Before she went to bed, I checked the house to make sure no one had forgotten to keep out all flames. When I was sure the house was safe, I assured Alysana it was okay to sleep, and then returned back to my bedroom.
The whole room was a little chilly from the breeze, and I gazed around in the dark for any sign of Linden. But the room was empty, and I quickly changed before I climbed into bed, facing the window.
Lying there alone, I suddenly felt the weight of how much things had changed in such a short amount of time. I didn’t even feel comfortable in my own home anymore, and Rene and I hardly spoke. Some would contribute this back to Linden, but my focus was on Omar. He had ruined things for me. I could easily imagine him coming back someday to ask for my forgiveness, but I would never grant him that. Plus, by the time he came back, I wouldn’t be here. At least, I hoped not. I had it stuck in my head that I would live in Rhode Island, or somewhere like it, and with Linden. Of course he didn’t know anything about my wild idea, but I liked to keep it to myself to think about.
I dozed thinking about the beach and the ocean. I lightly dreamed of the way the sand felt when I walked on it and the slick feel of my skin in the water. Shells dotted the sand, and I picked them up as I went along. One in particular caught my eye; it was huge, the spiraled end tapering off at a sharp point. As I walked towards it, I realized it looked like it was composed of two people, legs entwined together to make the tapering end. Kneeling next to it, I saw I was right. Frozen in their movement, a man and a woman holding each other with the pearly pink interior between their stomachs. It was so beautiful, and I hesitantly reached out to touch it.
A slight thump was all it took to rouse me out of the faint dream. I looked towards the window immediately, seeing Linden pulling his other leg inside. He tried to be quiet as he pulled the window shut again, brushing the hood off his head as he looked towards me.
“Sorry,” he said, pulling off his hoodie. “I was trying to be quiet.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I replied, scooting over to make room for him. I tried to hold on to the fragments of the dream I’d had as he undressed, slipping under the sheets in his boxers.
“This is strange,” he said, putting his hands behind his head.
“What is?” I asked, giving up on trying to remember.
“Sleeping here. I keep feeling like someone’s going to burst in.”
“I locked the door,” I said, knowing that wasn’t any kind of reassurance for me, and Linden didn’t seem to think so either. He just laughed.
“Let’s hope it’s late enough that no one notices me.”
“I wouldn’t let them kick you out if they tried.”
He smiled and took a deep breath, the air fluttering his hair. “Well. It’s been a weird day.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I’m starting to wonder how things will get back to normal.”
“Good question. For starters, I’ll have to go back to see Rhys one more time. We just left too fast, so I feel like I need to see him before he goes.”
“You should,” I said. “At least so you can also tell Nerio I hate him.”
He laughed quietly. “Okay, I’ll tell him.”
“You know before we left the other night he was standing outside the door? He wanted to talk to me.”
Confused, Linden sat up and asked if I was joking.
“No, he was there and he was saying all this stupid stuff about me being fair,” I replied, finding it somewhat funny now.
Linden didn’t think so. “Explain.”
I gave him a brief explanation of the run-in, and I really did find it amusing. I tried to be quiet through my laughter, but Linden wasn’t laughing at all. When I finished, he lay back and muttered, “Jackass. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, ignore it.”
“I am. I just think it’s funny,” I said, trying to keep the smile off my face. “And you know, when I heard Aly was sick, I thought he had done it to her.”
“That’s a wild assumption,” he muttered, still a little upset. I just watched him for a moment, wanting to smooth away the look on his face. Kissing his shoulder, I ran my fingers from his throat and down his ribs, admiring his firm abdomen. He shuddered and gasped quietly.
“I wish we were at your house,” I said, listening to the house creak. He leaned over me and moved my hair from my neck.
“Come on, it’s not that bad. Just keep whispering so they can’t hear,” he said, voice muffled against my skin. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks at his touch, and I closed my eyes to block out the room.
