The Dream Keeper's Dragon

2.10 That's Kirin. Your grandson.

Aurelie was getting irritated by the sound of her own breathing. It was too silent in the house. From time to time, Peter's footsteps made the floor creak above her but he had yet to come downstairs. Aurelie began to think that Alysia's outburst had taken him back to avoiding her again. With Kirin ill and Nick lovesick, as sad as it may have been, the only person Aurelie had to talk to was Peter.

She also wanted to ask him to lend her some coins to find a witch consult. Currency, her aunt and uncle taught her, was a delicate matter. One should not find oneself in a situation that warrants asking, but in such a case that one does, find the right moment or get them drunk. They were joking about the latter part, of course, but Kirin had been out of it for so long that she would quite happily get Peter drunk to help him.

The herbs Sasha used ought to have been known around the witches but they wouldn't hand her any for free. Nick had promised her to look for someone to help Peter and then those damn wizards caught her at the festival and nothing came of it. Now that he made his intentions clear, Aurelie wasn't sure whether asking him to help Kirin would go down well.

Standing up from the couch, she walked over to the bookshelf and looked for something to read. The bindings were all similar, some of the leather differed in color, but other than that only the thickness changed. Aurelie picked the thinnest one of the lot and turned it around to see the title. In gold letters, Lore: Alysia's Rise to Power, was carved out on the front. Aurelie sighed and pushed the other books to the side to slip the one she held between them.

By now, it felt as if Alysia had been part of her. She could not take a step within that house without running into some token that reminded her of the damn woman. Aurelie lowered her knees to the ground and sat down to look through the lowest shelf in hope that the books were arranged according to the rise in Peter's madness.

A book bound in red velvet was pushed to the very back of the shelf, almost hidden from sight entirely. Alysia's Return was sewn in with black thread on the front. Aurelie dropped her head back, and let out a soft growl.

She sighed loudly. Something made a sound behind her and she jumped. It was a soft thump and came from Kirin's direction. She froze, her eyes locked on Kirin. Nothing happened. For reasons beyond understanding, she crept up to the couch on her toes, making as little sound as possible as if hearing her would somehow discourage him from moving.

Just then, Peter came down the stairs started to rummage around in the kitchen. No movement came from Kirin but the possibility of it gave Aurelie some courage to ask Peter for a loan.

She watched Kirin for a little bit longer, holding onto hope she knew was false and then went to the kitchen.

Peter was bent over one of the counters. A stale odor rose in the kitchen with his arrival.

"Morning," she said as he passed her. His smell caught in her throat. She paused mid-breath and exhaled the breath that held the rich sweaty reek that came from him. "Are you alright?"

He turned, looking a little bewildered and like he had just noticed her there, despite having just bumped shoulders on his way past her. The top button of his shirt was missing. There was a large oily stain on his stomach and his pants had brown stains on the knees. Strange as Peter was, the man looked after his hygiene. Something was terribly wrong and it didn't take her long to guess that it had to do with that bloody women and what she did to the dining table.

"Not really," he said in a voice so defeated that it made Aurelie's spine go cold with fright.

"Are you still thinking about Alysia?" she asked, knowing that the answer was an obvious yes. What else was she supposed to say though?