children, because she has our welfare at heart. You’re welcome to your big dreams and big world, Louis. I merely want to be home by my fireside, where I can feel safe.”
“You don’t actually believe in the monsters, do you?” Louis asked suddenly.
Geoff stopped cold. Yes, yes, he believed in them. The chill up his spine told him that they were out there, in the forest, and that they were dangerous. But he’d never admit such a thing. Not to Louis. “No, of course not. There are no such things as monsters.”
Louis gave him another cocky grin. “Good. Then there’s no reason for you to be rushing home, is there?”
11
A ngeline sank to the ground next to the grave, her heart feeling both on fire and cold as stone. Watching the girls train—and now duel—hadn’t quieted her mind in the slightest. In fact, it had just served to make her feel more … unsure. Both girls were incredibly talented, well qualified, and trained. Both would make responsible Hoods, in the end.
But they would be completely different in the post. Which would be better? Which would do the job more responsibly? Which would truly understand what it was to be Hood? Which would survive it? She thought she knew, and she thought that her decision was made … but what if she was wrong?
“What am I to do, Gavin?” she asked quietly. “How am I to choose? And why aren’t you here to help me, dammit? Why can’t you tell me which girl to choose, or even whether I should choose either of them? I don’t know if I want either girl to have this responsibility. Adela is so very clever, and Alison so talented with her body … but is it my right to curse them with this life? Why shouldn’t they live a normal life? Why shouldn’t they be allowed to be normal girls? I never was, and sometimes I wish … ” She paused, thinking, wondering if she really felt what she was about to say. “Sometimes I wish I’d been allowed to live the life of a normal woman, without werewolves. Without vampires. Without a damned hood following me around.”
Suddenly angry, she grabbed a stone, turned, and flung it at the nearest tree. The action felt so good that a moment later she was on her feet, picking up and throwing stones as quickly as she could, channeling all her anger and frustration into the movement. She ducked, grabbed a stone, stood, and sent it flying toward a tree then repeated the action, and again, and again, feeling the blood flowing through her arm and into her body. The tension in her shoulders began to relax, and before she knew it she was throwing more smoothly. Taking aim more carefully, and making sure that she followed through after she released the stones. They began flying farther, hitting the trees with more force, and even taking small branches off with them.
After several minutes, she stopped, breathing heavily, and considered. Yes, this was a valuable skill, and perhaps even something she should teach the girls. One could never tell, after all, when one might be caught in the forest without weapons, or have those weapons disabled in some manner. Being able to use the rocks of the forest as weapons … well, it could have its uses, and no mistake.
She smiled grimly at the thought then turned back to the grave with a wider grin. Gavin had ever been her own rock, and he’d told her more than once that she thought too hard, and would be better off if she acted without trying to consider every angle. Acted off instinct alone. Even now, when he’d been dead for years, his presence was steady and comforting. Almost without realizing it, she’d heard what he would have told her, and now, rather than feeling mental chaos and confusion, she felt focused. Even. Ready.
“You are right, of course,” she murmured. “I should let my instincts lead me. Stop thinking so much. Act as I’ve been trained to. As the Red Hood. But I can’t help but wonder … Gavin, what if you hadn’t been a werewolf hunter? What if I hadn’t been the Red
“You don’t actually believe in the monsters, do you?” Louis asked suddenly.
Geoff stopped cold. Yes, yes, he believed in them. The chill up his spine told him that they were out there, in the forest, and that they were dangerous. But he’d never admit such a thing. Not to Louis. “No, of course not. There are no such things as monsters.”
Louis gave him another cocky grin. “Good. Then there’s no reason for you to be rushing home, is there?”
11
A ngeline sank to the ground next to the grave, her heart feeling both on fire and cold as stone. Watching the girls train—and now duel—hadn’t quieted her mind in the slightest. In fact, it had just served to make her feel more … unsure. Both girls were incredibly talented, well qualified, and trained. Both would make responsible Hoods, in the end.
But they would be completely different in the post. Which would be better? Which would do the job more responsibly? Which would truly understand what it was to be Hood? Which would survive it? She thought she knew, and she thought that her decision was made … but what if she was wrong?
“What am I to do, Gavin?” she asked quietly. “How am I to choose? And why aren’t you here to help me, dammit? Why can’t you tell me which girl to choose, or even whether I should choose either of them? I don’t know if I want either girl to have this responsibility. Adela is so very clever, and Alison so talented with her body … but is it my right to curse them with this life? Why shouldn’t they live a normal life? Why shouldn’t they be allowed to be normal girls? I never was, and sometimes I wish … ” She paused, thinking, wondering if she really felt what she was about to say. “Sometimes I wish I’d been allowed to live the life of a normal woman, without werewolves. Without vampires. Without a damned hood following me around.”
Suddenly angry, she grabbed a stone, turned, and flung it at the nearest tree. The action felt so good that a moment later she was on her feet, picking up and throwing stones as quickly as she could, channeling all her anger and frustration into the movement. She ducked, grabbed a stone, stood, and sent it flying toward a tree then repeated the action, and again, and again, feeling the blood flowing through her arm and into her body. The tension in her shoulders began to relax, and before she knew it she was throwing more smoothly. Taking aim more carefully, and making sure that she followed through after she released the stones. They began flying farther, hitting the trees with more force, and even taking small branches off with them.
After several minutes, she stopped, breathing heavily, and considered. Yes, this was a valuable skill, and perhaps even something she should teach the girls. One could never tell, after all, when one might be caught in the forest without weapons, or have those weapons disabled in some manner. Being able to use the rocks of the forest as weapons … well, it could have its uses, and no mistake.
She smiled grimly at the thought then turned back to the grave with a wider grin. Gavin had ever been her own rock, and he’d told her more than once that she thought too hard, and would be better off if she acted without trying to consider every angle. Acted off instinct alone. Even now, when he’d been dead for years, his presence was steady and comforting. Almost without realizing it, she’d heard what he would have told her, and now, rather than feeling mental chaos and confusion, she felt focused. Even. Ready.
“You are right, of course,” she murmured. “I should let my instincts lead me. Stop thinking so much. Act as I’ve been trained to. As the Red Hood. But I can’t help but wonder … Gavin, what if you hadn’t been a werewolf hunter? What if I hadn’t been the Red
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