Guarding Grace

Chapter Twenty-Five

Grace blinked as she walked back onto the bridge, looking around she saw nothing. She took a deep breath, sure that the others would find her eventually. She walked along the path, the dim lights guiding her footsteps. Rounding a corner she heard shouting, "Grace! Damnit, she never listens. Don't go into strange doors." She smiled as she recognized Hunter's voice, he sounded so worried about her.

She walked towards them, keeping her footsteps quiet in hopes of sneaking up on them. She stopped a few feet from Hunter, listening as he continued his tirade. "All she had to do was not go into the damned door! Who knows where she ended up!"

Grace cleared her throat, "It was strange, but I met someone. I think they would technically be my uncle?"

Hunter whirled around and stared at her with his mouth wide open. HE slowly pointed a finger at her, "You could have died! You are a stupid girl!" Grace's smile fell, she knew that they'd be worried but she didn't think that they would be angry. She took a step back as Hunter stalked towards her. His pupils pinpricks, mouth set in a thin line. He grabbed her shirt roughly, "Do you have any sense? Any at all? You walked into a door that you had no idea where you'd end up. You could have ended up in the center of the planet. You could have ended up in the void!" He began to shake her slightly, "You can't do anything right!"

Grace pulled away from him, trying to put distance between them, but his grip tightened, "You don't give a damn about how your actions affect others. You are a selfish bitch!" He let her go and turned and walked away from her. His shoulders still tense, he looked at Regan, "I'm not babysitting her any longer. She needs to be protected, you do it."

Grace felt the tears sting her eyes, she came back because of him. For him. She swallowed hard and looked to Ryder, but he didn't meet her gaze, instead turning to follow Hunter. Tears rolled down her cheeks, she looked at Regan- disappointment was etched into his face. He shook his head and motioned for her to follow. She walked alongside him for several minutes before he spoke.

"You need to be more careful and you need to think before you act." Regan never looked at her, she bowed her head. It was if she was being admonished by her grandmother for running after a ball that had rolled into the street. Shame welled up in her, then sank like a rock into the pit of her stomach. She knew she would never be able to apologize enough for what she did. She raised her head and watched as Angus and Andora wove in between Hunter and Ryder- even they wanted nothing to do with her.

Tears spilled down her cheeks, they would have been better off without her, she couldn't see a situation where anyone would have been glad to have her around. She allowed herself to be swallowed by misery and shame. Blinking her eyes only to clear the tears so that her vision wasn't impaired. The last thing anyone needed was her tripping because she couldn't see.

Grace stopped as she heard a low growl coming from the shadows, Regan looked at her questioningly but all she could do was raise her hand to point in the direction she had heard the growl. A small nod from Regan as he walked into the shadows- Grace took a deep breath, wondering how Regan going off into the shadows was any different than her taking the door. But she supposed it was different because he knew what he was doing. A loud howl sounded from the shadows that Regan had recently walked into. Hunter came running back to her, standing beside her he looked anxiously towards the shadows.She trembled, waiting for his angry and hateful words. Sure that he would blame her if Regan got hurt. Ryder stood on her other side, gently brushing the back of her hand with his fingertips. Desperately wanting to hold his hand, Grace stood still, scared that if she reached for him he would deny her.

His fingertips provided only a small amount of comfort as they all three stood stock still peering into the shadows hoping to see something. After what seemed like hours, Regan walked from the shadows with a triumphant smile on his face. Trailing behind him was a canine like creature made entirely of smoke. Grace watched as the creature sat back on its haunches and its tongue lolled out of its mouth as it panted. Hunter rolled his eyes and slapped Regan on the back, "Only you would bring back a hellhound as a pet." Laughter coloring his voice, Regan grinned, "It was lost. It's still a pup, no more than a few centuries old. His flames haven't even come in."

Grace stared at the smoky hellhound, as large as her but only a baby. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she watched Hunter smile at the hellhound. Something about his smile didn't sit right with her. Ryder piped up, grabbing Hunter's arm. "Ok, we have a new mascot. But what if it decides we are food?" Hunter looked over to Grace then back to the hellhound, "They don't eat people, just guide souls to the afterlife. So no worries there."

Grace wondered if she had imagined the hatred that she saw in Hunter's eyes. She turned around and quietly started walking away from the group. Regan's voice caught her ears as she walked, "You need to be less of a dick." Grace shrugged her shoulders as she didn't care to hear what Hunter's reply was.