“All but you, Simone. I have spared you.” He caresses my cheek before he urges, “Now play for me.” I hesitate for a moment, trying to think of a way to convince him to spare the lives of the staff. Emil leans close to my ear and growls, “Play!”
The first staggering notes are hardly discernable above the chaos and clamor. The pistol reports shatter the very air. Agnes, one of the chambermaids, pleads for her life, but her terrified cry is cut short. I concentrate on the keys so that my fingers won’t shake and I fade away into the music. I hide in the notes, momentarily free from the terror of the Lille chateau. It’s only when the song ends that I begin to pray.
I cannot stay here a moment longer...I can’t stay...Xavier, please come, Xavier, please...
Emil whispers in my ear, “Again, Simone.”
The pressure of Emil’s hand on my shoulder lifts. I continue to play the piano, frightened that if I stop he’ll change his mind and kill me, too.
“Dat’s lovely, mo chroí,” Brennus’ deep voice murmurs from just over my shoulder.
My hands fall on the ivory keys, making a horrible, discordant sound. “Brennus,” I rasp. I turn on the bench and find him behind me, a dark blessing in this place. My arms go around his waist as I clutch him. The soft, white fabric of his dress shirt soothes me. One of his arms pulls me tighter to him as he strokes my hair with the other.
“Whah is it? Whah has happened?”
“He has killed them all!” I sob. “All of them!”
“Who has killed who?”
“Emil. He gave orders to kill the staff!” I lift my eyes to Brennus’ phosphorous green ones.
“Shh…don’t ye cry.” Brennus’ thumb wipes a tear way as it slides down my cheek. “Dis Emil, is he here now?”
“He’s...” I glance around the room, but it’s empty. “He was here...”
Brennus scoops me up in his arms and holds me to him. My hands go around the back of his neck and brush up against his velvet-soft black wings. He takes me to a gold silk-covered sofa. Magically retracting his massive wings, he sits down on the cushions with me on his lap.
Brennus pulls the pins out of my hair one by one. It spills down my back with each lock he frees. “Emil might come back, Brennus.” My eyes dart to at the double doors still wide open. Brennus sees my fear and lifts his hand in that direction. The doors slam closed. “Better?” His eyebrow lifts.
I raise my hand and the furniture near the door slides across the floor and piles in front of it. I exhale and nod.
“Dat’s da way I came in, mo chroí. Dere is nuting out dere but an empty house and empty streets. I tink it’s jus da two o’ us here now. And whah are ye afraid of?” he asks as he wipes the rest of my tears with his immaculate sleeve. “Ye’re one of da most powerful craiturs in existence. I tought ye had learned dat by now.”
“It wasn’t like this before you came in. I wasn’t me—I couldn’t do magic—I didn’t even know magic existed! It was like I was living a memory...I mean, I was me...but I wasn’t really me.”
“Ye were na really ye?”
I shake my head. “No, I was her.”
“Eh?”
“Simone. I was Simone. She was me and I was her, but I’m just me now.”
“So now ye’re Genevieve?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Ye’re da one I like,” he smiles, still playing with my hair. He looks around. “So. Dis is a crap place ye’re livin’ in. From da outside, dere appears ta be a war going on...empty trenches, missing bridges, debris wherever I looked.”
“Big war.” I nod.
“Got caught in da middle of dat, had ye?” he asks. “By da look of tings, dis may be Europe.”
“It’s Lille, France.”
“Ahh. ’Tis.” He nods in understanding. “Dis Simone was French?”
“Oui,”
“Tings go bad for her?”
“I think so. You showed up before I got to the end. I didn’t have to find out what Emil had planned for me.”
“’Tis a pity he could na stay. I’d have liked to have met him.”
I shiver. “Why are you being so nice to me?” Now that my intense fear of Emil is waning to an acceptable level, the very real threat of Brennus being here takes over.
“’Cuz I love ye. I’ll banjax yer enemies. I swear it.”
“I can’t trust you. You see everyone I love as a threat to me.”
“True, because dey are. I’ve gotten reports from yer house, mo chroí. Someting happened dere. Ye want ta tell me whah ’twas? Da fellas say dere were hordes of demons at yer door—in da daylight no less! Did ye take care of dem?”
“No. Something else did.”
“Someting? Or Someone?”
“Something’s stalking me, Brenn.” I whisper.
“Powerful?” he asks and I nod.
“Powerful enough to suck all the energy from me and use it against us.”
He growls in anger. “Genevieve! Ye need ta work on yer defensive spells! Ye should be wi’ me! I’ll teach ye how ta take power instead of give it!”