Burning Skies » larry

Chapter 27

Louis' favorite spot at the shelter was the lake at the back of the estate. It was surrounded by clusters of trees and thick bushes, hidden away from the rest of the place.

Louis was panting as he shot out another ball of fire into the water, causing smoke to rise up as it broke the lake's surface. Louis sent another sphere of fire to a farther distance, and then another, and another. 

Eventually, he got tired and leaned against one of the trees for a quick smoke. He cursed when he pulled out the carton of cigarettes and realized they were empty. The world really was out to get him, wasn't it.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Louis glanced to his side, watching Zayn walk over to him. Zayn settled himself against the tree next to where Louis was, pulling out his pack of cigarettes and tossing one stick to Louis. He barely caught it.

"I wasn't exactly being secretive about where I was, though." Louis said. He lit his cigarette and took a drag, immediately feeling at calm at the sensation of heat traveling down his chest.

"Right." Zayn looked out at the river, grimacing. "What did that river ever do to you? You might evaporate the entire thing."

Louis rolled his eyes. "I used to practice here a lot, remember? I only stopped when I nearly caused a forest fire."

"Thank god I was there to save your ass," Zayn smirked.

Louis huffed out a laugh. They stood there for a bit, listening to the wind ruffling the leaves overhead, watching the sun rise even higher up the sky.

"You haven't been sleeping well." Zayn said.

"No, I haven't."

"You shouldn't overwork yourself." Zayn said quietly.

"Actually," Louis clenched his jaw, "I won't sleep at all until Harry's back here."

Zayn sighed. "At least we know he's alright. He didn't look hurt when he saw him through Mitch."

"Mitch was in Harry's head, though. That was Harry's own perception of himself at that moment. It wasn't literally him, like, in the flesh." Louis said, shaking his head. "And what the fuck was up with that collar thing on him?"

"Katrina and I looked into that, actually." Zayn said, shifting a bit so he was facing him now. "It's called a modulator. A device used to keep mutants from using their power. It was used by hunters before, but apparently Reid has a modern version of those."

"For fuck's sake," Louis harshly rubbed his face with his palms. He didn't even want to think about what that device might feel like. Especially on Harry. "Is there any news from Mrs. Lowell? Anything that'll help on this?"

"They searched several properties that were known to belong to Reid. Obviously, they weren't there."

Louis began pacing. "It's been two days. Two days and we haven't done shit."

"Mate, Reid managed to pretend to be dead for two years. He's good at hiding, that's for sure." 

"Yeah, no shit." Louis kicked a rock into the water, taking a deep breath. "I feel fucking useless. I feel—"

"Louis, don't pressure yourself. None of this is easy, but we'll get there. We always do." Zayn said.

Louis reached into his pocket, his hand closing around something solid, cold to the touch. He pulled it out and stared at the small ice sculpture of a star that Harry had given him. He ran his thumb over its edges, seeing his face staring back at him on its surface. If he tried hard enough, he could almost feel Harry's cold hand in his.