30. Draven
30
DRAVEN
Watching Tilly work is excruciating. She is drained, exhausted, and in pain, but she won’t stop until she has finished this agonising work. Her face is pale and drawn, sweat dripping down her forehead as she focuses intently on each new stone.
Luc leans forward to place a cool cloth across her forehead, but she shoves it away.
Hours have passed, and we’ve gone through most of the classification stones. With each one, I can see the toll it’s taking on her. Her hands tremble as she links the vampire stone, her breath coming in short gasps as she channels the magick.
“Tilly,” I murmur, placing a hand on the back of her neck. “You need to rest.”
She shakes her head stubbornly. “No. I’m almost done. Just a few more.”
“You said that hours ago,” I point out.
She ignores me .
I exchange worried glances with Vex and Luc. We all know pushing herself like this is dangerous, but we also know how important it is to finish what we’ve started.
“At least take a break,” Luc urges. “Eat something, drink some water.”
Tilly sighs, slumping back in her chair. “Fine. But just for a few minutes.”
I quickly grab a bottle of water and some fruit from the tray we brought up ages ago, pressing them into her hands. She drinks greedily, and colour slowly returns to her cheeks.
“How many more?” she asks between bites of apple.
“Just three,” Vex answers. “Shapeshifters, Necromancers, and Druids.”
Tilly nods, determination flashing in her eyes despite her exhaustion. “Okay. Let’s finish this.”
I want to argue, to insist she rest more, but I know it would be futile. When Tilly sets her mind to something, there’s no stopping her. It’s one of the things I love about her, even when it drives me mad with worry.
“Shapeshifters first,” she says, reaching for the next stone.
As soon as her fingers touch it, I can see the strain on her face. She frowns fiercely in concentration as she channels the specific magick into the stone. The process seems to take longer this time. Her energy is clearly flagging.
Just when I think she might not be able to finish, the stone flares to life with a warm, golden glow. Tilly lets out a shaky breath, slumping forward .
“Two more,” she whispers.
Luc moves behind her, massaging her shoulders gently. “You’ve got this, Tilly. You’re amazing.”
She manages a weak smile, leaning into his touch for a moment before straightening up again. “Necromancers next.”
I’ve been dreading this one. I tense slightly as she picks up the stone meant for my kind of magick. Death magick is notoriously difficult to control, even for those born to it. My level is outside the realm of what Earthly necros can do, but it’s fundamentally the same. It suddenly strikes me that Tilly has this power. She can raise the dead if she wanted to. It’s there. Sure, they would be zombies or a clatter of bones running riot, but it’s something we have in common, and I take comfort in that. It sparks something warm inside me that has only ever felt the cold.
As Tilly grasps the necromancer stone, a chill runs down my spine. Tilly’s face contorts in concentration.
“Draven,” she whispers, her voice strained. “I need your help with this one.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I know that whatever I channel into this isn’t going to be pretty. I need to make sure that at least some advanced practitioners can not make an utter pig’s ear of it.”
I snort in amusement but take her words very seriously. “I can’t give you everything,” I say seriously. “It’s above anything anyone here should know.”
“I know. But give me something other than the ability to bring someone’s worst nightmare back from the grave.”
I nod. “That I can do.”
Without hesitation, I move behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders. I let my magick flow through me, intertwining with her Praxian power. The connection is electric, sending ripples through both of us.
Tilly gasps, her back arching slightly. “Oh,” she breathes. “That’s cold.”
Together, we channel the necromantic energy into the waiting stone. It’s a delicate balance - too much power and my mum will kick my arse, too little and the necros will be nothing more than zombie masters. But somehow, instinctively, we find the right rhythm.
The stone glows with black light, wisps of shadow curling around it. The pull of the underworld beckons with the whispers of the dead. I give her just enough, and she does the rest.
Finally, the stone settles. Tilly slumps back against me, gasping. I pull back my power and wrap my arms around her, supporting her.
“One left.”
“That one should be easier,” I murmur.
“Or twice as hard,” she counters.
“You can do it,” Luc says, crouching next to her. “You want to save them, and this is the only way.”
Tilly nods. “You’re right.” She reaches for the final stone—the opalescent one she chose for the Druids. As her fingers brush its surface, I feel a subtle shift in the energy of the room .
“This one’s different,” she murmurs.
I watch as she closes her eyes, her face a mask of intense focus. The stone glows with a soft, ethereal light that syncs in time with Tilly’s breathing.
“It’s resisting,” she grits out. “Like it knows there are no Druids left to channel the power to.”
Vex leans forward, concern etched on his face. “Maybe we should skip this one for now. Come back to it later when you’re stronger.”
But Tilly shakes her head stubbornly. “No. I won’t leave them behind. They deserve a chance to exist again someday.”
She grips the stone tighter, her knuckles turning white with the effort. The glow intensifies, becoming almost blinding.
“You have to direct this flow back into you. You are the last remaining Druid, Matilda,” Vex says. “Despite everything, that is who you are at your core.”
“Yes,” she pants. Her eyes flutter closed, and her breathing slows. “I am the last. But not the end.”
The stone flares brilliantly, bathing the room in shimmering light. I feel the rise of the lost power, wild and untamed. It flows through Tilly, into the stone, and back again in an endless loop.
Tilly gasps, her eyes flying open. They glow with an inner light, shifting colours like the stone in her hand. For a moment, I see something ancient and powerful looking out through her eyes.
Then it fades, and she slumps forward. I catch her before she can fall, cradling her against my chest .
“Is it done?” Luc asks quietly.
Vex reaches out, gently taking the stone from Tilly’s limp grasp. He examines it closely, then nods. “It’s done. All the stones are linked and charged.”
But at what cost? Tilly lies unconscious in my arms, pale and drained. I brush a strand of hair from her face, worry gnawing at my insides as I gather her up, cradling her in my arms as I take her to the bed to make her more comfortable.
“Now, we go home,” I murmur to her.
“Yeah, about that,” Vex starts. “Are you two going to want to go back there to live out your eternity after this?”
Luc and I exchange a glance. “Hadn’t thought about it. Why?”
“Well, Tilly and I are not from Hell. We can’t get there. We can’t get back. I have obligations here. It’s a complex situation that needs a solution.”
I frown, considering Vex’s words. But he’s right. The logistics of our situation are more complicated than I’d allowed myself to contemplate.
“We can’t just abandon Hell,” Luc says slowly. “Our families, our responsibilities...”
“But we can’t abandon Tilly either,” I add firmly. The thought of being separated from her, even by the boundaries between realms, is unbearable.
Vex nods. “Exactly. And as much as I hate to admit it, I’ve grown rather fond of you two idiots as well.”
Luc snorts. “Gee, thanks. But back at ya. ”
“So what do we do?” I ask, glancing down at Tilly’s unconscious form.
Vex is quiet for a moment, his clever mind clearly working through possibilities. “I don’t know. I guess we have time to think about it, but I wanted to bring it up so we could start thinking about it.”
I nod. “We’ll figure something out. We still don’t know what our mother requires of us. Xavi hinted there was something more coming after we finish here. But fuck knows what.”
“Then I guess we wait to find out what that is and then come up with a plan,” Vex states.
Sitting down next to Tilly, I stare at her. She is everything. If our mother has plans for us that will take us away from her, that raises more problems because I know, without even having to think about it, that neither Luc nor myself will abandon Tilly. So if it’s a choice, then Hell is going to have to lose.