CHAPTER 7- MY BELOVED AURORA

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth whirled around at the sound of her name, her body stiffening like a startled animal.

"Si-Sir Nevaeh," she stammered, her voice faltering as her wide eyes met his.

Nevaeh stopped a few steps away, his brows knitting together in confusion. "Why are you out here? I've been looking all over for you," he said, his tone firm but tinged with concern.

Elizabeth hesitated, her hand twitching at her side as she shifted on her feet. She exhaled a brief, shaky sigh before speaking. "Has the madam returned?" she asked, her voice carrying a strange edge.

Nevaeh frowned, his unease growing. "No," he replied, watching her closely. "She's at an important meeting. But something happened, Elizabeth, and I need to clear it up."

Elizabeth tilted her head slightly, her gaze sharpening. "What happened, Sir Nevaeh?"

Nevaeh took a step closer, his voice dropping lower. "It's about the tea you prepared for Eunice this morning," he began carefully. "Diego, the head of security, had it examined. And he says that the tea was—"

"Poisoned?" Elizabeth interrupted, cutting him off with a sharp smirk that twisted her delicate features. Her posture straightened, the hesitation in her movements melting away. "The tea was poisoned?" she repeated, her voice suddenly calm, almost amused. "So she didn't drink it, huh?"

Nevaeh froze, his breath catching in his throat as her words registered. Her smirk widened, and something cold and unrecognizable gleamed in her eyes.

"So it was you?" he said, his voice rough with shock and disbelief.

Before she could respond, he surged forward, grabbing her wrist in a tight grip. "Elizabeth, what the hell is going on?!"

"Let go!" Elizabeth snapped, jerking her arm back with a force that should have made Nevaeh loosen his grip.

But he didn't. His fingers clamped tighter around her wrist, his knuckles whitening with tension.

"You bastard," he growled, his voice low, vibrating with fury. His other hand reached for her hair, the delicate strands catching the faint light as if mocking his anger.

And then, it hit.

A rush of air, colder than it had any right to be, slammed into him. His chest clenched, his breath catching mid-growl. Before he could process the sudden shift, a sharp, unnatural pressure shot through his arm.

Nevaeh froze, his movements halting as his body processed the impossible. A sickening snap echoed in his ears, followed by a dull thud at his feet.

It took him a second to look down.

His breath left him in a short, broken gasp. His arm was... empty. The place where his right hand had been was now a clean, crimson stump, dripping a slow, steady trail of blood.

And there it was. His right hand.

Lying motionless on the ground like some useless, discarded glove.

Nevaeh's legs weakened, and he stumbled backward, his eyes wide and locked on the grotesque sight. His lips moved silently, trying to form a word, a curse, anything that could make sense of this.

"Huh?" The sound finally escaped him, a broken, breathless croak. His knees buckled, and his other hand pressed hard against the stump, trying to stem the warm flow of blood. The pain hit him all at once, searing and white-hot, tearing a strangled scream from his throat.

"You—what the hell is this?" His voice cracked, shaky and raw as he raised his wide, terrified eyes toward Elizabeth.

Elizabeth didn't flinch. Instead, her lips curved into a slow, deliberate smile, her previous fear and hesitation melting away. She turned to the shadow behind her, her movements smooth, confident.

"Welcome back, Master," she said softly, her tone laced with reverence.

Nevaeh followed her gaze, his body trembling as the figure stepped forward.

Gabby.

He was huge and muscular, his silhouette cutting sharply against the dim light filtering through the open doorway. The air around him seemed to shift, thickening with a weight Nevaeh could feel in his chest. It was as if the world itself recoiled from his presence.

"Elizabeth," Gabby said, his voice a rich, velvety drawl that sent chills crawling up Nevaeh's spine. His crimson eyes gleamed, the faintest hint of a smile curling his lips. "You've done well. Solving this little problem for us will go a long way."

Elizabeth straightened, bowing slightly, her expression one of pure devotion. "Anything for you, Master."

