The Secrets of Darkling Manor

Forty-five: Aleksander Morozova

Forty-five:

Aleksander Morozova

He woke up at the edge of the woods. The darklings were nowhere to be seen. His whole body ached. His face stung. He reached out to touch it and could feel the cuts from the bird attacking him. He pushed himself slowly up and wiped the dirt and leaves and twigs off him. He got up and started walking in what he thought was the direction of Aston Safin's estate.

His whole body ached. But all he could think about was Alina. She was the only one that had ever loved him selflessly. He needed to save her. She needed to be alive. If she died, he didn't know what he would do. He couldn't be alone again. And if he wasn't married, he would have to give up Genya too.

He made his way to the house. He went to the front door and was going to knock but instead pushed it open. Inside, the main house was empty. "Aston?" he called out but there was no answer. He didn't know what he expected. That he would get there and Aston would invite him into the kitchen and they would have drinks and talk over their problems. They could come to some sort of arrangement about Genya and he could get rid of the ghosts. But then he heard a familiar sound that had haunted his nightmares.

The sound of a darkling. The birds that had tortured him. It was coming from what sounded like the basement. And then there was something else over the sounds of the darkling. Screams. He didn't know who the other one was but he knew at least one of them was Alina.

He followed the screams. "Alina!" he called out. There was no answer, only the sound of her screams. He found the door and tried to open it was locked. "Shit!"

He went to the kitchen, and he grabbed a knife. He stuck it into the lock and tried to jimmy it. He could hear the screaming coming from downstairs still. He jimmied it and the door clicked open.

He heard Alina's screams. He made his way down the stairs. "Alina!" he called out. "Alina!"

"Aleks!" she called. "Aleks I'm down here."

He fumbled in the dark and he found the light switch. Light flooded the basement. "Alina!" he called out.

"Aleksander!" she called back.

He made his way down the stairs and he found Alina tied to a chair. In front of her was Aston. There was a darkling on his face, pecking him with his beak.

He made a face. "What the hell happened?"

Alina shook her head. "I don't know. The bird came from nowhere and it attacked him."

"Is he still alive?" he asked.

"I don't know," Alina said, "he was screaming and screaming and then...."

Aleksander walked over and bent down to take his pulse. There was nothing. Aston Safin was dead, which meant that Aleksander was Genya's only family. He made a face, then stood up to look at her. "Alina, he's dead."

"The darklings killed him?" Alina said.

"I guess so," he answered.

"What does that mean?" Alina said. "Are the ghosts gone?"

"Luda said that he was controlling the ghosts," Aleksander said, "that he was doing it so that he could get to Genya. If he's dead then..."

"Then the ghosts are gone," Alina finished, "we don't have to be haunted anymore. We can live in darkling manor, with Genya, and we can be a family. A real one."

Aleksander glanced at the body of Genya's uncle. "What do we do about him?" he asked.

Alina found her lips curling into a smile. "Well, it's an old, country house. Plenty of these places have ghosts. Whose to say that Aston isn't just one more?"

Aleksander smiled at her. "You're devious."

"Well, I learned from you," she replied.

"To right you did."

"Can you help me get out of these ties?" she asked.

"Of course," he answered.

Aleksander went behind her chair and he undid the ties, using the same knife that he had used to unlock the door. He cut the ties from her wrists. There were angry, red marks on them from where the zip ties had dug into her skin. Aleksander kissed her tenderly. "Alina," he whispered, stroking her wrists, "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't been so caught up in my own darkness...."

Alina turned around in the chair so that she could face him. She reached out and stroked his cheek. "We're all haunted by different things. In this case, your ghosts just happened to be real. But we've put them to rest. Now, it's time for you to rest, Aleks."

He smiled up at her. "I know exactly where I want to rest."

"Where?" she asked.

"Right next to you," he told her, "Forever, with you as my wife."

"Are you proposing?" she said.

"I believe I am," he said with a smirk.

She kissed him deeply. "I would love that, Aleks."

The two of them got up and they walked away from Aston's dead body. Aleksander would call someone about it, but not until they were away from the estate. The evidence of the bird attack was clear enough that no one could accuse either him or Alina of doing anything. When they got back to their own home, Genya was there waiting for them.

"Alina!" Genya said as she ran towards them. "You're safe!"

Alina smiled. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry if I scared you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Genya said, "but if you're here, that means it worked."

"What worked?" Alina asked.

"I asked the birds to save you," said Genya, "they always talk to me, and I asked them to save you because I didn't want to be taken away."

"You asked the birds to save us?" said Alina.

Genya nodded. "You're my family."

Alina looked warily at Aleksander, not sure what to make of the gesture. But she smiled at the little girl and hugged her tightly. "You're my family too, Genya."

Aleksander smiled. "We're all family. And we're going to be together always."

"The birds aren't coming back though," said Genya, "and I don't think that the ghosts are either."

"What makes you say that Genya?" Aleksander asked.

"The birds were the ghosts," Genya said, "didn't you know? When the spirits died, they got trapped in the bird's bodies. That's why they couldn't leave. The birds were keeping them here."