Free In Rapture (Destined) by Elissa Daye Page B

gave him a
great big scratch behind the ears to catch his attention. “Mule? Are you ready
boy? Fetch!” Malinda threw the apple as far as she could manage and watched the
mastiff dash after it. He almost tripped over his legs when he stopped, for
when the big dog picked up momentum, it was sometimes difficult for him to stop
quickly. He grabbed the apple in his mouth and galloped back to them. “Drop it!”
    “What
do you think, Sophia? Do you want to play?” She watched the little girl
closely, worried that perhaps she might be pushing her too far, but Sophia
grabbed the apple swiftly from her hand. Sophia pointed at Mule as if to get
his attention and his eyes instantly focused on her. The little girl threw the
apple as far as her little arm would allow her and the dog jumped away to get
it. He did not have nearly as much distance to travel since Sophia was not
strong enough to lance it far away from them. Mule brought it back to Sophia
and waited with the apple still sitting in his mouth. Sophia pointed to the
ground and Mule dropped the apple at once. Malinda was astounded at how well
Mule seemed to understand Sophia.
    Malinda
sat down on the ground underneath one of the apple trees and watched as they
played several more rounds of fetch. The warm breeze in her face made her feel
more peaceful than she had felt in a long time. Her eyes misted over as she
watched the little girl bravely hug Mule before playing yet another round of
fetch. She heard a slight rustling in the leaves above her and looked up. A
large black bird sat at the lowest rung of the tree in front of her and, while
most people would find this odd, it was actually a common occurrence for
Malinda. She smiled at the bird and nodded her head. “A nice day for some fresh
air, right, my friend?”
    The
bird tilted its head at her, as if it were curious at such a greeting. Its only
response was a gentle caw, but there was something familiar about the golden
eyes that narrowed in on her. She could not quite place where she had seen them
before, but somehow she knew she should recognize them. As if he were aware of
her scrutiny the bird flew farther away from her, but she could still see him.
He was perched closer to Sophia now and his head was rotating from the dog to
the girl. Malinda laughed at the bird. It was almost as if he were entranced by
the little girl who played so carefree with the large dog that was obeying her
silent commands so easily. “Don’t you worry, my friend. She may be quiet, but
she has more of the world figured out than either one of us know.”
    When
the bird flew off at her words, she felt a little sadness creep into the air.
She breathed in the air around her, wondering if perhaps the bird had sensed a
message on the wind. When she did not feel any other change around her, she
decided she must have imagined the sadness, for the world around them was now
covered in non-stop giggles as Mule was covering Sophia’s face with sloppy wet
kisses. “That’s enough, Mule. Sophia does not need a tongue bath.” She snapped
her fingers, and Mule came running to her side.
    Malinda
smiled at Sophia. “Come, little one. It’s time for your afternoon nap. It will
be dinner time before you know it.” They walked hand in hand back to the manor
and Malinda relinquished Sophia’s care to Desiree. Malinda decided that she
would head up to the attic to see if she could find anything that would make
Sophia’s nursery a brighter place.

Chapter 12
     
    Malinda
made her way up the small staircase that led to the attic. Following Gertie’s
advice she brought a lantern up with her, for while candle light covered the
hallway below through the well-placed glass orbs that hung in the hall, the
attic would not be covered in light. She took a deep breath as the darkness of
the attic surrounded her. While the small light of the lantern trickled into
the air around her, it was little consolation against the haunting space in
front of