Gabby's eyes shifted, locking onto Nevaeh's crumpled form with a cold amusement. "And bringing Nevaeh to me?" he continued, tilting his head slightly. "That's a bonus I didn't expect."

Elizabeth smiled at the praise but her expression twisted into one of disgust when Nevaeh's shaky voice broke through the heavy silence.

"Wh-who are you?" he stammered, his words slurring as he tried to hold himself upright. His eyes darted between Gabby and Elizabeth, confusion and disbelief warring in his expression.

Immediately, his eyes widened, shock crashing over him like a tidal wave. His breath hitched, and for a moment, the searing pain in his arm was forgotten. It couldn't be—it was impossible. His mind raced, teetering on the edge of disbelief and madness.

The man standing before him was the spitting image of Gabriel—Eunice's husband who had died years ago. Nevaeh's best friend.

"Is... is that you?" he whispered, his voice barely audible, trembling with a mix of hope and fear.

Gabby didn't reply immediately. His expression remained unreadable as his eyes narrowed, the faint smile fading from his lips. A dark shadow seemed to pass over his face, and the warmth Nevaeh once knew was nowhere to be found.

Nevaeh's breath hitched as he stared at him. His arm laying uselessly at his side, the sharp, biting pain dulled only by the shock coursing through his body. "You're alive, man! Wha—what happened?" he stammered, his words a mix of confusion and disbelief.

His eyes locked on Gabby, searching for something—recognition, an answer, anything that could explain the impossible. Despite the agony clawing at his senses, a weak smile flickered across his lips, a desperate attempt to latch onto the joy of seeing his old friend.

Gabby didn't return the smile. His crimson eyes cut through Nevaeh like a blade. "Sleep," he said, his tone cold and final.

"What—" The word barely left Nevaeh's mouth before a jolt of energy ripped through him, sharp and merciless. His body seized, his knees buckling beneath him as an unseen force crushed him like a vice.

His heart pounded in his chest, a frantic, erratic rhythm that drowned out every sound except Gabby's voice, low and commanding. "I don't have time to explain."

Nevaeh gasped, his vision swimming as his legs gave way entirely. His hand reached out instinctively, grasping at nothing, before he crumpled to the ground. His eyelids fluttered as darkness crept in, but not before he caught one last glimpse of Gabby's cold, impassive face.

Gabby turned away, straightening his cuff as he glanced at his wristwatch.

The faint metallic tick of the watch seemed to echo louder in the stillness around them. Lowering his hand, he turned to Elizabeth, his piercing crimson eyes locking onto hers like a predator sizing up its prey.

"I overheard your little conversation with Nevaeh," he said, his voice calm, almost casual, yet carrying an undercurrent of menace. "Something about poison for Eunice."

Elizabeth stiffened, the air around her seeming to freeze. For the first time, her confident demeanor cracked, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes. "M-Master," she stammered, bowing her head quickly, "I only wanted to help you."

Gabby's expression darkened, the faint smile vanishing from his lips. "Help me?" His voice dropped, each word sharp and precise. "You thought poisoning Eunice would help me?"

Elizabeth's hands trembled at her sides, though she forced herself to stand tall. "I know it was reckless, Master," she said, her voice quieter now, "but I thought it would rid us of her for good."

"You fool." Gabby's voice rose, cold and commanding. His frown deepened, a shadow passing over his features. "You cannot kill a woman like her. Not in a million years."

Elizabeth flinched at the weight of his words but didn't dare respond.

"You have been Aurora's caregiver since birth," Gabby continued, his tone harsh but steady. "That was your instruction. To stay close to her. To guide her. Nothing more."

Elizabeth nodded quickly, her head still bowed.

Gabby's gaze didn't waver, his voice dropping into a dark, deliberate murmur. "Aurora is no ordinary girl. I'm sure she can already sense us here. After all, she is my daughter."

