Chapter 27 #2
“You should get some rest,” he said. “You can stay here. I’ll sleep in the parlor.”
He stood to leave but hesitated. I knew why. Everything was raw and the connection between us was alive and jolting through my body.
“Why?” I asked, lifting my chin in search of his attention. “I know your reputation; why stop?”
When he finally met my gaze, he looked at me as if seeing me for the first time.
“I don’t know. It’s not something I usually do.”
My eyes burned, and my hands shook. A blinding pain flashed through my forehead. I winced as my vision blurred, cradling my forehead in my hand.
“Anna?” my mom called sharply.
A ripping flash as cold as ice tore across my skull.
Falling.
Everything was cold. I couldn’t see anymore. What was this place?
Crack.
I looked down.
Panic. Breathe. Snap. Sickening. Lost.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
brEATHE.
Wrong. Cold. Dark. Stiff.
…
…
…
…Black.
The kind of black that nothing, not even light, could escape.
There were beings in the darkness.
Shadow beings that paralyzed me at the sight of them.
There was no sun, no warmth, and nothing living, only death.
Something twisted up my limbs like tentacles, wrapping and knotting around me. I was paralyzed.
Not until the faintest warmth touched my skin, and the slightest light nearly blinded me.
I could see the faintest outline of my kitchen.
And her.
She was fighting them—the shadows. The shadows were absorbing the light, like they were using it as a power source.
They slithered like snakes, twisting up her arms, piercing her body like spears.
A glowing light burst from her in a golden haze, but the shadows consumed it as she screamed.
Again and again, glowing energy mingled with blood flowed from her body, the black tentacle like entity ripping through her until it disappeared, leaving her motionless on the floor.
Her skin was gray, like the shadows consumed her from the inside out.
Then her hand closed around mine and pulled.
The darkness faded, and suddenly, I was lying on the cold tile of my kitchen floor.
All was still except for the thunderous pounding of my heart. I sat up as a howl sounded outside and I saw the broken window. I saw the glass shards on the floor beside my mom’s still form.
Even in death, she was beautiful.
It terrified me.
So I did the only thing I could—I ran.
My heart was pounding in my throat as I jerked upright. Ragged gasps for air tore through my lungs, and my skin was damp with sweat. I squinted as I tried to see the dimly lit chamber.
Where was I?
A heavy fabric was over my legs, candlelight casting shadows across its rich texture. Panicking, I scattered the blanket off my legs, kicking it down to the bottom of the bed, and slid out of the bed.
The shadows stretched up into the corners of the room, crawling unnaturally along the tapestries. It was crawling up my skin. I’d seen these shadows before.
Panic twisted through my bones like chains, tightening around my ribs. I couldn’t take a deep breath as I scrambled into the silk sheets, pressing my back against the headboard. The air was too thick to catch my breath.
The flames of the wall sconces flickered furiously, giving life to shadows that slithered across the room. I couldn’t escape them as they stretched and twisted like claws toward me.
I pulled my knees to my chest.
It was going to take me back there.
“Anna!”
The voice cut through the darkness, and my breath hitched.
Strong hands gripped my shoulders.
“Anna, look at me.”
Blake.
What if he was the shadows?
I whimpered and tried to back away, but I was already against the headboard.
Shadows.
A strangled whimper escaped my mouth as the flames erupted.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I tried to reach the light.
“Anna!”
Blake!
My eyes snapped onto his. He took hold of my cheeks as I watched the dancing shadows across the bed.
Blake extended his palm outward and gave a sharp flick of his fingers.
I jumped as the heavy velvet drapes scraped across the curtain rod. Sunlight poured into the chamber, golden and blinding. It banished the darkness as it gleamed in the gilded carvings of the settee. I squinted in the glare as I searched for any remaining shadows.
The tightness in my chest faded as sunlight warmed my skin.
I glanced around, trying to make out my foreign surroundings.
I sat in a massive bed with a towering canopy of crimson and gold velvet that flowed down around me, where it pooled against a richly patterned black rug.
The red velvet curtains that seemingly ripped open on their own were the same deep crimson as the canopy and rested in place within marble columns that encased the window with a rippling swag valence.
A large fireplace with unlit logs sent a chill down the back of my neck.
“Would you like me to light it?” Blake asked.
The way he’d flicked his wrist and the curtains soared open flashed through my mind.