Maybe this was an effective way to forget things, because I certainly stopped thinking about everything else when Linden’s lips were anywhere near me. I only concentrated on those caresses instead of my constant worry about being stalked by certain people. The sound of fabric ruffling against my hair covered the creaks of the house and the wind outside. Pressing skin to skin except for a constricting bra erased just about everything from my busy mind.
I fell asleep draped across Linden’s chest and slept like that most of the night. Once dawn had come around, I felt him move under me and carefully lift my off him. I was too tired to fully wake up, and even if I had tried I wouldn’t have been able to; something kept me very drowsy. I was vaguely aware of Linden getting dressed and opening the window again before he returned to the bed. He whispered that he had to go back to Rhys just to say goodbye for a while, but he would be back by tomorrow evening. I mumbled that I would miss him, and he kissed my forehead before making an escape on the roof while I fell right back asleep.
NEVER AGAIN
Oddly enough, I didn’t feel the threat of something bad to come after Linden had gone. I was at ease, to an extent. Alysana was glad I hadn’t left with him, and I spent the time with her trying to help her regain her strength. Rene was constantly making a variety of salves according to Alysana’s instructions, and they were meant to help heal the burns. I would help to spread it over the markings, quiet about the fact that I knew they would never fade entirely. I still hoped that maybe one of Alysana’s recipes would work.
“How do they look?” she asked the next afternoon as I spread a dark salve across the burns on her back.
“A little better,” I said. It wasn’t a complete lie. They were definitely fading a little. The initial angry redness of them was gone, as well as the rough scabbing. That had to be due to her medicines. All that was left were a sort of swirling of dusty rose-colored scars, smooth to the touch and duller than the rest of her skin. I had a feeling this was the part that wouldn’t go away.
I finished with her back and watched as the salve was instantly absorbed, and there was no change.
“This had better work,” she mumbled as she pulled down her shirt.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, handing her the small jar as I capped it.
“Not anymore, no. It’s not that bad. I’m just ready to try to get on with my life,” she said, putting the jar on the nightstand.
“Running off to college already?” I joked.
“College or something else. I don’t know. I assume that Aidan made up all his stories about going to school, but I still don’t want to go where he’ll know of. So that part of life’s on hold.”
This was almost good to hear. Staying home was a good idea, but I didn’t like the idea of her being so alone. Not that I knew where I was going, but I still wondered what would happen if I wasn’t here.
“Well, I’m going to go downstairs for something to eat,” I said as I stood. “Any requests?”
“No, actually,” Alysana said, moving the sheets off her legs. “I’ll go with you.”
Instinctively, I reached out to try to stop her. She still wasn’t able to walk very stably. “Aly wait, I’ll—”
“I’m fine, Riley. I’ll just go with you,” she insisted. I couldn’t argue with her, so I just stood by to help her if she needed it.
She held on to anything she could on the way down. I could see sh
e was still very weak, but she smiled triumphantly when we had reached the bottom of the stairs.
“There, see?” she said, hobbling towards the kitchen. The people that were there looked up in surprise, every single one of them standing to try to help.
“Calm down, I’ve got this,” she said as she paused at the table, visibly out of breath.
Rene immediately tried to chastise her. “Aly, you should have just let—”
“No, I’m okay, Rene. I need to start moving around again anyway,” she said, taking a seat at the table. “So what’s for lunch?”
I admired her spirit after this whole thing, and I sat next to her as she tried to pull herself back into the norm. Everyone else seemed to be trying to do the same. I wondered how could any of us really expect it to be easy? Omar was gone, and I didn’t know how many of them knew the real reason; I had left the house and wasn’t getting along with Rene; Alysana had almost died, and the dreaded Elemental had been allowed past our threshold. Who knew how anyone could bring this all back to normalcy?
I tried to play the part all day. Alysana and I stayed downstairs for a while, and when she insisted on going out to her greenhouse, I was definitely up to going with her. It was a different atmosphere, and she seemed most at home among her plants, which she felt she had neglected. My heart constricted when she tried to grow a few new sprouts, and for the first time it seemed difficult for her. I hoped this wasn’t some side effect to what Aidan’s power had done to her, but she brightened up a little when it worked after a few tries.
