The Unknown Thief

Part 28

Chapter 28

The drawbridge fell down, echoing through the area.  Who would have thought that this would be the end?  It would be the end of everything no matter what the end results were.  Walking across the boards, they creaked under their feet.  Even the little dragon walked on her own instead of hiding under Aubrey’s skirts.  It looked as if everyone knew there was more to come, that something would happen tonight. 

The stayed quiet as they entered the area.  Silence met their quiet, as if whatever, or whoever was in the manor knew that silence was the best choice for the moment.  Taking another step into the palace, they froze.  Aubrey’s eyes stayed on the sight before her.  The man smiled at her, is eyes lightening up as she remembered.  Taking a step towards him, she was pulled back.

“Let me go,” she mumbled while trying to free herself from his grasp.

Nathaniel tightened his grip on Aubrey’s shoulder.  “He’s not real.”

“You hear them?” she asked with a small smile on her face.  Her head tilted to the side as if she were trying to hear more of the sound. 

“Aubrey,” he said, shaking her slightly, “it is not him.  Listen to me, Aubrey, it is not him.”

Her hand came up, ready to blast him with some type of magic, but he recognized the move.  His hand came up with hers, and to his surprise, her magic fizzled out.  He had acted without thought, making his magic work as it had never before. 

Aubrey moved around again, reminding him why he was standing there.  Pulling Aubrey towards him, he wrapped his arms around her from behind.  “He is not real,” he said into her ear.  “The witch is playing with your mind, Aubrey.  He is not real; he is dead.  You know he is dead.”

“Listen to it, Nate.  Can you hear them?  Listen,” she mumbled, wiggling in his arms.

He heard them, the swinging blades.  The only problem was that they were not real.  The man who was once her husband was not real.  He only had to convince her of that fact.  Glancing to his left, he looked at the other men.  Luther stood there, staring at the same man as Aubrey; the only difference was that the man was not moving.  He just stared as if he could no move his eyes away.  Searching for Alin, he found the man standing there with a blank face.  Surrounding him, were different women, all glaring at him with hatred and something else in their eyes.  Those must be the women of his past, the women who he had been forced to kill.

“I see nothing,” Ainsely said from beside him.  “What are they looking at?”

“You cannot see them?” Nathaniel asked, shocked.

Ainsely shook his head, and as Luther took off running forward, the man began jogging after him.  Nathaniel stood and watched as Luther and Ainsely ran towards the man with the blades.  Aubrey kicked at Nathaniel, trying to break free as Luther jumped at his brother.  “You are not real,” Luther yelled, but as he was attempting to hit his brother, he went through him.

Aubrey froze against him, her body falling to his as if it were tired, as if it could no longer fight.  “He is not real,” she mumbled, “but why is he here?”

Alin strolled towards them, a line of women following behind him.  “It is part of her test.  You are meant to forgive yourself.  You blame yourself for his death, so you see him.  Same goes for Luther.”

“What about you?” Aubrey whispered, looking at the women around him.

He shrugged, not bother to even glance at them.  “No matter what happens, I will always blame myself for their deaths.  I am the one who killed them, how could I not?”

“I do not know if I can forgive myself,” Aubrey mumbled.  “Must I forgive myself, or will killing her make him disappear too?”

“I do not know,” Alin replied with a shrug.  “It may work, but he may be with you as long as you believe you are responsible for his death.  It matters on which spell she used.”

Luther still swung at his brother, but when Ainsely tackled him to the ground, the man stopped.  Even from where he stood, Nathaniel could hear what Ainsely told the man.  “Nothing you are doing is helping.  You are making matters worse than they are.  Listen to me, I am going to stand up, and when I do, you will be calm.”

Ainsely stood, and as soon as he did, Luther jumped to his feet.  Nathaniel waited for the attack, but Luther just brushed his clothing before walking towards them.  He stopped in front of Aubrey, but kept his eyes on Nathaniel.  “Let her go.”

Nathaniel didn’t move his arms from around her until she nodded.  “I will be fine.”

His arms loosened, and as soon as he let her go, she flung herself into Luther’s arms.  Even though he could not see her, he knew tears ran down her cheeks.  Luther blinked a couple times, before closing his eyes completely.  “You need to let go, Aubrey.”

She pulled back from him.  “And what of you, Luther?  You say I need to let go, but you blame yourself also.  Why would you not tell me that you blame yourself?”

“I did not want to worry you.”

“You are like a brother to me, worrying me is what you should do.”

“Aubrey,” Luther started, shaking his head at her, “stop trying to change the subject.  You need to forgive yourself, you know.  He would not want you to live like this.  He would want you to move on.”

“I know,” she mumbled, “but he would want the same from you.”

“I can do this if you can.”

Aubrey freed herself from him, and faced the man who had once been her husband.  Luther turned with her, reaching out to grab her hand.  The two of them stood there, facing their guilt head on, and Nathaniel waited.  If Aubrey could forgive herself, it would be a step in the right direction.  It would be a step towards a new beginning.

He kept his eyes on the man, waiting for him to disappear.  Slowly, along the edges, the figure began to fade out.  Just as he vanished completely, the man winked.  Aubrey turned towards Nathaniel, dropping Luther’s hand in the process.  He stared at her, waiting for her face to crumble, for her to cry out in pain, but she just sent him a small smile.  “It was for the best.”

“For the best,” Nathaniel agreed with a nod.

“Now,” she said, clearing her throat, “let us continue.  I have an odd feeling that this will not be the last obstacle in our way.”

Luther turned towards them, his face as blank as it usually was.  “What about the trail of women following Alin.”

“They can come along,” Alin said while walking past them.  “They will not leave for quite some time.  To be honest, I am just glad the lot of you can see them now too.”

They all stared at Alin’s back as he began to walk away.  The man had secrets that none of them knew, but Nathaniel knew they were better left unknown.  Taking a step after the man, he snagged Aubrey’s hand.  If the woman thought he would let her get far from him, she was mistaken.  They were in a home of magic, a home that belonged to a very powerful woman, and this woman knew why Aubrey was here.  Nathaniel had to make sure for himself that Aubrey would be fine, and if that meant standing by her side for the rest of his life, that is what he would do.

***Major thanks to Platypus1987 for the amazing banner on the side!***