A Rogue's Restraints

Chapter Ten: The Devilish Deal

I have always had a taste for lemon cakes. Anyone who knows me well, knows that. It was my belated birthday today and Cook remembered. In this hellhole of a House, at least there is one who has a heart. Some days I feel as though even mine was left in happier times.

My anger flared up again. How dare she? Did she take me for a fool? I had no way to verify this information. She was trying to pull one over on me. A poor gullible fool. "How dare you!" I said darkly. "Do you have any idea what I've been through? No, you don't. You have no idea. I was almost killed by a Blackheart! My friends were almost killed. Now they have fates worse than death because of me. If the Blackheart hadn't shown up that night, we would have been fine. I have never felt more lifeless than when touched by a Blackheart's flame. Don't patronize me. Don't tell me I'm one of them. I'm many, many, things, but I am not a Cursed One." I would have gotten up and left the room if I could. I was starting to regret ever allowing her to explain herself.

Adette fiddled with the blanket. I expected her to try to explain herself or get defensive, but she didn't. "I'm sorry." She said. "That must have been hard."

"Hard?" I said, my voice dripping with derision. "Hard doesn't begin to describe that night."

She didn't respond. All she did was nod as she stand up. "Do you need anything?" She made a strange gesture with her hand. She patted her left shoulder with her right hand and flicked her ear. She could have just been smoothing her shirt sleeve, but what was that flick? I looked at her strangely. "No. You should leave." I said.

"I should leave." She said automatically. Adette took her leave but stopped in the doorway. She looked back at me; her face filled with concern. "Consider what I said."

I didn't answer as she shut the door.

***

The day drug by slowly. I couldn't move easily. My meals were brought to me (I assume Adette had paid for them). The Innkeeper's wife asked me some questions when she brought me food, and I had to make up some story that I hoped was mostly in line with what Adette had told the Innkeeper.

Have you ever tried just sitting and staring at the ceiling or walls for hours? No? Good. Otherwise, I'd be concerned for your sanity. Because I sure felt like I was losing my sanity in those hours of nothing. I'd been laid up with injuries before, but nothing as incapacitating as this, and I'd always had Willa or Theo to keep me company.

Next to the bed was a crutch that the Doctor had left for when I'd healed more. As it was, I would probably end up reinjuring myself. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about taking the crutch, finding my meager possessions and leaving.

The only thing I had to occupy myself with was what Adette had told me. I'd heard rumors about what Blackhearts could do and how they did it, but they had just been rumors, and they had always gotten more fantastical the more people told them. Adette could be functioning off one of those rumors, but what she'd said, unfortunately, rang with truth.

But the fact that I was one of them? That almost seemed too ludicrous to consider. I'd always thought that Blackhearts chose to pursue their magic. I'd thought that was why Blackhearts were power hungry maniacs. That's who they were, the magic just augmented that. Though that might be true to some extent, Adette had made it seem like some people had no choice. They had to understand it to suppress it. Was it even possible to suppress one's lifeforce? It not only sounded absurd, but painful.

I'd never had problems with my Lifefire or "Sciakinesis" as Adette had called it. No one had ever recognized it before. Yes, I had always been good at hiding, but that didn't mean I was of the Black. It made my skin crawl and my blood curdle to think of the possibility.