by Kade Cook
Chapter Eighteen
Where There is Smoke
Emotionally worn out and eyes tired of tears and reading, Gabrian slips into slumber with her heart light and at ease for a change. The overload of emotion takes her easily into the mystical realm of slumber.
She wakes to a forest, surrounded by treetops and foggy ferns tickling her feet. A cool damp breeze lingers on her skin as she follows a muddy path to nowhere. Unhurried and peaceful steps pull her forward. Her hands reach out to touch low-lying branches appearing from time to time, close enough to kiss her cheeks as she glides by.
A soft song of a night owl hoos in her ears, accompanied by the singing frogs—a lulled tell of happiness sung by the evening choir of amphibians with the cricket percussion section keeping the beat. Everything is so slow and calm. Even the dampness is sweet. Gabrian is at ease and recharging from her hurried introduction into the life of Magik, carrying on unaffected by the growing thickness of the white mist encircling her and cloaking her trodden path.
A sharp snap brings an abrupt end to the night’s song, hushing the choir and leaving her in deafening silence. Gabrian’s muscles tense in its absence with eyes no longer soft and serene, but piercing and sharp in the remembrance of an uneasy jaunt to this place. The fog is thick now, too thick. She waves her hand before her, barely able to see it within the murky vapors. Something soft, velvety almost, brushes up against her bare thigh. She jumps back, eyes catching on the silhouette of an elongated black form, a long body trailed by a thick ebony tail muted in the vaporous blanket of mist.
Her heart lurches in her chest and the conscious part of Gabrian’s brain recalibrates what her eyes remember. She twists in the fog, straining to see, but finds nothing. Worse, there is nowhere to hide. Even the low-lying branches of the trees have vanished and leave her to her own defences.
A low guttural growl in the void wakes her from any confusion of whether she is alone or not. And the answer is not.
Think Gabrian, think. There is new Magik in you. Find what you need, leave the rest for later. Her mind scurries to remember, but her dream state makes her slow to uncover the answer. Finally, it comes. “If I cannot see you, it is not fair that you can see me.” Narrowing her eyes, she pulls at the memory of invisibility—the soft airy feeling of becoming nothing but breath upon the wind. Her fingers marvel and bend into distortion but remain flesh-bound, unwilling to assist her in her strife.
Unable to mask her presence, Gabrian panics. Her mind knows it is Kaleb haunting her dreams. Or at least, the essence of his soul transformed into what she fears of him. Another growl, this one closer than the first, reminds her of the stories of what they were. Unmerciful hunters just like the Vapir when they hunted. Fear claws at her wantonness to run away, but she is blind in the vast whiteness that surrounds her. Her only defence is to stand her ground.
Whirling through the panicked thoughts, she becomes frantic and moves forward, hands out in front to feel her way to somewhere, anywhere. A familiar noise cackles ahead, and she calls out his name. “Theo, Theo come here. Help me see when I cannot.” The strangely familiar words echo as her words sing out to him. Words that were spoken before by—
Gabrian hears the flutter of wings as he draws near. Whipping at the mist with his wind and clearing the air around her, the bird thins the white barrier and reveals his presence as well as another’s landing on her outstretched arm.
Perched on her arm, Gabrian instinctively runs a hand over his midnight coloured suit but her sight is frozen on a vision of the woman before her.
“Cera—” she breathes out, her wind trailing white crystals in the now all too apparent coolness of the air.
Theo cackles a hearty and cheery hello.
“Yes, child it is I.” Her lovely slender face is sweet but worn. Her long ebony hair flows against a gentle breeze as she closes the distance between them. A soft silver lining colours against the white, shining in a spectrum of winding strings that hover and dance like waves against the shores.
Gabrian reaches out to touch her arm. It is cold. So very cold. It sends a shiver to rush through her.
“Come sit with me a while my young one.” Cera breathes out, gathering Gabrian’s hand. Pulling her through the cloud of mist, Cera stops and lowers onto a fallen tree now sleeping in the forest, under a cover of green moss surrounded by crushed decaying branches.
