CHAPTER#81

Oddly, it was largely as she remembered it. Other than some clothes scattered across the floor, it was decorated the same as it had been. The furniture was exactly as she remembered, except for an old rug lying in the corner.

That man's stench was everywhere, but beneath it was the scent of Emily. It grew stronger as she crossed the room, approaching the rug on the floor. When she lifted it up, she could tell that the wood underneath had been badly damaged, and the scent told her why.

Emily had died in this spot and rotted. Beneath the sweet scent of sunflowers and rains was the harsh scent of cloves and death. The room was a treasure trove of sensory information, but this spot was where her dear Emily had finally crossed over. She tossed the rug aside, contemplating the stained floor beneath.

Silent for several seconds, Yuki fought back the grief and anger that welled up inside of her. The memories in this room were suffocating, and she needed to leave before she forgot how to breathe. In a way, this had become Emily's grave.

She stuck her hand inside the neckline of her dress and pulled out a ring on a chain.

"It was never supposed to be like this. You promised me forever, and then broke my heart without ever telling me why." It was all she could say, her skin rippling with patches of fur that rode across her arms like waves. Emily had made her so many promises, but this was one that, in the end, she hadn't been able to keep.

The memory of that first day without Emily had been burned into her mind forever. She had woken up in the tower, surprised to find that Emily had disappeared. Days went by without any sign of her, and Yuki, convinced the centaurs had taken her, had rained terror down on the Herd. Lonely weeks wandering that tower had turned to months, and then years. The portal through the trees never opened once, and she had cried herself to sleep almost every night.

Until the night Emily had come back for some of the magic locked away in the tower. That one night had turned all of her grief to rage, and the two of them had fought for hours. Emily had grown powerful during their time apart, and Yuki ended up losing her eye. She would never forget that final defining moment in their relationship, the kitsune knocked flat on the floor and bleeding all over the cold tower floor. Emily stood just outside of a portal that had appeared in the tower, clutching a glowing emerald in her hand.

"I wish I could forget you," Emily had said, her face twisted into a sneer, then stepped through the portal. Yuki had cried in agony, watching the portal slowly shrink away to nothing and then vanish. It was the day her heart had been forever broken, and she realized that even true love could be corrupted by magic. Humans were too weak to be gifted with the house and its occupants, destined forever to pursue the power within.

On that day, Yuki had pulled the silver ring off her finger, keeping it only as a reminder of how cruel love could be, pledging to kill the next Caretaker she saw on sight. She could never allow another human to become corrupt inside her sanctuary, threatening those she loved.

She lowered the chain onto the floor, letting it form a spiral on the ground. The ring was last, lying atop the links like the cherry on a cupcake. She had worn that chain every day around her neck, never daring to put it back on her finger. Forgiveness would never come, and while Emily had wanted to forget the whole thing had ever happened, Yuki simply could not.

Standing, she walked out of the room, leaving the ring behind. The scent clung to her skin, Emily's shadow walking beside her when she left. It would probably always be a part of her, a painful memory to contemplate at night. She continued down the hall, past the stairs, and to her old room, then quietly pushed the door open.

This one had changed a bit. Someone had moved in recently, someone who smelled of lilacs and—she sniffed again—sulfur, apparently. The bed was a mess, and a blanket had been tossed over the mirror on the armoire. Yuki removed it, then spotted the dark briefcase under the bed in its reflection.

She knelt down to pull the briefcase out and was about to open it when she saw that the closet was open. It was an ordinary closet for now, but she couldn't help but close it and then twist the knob through a series of patterns. When she opened it again, she was looking into dark cavern within.

Just like that, a memory jumped from the shadows to claim her. its grip was surprisingly strong. She tried to fight it, but it ran like a flood through her mind, and she let it flow freely.

"The house is full of surprises, isn't it?" Emily said, holding up a flashlight up and clicking it on. It was now forty years ago and they were standing in the same room. Yuki sniffed the air and caught a whiff of water and dust somewhere deep in the depths of the cavern.

"How did you find this?" Yuki asked, summoning a ghostly sphere made of foxfire to hover in front of them. It wandered ahead ten feet and then stopped, waiting for them to catch up.

The Caretaker rolled her eyes. "Jenny got loose again and I caught her trying to run down here. I convinced her to tell me how to get in in exchange for a second chance."

Yuki snorted. "Don't you mean a ninth or tenth chance?"

"Yeah, well..." she took a few steps forward. "I figured it would be fun to explore something new with you. What do you say?" Emily held up her hand.