Chapter 76

“Slow down, girl. Why are you running?” An old woman asked me.
I had reached the southern village and I was heading to the dock to get a boat ride to the Highlands. I’d stopped briefly by an empty stall in the market to catch my breath when the woman showed up.
“Are you ok?” She asked.
She was standing in the shadows where I couldn’t see her properly but I recognized her voice.
“Lattie?”
She stepped forward and the moonlight shone on her face. She was staring at me with a puzzled expression.
“Do I know you?” She asked.
“Not in this life,” I replied plainly. “Where’s Albert? Do you think he’ll be willing to give me a ride to the Highlands?”
Lattie was speechless at first. “Who are you?”
“My name is Jade. You don’t know me yet or maybe you do and don’t remember, but I know you from another time.”
“Child, that doesn’t make sense.”
“To you, it doesn’t but to me, it does. Where’s Albert?”
“He already packed up and left. I only stayed back this long to sell off my last batch of fresh apples. Now, I’m ready to go home.”
“Damn,” I swore in frustration.
“Why don’t you come home with me? I’m sure my dear Albert wouldn’t mind. It’s awfully late and you shouldn’t be running around all by yourself.”
“No. I have to get to the Highlands tonight. It’s important.”
“Trust me, whatever you need to do tonight can wait until tomorrow. You won’t find any boat going in that direction this night. Everyone has gone home.”
“Oh, no.”
“Come on, let’s go,” she said soothingly. “Nobody can harm you here. Everyone who enters the village is protected.”
“I don’t want to put anyone in danger.”
“Don’t worry about that, dear. You’re safe here.”
I hesitated.
“Come on, Jade. Let’s go home. You won’t die here tonight.”
Something in her tone made me feel as if she understood my situation. Has she recognized me as Freya did?
“Do you know what happens next?” I asked her.
“What do you mean? I’m not a seer,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s go before Albert sends a search party to look for me.”
I followed her obediently. Their cottage was the same as the ‘real’ one. Albert was sitting at the dining table, playing chess alone.
“There’s my darling!” He exclaimed excitedly when he saw Lattie. “I was planning to come and look for you after winning this round.”
“Winning against who? Your left hand?” She laughed.
He laughed too but then he sobered up when he saw me. “Who’s our guest?”
“Her name is Jade. She happens to know you.”
“Is that so? Hello.”
“Hi, Albert,” I greeted him with a warm smile. “I know you probably don’t recognize me but you once showed me kindness. Actually, you were kind to me multiple times.”
He grinned. “I’m glad you think I’m a hero. Lattie doesn’t know my worth.”
She laughed and punched him on the shoulder playfully. “Of course, I do.”
“So, how long are you staying?” He asked me.
“Just tonight,” I said. “I have to leave very early in the morning.”
“What’s the hurry? Why not stay with us for a few days? Lattie won’t mind, right darling?”
“Not at all,” she agreed.
“That’s very generous of you guys but I really have to leave tomorrow. It’s a matter of life and death.”
He snorted. “You only get to die when your time is ripe.”
“How do I know when my time is ripe?” I asked him.
“You don’t. Fate decides that.”
“Yeah… that all-knowing fate that never chooses an easy path for me.”
“Don’t sound so gloomy. My darling Lattie is going to prepare something delicious to lift your moods.”
“Coming right up,” said Lattie as she bounced to the kitchen.
“Come sit with me, Jade.”
I went to join him at the dining table. I felt drained and on edge. How long would it take Dominic and Damian to find me? Would they come to the village or would they wait for me elsewhere?
“It’s probably going to be a long night for you,” said Albert.
“Why do you say that?”
He shrugged. “Just a feeling. You look so sad and I can tell that whatever you’re running from might be lurking in the shadows, waiting for you.”
The hair on my skin rose. “Are they outside?” I whispered.
“I don’t know but I wouldn’t worry about them if I were you. Nobody’s going to harm you here in the village. I told you this place is safe, didn’t I?”
I stared at him in wonder. “Albert, you remember me!”
He laughed. “Of course, I do. Weren’t you the same person that just came in now with Lattie? I have a sharp memory, dear.”
“Dinner is ready!” Lattie sang as she came out of the kitchen with a tray of food.
I watched the two of them with mounting confusion. What’s going on here? Was this a dream?
“Am I dreaming?” I asked aloud.
“Why would you ask that?” Lattie asked while she continued to lay out the food on the table.
“I don’t know how to explain it but everything feels weird,” I said.
“Eat some food then and go to sleep,” she replied. “You’ll feel better when you wake up. Trust me.”
“She’s right,” Albert agreed. “That prescription works for me every time.”
Lattie took her seat and we began to eat. The food tasted good but my mind was too scattered for me to enjoy it. What was happening to me? Was this life even real?
“You know, a clever way to hide in plain sight is by changing your looks,” Albert said to me. “Something as simple as changing your hair colour can transform you into someone else.”
“I have the perfect colour for you,” said Lattie cheerfully.
“Let me guess, a red hair dye,” I said dryly.
“Yes! It will go perfectly with your – “
“Green eyes,” I finished for her.
“Absolutely!” She agreed. “I’ll apply it on your hair before we retire for the night.”
“I’d like a trim too,” I said.
“Sure, why not. You’ll look phenomenal when I’m done with you.”
I smiled and continued eating. Some things were new and others weren’t. I had thought that I had this second chance at life figured out, but it turns out that I was wrong.
Once we finished eating, Lattie trimmed and dyed my hair a bright strawberry blonde.
“This colour isn’t the best for melting into the crowd,” I remarked.
“Why would you want to melt into the crowd?” She asked with a lopsided smile. “You were born to stand out, Jade. Stop selling yourself short.”
“She’s right,” said Albert. “You were born to shine, Jade. Stop hiding in the shadows.”
“But what about those pursuing me?” I asked.
“What about them?” Albert asked. “Do you think they’ll leave you alone if you keep hiding? You have to confront your demons, Jade.”
“How?”
“You know how,” he said and nodded at the necklace around my neck. “You can end this if you want to.”
“I have to get it to the Highlands,” I said softly.
“Then let no one stop you,” said Lattie. “Not even the necklace itself.”
There was something odd in the way they were speaking to me. I felt that they weren’t speaking about the present but the past.
I had to get out of this realm and find the real necklace, the one that was buried with Dominic in the woods.
“But how?” I asked aloud. “How do I get out of here?”
Lattie shrugged. “We can’t tell you that, Jade. That’s for you to decide.”
I gasped. “That was what Lunaria told me the last time!”
“Who’s that?” Albert asked with a frown.
“The daughter of the Moon Goddess. She told me I could leave the chasm if I wanted.”
“Then leave,” said Lattie. “What’s stopping you?”
“I have to wake up,” I said. “I have to wake up now.”
Suddenly, we heard a loud tap on one of the cottage windows. We all looked at it and to my horror, I saw Damian standing there in his wolf form, staring straight at me.
“Oh, no!” I gasped in fear.
“Who is that?” Lattie asked.
“Your nemesis,” Damian replied. Even though the window was locked, we could hear him clearly as if he had spoken inside the cottage.
I rose to my feet slowly, while my eyes darted around, looking for an escape route.
“You can run, but you can’t hide,” said Damian, taunting me.
Lattie spoke to me from the side of her mouth. “Go through the kitchen and run as fast as you can to the docks.”
“But you said I was safe here,” I said shakily.
“This isn’t the time to argue, dear,” said Albert. “Run!”
Just then, Damian crashed through the windows and entered the cottage.