司氏姐妹 第九章：玛拉的选择

第九章：玛拉的选择

姐妹们屏住了呼吸。玛丽推开门。起初，里面一片漆黑，但摩根召来了她的光，照亮了黑暗的过道里那陈旧昏暗的砖墙。

“最好关上大门，以防万一”，玛丽耳语道。她把钥匙放进口袋。 “小声点。”

摩根搓了搓她的手，光变得更亮，照亮了整个走廊。她们发现自己站在走廊的中段位置，向左右两端看，可以看到砖墙向两边延伸，然后变成了铁栏杆。你检查左边的那个，摩根传话给玛丽。我检查这边这个，她开始向右走。玛丽牵了米娜的手，带着她向走廊深处走去。 “等一等”，她突然停下，贴着米娜的耳朵低声说。她想先检查一下：谁知道是其他什么人关在里面。幸运的是，她们有摩根的光，据玛丽所知，只有玛拉和她们自己能看得到这光。

玛丽在牢房的一侧透过栏杆往里瞧，她的心砰砰作跳。里面是空的。她放心地吸了一口气，拉着米娜的手走向另一端，摩根已在那边示意她们过去。

“玛拉！”知道另一个牢房是空的，玛丽用正常的声音喊道。玛拉倒在牢房的一个角落，摩根已在其上方点燃了一个温暖的火球。她仍然穿着她那显的褴褛的婚纱礼服。婚纱长长的下摆沾满了灰色污垢，铺在她的脚上像是一架手风琴，她的衣袖已从她的肩膀脱落。那斑斑血迹，曾经是那样鲜红闪亮，已经褪色为死沉沉的褐色。她的头软绵绵地靠在角落里。

玛拉弱弱地抬起头，看着她的姐妹们，由于光线突然亮起，她擦擦她的眼睛。

“你们在这儿干什么？”

米娜抓着栏杆，伸进她的头。 “我们来救你！我们知道你是无辜的！“

玛丽检查了一下锁，在钥匙串上寻找合适的钥匙。

玛拉站起来慢慢走向栏杆。她来到她的姐妹们跟前，用手轻轻地抚摸着米娜的脸。在近距离，她们可以看到她的眼睛红肿，泪迹在她脸上画出条条花纹。

“你们怎么进来的？为什么“

“说来话长，”摩根说。 “我们在回家后将有充裕的时间解释。”

“对，”玛丽插话道：她试着把一个钥匙插进锁孔里摇动着。 “但是，我们需要你帮助我们离开。还有一名警卫在外面某个地方，即使他现在应该在忙着干他的事，我们也需要你帮我们抹去我们的脚印，不留下任何事情发生的痕迹。“

钥匙被卡住了。玛丽把它拉出来，尝试另一个。

“你们不应该来的，”玛拉说。 “这太危险了。”

“现在不是为我们担心的时候！”摩根显得不耐烦地看着玛丽，她正在尝试另一个钥匙。

玛拉转向玛丽，她的手通过栏杆握住她的手。 “你在那里找不到钥匙的，”她说。 “我听他们讲过。只有一个钥匙，在警长那里。“她坐倒在地上，背靠在墙上。

“好吧，”摩根看着玛丽，寻求她的批准。 “没有其他选择。我只好把它融化。“

玛丽看着玛拉坐在地上娇小的身躯坚定地点了点头。 “干吧。”

没等摩根可以动身，玛拉已摇了摇头。她的胸部也跟着晃动，清澈的泪水涌出她的眼睛。 “太感谢你们了，”她说。 “你知道我有多么爱你们，多么想你们。但我不能走。我......“她用她的衣服擦干她的脸。 “我不能。”

摩根，玛丽，和米娜聚集在她的身边，坐在地板上。

“你必须走，”玛丽说。 “我知道你现在非常悲伤，不能正常思考，但在这一件事上你必须要相信我们。你现在非常危险，我们不知道是什么东西在作祟，它有什么样的法力，想要干什么。“

