Bloody Curse | Book Two of Blood Trilogy

Chapter 9

Asher 

I held my breath when the door leading to mother and father's bedroom was ajar. My temples pounded violently and my hands trembled when I reached for the doorknob. 

A cold breeze leaked from the center of the room. Aidan grabbed for the comfort of my hand from behind and I squeezed it reassuringly, even though I already a bad feeling about the result resting on the other side of the door. 

The first thing I took note of was the open window and the curtains swaying gently with the movements of the wind. Goosebumps grew on my arms and the hair on the back of my neck rose. There she lay, ever so peacefully, unaware of her hectic surroundings. Everything was exactly how it was when I last saw her. 

I approached her bedside slowly with wavering steps. Aidan's knuckles turned white from his tight grip he had on my hand. I risked a glance at him and regretted it immediately. Tears were streaming down his face while he bit tightly down onto his bottom lip. I released his hand to leave him standing still at the bottom of her bed.

My heart sank. He had only been hurt one time before and that was father's death. I vowed to protect my family but that was the total opposite of what my actions consisted of. If I had not had a watchful eye of my surroundings, then Zayden and mother would not be taken. At those exact thoughts, I collapsed to my knees and grasped onto mother's frigid hand. She's only an empty shell. She will never wake up again. Someone captured her warm and loving soul.  

Lightning struck in the background. I squeezed my eyes shut and sobbed. Everything around me had disappeared. I'm sorry, mother. I am so sorry. I'm not ready to let you go yet. I was never ready. My trembling lips met with mother's hand. I placed a soft kiss on it as a sign of farewell. 

"I love you, mommy. I will do what is right to avenge you. I love you so much. Please say hello to father for me." I whispered, feeling my breath ricochet off her frozen hand and brush back against my face. I leaned forward, allowing the free-falling tears to trickle down her forehead and leaned mine against hers. "I will take care of this family. I promise. I apologize for having failed you." 

I looked away without another glance and walked past Caleb into the dark shadows of the room. I dealt with the pain by myself. I could not bear to face Aidan or Caleb at the moment. As I stared at Caleb's stiff back, Aidan's cries vibrated off the walls. It felt like his pleads channeled right to me, and only me. The guilt weighed my heart down even more and I could not bear to listen to anything else, so I barged through the doors into the deserted hallway. 

I released a breath that I had been holding and leaned against the hard, unwelcoming wall. The brisk marble floor could not chill to the touch anymore as my insides had already been at its coldest. My head was wedged between my two knees and I sat there for what felt like ages before the bedroom doors reopened. I raised my head and stared straight at the parallel wall. My breath hitched and I tilted my head for an affirmation. 

Standing straight up was not a good idea as I staggered on my feet, but Caleb gripped my shoulder and I sent a nod to him in gratitude. I flickered my gaze to Aidan briefly with warning eyes before switching my attention back to the tiny clue smeared along the baseboard. 

I crouched to the opposite wall and touched the unidentified substance. My retreated finger was coated in a fine black powder. 

"Ash." Caleb whispered. I nodded to his observation and turned to him slowly. He appeared to be as puzzled as I was, meanwhile Aidan stood silently behind Caleb with wide eyes. 

"The shadows dance beautifully in the nights." My younger brother whispered and stumbled back until he reached the wall where I was leaning against. I turned all my attention to his sudden fear and grew more anxious. 

"Aidan, what is it?" I urged but he only shook his head in reply. With my free hand, I grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him back into focus, but he was scared and shaking his head rapidly. "Tell me, Aidan. Tell me everything. I just need know anything I can and I can't do that without you." He looked at me with big brown eyes. The same brown eyes that stared at me whenever he felt unsafe or feared something greatly. The same brown eyes that was scared of the monsters that lurked under his bed when he was younger. 

"Zayden told Alexandria and I that when we were walking to the canopy earlier. We dismissed his statement thinking that he was in denial. I even joked and told him that he hit head hard, but he denied any nonsense. He told me that he saw those shadows dancing every night." Tears now flowed down his flustered cheeks and he sank to the ground. 

I released his shoulder in disbelief and took minuscule steps backwards. I could not believe what I had just heard. I was sure that nobody knew of this until now. My heart sank when I imagined telling Violet the news of mother and the detail to Zayden's abduction. I spun to face Caleb, whose mouth was wide open; and without another word, I took off the my son's room where everybody was mourning over disappearance of Zayden, but soon the lose of my mother.