Bitter Demons

39. Quite The Storm

I couldn't face school the next day. I told Ella Mae I wasn't feeling well and, thankfully, she let me stay home. I spent the morning in bed, a tissue close at hand.

Sometime after noon, I peeled myself off the bed and forced my body into the shower. I'd gone to bed with my hair still soaking wet from the rain and now it was all knotted up and wild. Everything seemed to be falling apart around me. The Order was tightening their hold on me and threatening to put me into seclusion. Brooke was doing everything she could to sabotage me. Caroline still hadn't woken up. And Jackson probably hated me now.

Not to mention the crow who wanted to steal my power.

I washed these thoughts down the drain and stepped out of the shower. What it all boiled down to was that I was alone. Well, I'd been alone in this world most of my life. I could handle it. I got dressed and braided my hair into one long braid down my back, then stuck my head into Caroline's room to see if there'd been any change.

Her mother was sitting there by her side.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I can come back later."

"No," she said softly. "It's okay. I could use some company. Come in."

I pulled a chair up on the other side of Caroline's bed. There was an IV attached to Caroline's arm today, but nothing else looked different. "Any improvement?"

"Nothing," she said. I could hear the sorrow in her voice. "Her eyelids flutter from time to time like she's dreaming, but she never wakes up."

"I'm so sorry," I said. And I was. I was sorry for everything. For getting her into this mess in the first place. For not telling anyone the truth right up front when it might have made a difference.

"You saved her life," she said. "I don't think I can ever repay you for that."

I shook my head. "It was Jackson, really," I said. "Without him, we'd both be dead."

We sat in silence for a moment. Eloise brought her daughter's hand up to her cheek and held it there for a moment. I looked away, feeling like I was intruding on their time.

"I should go," I said. "I just wanted to see how she was doing."

I stood and turned to go."

That was quite the storm last night, wasn't it?" Something about the way she said it stopped me in my tracks.

"Yes," I said. "A real downpour."

"Funny how rain wasn't in the forecast," she said.

I turned to face her, my heart racing. I knew there was something strange about that storm. "Yeah, funny."

"It's also strange how no one downtown got a single drop," she said. "It seems the storm was completely confined to the area around Shadowford."

I sat back down in the chair with a thump. "Very strange," I said, picking at my nails.

"Harper, did you cause the storm last night?" Her tone was very direct and I looked up, surprised.

"I don't know," I said. "Is that possible?"

"Were you upset? Crying? Angry?"

I nodded, nervous.

Eloise settled back in her chair, her mouth slightly open, as if she was surprised to hear it. "Controlling the weather with our emotions is something women in my family line have been dealing with for over a hundred years," she said. "We have to be very careful not to let our emotions get too out of control or we could cause a serious storm like a tornado."

"Or a thunderstorm?"

"Exactly," she said. "When I first heard the storm growing last night, I thought it was Meredith causing it, but when I checked in on her, she was fine. No tears or anything. She was simply watching TV with Zara and Courtney downstairs. Around midnight, the storm got really bad. I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking maybe Caroline was making it happen from her coma."

She said that last part with a sad smile.

"I should have known how ridiculous that was," she said. When she looked at me, her eyes were glassy. "But it was you, wasn't it?"

"How is that possible? I could never do that before," I said.

"The stone," she said, swiping at her right eye with a tissue. "The soul stone you took from Caroline's chest. When you gripped it, some of her power must have been transferred to you.

"I opened my eyes wide and sucked in a ragged breath. "I didn't mean to," I said.

"I know," she said with a smile. "You were only trying to save her life."

"Is there any way to give it back to her? To transfer some of her power back to her? Either from the stone or from me, I mean?"

"I know you'd do it if you could, but once that power has entered you, the only way to get it out is to use another soul stone. And I'm afraid we'd never be able to pull just that one aspect of your power out separately. If we used a soul stone, it would take everything."

"So this power is just mine now?" I asked. "Forever?"

"I suppose so," she said. "I don't know if a Prima has ever had the power of two families inside of her before, but you now have a piece of my demon in you as well as your own."

I wanted to tell her that I didn't think the demons were ours to really own, but I didn't think it was the right time to start fighting that war.

Instead, I took Caroline's hand in mine and wished more than anything she would open her eyes.