Fading {Book Two of The Descendants series}

Chapter Twenty-Six

Haley disentangled herself from Ronin's arms and stood quietly. The fire had died and she felt the chill of the night air creeping along her body, chilling her to the bone. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She stepped away from the fire and walked a few feet away. She was exhausted. She hadn't been allowed to sleep for days.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" She clutched her head.

"Who are you talking to?"

Haley whirled around. Ronin stood behind her looking concerned. She felt fear grip her heart as he looked at her.

"Ronin, I-its nothing!" Haley wrapped her arms around herself once more.

"Don't lie to me, Haley," Ronin narrowed his one eye at her. "What are you not telling me? How did you know what happened to Tyson today?"

Haley looked at him. Ronin had never seen her look so scared. His heart began to sink. Was Haley in on this? He jumped when she burst into tears. He had never seen her so upset. He reached for her but she stepped away and wouldn't let him touch her.

"Haley?" Ronin said slightly hurt at her rejection.

"She torments me in my sleep," Haley sobbed into her hands.

"Who? Who torments you in your sleep?" Ronin asked with wide eyes.

"Your dead wife!"

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Kyle quietly opened the front door to his and Julia's apartment. He set his keys down and tiptoed quietly into his and Julia's bedroom.

"Kyle?" Julia asked weakly.

"It's me, honey," Kyle slid onto the bed next to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," Julia burried her head into Kyle's chest. Kyle wrapped his arms around her. He took a deep breath. He was trying to be strong for Julia but he felt just as terrible inside.

"I feel like it's my fault," Julia closed her eyes tightly as a tear rolled down her cheeks.

Kyle pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Julia, it's not your fault."

"I wasn't strong enough to carry our baby," Julia began to sob.

"Julia, this isn't your fault. It could happen to anyone. Please, I love you. Don't blame yourself," Kyle squeezed her close and held her until she fell asleep.

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Emily twisted the necklace around her neck as she studied the tome in front of her.

"You know that if you bring to many people back to life, you'll drain your own life force," a deep voice said behind her.

"I'm aware, Sephtis," Emily signed sarcastically. "You, however, are the biggest drain of them all."

"Harsh."

" The only reason you are here and not still cold in the ground is because I need to drain your power for my magic," she said condescendingly.

"Still weak, I see?" Sephtis said. "My daughter should've been stronger."

"If you hadn't abandoned me, maybe I could've been," Emily retorted through clenched teeth. "Poor nutrition and illness kept me from being strong, but I changed that."

"You floated around as a disembodied consciousness for years," Sephtis rolled his eyes. "Reconnecting with your body wasn't your doing."

"That's why I pressured someone else into doing it," Emily smirked.

"Your former husband's girlfriend?"

"He is still my husband," she snapped loudly. "Regardless of how long I was dead."

"He is in love with someone new though," Sephtis sneered. "He replaced you."

Emily didn't answer. She just stared off into space and said nothing.

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Zane groaned as began to comprehend his surroundings. He was in the forest. He couldn't remember what had happened. The last thing he remembered was a deep voice and-

"Sephtis!" Zane shot up but instantly regretted it. His shoulder joint was sparking and he had lost function of it. "But he is dead. I must have been malfunctioning."

"Did someone hear something?" He heard someone say nearby.

"Cole! Is that you?" Zane shouted.

"It's Zane! He is alive," Cole ran from the thicket and crouched next to his friend. "Zane, you look terrible."

" I feel terrible," Zane shivered. "I must have gotten knocked around fairly badly. It takes a lot to cause my titanium body pain."

"Come on, buddy," Cole placed Zane's good arm over his shoulder. He hoisted him up and began to help him hobble. "Let's get you home."

"Zane!" Kai came running from the underbrush followed by Lloyd and Jay. "What happened to you?"

"Wow wow wow," Cole shushed. "Give the guy some space."

"I am alright, Cole," Zane assured. He turned to the others, "I am not really sure what happened. It is all a bit of a blur at the moment. I need to get my wires unscrambled and then I should be able to check my memory banks."

"Gee, I wish I could remember things by just tapping into memory banks," Jay quipped. "I would get into a lot less trouble with Nya."

Kai snickered. Jay did seem to be pretty airheaded at times.

"At least you remember the important stuff," Kai teased. "I mean you forgot your anniversary once but that's not that important of course."

"Har har," Jay laughed sarcastically. "However did I end up with such a funny brother-in-law."

"You were just blessed, I guess," Kai smirked.

"Okay you two," Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Let's get Zane home and figure out what is going on."

It has been a long long time. I don't really expect many to read this update but if you do, let me know what you think. I'm mostly doing it for the readers that have been messaging me and waiting a long time for an update. To be continued. :) -LL_22