vonHelfin

XXXIV

On a briskly cold October morning, Ranulf and I walked into the woods. Over his arm, my husband carried a sturdy length of rope. Scaling down into the old well, he lashed it firmly beneath Mama's shoulders, and together, we heaved her to the surface.

I knelt beside her cold and bloated form, my lips muttering the Twenty-third Psalm. Tenderly, I brushed her matted gray hair away from her swollen face. She seemed a shadow of her old self. For a moment, I envisioned her happy and laughing again at one of Papa's witty remarks. I wished for those sunny days of my long ago past.

A branch snapped in the surrounding forest, alerting us to danger. Ranulf scanned the area with his penetrating eyes. Shielding Mama's body with my own, I cowered beside the old well. Perhaps the Baron had returned to punish us for disturbing the dead.

"Hello," Ranulf called, amplifying his voice. "Make your presence known, whoever you are."

Another branch snapped, and dead leaves rustled. A shadow figure appeared at the edge of the clearing. Rising, I stared at it, aghast. For a moment, I could not believe my eyes. I blinked to clear my vision. Nervously, I stood and pressed close to my husband's side.

"Prentiss?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Norah!"

Rapidly, Prentiss Wills rushed into the clearing. He stretched out his arms, willing me to run into them. When I held back, his focus shifted to my companion. He stared at us incredulously. Then, he gazed upon Mama's inert form. Kneeling, he prayed over her body.

"We plan to entomb her properly in the castle chapel," I stated, resting my hand on his back. "She deserves a Christian burial."

"Yes, indeed," the curate agreed solemnly.

When Prentiss finally stood, my husband placed his arm around my waist. We automatically drew closer to each other.

"Allow me to introduce Ranulf Zamphir," I stated quickly. "After we fled England, we married in Paris."

Prentiss stared at us dolefully. A thick silence grew between us, and the air crackled with tension.

"I... I've come to take you home," Prentiss finally announced. Although he seemed uncomfortable, he remained determined to speak his mind. "I want you..."

Menacingly, Ranulf stepped toward the curate. I tugged at his arm, holding him back.

"I've chosen my life, Prentiss," I explained briskly. Desperately, I wished to avoid a confrontation. "I am in love with Ranulf in a way that I could never love you. Please understand."

We stood beside the well in an awkward half-circle. Mama's body reposed against the crumbling stone surround. My heart broke as I glanced at her. We could not leave her in her prone state while the situation escalated.

"We must do something for Mama," I begged, breaking the tension. "Please, do not brawl over her poor dead body. Ranulf? Prentiss?"

Prentiss broke his stance first. Tenderly, he re-knelt beside Mama and folded her arms across her chest. He pushed her lids down with trembling fingers over her staring blue eyes.

The old rhyme I muttered beside my bed at night fluttered into my mind for a moment. I tried to push it aside, but it insisted on falling from my lips.

"Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take."

After a moment's hesitation, Ranulf fell to his knees beside me. Although he did not join us in prayer, he bowed his head. A single tear appeared in the corner of his gentle brown eye and slid to the tip of his chin. Burying his face in his hands, he cried for the first time since he became a vampire. The release of pent-up emotion affected an immediate change in him.