REMI
All Remi knew was that it was dark and raining.
She had been wrong about their whereabouts, as the cellar led upstairs to a dilapidated house. She’d never seen it before; it was nestled far back in the woods. The perfect place to hide. Remi’s heart ached for Sylvie, who had been dragged there only to die alone. For as long as she lived, Remi would never forget the way her uncle tossed the young girl aside.
Rain soaked through her dress and her hair clung to her skin. She’d been running for what felt like hours, though little time had passed. The gun was slick in her hand, but she held it with a vise-like grip.
She rested against a tree to catch her breath.
“Remi!”
Her heart skipped in her chest.
“You little bitch! Where are you hiding?”
She covered her mouth to suppress a gasp. He sounded close. How much space have I put between us?
He called again, his voice growing louder. Remi shook with fear. She couldn’t see in the dark, past the trees, or through the rain dripping in her eyes. They were in a heavily wooded part of the island, and she had no inkling of where they might be.
A flash of lightning lit up the sky.
Something fluttered in the distance, the glancing light dancing off their beating wings.
Moths? She wondered.
Another flash of lightning revealed more than just moths. A few feet away, standing between two trees, was Edgar. His white eyes sparkled in the dark, and the shimmering outline of his body was bright enough for her to see him amongst the brush.
Her uncle’s voice was louder still, but seeing Edgar spurred her on.
Follow Edgar, she told herself. Follow the moths.
Remi grabbed her skirt and picked up her feet, following Edgar as closely as she could. He faded in and out of sight, always reappearing further ahead whenever she drew close. With her uncle at her back, he was the only thing that she could trust.
“I see you!”
A rock hurled past Remi’s head, and she ducked sideways. Her shoulder slammed into a tree, but she righted her footing and moved faster.
“Please stop this!” she begged through ragged breaths.
“This is your doing!” Her uncle ignored her. “You have been a pox on my family for too long, you miserable bitch.”
Then you shouldn’t have taken me in, she wanted to say, but she couldn’t. It hurt to think about them; when she did, it only reminded her of her father—the man who had thrown her away.
Now his brother pursued her, ready to spill her blood for the sake of nothing. There would be no value in her death, but that hardly mattered to him. He was responsible for everything, and because of his madness, she’d lost Elise and countless others.
Ben’s smile came to mind.
“He’ll die too!” Arnaud cried as if reading her mind.
She choked on a sob but kept moving. Edgar was still there, guiding her through the woods. All she had to do was keep her feet moving and she would make it. By some miracle, she would survive—she had to. Her uncle wouldn’t get away with what he’d done, she’d make sure of it.
Keep running.
Mud caked her feet, pulling at her boots with each step.
Run, run, run.
Something hard hit her ankle, toppling her over as she fell onto her elbows. The gun flew from her hand, a few inches out of reach. Reaching for it, she looked back at the object that had tripped her and was shocked to find a headstone popping out of the ground. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and more silhouettes like the stone she had tripped on became clearer.
“The cemetery,” she breathed, scrambling to her feet.
Edgar waited, watching her with his moths fluttering about his head.
Two more familiar faces joined him—Leith and Elise.
Remi’s heart clenched tightly in her chest. They were there somehow, urging her on. She should have been afraid, but their white eyes and ethereal presence comforted her. She spurred herself forward, her ankle throbbing from its collision with the stone. Arnaud was behind her somewhere, his breathing as loud as hers. He grew weary from chasing her.
Further in, the trees started to thin.
The rain had picked up, and the wind was stronger than before. Her dress was soaked through, and her teeth chattered. Edgar, Leith, and Elise were waiting, moving gracefully across the cemetery. But then, without warning, they were gone. Remi panicked and hurried her pace. It wasn’t long before the Leone family mausoleum came into view.
“Thank you,” she whispered to herself.
The moths that had been circling Edgar’s head were gone, save for one lone creature that beat its wings gently as it rested on the handle of the gate outside the mausoleum door.
“Remi! Remi, get back here!”
She turned sharply on her injured foot and winced at the pain. Hobbling to the mausoleum, she did not stop until the smooth granite was underhand. She pulled at the handle, hoping that the gate was unlocked, and sighed with relief when the handle turned freely in her hand. Remi felt tears forming as Arnaud’s angry shouts closed in.
