Chapter 39 Lucius
There are too many voices to focus on just one.
After we buried Thomas, his spirit lingering with us, and Lymara’s outburst, we returned to the tavern. My sister practically clings to my side, begging me to go back. I already know before nightfall we’ll be on our way.
But she took my mirror. She showed them my treasure, and my friends have no idea what to make of it.
They say she looks dead, but I already knew that.
Like a flower wilting before being pressed between the pages of a book, her beauty is trapped in a frozen image.
I know, for I’ve studied her form many times with the shadows.
She’s more visible to me than most when I walk through the halls of my home, but I know she's still among the dead.
Hands cling tight to my arm, keeping me here. “Please, you have to let me meet her.”
Rapunzel.
When I used the shadows to follow her silhouette, I thought she was similar to my flower. Her voice was startling when I first arrived, but I was willing to believe it was a strange circumstance.
Now I hear the gossip in the tavern laced with the pain of losing Ray. They are calling Rapunzel her twin, and I haven’t even given them a name.
“You wish to come to Thornton?” I ask her, feeling Zarev’s presence close by. I can sense his shadows; I don’t need to outline my friend to know he’s tense. “It is not a pleasant place.”
“Neither was my home,” Rapunzel implores. There are whispers behind her that I latch onto, and it sounds like some of Ray’s younger siblings wish she would leave. “I only learned recently that I have a sister. To see her is more than I ever expected.”
My flower never mentioned a sister, but then, she doesn’t do a lot of talking at all. It makes things a little hard sometimes since she rarely speaks, and I can’t see. Books are the main way we communicate in the manor.
“Things in Thornton are not well right now,” Lymara cuts in, and like I often do, I wish she would go away. There’s a snappy tinge to her voice today that grates on my nerves. “With Camelot encroaching on our borders there’s no rest for any of us.”
“Camelot,” Zarev says curiously, suddenly far more interested. “You don’t say.”
“I would like some updates on Camelot,” Ban butts in, appearing behind Lymara. Their magics get close together, almost touching, until he veers to the side. “We have a few things to talk about, it seems, brother.”
“What about Ray?” Odette hisses, keeping her voice low. “Have you all already forgotten about him?”
“No one’s forgotten,” Neve says, her magic difficult for me to track.
Anyone with a magical presence is someone I can picture, at least by the magic they represent.
It helps me sense where they are. Neve’s magic is incredibly similar to Ban’s ice magic, and if they stand too close together, they almost blur into one ice element in my mind’s eye.
“We’re going up the beanstalk with you,” Ban continues. “I want to hear about Camelot, so someone better contact me.”
“Will you actually use your stone?” I ask curiously.
“For this shit? Abso-fucking-lutely.”
I grin. That’s exactly what I expect Ban to say.
“If you’re going with Odette, that means three people are going up the beanstalk, plus a spirit,” Rapunzel says, dropping her voice. Now she sounds even closer to my flower, whose voice has raspier undertones than Rapunzel’s does. “Three feels like a lot, if Ray is already so mad at us.”
“He’s mad at you,” Odette replies dryly. “Although I hope he can be reasoned with when I find him.”
“When we find him,” Ban chimes in.
“Well, if they’re all going,” Rapunzel continues, keeping her voice low. “Then perhaps, Lucius, you need some help with the problems in Thornton?”
“Thornton doesn’t need help from outsiders,” Lymara snips.
“We are not outsiders,” Zarev growls in return. “We’re friends.”
I let the group continue to argue, my magic wandering.
For the most part, I’ve learned over the years that the shadows go largely unnoticed unless someone is looking for them.
hWhen I check the room, all of Ray’s other siblings seem to be in order.
Dahlia’s here, and as the day stretches on there seem to be some people coming into the tavern looking for a bed for the night.
We’re drawing too much attention as a group of magic users.
Not only that, but I can feel the dead seeking us out. If Ban goes with Neve and Odette into the sky, the spirits might follow. But more likely, they will track me and Zarev toward Thornton, meaning we’ll be reaping souls on our travels to my home.
“Lucius,” Lymara implores, tapping my hand. She always does that when she desperately wants me to listen to her. “Please. Outsiders in Thornton right now will cause a stir.”
“The villagers are used to Zarev when he visits,” I say tightly, already onboard with Rapunzel’s idea mostly because it’s going to royally annoy my sister. “And if Rapunzel keeps out of sight until we’re in the Manor, no one outside our home should have any questions.”
“Does that mean I have to hide in the shadows?” Rapunzel asks in a soft voice.
“Hoods work the same, if I remember right,” I reply, shrugging. “No one will be expecting you, because, like me, no one thinks that she has a twin. But you will draw attention if anyone sees you in the village before we reach our home.”
“That means you’ll bring me, then? I could meet her?”
“If that’s what you desire,” I say carefully, tipping my head toward the door. “We can leave within the hour, but you should collect your things first. I don’t know when you’ll be back.”
I use it as an escape from the tavern, which is quickly becoming crowded with folks stopping in for the night. Ray’s family puts on a good front, but listening to the mix of voices is too much for me. I let the shadows guide my path outdoors, my sister still trying to breathe down my throat.
“Lymara,” I snap tightly, “go ahead of us to the manor. I should spend some time catching up with Zarev. Since you despise the shadows so much, there’s no reason for you to come as you hate traveling within them.”
“Won’t you just end up beating me back?” she asks seriously with frustration in her voice.
“I think we’ll take our time. The focus should be on Ban, Neve, and Odette finding Ray. Tom needs a swift departure from this life before his soul has a chance to twist. If that happens, Ray will truly never forgive us.”
Annoyed, Lymara huffs and stomps off. If she wasn’t such a capable dualist, I would worry about who she might encounter between here and Thornton, but she’s absolutely deadly when she wants to be with or without magic.
Sighing, I drop onto a tree stump and run my fingers over my face. It’s going to be a long day of travel, and longer if we need to fret about Ray. I don’t understand what’s happened to him, but it’s truly horrible.
Less time than I would like later, Rapunzel and Zarev come to find me. I can feel the anticipation rippling off her, and Zarev’s more calming energy helps balance out her enthusiasm when she speaks. “We’re ready!”
“Fine.” I sigh, though I still haven’t felt Ban, Neve and Odette appear. “Let’s get out of here.”
I’ve barely taken a step when Rapunzel holds out a hand, stopping me. Her voice is small and uncertain when she speaks. “One more thing, I was curious what my sister’s name is?”
That makes me smile, thinking of the spirit these two are about to meet. “Her name is Bellarose.”
CONTINUE IN BOOK 4 ANNOUNCING SOON