Gabrian lowers beside her and Theo jumps from her arm onto the ground, fluttering his large black wings to clear the space of fog and mist. The long darkened body of a twisted beast is revealed, lying peaceful on the ground in the wake of Theo’s wind.
Gabrian gasps in the thinned mist. The creatures massive existence uncloaked, bright golden eyes set within a large majestic and midnight coloured head stares back at her.
Kaleb.
Gathering to his feet, height growing to stand above her, he slowly paces around the log then stands before her. His form resembles a large cat but the edges of his jaws veer out to the side into long broad sharp ends.
Unable to look away, tremors in her body start to build. Her muscles tense, preparing her for escape.
“Don’t be afraid.” Cera hums, gripping her hand within her frigid grasp.
Really? This is the advice she has.
The large black Kaleb, huffs at her and softens his eyes releasing Gabrian from his trance. He strides by her, leaving her in his immense shadow and circles back around to sit down in front of Cera. Her hand cups him under his jaw and scoops him in to nuzzle nose to nose.
What. Just. Happened. Here? Gabrian sits dumbfound and wide-eyed while her birthmother makes kissy face with Kaleb. Well, not kissy face, but what the hell?
Theo lets out a gurgling coo, a sign that all is well, and Kaleb shakes his large furry feathered—wait he has feathers on his head?
“You have to use your own judgement. Stories are just that—stories—twisted and distorted, from one mouth to another. Fear and hatred are two different powers. Both are strong in their convictions,” Cera hums, still staring at Kaleb.
Her image flickers and starts to fade. Her voice breaks up into whispered words. Gabrian reaches out to touch her. “I can’t understand what you are saying.” Her hand is near ice, frozen and fading. Even with the warmth of the cat’s body now settled at Cera’s feet, feeding her his body heat is not helping. “You are freezing.”
Gabrian’s heart sinks. “I can help you. I just need to get you warm.” Her eyes jump around the ground, searching for something to burn. Gathering the fallen branches beside the log, she builds a small teepee on the ground. “Just hold on, I will build a fire. I will help you get warm.”
Bounding off to gather more of the stray branches, she huddles them closer together in front of her mother. Fire, she thinks, I have to make fire. Gabrian panics, glancing back at her fading mother. Cera’s colours begin to fade out and blend into the mist. “Just hold on, I will fix this.”
Gabrian narrows her eyes and stares at her fingers. Come on work. She clenches her eyes shut and thinks FIRE, imagining the heat within her fingers just like Arramus said she had the night he found her burning outside the building she had destroyed. “Fire,” she breathes out, opening her eyes to an orange hue biting the tips of her fingers.
Her eyes sparkle in the glow and she lets out a huffy chuckle, turning to show her mother, but her mother is no more than a sheet of molded ice. “No!” Gabrian yells out, her hands full of flames as she rushes forward. Smoke rolling off her fingers chokes her as she places her hands around the edges of her frozen mother’s face.
Her lungs burn and her eyes itch. Gabrian rubs her arm across her view to ease the bite. Blinking hard against the stench of smoke, she brushes away the last remains of her mother, the dark shadow of Kaleb’s beast wiped away as well. The cool misty curtain that painted the night is now replaced with shrouds of choking waves of smoke.
Gabrian’s lungs fill, burning and rebelling in the vile bitter taste of ash. Tremors of constricting mus
cles cough, eager to be free of the toxins. Her lungs heave, taking on the attack and replaces the loss of her mother with need for air. Orbs of light spark and dance in her eyes. The world starts to spin, tearing everything away in a blurry haze, and she lurches forward in her attempt to gain control.
Rolling smoke clouds her eyes as she returns to consciousness. Her room, lit with dawn’s first dance on the horizon, colours her world in a crimson hue of silhouetted shapes, their edge softened by shadows and smoke.
Smoke!
Her mind rushes awake to hands smoldering over the last remaining pages of her novel burning in her fingers. Lit ashes drop on the plaid duvet, burning into divots, and crusting at the edges with the lit embers. She jolts upward, registering the events.
Gabrian has literally set her world on fire.