玛拉又摇了摇头，掩面抽泣。 “我很抱歉，”她说。 “我真不希望你们冒​​着生命危险来救我。但我不会离开。“

摩根的脸皱成一团，玛丽可以看到她尽一切努力控制着不爆发出哭声。她的嘴一开一闭。 “为什么？”她终于开口，拉着玛拉的衣服。

突然她们脚下的地在轻轻颤动。玛丽马上转头看向门口。但是，那儿连人影也没有一个。

“别担心，”玛拉说。 “是我。这样的情况已经持续了一整夜。我无法控制它们。”玛丽转身拉住玛拉的手。她从来没有见过她的大姐姐这样。她一直敬仰她的自我控制，尤其是她挥洒自如地行使她的法力，并只在绝对必要时才使用。她从来没有看到玛拉无法完全掌控它们。

“你知道没有人在责怪你，对吗？”玛丽说。

玛拉闭上她的眼睛。 “不是这么回事，人们怎样看待对我无关紧要。问题是，我不应该让他处在这样危险的境地。我应该告诉他，在我想嫁给他的那一刻， 我应该告诉他 ，我......我是。“她喘了一下气，又大声哭泣出来。 “我是什么。”地面又震动起来。

摩根看着她的姐姐，泪珠冒出她的眼睛。 “你真的非常爱他，不是吗？”

玛拉咽了一口气，点了点头。她深深地吸了一口气，转身对着她的姐妹们，用眼睛直接看着她们的眼睛。

“老实说，现在我对发生在我身上的事一点也不关心。我所知道的是，我不想让任何人受到伤害。事情越简单，麻烦就会越少。即使他们说我有罪......如果我悄悄地去，他们也许会不来打扰你们。“

她们静静地坐着。玛丽在她脑海里搜寻着任何能说服玛拉的办法，她摇摇头，抓紧姐姐的手。

然后，仿佛一只无形的手封闭了空气，摩根的火焰突然熄灭。牢房陷入了黑暗。什么。。没等摩根多想，门开了。在空荡的门框里，姐妹们可以看到窗外闪烁着一个橙色火球。摩根和玛丽马上站起来，把米娜和玛拉隐蔽在她们身后。 一道沉闷的灰光从外屋照进走廊。

一个高高的阴影缓慢而沉稳地步入门框。

Chapter 9: Mara’s Choice

The sisters held their breaths. Marie pushed on the door and it swung open. At first, the inside was dark, but Morgan summoned her light and it illuminated the dingy brick wall of a dark hallway.

“Better close the door, just in case,” Marie said in a whisper. She pocketed the keys. “Keep your voices down.”

Morgan rubbed her hands, and the light expanded to show the entire hallway. They were standing in the middle, and at either end they could see the brick give way to steel bars. You check the one on the left, Morgan communicated to Marie. I’ll check this one, and she started to walk toward the right. Marie took Mina’s hand and led her down the hall. “Stay back,” she whispered in Mina’s ear. She wanted to check first: who knew what other person they could be holding in the cell. Luckily, they had the cover of Morgan’s light, which, as far as Marie knew, only Mara and themselves would be able to see.

Marie peeked into the cell at the end, her heart racing. It was empty. She sighed a breath of relief and took Mina’s hand toward the other end, where Morgan was already motioning for them to come over.

“Mara!” Now that they knew the other cell was empty, Marie spoke in a normal voice. Mara was slumped in the corner of the cell, inside which Morgan had already lit up a warm floating ball of flame. She was still in her tattered wedding dress. The train–now smudged gray with dirt–splayed out at her feet like an accordion, and her sleeve was falling off her shoulder. The blood stains, which earlier had gleamed bright red, had faded to a dull brown. Her head leaned limply against the corner.

Mara lifted her head weakly and looked at her sisters, rubbing her eyes against the sudden light.

