Dream and Nightmare

Chapter 25 - Guilt, Lies, and Optimism

Rendel had just finished explaining the situation to Kellen and Kendelyn as Anah slept in the next room.

“Roze is staying with Charles. She’ll let me know if she remembers anything else about that book, or I warned her that I’ll be paying her a visit,” he smirked. The girl had gone from annoyingly flirty to absolutely terrified of him in seconds of the memory technique he’d used on her, and he far preferred it that way. The girl had to be knocked down a bit for her own good.

“Pay attention to what you’re doing,” Felidy scolded. They were bent over some old, cheap Ouija board, because it was a convenient shape for their purposes, not because of any supernatural reasons, and were using magic to draw thin, blue lines over the board, creating a small map of their world.  Rendel had just drawn a river through the center of the palace in his distraction.

He erased the line from the board and continued his work tracing the river’s path from memory. He enjoyed the tedious work for the proximity it brought him to Felidy. Her hand constantly brushed against his, and she was close enough that he could feel her breath when she turned to talk to him.

Once, he had tried putting his hand on her leg as they worked. She had pushed him away and told him to focus on what he was doing. At least she hadn’t seemed upset about it. That was surely a step in the right direction.

As for Jack, Rendel couldn’t care less about getting him back. He was only helping out for Anah and Felidy’s sake.

“What are you doing there?” Kellen asked, leaning across the table to see better, his chair creaking loudly. For as rich as Jack was, his furniture sure was shit.

Rendel twirled his hair around his finger jokingly, tilting his head to the side. “Oh ya know, just drawing a little picture.”

Felidy snorted a giggle under her breath, and Rendel smirked at that little accomplishment. “We’re trying to find Jack,” she explained. “It’s a meticulous magic that involves drawing a map as an aid- No, Rendel, the river curves the other way there.” She took his hand and guided it in the proper direction.

“My bad,” Rendel mumbled in her ear. Her cheeks flushed a little. He loved how the ginger girl sucked at hiding her emotions.  

When they finished the map, Rendel used a final spell with a t-shirt of Jack’s that Felidy had found to help locate him. A blinking blue light appeared on the map where he hoped Jack would be found. “South, that figures.” Rendel put his finger over the spot, trying to think of what they would find there. “I’m not sure, but I think that’s where the old capital is. It’s in ruins now if it’s still standing at all, but I believe the castle is still mostly together. I wouldn’t be too surprised if the Southerners use the place to congregate; it holds a lot of history for them.”

Kendelyn looked at the stairs as if making sure that Anah was still asleep up in Jack’s bed. They had ceded the bedroom to her after deciding that she needed the plush bed most, and Rendel suspected she was about the only one who’d be excited about sleeping in Jack’s bed, except for maybe Fe who Rendel had decided had spent far too much time in his bed as is.

“If you can track him,” Kendelyn asked when she was sure the coast was clear. “Does that mean he’s alive?”

“Not necessarily,” Felidy explained. “Even dead, it’s possible to detect residual magic, but we have to stay optimistic.”

“Especially around Anah,” Rendel agreed.

A frowned creased Kellen’s forehead. His and Anah’s relation was difficult to see. Their eyes were similar, but other than that, they’d never be identified as siblings from their physical appearance. “What do you mean by that?”