Chapter Nineteen
Through the Haze
Patting frantically at the smoldering City of Ashes, now merely blackened crumbles of paper clumped together at the spine, Gabrian throws herself out of bed. An annoying high-pitched scream pierces her ears as the fire alarm comes to life. Eyeing the glass of water on her nightstand, she pours it on the smoldering bedspread. Turning to carry the charred novel into the bathroom, she stops. Through the smoky haze, a strange and rather large hole in the wall appears where the bookshelf is supposed to be.
Narrowing her eyes, she stares at it. “What in the world?” No longer hearing the alarm’s warning, she inches cautiously toward the opening, no more than a foot from the bathroom door. A soft warm yellowish light glows from within, just beyond the edges of the opening. Rough wooden floorboards lead in but the haze of her burning book, still clutched in her hand, clutters her view of anything else. A waft of smoke irritates her eyes, and she rubs the corners to ease them.
“What in the blazes?” Tynan roars out over the screaming alarm, startling her, and she drops her book. He rushes in and stands before her, gripping her by the shoulders, and blocks the view of the strange room. “Are you alright?”
She squirms to free herself from his grasp. Caught in a trance of urgency to look in the room, she strains her neck to see around the side of his tensed bicep. But the room is gone, the light, the doorway, nothing more than a trick of her imagination. “Where did it go?”
“Where did what go? What are you talking about? Was someone in your room?” Tynan yells, his voice shaking as well as his hands. She feels the tremors ripple through her from his grip. “Gabrian, did someone do this?” He stares frantically into her doe-eyed gaze.
Shaking her head, Gabrian gives up the search for the strange entry and surfaces back to reality. “No, no. No one did anything.” She tries to process what just happened. Maybe she was still caught in sleep and just dreamed it. Now, the cloudy haze takes precedence over her search for the room. She ends her fight and relaxes, so does Tynan’s grip on her arms. Pulling free, she bends to pick up the abandoned remains of her book. Waving the charred ruins in front of her, smoke still wafting off the blackened pages, she gives him a half-smirk. “Um, I kind of set it on fire.”
He frowns and scratches his head. “Why on Earth would you do that?”
“I didn’t mean to. It just kind of happened in my sleep.” Her nose twists, wrinkling across the bridge. She shoots the small bookshelf a sideways glance as she walks into the bathroom to properly dispose of the book.
Tynan shakes his head in disbelief and wanders around her bed to the window, cracking it open. The black ashes strewn across the top of her duvet draws his eyes, and he looks more closely at the seared holes. He picks up a pillow and waves it at the screaming white demon above until its red eye releases its anger, pacifying it, and turns back to green.
Throwing the pillow back on the bed, he gathers up the damaged blanket and meets Gabrian in the doorway of the bathroom. “So, care to elaborate on this fire-starting thing?” He hums out low. His voice edges with concern but teeters on a just hint of humorous curiosity, lifting the evidence up in front of him so she can clearly understand his meaning. “I need to know that I do not have to worry that you will burn the house down every time you go to bed.”
Chapter Twenty
Coffee and Shadows
With the smoke cleared and the evidence of her eventful dream placed properly in the trash, Gabrian jumps into the shower to cleanse herself from the smell of ash. She uses the time to mentally prepare for a walk through the shadows—one Tynan insists they take. A trip to the Covenant of Shadows is on today’s agenda. In reality, she should be thrilled to make the visit this time and enjoy the scenery. Her two biggest thorns at the table are gone—held behind the magical binds of the Shadows—incarcerated for their heinous crimes against her. She should relish in the fact that justice has been served.
Exiting the shower and damping the last remains of water from her hair, Gabrian pulls on her clothes and makes her way to the kitchen, following the lure of her favourite elixir wafting in the air. Tynan stands as big as life, leaning over the counter with coffee in hand as she steps from the stairwell and into the light of day.
“I fixed a pot of coffee for us,” he says, giving her a wink, and lifts a large black mug to his lips. “Since you seem on the mend, I figured you might like a cup.”
Her mouth salivates at the heavenly aroma and grins. “You are the best,” she purrs, and heads for the cup steaming with the already poured warm brew waiting for her, properly dressed and tempered. She lifts it to her mouth and lets the nectar of the Gods do its Magik. It lingers in her mouth, just for a moment, and slides down her throat. Her eyes close, savoring the taste. “What time are we leaving?” she hums, almost not caring they have to leave soon.
