Starlight And Mist

The Library

"Avis? Is that you?" Lorien's voice was low and weak.

Eiris panicked, not knowing what to do.

"Not Avis." She answered, looking around a bookcase, trying to see him in the dim light.

"Eiris?" She heard a grunt.

She made her way toward the sound of his voice, finding him sitting in one of the window nooks. His fresh bandages were blooming with red. He struggled to get up from his reclined position, and his large frame looked odd and out of place in the comfortable window nook.

"Please, just rest. It looks... bad." She gestured awkwardly at his bandage.

"I was just leaving. I didn't realize you were still here."

"No need to leave. I don't bite." He winked playfully, wincing as he acquiesced to her request and reclined against the pillows.

"I didn't mean to intrude. I was looking for... another room."

"How long have you been in here? I didn't hear you come in."

"I was here before you were. I was just admiring your collection."

"In the middle of the night?"

As if on cue, her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Oh gods, you haven't eaten in 3 days!" He held his hand out to her, and a plate materialized on his open palm. Eiris took a step back, the blood draining from her face.

"How do you do that? How did those bandages appear out of thin air earlier? What are you?"

"First, please eat. It's not going to hurt you, I swear on my life. Secondly, I think you know the answer to that question. Surely you grew up with stories."

"Yeah, stories of impossible things. Things that are just that; stories."

"They aren't just stories, Eiris. Surely you must feel that deep down. You have to have suspected..."

"Magic isn't real."

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

"I know it's asking a lot of you just to trust me. I swear I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of obtaining you if I were just going to lie to you or harm you. You know that."

Eiris frowned. This man didn't seem to understand that kidnapping people wasn't a universally accepted sign of friendship or goodwill. And pretending to know her mother didn't make him any less of a threat. It might make him more of one. He was impervious to her attacks, but clearly, that wasn't the case for whatever had attacked him this evening, so perhaps he did have a weakness of some sort. Speaking of...

"Who did you get into a fight with this evening? You said they almost got through to me. Who was it? Why are you keeping things from me?"

His face clouded over.

"It was...a dark creature that slipped through our defenses. I recognized that look on your face earlier. You heard a siren song. Music that conveyed some kind of message, didn't you?"

She remembered that afternoon and the odd music that had promised her safety, that help was coming. She nodded slowly.

"What did it say? Can you remember? It might help us better protect you."

"I don't remember." She said stubbornly.

Lorien shoved the plate into her hands and sat up. His face became whiter, but he was determined.

"You still don't believe me. Let me show you something."

He reached out and pulled Eiris closer to him until their faces were a breath apart. Her heart started pounding, and she took a step back.