Rell and The Rose

Ch. 51, Golden Arches and Mismatched Eyes

Rell

"Rell and I will go back to Bastien's house for the day," Cat said, tossing her hair over her shoulder as we sat at her kitchen table, each of us eating a strange round pastry she called an Eggo. It looked nothing like an egg. "Maybe Dasan has seen him."

Lorcan met my eyes, trying to send me some sort of message, of which I had no idea. Cat had been somewhat cool to him this morning, and I'd returned just after dawn to a strained silence between them. I'd spent the early morning alone, perched in the highest tree I could find, watching the sun rise over the land. My final day in the Human Realm.

"That sounds like a good idea," Lorcan said, surprising me as he finished up and stood. I cocked an eyebrow at him, feeling like I was somehow getting in the middle of a lover's fight.

"Great," Cat said, her smile just a bit too sweet, confirming my suspicions.

"I'll just go see what Poxel's up to," I said into the sudden charged silence between Lorcan and Cat. Neither answered, each of them watching the other with their equally intimtidating looks. I slipped out into the small, fenced in backyard to find Poxel, hearing the beginnings of a hushed conversation behind me.

Sitting today and watching the sunrise, I'd had the first deep pang of loss, of everything I would miss if I left the Human realm. It just didn't seem possible that after today Lorcan and I would leave with The Blood Rose, and go back to the Dark Realm.

That's assuming we can even find it. But I pushed the thought away, guilty for even thinking it. We needed to find the Rose and close the realms, and help Bastien to break the curse.... I just didn't want to have to think about what happened after that.

The grass was frosted in white, and crunched beneath my feet. In the back corner of the yard, dirt flung in different directions from a deepening hole. I crouched beside the newly turned earth to find Poxel as some sort of bizarre rodent-like creature with long digging claws.

Poxel, what are you?

Vole! He sent back, as if that answered everything.

Annd why are you digging a hole?

Voles dig holes.

I rolled my eyes, not in the mental space to debate with my dragon turned vole. Fine, but we're ready to go. So please put the dirt back.

Together our group stepped out of the front door into the cold, crisp air of a fall morning. The trees blossomed orange, red and yellows, mocking me with all the colors I'd never see again.

Maybe not though. Maybe it's not too late to convince Lorcan otherwise. Then again, he's just chosen to spend the day without me... which was suspicious.

As we walked down the driveway, I caught Lorcan's arm, pulling him aside for a moment. "What are you doing?" I whispered. Behind us Cat started the car, warming it and clearing the frost that had gathered this morning. "Why aren't we going together?"

"I have to do something. Alone." He used his Prince tone, the one that brooked no argument. I hated that tone.

"Let's go Rell," Cat called, and I narrowed my eyes at Lorcan, before I turned away. Lorcan was up to something... which gave me an idea.

Poxel? I need you to do something for me.

He immediately responded with a flurry of images, mostly of different buildings lit on fire.

No. No fire. I need you to follow Lorcan... discreetly. Maybe as a small bird, or squirrel, something he won't notice. See what he's up to. Can you do that?