I nodded once, watching him with undivided attention.
He sat at the edge of the bed and held his arm out like he was waiting for someone to hand him something.
His hand was relaxed; his fingers gently splayed apart before his palm tightened as he brought his fingers together into a tight fist. He never took his eyes away from me as embers began to glow and flames came to life, synchronized perfectly with his motions.
I stared at the gently burning fire.
“How?” I whispered.
“We call it everi,” Blake said, his voice steady and low.
I looked at my hands, turning them palm up as they trembled.
I could feel it—this everi—pulsing throughout my body.
I’d felt it my entire life, thinking it was normal, but not like I did at Nightfall.
Now, the energy moved through me like it was trying to escape, and at times, vanishing rapidly, like I’d imagined it.
“What is it?” I asked, still staring at my hands, trying to wrap my mind around this presence within that I didn’t understand.
“That’s a rather complicated question,” Blake said. “But the short answer is energy that functions in an unseen energy field.”
I looked at the fire now crackling in a steady burn. While chaotic, I could feel each of the flames that flickered into existence. I could feel Blake’s presence as it faded away, the fire taking over in its place.
“It allows us to manipulate anything connected to that energy field,” Blake said. “I believe humans have called it magic for a long time. More recently, humans debate it in various intellectual settings. None have unlocked the ability, however, without genes that formed in another world.”
I studied every detail of his expression. The exotic high cheek-bone that accentuated the shadows across his face, the relaxed line of his lips, and the smooth skin of his brow. He was real by every definition I knew of. But how could he be saying what he was saying?
“Humans?” I whispered.
“Yes,” Blake said. “Humans do not possess the gene to awaken this energy.”
My voice cracked, and my throat was painfully dry. My mind was shutting down, unsure if this was a dream or a terrible joke.
Blake touched my hand, and his cooling energy gently flowed through me, allowing me to breathe and swallow again.
I stared at our joined hands.
“Are you saying that you’re not human?” I asked, scared to look at him.
His hand gently squeezed mine.
“I am saying that. And you are not either, Anna. You are a mage.”
I paced before the fire, time slipping away. At some point, Blake had fallen asleep on the bed.
My mind had begun to steel itself with logic, presenting the various options before me, weeding out the bad ones, before landing on three viable ones.
One, Blake was insane.
Two, I was dreaming.
Three, this was all fucking real.
I stopped, watching Blake as he lay there.
He looked human.
I bit my lip.
But then again, maybe he didn’t.
I thought of Roslyn, Caelan, Saryna, Melanie, and Malakai. All of them possessed certain qualities that made them stand apart, even from everyone here at Nightfall.
When his eyes fluttered open, he watched me, his eyes still dreaming. I didn’t wait for him to sit up.
“What makes the Aurkai different?” I asked.
“Different?” he mused, sleepily.
“How were you awakened?” I asked, nearing him.
I sat at the edge of the bed, watching his chest rise and fall, just like mine and everyone else’s.
“That is a story for another day,” Blake murmured, becoming more alert, but added, “The Aurkai are what we call mages in our world that are trained in the art of using everi. Not all mages are—in fact most are not, even if they can feel and respond to it unlike humans can.”
“Your world?” I asked, certain I had misunderstood him.
Blake sat up, watching me carefully.
“It is a lot to take in, Anna,” he said. “There is plenty of time.”
I took a deep breath.
“I just—I don’t understand. I was born here, as a human. How can I be anything else?” I asked.
Blake reached out, touching my cheek. “You are warm.”
I looked away. He was probably right. I didn’t feel well. But I didn’t care. I wanted to understand this.
“My home is not on this planet. It is, however, connected to this one and has been for a long time.
This is why our cultures and DNA share deep-rooted similarities yet significant dissimilarities.
Mages, whose power lies dormant within themselves in this world, have a lineage that traces back to The Realm at some point in their heritage.
“The Realm?” I asked, looking at him. My head was starting to pound.
“Anna, I think you need to lie down,” Blake said, reaching for me.
I touched my forehead, closing my eyes and trying to calm this raging storm in my veins.
“I’m fine,” I said.
But the pain was only increasing. My vision was fading and the next thing I knew, Blake was holding me in his arms as I slipped into the darkness.
The faint glow of candlelight stirred me from my sleep. Deep red curls fell down the frame of the woman at the window. I blinked, finally focusing on her.