“As soon as you are ready to go,” he says, taking another sip. “It is better to inform all the Elders of what has happened instead of them hearing it in pieces of broken information.”
Gabrian nods in accordance and sips her drink. The cup presses against her lips in her daydream.
“Vaeda and Orroryn are gathering everyone now. Ariah was sent to seek out Ethan and Kaleb as they seem to be missing.” His voice trails off as he tips the rest of the coffee over his lips. “I am sure they aren’t too far. After you went missing, everyone went out of their way to try to help me find you.”
Gabrian’s heart dips and pinches under her chest. She did not take into consideration how her little disappearing act would affect anyone else. She just wanted to shake off the sadness, to move on and not stay halfway dead forever. And now, after what she witnessed in the forest, how is she supposed to act normal in front of the two Elders who may or may not have some very terrifying secrets that she has stumbled on? Once more she has managed to land herself between a rock and a hard place, placing her life in danger. She is beginning to think she has a real knack for it. She lifts her cup and swallows down all of it. There is no sense in delaying the inevitable. Letting out a loud sigh, she sets it on the counter and turns to her uncle.
“What is the loud sigh for? This will be a walk in the park.”
“Sure, it will,” she says, forcing herself to smile.
The last time she went for a walk in the park, Gabrian’s life turned into a living nightmare—one she still has not found a way to wake up from. Sure, it has had its ups and downs. The trip to Erebus was definitely one for the books. The underwater adventure with the nymph was intriguing as well, especially since it was the Hydor Elder who tried to end her life. Ironically enough, it was the purity of the water that gave it back, filled to the brim with Magik—new healing Magik. The fact her Magik has returned gives her uneasy feelings. In her experience so far, it means that trouble is not far behind. In fact, she is headed straight for it just on the other side of the shadows.
“Relax. The Elders are just curious and eager to see what has happened to you.” His large arms snake around her tiny form and pull her into a tender bear hug. She lets Tynan’s warm protective embrace coddle her into stillness. The hum of his soul soothes the ruffled nerves of her worrying mind and s
he clings to it as she has since she was a child. “Who knows, maybe it will be fun.”
Gabrian wraps her small arms to hold on to her uncle just a little longer, an attempt to absorb some of his serenity. “Yeah, fun. Maybe no one will try to kill me this time.”
Tynan chuckles and rubs his hand over her newly shaven head, soft and warm. Her bristles of hair are marbled in a merle of silver and ebony on her scalp. “You have to admit, at least there is never a dull moment.”
Gabrian lets out a breathy laugh and slowly unwinds her arms from Tynan. Standing upright on her own, she grins and shakes her head. “There is that, I guess. Fine, let’s go before all the good seats are gone.”
“See, now that is the spirit!” Clasping his hand securely around Gabrian’s wrist, Tynan pulls them into the edge of the shadows before Gabrian can change her mind.
Chapter Twenty-One
Somewhere in the Darkness
Gabrian’s body buzzes with pinpricks of electricity as soon as Tynan pulls them into the Veil. The shadows that cling to her feel alive and a slow pulsing wave of energy pushes against her senses. It is as if the very existence of the darkness is not just mere emptiness but an essence shifting into varying shades of grey the longer they linger.
But why were they lingering?
Normally it was in and out. Today, things are different. The instantaneous journey they usually make is taking quite a bit longer, her mind strangely aware of every second they are consumed by the shadows. Images shift quickly around them—colours, sounds—it is like there is a million bits of everything expanding, contracting, and ushering them at warp speed into a familiar space. Dim light unwraps them from the Schaeduwe jaunt, opening up into the narrow corridor walls of the Covenant, and spits them out.
Gabrian gasps as her stomach flutters in the extraction. Somewhere, in the cusp of returning to the real world her heart squeezes, sensing something, someone so familiar it makes her heart sing and cry out. Only one person has ever done that, the one she left standing in the rain after ripping his heart out with her words.