Elizabeth's breath hitched, her eyes darting upward to meet his briefly.

Gabby leaned closer, his face a mask of controlled fury. "If not for the spell cast on you by Satan himself to mask your aura, Aurora would have sensed you the moment she was born... and killed you."

Elizabeth gasped softly, her trembling more pronounced now.

"Do not get too confident," Gabby continued, his voice sharp enough to cut glass. "Eunice isn't someone you can mess with and walk away unscathed. She is protected in ways you cannot begin to comprehend."

For a moment, the only sound was the faint rustling of leaves in the distance. Gabby let his words linger, the weight of his presence bearing down on Elizabeth like an invisible force.

Then, as if dismissing the entire conversation, Gabby straightened and glanced once more at his wristwatch.

"Speaking of the devil," he said with a dark smirk, "she'll be here soon."

"Open the door," he commanded curtly.

Elizabeth, silent and unmoving until now, stepped forward. Her hands rose, fingers curling into a strange, deliberate shape. She whispered something low and guttural, her voice slipping between the cracks of the air like a knife.

The space before her shimmered, rippling outward as though reality itself was bending. With a sound like stone grinding against stone, an arched doorway materialized in the air, its edges glowing faintly with a deep, shifting light.

The inside of the portal was darker than anything natural, a churning void of shadows that seemed alive. Gabby spared it only a brief glance before stepping through without hesitation.

"Reattach his arm," Gabby's voice carried back through the swirling doorway, calm and indifferent. "Then bring him to the lighthouse."

Elizabeth bowed low, her eyes fixed on the ground. When she straightened, Gabby was gone, his form swallowed by the dark void of the portal.

The moment the swirling shadows dissipated, leaving nothing but an empty portal behind, her deferential posture crumbled. Her lips twisted into a bitter frown, and her eyes burned with quiet defiance.

"You look down on me, Master," she muttered, her voice low and venomous, barely above a whisper. "You think I could be killed by the likes of that hag or her annoying little brat with mummy issues?" Her fists clenched tightly at her sides, trembling with barely restrained frustration.

A sly smirk tugged at her lips as her gaze drifted to Nevaeh, lying pale and broken before her. "Just you wait... I'll prove you wrong."

Lowering herself to his side, Elizabeth reached for his severed arm, her hands moving with unsettling precision.

The jagged stump was raw and slick with blood, the crimson droplets pooling steadily beneath him. Without hesitation, she pressed the detached limb against the wound, the wet, visceral sound of flesh meeting flesh cutting through the silence.

A faint, sickly green light emanated from the seam, pulsing steadily like a slow heartbeat. The torn skin began to twist and shift unnaturally, sinew and muscle knitting together with an eerie, almost mechanical rhythm.

Elizabeth's face remained emotionless as the skin twisted and stretched, smoothing over until there was no sign the arm had ever been severed. The green light flickered and disappeared, leaving only the faint glisten of blood on his pale skin.

Immediately she stood, brushing her hands on her apron, and looked down at Nevaeh. "You've been spared this time," she muttered under her breath, her voice tinged with something almost like contempt.

With a glance at the shimmering portal, she grabbed Nevaeh by the shoulders and began dragging him toward it. His body left a faint smear of blood across the ground, but Elizabeth didn't pause. The swirling darkness of the portal seemed to reach out, pulling them closer with every step.

The air grew colder as they neared the threshold. Elizabeth hesitated for a fraction of a second, glancing back toward the mansion. The distant hum of security patrols buzzed faintly, but nothing stirred.

She turned back to the portal, her grip tightening on Nevaeh. "He'll be waiting for you," she said softly, almost as if speaking to herself. Without another moment's hesitation, she stepped through the doorway, dragging Nevaeh into the dark abyss.

The portal flickered once, twice, and then vanished, leaving the backyard empty and eerily still.

 "Having Nevaeh by my side, the only significant issue left for me to worry about is my beloved Aurora".-Gabby