In The Shadow of Our Choices

Chapter 19 - Melange

Elizabeth tossed and turned that night, drifting in and out of sleep in the most unpleasant way. She was back in Galdric's tomb, trying desperately to read books in languages she didn't understand. Book after book she picked up, searching. Stone hands were sprouting from the walls and floor, reaching for her, grabbing at her. Rolling over, Elizabeth tried to get away from them. The hands followed her, stretching from the walls of the tent. She rolled back over, shutting her eyes tight.

The pieces of Sebastian's wand rested in the hands of Galdric's statue, which glared down at her accusingly. She couldn't breathe. Her chest simply wouldn't rise, wouldn't take in air. Elizabeth's eyes flew open, and she saw the statue, staring down at her. She rolled completely over, burying her face in her pillow. Thunder rumbled, echoing down the dark, dirt and stone tunnels in the tomb. Elizabeth was lost, ancient magic flowed past her feet, but split, running down every split in the passage ahead of her. She ran, trying to find the way out, but there was nothing except more tunnels. Elizabeth flipped back onto her side. The walls gave way, and she was in the cavern, the guardian bearing down upon her, but it wasn't the guardian - it was Rookwood, carved from stone. Her eyes opened again, the ghosts of stone hands still seeming to reach for her.

Elizabeth sat bolt upright, scrubbing at her eyes. She was gasping for air, but this time her lungs worked. Looking around at the dark room, there were no stone arms, no hands grabbing for her. And Rookwood, of course... he was dead. She shook her head, trying to clear the images of her nightmare away, but they lingered.

"Elizabeth?"

Sebastian was stirring groggily nearby.

"Everything's fine, go back to sleep," Elizabeth whispered.

Ignoring her, Sebastian sat up too, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. He peered at her in the darkness.

"Are you okay?"

Elizabeth was quiet for a long minute, thinking.

"No."

He sighed. "I don't think any of us are."

The next morning, sunlight gently illuminated Elizabeth's eyelids. She tried to bury her head into her pillow, but something tugged at her waist. Lazily, she reached to free herself and grabbed... an arm? Elizabeth's eyes flew open, fear shooting through her. She was already trying to squirm out from under its weight when she realized that the arm was, in fact, attached to Sebastian. Breath tickled the back of her neck, sending goosebumps racing across her skin. Elizabeth froze. Half of her wanted to stay where she was - it was warm and comfortable - but it was also utterly inappropriate, and, well, Andrew.

Elizabeth gingerly removed Sebastian's arm from her and scooted away. She was deeply glad for the sleeping bags keeping them separate. Sitting up, Elizabeth surveyed the boys on the floor next to her. Sebastian was still sleeping peacefully, his face relaxed in a way she didn't often see these days. On the far side of him, Ominis was sleeping fitfully. She could see his hands twitching. He rolled onto his side, away from her. From her time at the Sallow house over the summer, she knew that both boys, like her, had their fair share of nightmares - she'd seen them tossing and turning on the nights she couldn't sleep. None of them had ever discussed it.

Reaching up, Elizabeth found her hair was just as much of a mess as Sebastian's appeared to be. She started to run her hands through it, cursing the soaking they'd gotten in the tomb yesterday. As she worked out the tangles, Elizabeth thought back. She remembered waking up and speaking with Sebastian, but she couldn't remember what they'd talked about, or when she'd fallen back asleep. It was frustrating, not remembering things. She sighed.