“Guess I’m just rusty,” she said, admiring the new hatchling.
“You’ll feel a lot better when you’re totally healed,” I assured.
“Yeah, I hope so,” she said, looking at the burn on her arm.
We eventually had to go back upstairs when she started to feel weaker. It was a slower walk, but when she made it, she collapsed on her bed with a sigh, saying she felt accomplished.
“I’ve been trying not to wallow in depression,” she said as she tied her long hair into a ponytail.
“I’d say you’re doing pretty good,” I replied, grinning.
“Yeah. Well maybe once I’m out of here my new life goal will be to rid the world of vulcani’s, or at least Aidan.”
I just laughed, “Don’t go looking for him.”
When she didn’t say she wouldn’t, I worried a little, but put it out of my head for the moment. I was starting to watch the clock, waiting for Linden to come back.
As the sky grew darker I left Alysana alone to wait in my bedroom. I hugged a pillow to my chest as I tried to hold down my impatience. It wouldn’t get me anywhere. I opted for watching some TV downstairs, but I still didn’t feel all that comfortable amongst the others yet. Strange, how my family had become such a distance to me. All of our differences had once been the thing that drew us together, and now with the almost-acceptance of my Elemental in the house, everything was going to fray. I just wanted it to mend after this was all straightened out, and hopefully it was. Aidan could go on his way and Omar would remain a faint memory in the back of my mind. That’s how it should be.
I tried to clean my room while I waited. It always seemed to be something to do when time needed to go by fast, though it never really helped. I usually stopped halfway and decided to do something else. This time I kept going, thinking that it would probably better to have enough space to walk around if Linden would be staying over again. How odd, to be sharing space with him under this roof and to know one else’s knowledge. Maybe Alysana, if she guessed right, but I knew I could trust her.
Night had come when my floor was totally cleared. It looked like a completely different bedroom, and I smiled at the idea of Linden’s reaction. He’d probably make some remark on it being a miracle or something like that. Oh well, it practically was anyway. I walked around the open space and changed into pajamas, checking the time again. No worrying here; I could go to sleep and wake up to his clumsy climb back into the window.
I did a candle check throughout the house before I went to bed. Seeing as there was none, I felt at ease again, especially when I saw distant lightning on the horizon. Lightning meant storm clouds, which could mean Linden. They were still a long ways away, so I went right back upstairs to my bedroom, locking the door and even securing the armchair in front of it. There was nothing wrong with a little extra security.
I lay in the middle of the bed, spreading my arms out on either side of me. Funny how all beds were seeming too big now. I put the extra pillow next to me, hugging it to me as I closed my eyes. It was pretty comfortable, and enough to prompt me towards sleep without checking the time.
I was tossing around in my sleep before a sharp cracking noise woke me. I thought I was imagining it at first, but then I heard it again. It was almost a small noise, but the next little crack seemed more urgent. I sat up fast, groggy, and looked around. My room was dark and empty and the window was the same as I had left it before I went to sleep. Linden still wasn’t back yet, and it was already nearing midnight.
Again with that crack. This time I knew it was coming from the window. I stared curiously, not moving. I wanted to wait for another one. When it came, I saw the flash of the large pebble before it hit the glass, this time leaving a little starburst of cracks.
Throwing the sheets off me, I stood and went to the window, looking out. There was no one on the ground below. Staring at that little expansion of fractures, I noticed the sky was covered with clouds, which had taken on an orangey-amber color. That only happened in cities where there were lights, so I was confused as I watched, and then heard someone scream.
It had definitely come from the house, and it was followed by a deeper yell. This triggered a reaction and all I could hear from the hallway was thumping footsteps and cries. Rushing to the door, I shoved the armchair out of the way and opened it.
