The Secrets of Darkling Manor

Twenty-eight: Alina Starkov

Twenty-eight: 

"What do you mean, we're going back to the house?" she demanded. It was early morning, and Aleksander had woken up packing their things. "Aleks, the house has dead people in it. I thought we decided that it was better that we don't live in a house with dead people. Especially given that they're trying to kill us and one of them already killed your cousin."

"Genya needs a real home," he said, "and Darkling Manor is our home. I'm not letting dead people kick us out of our home. We are going back, and we are going to claim it."

"How are we going to claim it?" Alina asked. "The witch in the pond----"

"The birds," he said, "we are going to get rid of the birds."

"Aleksander, you're not making any sense."

"Uncle Aleks," said Genya from the back of the car, "what are we doing?"

"We're going to go home."

"I thought we couldn't go home anymore," Genya said.

"I had a change of heart," said Aleksander.

Alina stared at him. "I don't understand. I saw one of the ghosts last night. It doesn't matter if we're at the house or not but the ghosts----"

"We're going back," said Aleksander, "and I'm responsible for you so you're coming with me."

They got into the car, and they drove away from the city. As they drove, Alina found herself dosing in and out of sleep. Sleep hadn't really come the night before. She had stayed up most of the night, sobbing onto Aleksander's shoulder. When she woke up, Aleksander had been very intent to get them out of the penthouse.

"Why don't we go away?" she'd demanded.

"No," he said, "the answer is in the house. I am going to find the truth, and we are going to claim our home."

Alina didn't know what to do. He was her husband. She had to go where he went, didn't she? And she couldn't leave Genya alone. The girl might not have been blood but they were family now. Family meant that they had to take care of each other. Even if it seemed that Aleksander had completely lost it.

As Alina dozed in an out of consciousness on the ride back to Darkling Manor, she kept on seeing Luda's face.

"He's lying to you," Luda whispered into her ear, "he's so comfortable with ghosts. Don't you think it strange? What kind of man keeps a haunted house? What kind of man keeps on going back there? To the place where his family died?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Alina shouted.

"He picked you because you're naïve, Alina," she said, "he picked you for me. He's going to let the ghosts kill you. And then he's going to let me claim you."

Luda reached out and stroked her face. Her finger was deathly cold. "You've got such a pretty body, Alina. I can tell when I watch the two of you that Aleksander really enjoys fucking you. It will be so good to have my husband's cock inside me again. And you know, I'll be younger than I was when we were together. We'll have a whole new life. Maybe we'll even have a family."

"He's not yours!" Alina shouted. "He's never going to be yours. He loves me, he fucks me, and we are going to be together forever! No one else is going to have him. Especially not you, you dead, frigid bitch!"

She laughed. "So certain of yourself....but he's taking you back to the place where you've been tormented by ghosts.....isn't that a little strange?"

Alina reached out and went to slap her.

Luda laughed, and disappeared in a blink, reappearing on the other side of her. "Oh, nice attempt for bravery, but you really are such a foolish, young girl. You think a billionaire would marry an orphan? You have nothing to give him. You're average. You are....the most uninteresting woman on the planet. You're all sticks, like that idiot friend of yours used to say. Have you forgotten about him? Your best friend died right in front of you and you did nothing! You're still with the man responsible for killing him!"

"Shut up!" Alina shouted. "Shut up, shut up! You don't know anything about anything. Aleksander is my husband. Aleksander loves me. What happened to Mal was an accident---"

"Mal came to rescue you," said Luda, "and you're really going to stay in bed with the man that watched as he was dragged to the bottom of a pond by a centuries old witch? He's going to kill you, Alina, and when he does he won't shed a single tear. He will watch you get dragged to the bottom of that pond. And when he drags you out, he won't even care that I'm inside you. Because he wants me. The love of his life. He doesn't want you."

"You're wrong!" Alina snapped. "He told me how the witch works, you know. He wished for money, and she said he would have to give up his love. The witch wouldn't be back if he didn't love me."

"Then," said Luda, "aren't you the cruel one, sticking around? You're putting Genya and him in danger. You could fix it all by....simply leaving. He'd hate you then, and he wouldn't love, exactly like the witch wanted."

"Fuck you!" Alina said. "You don't know what you're saying."

"I know exactly what I'm saying, my dear," said Luda.

In a puff of smoke and shrieking, Luda vanished. And then Alina was alone with nothing but uneasy sleep and darkness.