Krimson Mind: The Krimson Cycle Vol. 1

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Krimson

I walked back into the bedroom from my bathroom. James was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was staring into space again. I knew that he was still working over the loss of his family. Three days had passed since our escape from Scholomace. It seemed as though we had only just got home.

As soon as we had got home, Max, James, and I crashed harder than any of us had before. Max literally dropped to the carpet of the living room and passed out. It had been his spell that had rendered the three of us incorporeal. He told us that the spell was only meant to work for one person. Max said that he had to "feed" the spell to expand its effect to cover all of us.

Just after we crossed the mirror portal, James began to bleed again. He bled like the day when he had accidentally tapped the ley line. We found that while he had gained quite a bit of power in his undeath, he still had its limits. It had taken hours for him to finally stop bleeding out of every hole in his head. After he had finally got the bleeding to stop. He and I slept for two days.

I, myself, wasn't doing so hot either. But my problem wasn't physical exhaustion or pain. I was suffering for a sever bout of emotional pain. Guilt rode me so hard that I contemplated pulling a vanishing act. But I was forced to remember that James had been made to watch as his whole family was murdered right before his eyes. And if anything good was to come of any of this, I wanted their deaths to mean something. Nobody should have to see something like that, and then have it mean nothing. So I stayed near James and helped him when I could. I helped him when he would let me. I had held him when he had started crying in the middle of the night.

"Hi, guys." Max said from the doorway. I was forced out of my head as I gave him a weak smile.

"I know how this is going to sound, but there is a problem we should address." He said in a quiet voice.

"What's that?" James asked as he looked at the floor.

Max and I just stared at James for a second. He hadn't said a single word in the last three days. I was honestly beginning to wonder if he was ever going to speak again. I don't think I would have blamed him if he had remained silent.

"We obviously know what happened to Kari and Amy. But what are you going to say when somebody asks you where they are?" Max asked James.

"I... I don't know. I hadn't thought of that." James answered as he looked up at Max.

"I have. That house is a disaster. With a bit of magical alteration, I could transform it into their murder scene." Max offered. "I know it's a bit graphic, but..."

"I don't quite follow you." James interrupted him.

"I have a couple of spells that could change those bloodstains to match your family's DNA." Max explained. "It would be enough to convince the cops that they were killed in the house."

"What about Shade? Her body is still there." James asked, sounding as though he was warming to the idea.

"I can remove it. I can teleport it away from the house and nobody has to be the wiser." Max told him.

"Okay." He hesitated for a long moment. Then he looked up at Max with a determined face. "I don't have any better ideas. I've been trying to figure out how to fix this. But I haven't been able to come up with a better solution."

"Would you like Max and me to go?" I asked James. "You shouldn't have to see this too." I offered.

James stood up and walked over to me. He took me in his arms and held me close. I breathed in his scent and felt instantly better. I knew suddenly that I didn't just love him, I needed him. I knew that I wouldn't be whole without him. I didn't realize that my door to our bond was open.