Beyond the Broken Angel

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

— a different destination —

December 1st, 1937

GISELLE FELT THE tree call to her the second she sat down at Hester's table for dinner. She sighed as she bit into a roasted potato, her body urging her to jump up and out of her chair and run to the woods.

She eventually followed through with the urge after scarfing down the rest of her dinner and slipping on a simple dress and a long, gray pea coat and heels to brave the frosty forest.

The journey to the tree was uneventful, just her clambering through the cold, dark woods with her suitcase in hand, the snow from the morning's small blizzard crunching under the heels she soon regretted wearing.

The odd-behaving nature that swarmed the tree was there to greet her when she slapped her hand to the bark and let the world slip around and morph into something else.

When she opened her eyes after her journey, something was different. She was staring up at a clear sky sandwiched in between the side of two buildings instead of the branches of her tree.

Cigarette smoke hung in the air. Feet struck pavement. People chattered. Automobiles beeped and whirred down the busy street.

Yes, something was very, very different.

Giselle sprung up, her mind spinning when she found herself alone in an alleyway. There was a sidewalk at the mouth of the alley, people passing by in their furry winter coats and evening wear without batting an eyelash in her direction.

Where am I? The question was on repeat in her head.

She turned to look for the tree, but felt her knees nearly buckle when she couldn't locate anything but three brick walls around her.

I need to find a phone.

The cold wind bit at her as she lifted her suitcase and stepped out onto the teeming sidewalk. She followed the steady flow of bodies north, not even trying to blend in as she looked around frantically for anything that might make this nightmare end.

How could the tree bring me here? Selene said it would only bring me to that exact spot in the woods every time!

Before long, scary thoughts started to swarm around in her head like angry wasps. She started to think of all the horrible things that could happen to her if she couldn't find a phone and get back to Dare Manor. She had no money, no direction, and the beginnings of a panic attack.

That's when someone grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing here?" Will nearly barked at her, but she didn't care. It was Will.

Giselle yelled out in delight as he tugged her away from the throngs of city-goers and underneath the awning of a closed shoe store.

"Oh my gosh," Giselle breathed out, "I didn't know what I was going to do." She was quick to throw her arms around his middle.

She clung to him like he was a tree during a hurricane, and he was, in a way. Solid and dependable.

Soon, she felt his arm settle at her waist. "What are you doing here?" he asked again, this time, gentler.

"Who is this fine lady?" someone asked before Giselle could answer.

Will and Giselle pulled back a little too quickly. Two men were standing off to their right, each with their own lit cigarette in hand. Both were dressed similarly to Will. Three piece suits with slick, black shoes. One wore glasses and the other had dark eyes that matched his dark hair.