“What are you doing here?”

Mina grabbed onto the bars and stuck her head between them. “We came to save you! We know you’re innocent!”

Marie was already inspecting the lock, searching through the key ring for one that would fit.

Mara stood and walked slowly toward the bars. She reached her sisters, and took Mina’s face gently in her hands. Up close, they could see that her eyes were swollen red, and tear streaks lined her face.

“How did you get in? Why–”

“It’s a long story,” Morgan said. “But we’ll have plenty of time to explain when we’re all safe at home.”

“She’s right,” Marie chimed in. She was jiggling with a key in the lock. “But we are going to need you to help us leave. There’s a guard somewhere outside, and even though he should be distracted we’ll need you help us erase our footprints so there’s no trace of anything happening.”

The key jammed. Marie pulled it out and tried another one.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Mara said. “It’s far too dangerous.”

“Don’t worry about us right now!” Morgan looked impatiently at Marie, who was trying another key.

Mara pulled herself to Marie, reached her hands through the bars, and held her hands. “You’re not going to find the key there,” she said. “I heard them talking earlier. There’s only one copy, and the sheriff has it.” She sank to the ground and sat with her back against the wall.

“Okay,” Morgan looked at Marie, seeking her approval. “There’s no choice then. I’ll just have to melt it.”

Marie looked firmly at Mara’s slight figure on the ground and nodded. “Go for it.”

Before Morgan could even take a step, Mara shook her head. Her chest shook with it, and a fresh stream of tears surged into her eyes. “Thank you so much,” she said. “You know how much I love you and care about you so much. But I can’t go. I…” She wiped her face with cloth from her dress. “I won’t.”

Morgan, Marie, and Mina gathered around her, sitting on the floor.

“You have to,” Marie said. “I know you’re grieving right now and can’t really think straight, but you have to trust us on this one. We don’t know what is out there, what kind of powers it has, or what it wants.”

Mara shook her head again, sobbing into her arms. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I hate that you guys risked all this to get to me. But I’m not leaving.”

Morgan’s face crumpled into a tight ball, and Marie could see she was doing all she could to keep from bursting out. She opened and closed her mouth. “But why?” she finally asked, tugging on Mara’s dress.

Underneath their feet, the ground trembled lightly. Marie turned around in an instant, looking toward the door. But there was no one there.

“Don’t worry,” Mara said. “It’s just me. It’s been happening all night. I can’t help it.” Marie turned around and took Mara’s hand. She had never seen her big sister like this. She had always looked up to her self-control, especially her ability to command her powers and use them only when absolutely necessary. Never in her life had she seen Mara completely unable to hold them in.

“You know no one is blaming you, right?” Marie said.

Mara closed her eyes. “It doesn’t matter what people think now. It’s not about that. I never should have put him in danger like that. I should have told him, the minute I even thought of marrying him what I….what I was.” She gasped for air and sobbed out. “What I am.” The ground jolted.

Morgan looked at her sister, and tears spotted her eyes. “You really loved him, didn’t you?”

Mara swallowed and nodded. She breathed deeply and turned towards her sisters. She looked them straight in the eyes.

“Honestly, I don’t care what happens to me now. All I know is I don’t want to get anyone else hurt. And the more straightforward everything is, the less trouble there will be. Even if they say I’m guilty…If I go quietly, maybe they’ll leave you guys alone.”

They sat in silence. Marie scanned her thoughts for any ideas to persuade Mara, shaking her head and squeezing her sister’s hand.

Then, as if an invisible hand had closed in the air, Morgan’s flame was suddenly extinguished. The cell plunged into darkness. What the–but before Morgan could finish her thought, the door swung open. In the empty frame, the sisters could see the orange glow of fire flickering outside the windows. Morgan and Marie got to their feet, shielding Mina and Mara behind them. Dull gray light issued into the hallway from the outer room.

Slowly but steadily, a tall, dark shadow stepped into the frame.