The Shadress (MCD x Reader)

Ch. 26- Interferences

When Jace and I step out of the portal, we're in my living room. The space is dark and definitely looks as though it has not been touched for a few days. A light covering of dust sits on everything that isn't covered by protective glass – of which there are few artifacts.

"You opened it in my house?" I ask him with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugs.

"Don't just shrug at this!"

My brother just chuckles. "Relax. I've opened it enough that I don't have any worries about it failing."

I roll my eyes, striding over to the front door. Candlelight flickers to life somewhere behind me, and when I look it's one of them right next to Jace. "You are so right, JJ." I pull out his nickname to mock him and watch the ensuing emotions swim across his face. "I have absolute faith in magic performed by someone who, honestly, sucks at it."

I leave before he can respond, barely catching his mouth opening, likely to tell me off.

Phoenix Drop is quiet, but nowhere near as quiet as the Library. The birds and other wildlife keep the space busy and entertaining. Not to mention, the breeze is a constant but soft song today. There seems to be a lot of wind in Phoenix Drop – which makes sense due to it being a coastal town.

When I find myself at the secondary gates of Phoenix Drop, there is no one to stop my entrance. Well, there are guards there, but I'm known enough that I can come and go without the help of Lady Aphmau now. I smile and wave and get a small one from Dante in return.

The usual bustle of the village is ever-present today: a merchant selling his wares, a baker filling the air with sweetness, a mother doing her laundry while her kids bother the merchant, and a few of the guards train on the beach. Everything seems as normal as ever.

The treetop community center is no different. Laurence and Katelyn seem to be having a deep conversation with a young man that I have come to know as Malachi. A few other people go about their business and seem hard at work. I note that Aaron is not in his usual spot in the upper tree branches.

When I make it over to Laurence and Katelyn, they've just finished their conversation. "Let us know if there isn't anything you can get from the list." Katelyn motions to the piece of paper in Malachi's hands.

As he walks off, I give him a small wave which he simply nods at. "Supplies for our journey?" I question. They turn to face me at the sound of my voice.

"Yeah," Katelyn answers simply. Her eyes narrow at me, icy blue seeming more frigid than normal. "When did you get back?"

"A few minutes ago. What did my brother tell you about my absence?"

Laurence tilts his head and twitches an ear. I watch as his eyes drop eye contact to examine my figure. There's something about it that makes me feel vulnerable, but I cannot discern why. Perhaps it's the pendant that still sits heavily around my neck.

However, the other guard is the one who answers. "That you were recovering in a sacred place."

"Close enough." I shrug. "It's been three days, what all has been going on?"

Laurence sighs and looks away; I try to follow his gaze but can't find anything that sticks out in the direction. When he looks back, there's a hardness that wasn't present before. "We've been preparing for the journey and keeping Aphmau preoccupied with other things. Jace had to tell her like five times that you were fine and nothing could be done by her to help."

I chuckle. "Yeah, that's about right." Irene always had that kind of reaction when one of us got hurt. A sense of panic would wash over her which generally kept us from telling her about our non-major injuries.