Ravenwood(96)
Elinore nodded. “We should seal the entrances at any rate. If I was able to find Caleb, then perhaps he could as well.”
Jonah spoke up again. “The men and I already cleaned up the blood and we found some of Mrs. Davenport’s scent mixture.” Elinore shook her head, not understanding. “It confuses the noses of wolves. Caleb must have used some to conceal his whereabouts.”
“But I was able to find him,” Elinore said.
Mrs. Davenport rested her hand on Elinore’s arm. “It’s only meant to confuse enemies, dear. Magic has uses.”
It seemed there was much Elinore needed yet to learn of her new world. “Mrs. Davenport, I bow to your superior skills. All right, then. The entrances to the tunnels will be sealed. Jonah, after we meet in the dining room, men will need to posted at the entrances. There shall be only one way in and out of Ravenwood tonight. The front door. And if…” she paused, swallowing hard, “when Hayter calls me, if I’m unable to resist, that is how I shall leave.”
Mrs. Davenport hand clenched tightly on Elinore’s arm. “Oh, miss. You can’t.”
Elinore’s lips quirked in a self-deprecating way. “Do not count me out yet, Mrs. Davenport.” She looked around at the rest of the small group gathered in Caleb’s room. “I have an idea, but I will need your assistance. The assistance of my pack.”
Chapter Twenty
The day was like a broken thing - crawling forward in slow lurches followed by a strange burst of movement, only to return to a staggered pace.
Caleb slept fitfully, jerking and twitching in his sleep. Mrs. Davenport had to re-sew several stitches, but the drink she’d given him (a mixture of laudanum and some other herbs that she claimed were known to calm and soothe werewolves) kept him unconscious. She thought he might be healed by moonrise, but she did not know for certain. The specter of Hayter loomed before Elinore like a dark shadow on the horizon. She felt anxious and scared, but also… determined.
At her request, the inhabitants of Ravenwood gathered in the dining room and Elinore officially asked for their assistance. They would secure the manor, including all entrances to the tunnels. They would distribute whatever they could find as weapons and each and every person would be responsible for ensuring their own safety as well as the safety of their fellow brethren. Their fear was like a high-pitched hum in the air, but no one balked or hesitated.
It was officially now a coup d’état.
The rising full moon pressed against Elinore’s nerves and skin - a deep, incessant tingle in her marrow. Her gums ached and at times, she could feel the sharp prick of new teeth just under the surface. Her fingertips itched and once or twice, a claw would pierce through the skin of her finger and then retract slowly back in, leaving a few spots of blood on her dress. At one point, she had to stand from the table where she sat with the inhabitants of Ravenwood and pace, cracking her neck, pulling her shoulders back in an effort to relieve the pressure she felt building under her skin - as though her body was too small to contain her. She could feel as the room watched her - Mrs. Thistlewaite, Jonah and the others. Mrs. Davenport attended to Caleb, while Alice sat with her father. The smell of herbs and spices came heavily down the stairs. Mrs. Davenport used her time at Caleb’s sick bed to ready protection amulets for the pack and various other trinkets and bits she thought would be of help. Elinore tried to listen as it was explained to her, but found she could not concentrate on long sentences - losing the thread of conversation as it went. By late afternoon, Elinore had the urge to tear at her clothes and found she could no longer sit still. She maintained a steady prowl in the foyer, pacing back and forth in front of the door. She had to take off her shoes. They were confining and restricting and they angered her. Pacing in her bare feet, feeling the floor directly against her skin, was marginally better, but she longed for the feeling of cool grass and dirt, mossy bits and rock. At times she heard people approach the hallway where she paced and a low, growling sound escaped her lips. She did not want company.
Darkness fell across Ravenwood. The moon hung low in the sky, large and yellow like a fat coin. It thrilled her - made her gums itch and her stomach clench. Elinore twitched as she listened to the sounds of the manor. Far above her, she could hear the sounds of Caleb moving in his sleep - a pained sigh, a stuttered breath. A need to see him settled deep in her belly and she crept up the stairs and down the long hallway, like a wild thing stalking her prey.
As she entered, Mrs. Davenport stared at Elinore with wide eyes. “Oh, miss. You’ve the look of the wolf about you already.”
Elinore caught sight of herself in the mirror next to Caleb’s wardrobe. Her hair was loose and wild around her shoulders, slightly tangled from dragging her fingers through it. Her fingers and her claws. She had four on her left hand and two on her right that hadn’t retracted in hours. She was hunched over, but at the same time, on the balls of her feet - almost comically like a creature from a dark dungeon. It was her eyes that surprised Elinore the most. Her eyes were turning a deep shade of gold, ringed around the outer edges in black. She looked feral, wild.
She liked it.
As Elinore moved toward the bed, Mrs. Davenport rose from the chair upon which she sat and left the room silently, leaving Elinore alone with Caleb. Elinore crawled onto the bed and curled up next to Caleb, resting her head on his shoulder. When she closed her eyes, she could hear the sound of his heart beating, strong and steady and the scent of him filled her nostrils. He no longer smelled entirely of a wounded animal - like blood and pain. He had a soft, sleepy scent mixed in with the hurt that made her want to curl up into a tight ball against him - her body between him and the door. He murmured in his slumber and one of his hands came and rested against her head, petting her hair. She sighed. The tight, anxious feeling crawling through her veins all day finally settled some and she dozed.