A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 52 Ghost 1

Chapter 52 Ghost 1

Callin lay on his back, staring up into the murky darkness above his bed. The moonlight streaming in through the tall, double windows by his bed had little power to push back the shadows, instead painting the world in a faint ghostly glow that let Callin see minute detail as easily as if it were daylight. How many nights had he lain here, staring up at his ceiling, dreading sleep?

And yet, now, he was not dreading the weakness of sleep, where his memories would have free rein to shape nightmares to rip and rend him. He was going to walk the halls of his memories tonight, when the mansion was quiet, sleeping.

He was going to walk the halls of his memories by choice. Not as a helpless victim of his dream-mind.

It had been a week since the Torn had come and gone, leaving chaos in their wake. He had been living in a dream since then, hiding from the depth of the memories of his past that were now fully available to him. Memories no longer chained and misdirected by blocks in his mind.

Now, he was ready to face them. But he wanted time alone, time to think about who he had been in the past. Time to think about who he was now.

He quietly pulled on blue jeans and a black T shirt and padded out of the room, his bare feet soundless on the hardwood floor. The hall of the mansion outside his room was rich with scents. A tapestry so saturated with information that he could shut his eyes and bury himself in it for tens of minutes and still not have gathered all that there was to learn. As his instincts guided his nose, he let them analyze the air for any threat, or anything of immediate interest.

The air currents in the hall shifted slightly, bringing new scents to him. He narrowed his eyes as he realized Raina wasn't in her room. Her room was just down the hall from his. Her scent should be relatively fresh here in the hall, just like the scents were for the others who had bedrooms in this hall. What was Raina doing out of her room at 3 AM?

He padded down the hall on silent cats feet, instinctively shying away from the evenly spaced night lights, holding to the shadows. Moving like a hunter, unaware of how thoroughly his instincts were guiding him. He stopped at the hall intersection, his head up as he scented left, then right. He was expecting to catch her scent to the left, as that way led to the living room and kitchen. Maybe she was up for a late night snack, or couldn't sleep and was watching TV?

His nose surprised him when he caught her scent to the right. He followed it, not sure what he was doing but glad to be doing something for the moment. Not yet really ready to face his memories. He wondered if he ever really would be, or if he would continue to find reasons to do something else. Some other minor distraction that didn't concern him, something that he could latch onto and keep his mind occupied. To keep running.

He prowled up and down halls for a bit, until he realized she was not in this wing of the mansion. He stalked through the shadows, hunters' eyes reflecting the pale moonlight, not letting his thoughts linger on any one thing for more than the barest of moments.

In the hall where Jacob and Ahleena's rooms were, he paused. Her scent was stronger here. Then, as he stood there, he heard footsteps approaching from within Ahleena's room.

The door to Ahleena's bedroom opened slowly. Carefully. As if whoever was coming out was moving as stealthily as possible.

Callin stood still, deep in the shadows, watching. To his surprise, Raina slipped out of the doorway, furtively glancing up and down the hall before gently pushing the door shut. Not noticing him in the shadows, as her eyes were not suited for the darkness. Her clothes were rumpled, her short, black hair standing out in clusters, and her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright and constantly, nervously roving.