Smoke Rising: Book III

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Eli

The word is a stage, and I'm acting for her.
Acting like I'm not terrified of whats going on in her strong, beautiful, amazing head. I don't think I'm doing a very good job. But at least she's not awake to see me flail around cluelessly.

Her eyelashes almost touch her cheek as she sleeps. I caress her hair as she sleeps in my arms. Her leg is propped up on my thigh, her knee dangerously close to my groin, and maybe I should move it, maybe I should move her fingers touching the scars on the top of my shoulder, but I can't risk it. I want to lay in this moment forever and never let her go. If she needs to use me to distract herself from the pain, then I'll let her. But I can only be used for so long before she has to face what she's been hiding from.

Carefully, I press my lips against her forehead and then lean back and close my eyes. I picture the Shadowlands in my mind, bringing myself there. It took me several attempts to master it, but now getting there is almost effortless.

"Evelyn," I call for my grandmother, and she appears a moment later.

"Do you have any idea what time it is here boy?"

"I'm sorry," I smile at the old woman, and she rolls her eyes.

"What do you need?"

"Emery has made new Casters."

Every trace of impatience is wiped clean off her face. She takes a deep breath and nods. "I was afraid of that. Have you seen any signs of new Shadows?"

"She isn't making elemental Casters, and Bug, the woman I told you about, she doesn't think that this new type of Caster is going to unleash any Shadows or anything like them."

"How is that possible?"

I shrug, summoning two white cushioned chairs for us to sit on. "Emery calls them Energy Casters. They use what she calls ectoplasm, materialized energy. There are no fire benders or spell casters. Though, they can use many basic elemental Caster spells."

"Well,..." She pauses, weighing over my words as she sits down across from me in the darkness. "It seems like Emery has stayed true to her word. She isn't creating new Casters at the risk of innocent lives."

I cock an eyebrow. "You guys made some secret pack then?"

"Something like that. How is she doing, mentally?"

Taking a deep breath, I say, "she's really upset about it... but she's been ignoring it. Distracting herself in anyway she can."

Evelyn's face sinks. "If she has power over the Shadows, you need to tell her."

I swallow hard. "I don't know if it'll make a difference. She either explodes now or later."

"You know it'll be worse the longer she waits to face her demons."

"I know... but I don't know if she's ready to face them."

"She has to. You know what will happen if she doesn't."

"How do I make her deal with watching hundreds of people she cared deeply for be murdered by my father?"