Shadow Beings

34. The Piece

With trembling hands I reached for the letter, wearing a weak smile on my face. The squirrel let go of it, scampering out of my sight.

I hesitated as I stared at the pristine envelope, a tiny crease present only where it was held. As I closed my eyes a green wave appeared with the sensation of the trees comforting me.

I slowly moved my fingers to open the envelope, wearing a dejected expression. Instead, with a sigh, I quickly shoved it inside a compartment under my bed. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Such a hoarse tone.

The door slowly opened to reveal Galen standing with a nervous smile. His expression tensed when he saw me and he hesitated before stepping inside.

"Hey Aud. Are you feeling okay?"

I gave a nod with an uncertain smile, though he only shook his head.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question."

He wore a reassuring smile, content in standing while silence passed. As I closed my eyes, a grey force and another invisible one comforted my thoughts, a soft melody selected from the depths of my memory echoing in my mind.

Galen closed his eyes for a long moment and a familiar hoarse voice spoke in my mind.

It is okay to be sad.

Galen took a deep breath when he opened his eyes, the peace of silence fading with his next words.

"There's something you should know, Audrey."

That nervous smile returned and his aura dwindled into a reservation. For the first time, he didn't seem very confident.

I raised my eyebrows, gesturing him to continue.

"Sometime after you left the Last Safe Place, a tiny explosion sort of thing happened there. It was an odd burst of energy that seemed to be affecting their mind more than their body. Thankfully, it was directly above ground so not a lot of damage happened. But a few of them were injured."

My eyes widened with fear and my fingers felt frozen. This could not be happening. I only left because Holly needed my help, and I failed there, too.

Is this all my fault?

"How many?" I asked, making no attempt to steady my trembling voice.

"Around... ten."

Ten. We had only twenty-three mind-controllers who could fight, excluding Jay and I, and almost half of them were injured, because I couldn't be more cautious. If it weren't for Jay, they'd all be dead by now.

How did he know that we would be targeted?

"Audrey," Galen spoke sharply, "don't you dare blame yourself. It's not your fault. If you hadn't gone there, the battle probably would've never stopped and the damage would've been greater. More of us would've died."

He sounded so convincing that I almost believed him. After everything, however, I didn't know what to believe.

"Can I go and meet them right now?"

He sighed, and shook his head with a cautious smile. "I think it's best if you do that tomorrow. You need some rest, and so do they."

I nodded. Of course, that made more sense. But there was no way I could sleep right now.

I turned my head toward the ceiling, controlling the look of desperation on my face as I stared at nothing.

"I better get going," Galen's eyes held pure exhaustion, but you'd never know that by looking at his face. He gave a weak smile, and turned towards the door.