eyebrow.

“I would at least still be alive.” Paul’s expression hardens. He’s prepared to defend himself by any means necessary.

“For how long?” I come to a stop. My hands slide in my pockets, and my feet move shoulder-width apart. I’m standing between two reflective surfaces. He’ll be stuck between Odile and me if he comes close enough.

I had been blind to the first two deaths. This time, I have to face it. There’s no denying that my internal bloodlust is increasing. Maybe not my power because that’s gone, but at least I know I’m one step closer to saving Pax and opening the gates.

“Long enough,” he replies, darting toward me.

I stand there, unsure if Odile will jump to my aid should his blade pierce my skin. All it takes is his foot skimming the reflective area, and Odile will do the rest.

It moves as if in slow motion. First, Odile disarms him, then she breaks his neck with a loud crack before throwing him to the ground and disappearing into the other surface. In seconds, Paul Gadwall is dead at my feet.

“Well, that was anti-climatic,” I said with a grunt.

I pick up the weapon and set it on the car beside me. I have to move Paul’s body a good mile up the road to the library. Gadwall Hall has a basin hidden in its basement. It’s also the only area where I must break concrete to bury a body. The Gadwalls are brilliant, believing they can foil the prophecy by covering the location with cement. Clever but stupid as well.

I wait for a sign the wards are lifted for the third time, but nothing happens, so I grab Paul by the arms and drag him into the grass. It takes me a bit, but I can position the man over my shoulder and begin an uncomfortable walk to the following location. I’m dragging an oversized sword behind me the whole time—something I’ll need for my following site.

In a shocking turn of events, Odile appears next to me. She’s not quite solid, but she no longer needs the mirror to move in and out. She remains semi-solid for at least twenty minutes before shimmering back into the mirrors and windows to regain her strength before doing the same again. She seems pleased by her new state of movement and continues as I heave the male body to its final resting place.

“Mom always thought Paul would make a good husband one day,” Odile said as she skipped beside me.

“I didn’t realize she was into younger men.” I shivered. Paul was only a few years older than us.

“No silly, for you. Or maybe it was me?” Odile questions as she looks at Paul’s oversized body draped over my petite frame.

“I do not feel the slightest bit at ease with her assessment of who would make a good husband.” I grit my teeth together tightly. Paul’s a lot heavier than he first appeared to be.

“Don’t you want to get married someday? Have a family of little mentally ill rugrats.” Odile laughs as if she has said an extremely funny joke.

I turned my face toward Odile and frowned. “Who in their right mind would marry me? I don’t exactly have the best reputation.”

Odile nods her head back and forth as if she’s thinking about my statement. “Paul would have, I’m sure, as long as you promised not to kill him.”

Odile disappears, but I can still hear her laughing inside my head. I continue to walk toward Gadwall Hall, hoping nobody sees me. What would it matter? Could they kill me? Or would they be killing Odile? One thing was certain: the more deaths, the more solid she became. My theory was that the blood basins led into the other world, slowly filling a mummified body, allowing it to move between worlds and giving Odile strength. I was probably wrong, but this strange idea of Frankenstein magic made me wish I had never woken up in Eider years earlier.

I finally make it to the location documented in my mother’s journal. It’s not impressive, though I admit at least the Gadhall family took it upon themselves to seal the basin.

The basement is mirrorless and void of any reflective surface. Something tells me they’ve been informed of mine or Odile’s state of appearance before the events began. This means I’m on my own to complete the next step in the sacrifice.

I fill the thermos with Paul’s blood and remove his heart from the chest cavity as I had done before. I place it neatly in its jar and seal it tightly before putting it in my bag. Part of me hopes that by offering the hearts, the dead will rise. Then again, the thought of being chased by the undead shells of the ones I had to kill made my skin crawl.

I soon find the basin’s location but notice it’s covered by even more cement. It seems they had thought of everything. Good thing I have my lucky sledgehammer!

That’s right, I don’t!

“Damn it,” I growl.

Mother’s journal stated I had to use what was around me. I’m not supposed to walk down the street with a sledgehammer or crowbar. Then, with my overly observant eyes, I find nothing in the basement to help me break the concrete. Has my mission been foiled because of a few inches of concrete?

I need something heavy and pointed. My eyes fall to the blade of the sword Paul had been carrying. Gadwall steel is one of the strongest in Coscoroba. I could use it as a drill. I could work it into a crack by wiggling my hands in a circular motion.

The blade is much stronger than I had initially thought, and with some additional pressure, I can break the crack and create a straight line into the basin. Pouring the blood is more complicated, and I fear I’ll have to go for more.

However, I’m happy to report the thermos held just enough. When the concrete accepts the last drop of Paul’s blood, there is one thing left to do.

I must get Paul’s lifeless body into a grave.

For the first time, I received confirmation the blood had made its way into the reservoir. The ground shakes and as if by magic, opens just enough that all I have to do is move the body in, place the coins over his eyes, and then be sucked into another one of my mother’s infamous episodes. It’s convenient until I feel Odiel’s hands on my shoulders and realize she’s no longer trapped inside the mirror.

“You’re real?” I squeak as she spins in front of me.

“Well, to a point,” she replies with a giggle. “I still have to return to the mirror here and there to recharge, but I didn’t want to miss this.”

As soon as she’s done talking, my eyes fix on the mutilated torso of my mother. Usually, my visions don’t seem real, but they drag me in. This is real. My mother’s torso sits in a chair, looking at my sister and me with a bloody smile.

Well done, girls. My mother’s voice is now disconnected inside my head. She no longer sounds malignant but appears to be commending us on a job well done—the bait and the killer.

“Thank you,” Odile says with a triumphant grin.

I stand there just as she plays out the entire process for Odile. Then it hits me. Every time she visited me, she was visiting Odile simultaneously. No wonder it never felt sincere. She isn’t proud of me. She’s proud of my sister. What sort of sick game are they playing? Is opening this gate saving Pax?

Odette, I require Odile to prepare for the final gate. The next heir is yours. My mother’s corpse blinks and nods.

Odile takes several steps toward our mother and disappears into nothing. It’s nice to know who Mom’s favorite is.

I look behind me at the imperfect grave and say a quick prayer over Paul’s body before leaving Gadwall Hall and heading toward Eider.

I sit on the concrete outside and open my mother’s journal. Inside, I find the next name, making my blood cold. The house of Merganser’s heir is Irene Patterson. The head nurse who had assisted Doctor Lawrence in hiding my memories and stealing my power.

I close my eyes and prepare myself for what I must do, and the universe stands still.

“Odette, what are you doing?” Pax’s voice echoes behind me, and I turn to look at my brother.

This is the last thing I need. When I left the house, Pax was in the living room. How had he found me?

“How long have you been following me?” I ask with a slight stutter.

“Since you sliced Matilda Graylag up in the alleyway,” he replies with a straight face.