A gust of heat stopped me as I stepped out. The dark hallway wasn’t completely hard to see as an orange glow was coming from the last room—Rene’s bedroom. The door was open, so I doubted she was inside, and I just stood there for a moment, unsure of what to think of this. There was a dull drumming on the roof followed by low moans, and my brain slowly registered what was going on. The smell helped, too.
I ran to the end of the hall and grasped the doorframe of Rene’s room. The wood was hot on my hands, and I shielded my face from the room. The roof was rapidly disappearing in a whirl of blackened wood and embers, and the curtains disintegrate in a graceful wave of flames. Rene was not there, and I heard voices from behind me. I turned around to see Hunter rushing out of Beau and Justine’s room, someone in a blanket in his arms. Their rooms were beginning to glow, too, and the air was starting to get thick with smoke.
I must have reacted out of instinct when I ran, heading back to Alysana’s room. Why she was still in there, I couldn’t guess, but she was on her knees beside her bed, coughing. I yelled her name over all the noise as I went to her, grabbing her shoulders. I hauled her up on her feet and she screamed in pain. I didn’t understand what was happening, but she was trying to curl into a ball on the floor.
“Aly, come on we have to move!” I yelled at her, still yanking on her arm. She cradled her head in her arms, and I couldn’t get her to move. She was too heavy to move on my own, and against all other judgment I had, I bolted from the room.
The smoke was curling thicker inside the house, hovering near the ceiling. It wasn’t far enough, and it stung my eyes and the back of my throat as I raced down the steps. Hank was in the living room, one arm extended under the couch. I halted and tried to take him with me.
“I can’t go, the cat’s under there, she’s under there!” he yelled. Without thinking for a second, I used my will to move the couch and hold the cat in place at the same time. Thankfully, Hank was fast and he grabbed her up before we both ran for the door.
The air outside was blessedly fresh, and I barely noticed it as I ran towards Hunter. He was just putting Beau on the ground as
I screamed his name.
“Alysana’s still inside, she can’t move,” I yelled to him, stopping halfway across the lawn. A panicked look crossed his face, and he went back towards the porch. I started to follow when a hand clamped down on my arm. Rene had a tight grip on me.
“Riley don’t, he’s got it,” she said. I didn’t reply and pulled away from her, going after Hunter. I only glimpsed the outside of the house for a moment, but I did notice that half of it was already engulfed in flames.
I got to the steps before I stopped in a fit of coughing. I couldn’t seem to get the smoke out of my lungs. Keeping a hand over my nose and mouth, I kept on going as the sound of splintering wood came from above me. Three steps behind me, a beam from the ceiling crashed down in a shower of bright embers, a few burning little spots on my leg. I thought another was about to come down in front of me, but through the shadow of the smoke I could see Hunter coming with Alysana in his arms.
“Riley, go!” he said. I barely heard him, but I knew what to do. I had to move my hand from my face to grasp the railing and make a risky jump over the beam, which was beginning to burn faster. I looked back and waited for Hunter, though he kept yelling at me to keep moving. He tried stepping over the beam and ended up burning his calf. He resorted to jumping, falling hard on one knee and dropping Alysana. I backtracked to pull her into a sitting position while Hunter regained composure and lifted her again.
Outside, everyone was standing at the edge of the road. Rene held out her arms in relief as we came running, jogging to a halt. Hunter placed Alysana on the ground before sitting down, his face screwed up in pain as he held his knee. I stood there coughing hard, watching the house as it was consumed. The fire roared and the smoke billowed up towards the sky in a dark column. A loud boom signaled part of the second floor’s collapse, and the grass had even begun to burn. High shattering reached our ears as the greenhouse was hit and the windows exploded with the heat. Alysana’s plants were gone in minutes. The boughs of the tree in the front yard had caught, and the wind seemed to pick up, spreading the kill. I could feel the extreme heat on my face, burning my eyes the longer I looked, but I couldn’t stop looking. The fire was unreal; all of this was unreal.
The Evensong Page 27