A Rose as Black as your Heart

(41) Night Terrors

Chapter 41

On Monday, I tried desperately to talk to Travis, but he was having none of it.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” he told me, after my fifth or sixth time to corner him.

I stared at him hopelessly. “But... you’re my best friend.”

“Not my problem.” Travis pushed past me and headed off down the corridor.

Rose approached me with a sympathetic smile, having seen Travis storm off. “He’ll come round, Lex. Don’t worry.”

I sighed as I stared after him. “I don’t think he will.”

After school, I went to see Old Maria. I hadn’t been to visit her in a while, and she was pleasantly surprised – or as surprised as a psychic could get.

“Will you stay for tea?” she asked, and must’ve already known my answer would be yes, because when I came inside, the table was already set for two. There was a saucepan of mince bubbling warmly on the stove, and as I sat down, she shook some hard strings of spaghetti into another saucepan.

“You’ve come to talk to me about Daniel,” she said.

“Yeah.” I ran my finger over a large lump of rose quartz – the polished rock was smooth and cool under my fingertips. “I read some of the diaries... and I think I know how to save Daniel.”

Old Maria regarded me seriously, her eyes sad. “You must be very careful.”

“I know. But I think I can do it.”

Old Maria sat opposite me. “You will need help, you realise. Saving a Demon from himself is no easy feat.”

“I know,” I said softly. “What about Alexis Cooper – did she manage it?”

Old Maria’s face was typically inscrutable. “You’ll have to finish reading the diaries first.”

Dang it. “You said history was going to repeat itself... did you just mean about a Nighthunter and a Demon would... fall in love? Or are the outcomes gonna be the same?”

“No one can tell how things will work out,” Old Maria said, in her typical wise, cryptic fashion. “Only you can choose how you want your story to end.”

Well that’s comforting. “So there’s no way you can tell what might happen?”

“The future is constantly in flux, Alexis. Only certain things are fixed in time. This is not one of those things.”

A simple no would’ve been fine. “What do you think is gonna happen, Old Maria?”

Old Maria’s eyes twinkled when she smiled. “I think you could make the whole universe would bow down to your wishes at the extent of your stubbornness, Miss Rivera.”

I grinned at that. “Awesome.”

~***~

I went to see Old Maria today, I told Daniel in my thoughts, lazily dragging a brush through my hair as I watched my reflection. It was pitch black outside, so I switched on my desk light and continued to watch mirror me brush her hair.

Daniel knew immediately what that meant. And?

And nothing. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen. I sighed mournfully to myself. Something about ‘the future being in flux’ or something.

I heard Daniel’s answering sigh. You think maybe she does know something and she’s just not saying?

Why would she do that?