Dead Lines

21: Family, pt. 2

First thing I said after coming back and my voice actually sounded like mine, just a little softer. I was expecting a rasp or maybe gaspy but not my actual voice.

I looked down at myself, the parts of me I could see anyway, and tried to wipe my hands on the horrible dress I was wearing. But the blood was sticky and clotted and it wouldn’t come off. It felt permanent and engrained. Like it would never go away.

“Cecil.”

The second one was definitely meeker, more panicked, and it must’ve tugged on his heartstrings because whoever was holding him back couldn’t do it any longer. He maneuvered across the short distance between us but finished approaching me with caution.

The only one brave enough to get close.

“Tally?”

I looked up from my hands and I couldn’t help the two tears that leaked out. They slowly trailed down my face and I was about to wipe them off with the back of my hand when Cecil gently caught my arms and kept me from touching my face.

“Don’t.”

He let go of one of my arms and wiped away the saltwater with his own fingers. Fingers that stayed on my face, begging for this to be real and not imagined. For me to really be here, alive.

“Cyrus…”

I knew what they were going to say even though they didn’t finish.

“It’s me,” I whispered and glanced up at him. I didn’t let myself linger on his face in case he didn’t believe me. “Cecil…”

“I know.” He was quiet but his words were firm. “I know it’s you. I can see it in your eyes.” He was gripping both sides of my face so tightly I thought he might crush me. “It’s you.”

“Cyrus, don’t…”

“It’s her,” he shot to the person who’d been objecting. “Don’t ask me how I know, I just do.”

“No one comes back from the dead. Not even the Oracle. There are no exceptions.”

I glanced nervously over at the crowd of people. No Gods or Goddesses, just Elite. It made me nervous what they might do if they didn’t have solid proof it was me. So I started backing up, away from the crowd and sadly, away from Cecil who was more than reluctant to release me. I didn’t want anything to happen to him if they decided killing me first and asking questions later was the best way to handle this.

“Tally…” he pleaded.

My head shook. He needed to stay there. I would run. It was my only available option until someone important declared it was actually me. Then they could send someone into the fields to find me. I started nodding to myself, thinking that would be best. But as I turned around to flee, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around me. Whoever caught me rocked back a little to absorb the minimal amount of momentum I’d been able to build up.

“It’s her,” Kells’ rather masculine voice rang out. “And that’s all you need to know.”

I didn’t lift my head as he began backing us away. He would protect me, of that I was certain.

“You can come, Cyrus,” he said. “Or you can stay here with your fellow Elite. Same with you, Lycaon.”

“Andy…”

That was Caroline and I didn’t blame her for her reluctance. In fact, if I was in her shoes…

“Get everyone back to the Schola. I’ll keep you posted on how things progress.”