She let me hug her, her desire for me building the longer we touched. I couldn’t put this off anymore. I’d already put it off too long.
Pulling away, I let her go, dragging a hand through my hair.
She frowned, twirling the key in her fingers. “What does it open?”
Something you won’t want to see.
Climbing the first few rungs of the steps, I held out my hand for her to follow. “I’ll show you.”
She silently chased me up the twisting stone staircase, nervousness layering her thoughts the higher we strode.
We didn’t bump into anyone. There was no fear of being caught by snooping cameras or hiding from madmen with death threats. Just an ordinary house and an ordinary night. About to do a very unordinary thing.
Nila slowed the higher we climbed. “Where are we going?”
I didn’t look back. If I did, I’d second-guess the intelligence of what I was doing. It wasn’t my choice to decide if this was wrong. It was Nila’s. “Almost there.”
When we arrived on Cut’s third floor, she faltered. “Tell me.”
Grabbing her hand, I tugged her down the plush carpeted corridor. Up here no artwork or embroidery decorated the space. These rooms were the unseen part of the Hall. The place where secrets were stored and debts were hidden for eternity.
“You’ll see.” I led Nila further down the corridor, stopping outside a room she hadn’t been permitted to enter. This wasn’t just a room but a tomb of memories. There were still so many unexplored parts of the Hall. She’d only visited a fraction of my home and most rooms were welcoming and just like any other.
But not this one.
This one housed nightmares.
The storage mecca of every debt extracted.
The carved door depicted roses and tulips, similar to the awful flower arrangements Bonnie had enjoyed. The moment the contents were cleared, I would destroy the door, too.
Taking the key from Nila’s suddenly shaking fingers; I inserted it into the lock and opened the door. The soft snick of the mechanism made me swallow hard. I felt as if I trespassed on things I shouldn’t, entering a realm not meant for me. “After you.”
My heart thudded at the seriousness on her face. “What—what’s in there?”
I looked briefly at the carpet, forcing myself not to drown in her sudden fear. “An ending of sorts, or a beginning, depending on how you look at it. Either way, you need to see and decide for yourself.”
Straightening her shoulders, holding onto non-existent bravery, she brushed past me.
Her eyes widened as I switched on the light, drenching the wall-to-wall cabinets of files. In the centre were a large table, a TV, VCR, and DVD player.
Everything she’d need to read and witness decades of hardship.
Nila covered her mouth as realisation came swift. “It’s all here. Isn’t it?”
I nodded, steeling myself against her sudden outwash of rage. “It is.”
“I can’t—I don’t….” She backed away. “Why did you bring me here?”
Stalking forward, I opened the one cabinet where I’d seen Cut deposit all things relating to Emma.
Nila stepped again, her bare feet tripping with a sudden wash of vertigo. I rushed to her side, but she pushed me away, balancing herself with practiced ease. “Jethro…I don’t. I don’t think I can look.”
“I’m not saying you have to. I’m giving you the option if you wish, that’s all.” I moved back to the filing cabinet and grabbed the largest file. Carefully, I carried it to the table. “It’s your call, Nila.” Heading to the door, I murmured, “I love you. Remember that. Come find me when you’re ready.”
“Where are you going?”
I smiled sadly, hating leaving her but knowing she had to do this on her own. She needed to say goodbye, consolidate the horror of what my father did, and work through her hate to come back to me. “Tomorrow is Kes’s funeral. Tonight, we should have one for your ancestors. Send the dead away all at once, eradicate the estate of the ghosts living in its walls.”
For the longest moment, she stared. She didn’t say a word. She looked as if she’d bolt or fly out the window. Then, finally, an accepting tear rolled down her cheek. “Okay.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I turned and closed the door behind me.
Heading down the stairs and away from the Hall, I disappeared into the woodland and gathered branches, kindling, and twigs for the largest bonfire Hawksridge had ever seen—minus the barn that’d wiped Cut from existence.
I enlisted the help of Black Diamond brothers and carted every torture equipment and vile method of pain onto the lawn, ready to be burned.
The Iron Chair, Scold’s Bridle, Heretic’s Fork, Ducking Stool, whips, thumb screws—every mortal thing.
I didn’t want such heinous items living beside us any longer.
Hawksridge Hall would evolve with us; it would embrace happiness and learn to accept sunshine rather than darkness.
Nila might be in a room full of ghosts.
But I intended to purge them free with fire.
“DO YOU ACCEPT the payment for this debt?”
Cut’s voice echoed in the room, sending chills down my spine.
Silent tears oozed down my cheeks as the old video played footage of my mother and him. She stood in a pentacle of salt beside the pond. The ducking stool hovered in the background and the white shift she wore fluttered around her legs.