Euriv's Children

Chapter 2

*** Up top is Cathan***

Ali's POV

The Salvist Elemental Cemetery happened to be several miles from the school, and the procession was long. So long that even I got bored. Along with the students and family, there were several Elders of the church that were required to attend, as well as parents and faculty of the school. The sign at the entrance was faded and worn, but the words were clearly visible. I held the roses tighter and braced myself for what was going to happen next.

"Here we are." Dad said softly.

The statue of Euriv and the bright marble mausoleum came into view. My heart started racing, thumping against my chest so loud someone else must be hearing it. Lucas would be among all of these lost and forgotten people.

He ended up parking further away than the rest of the cars.

"I don't want any trouble getting out." He said, giving me a kiss on the forehead before disappearing into the crowd. He had to take Headmaster Caden's place as an Elder.

We all hooked arms, and after a big collective sigh, we made our way toward the other reason for this trip. My feet had taken me to the very headstone I wanted to be at. Meema's. I dropped to my knees and laid the roses in front. Someone had already been here to clean up. It must have been Mom. The name, Elinor Loren Knight was surrounded by flames, carved out of stone. Bris had been her patron, and she was the light of my life. An Elder and teacher in the Salvist community. Now she was gone, almost a month to the day. The first to be killed in the slaughter of the Elders. Celia and Owen hovered over me and Eric sweetly grabbed my hand and nudged my shoulder.

"Hey Meema, it's me." My voice shook and my throat tightened. "I'm back. It's not just for you but I hope you'll forgive me. Dad's here too but I think it's too soon to see you. It's been painful for him to lose his mother. I miss you though. Every day. Mom and Dad don't quite understand me the way you always did."

I stopped short. The first time, when they put her under the ground, I didn't know how to talk to her. It was tough, without someone to answer. School seemed too trivial a subject that I didn't want to talk about it. Another hand gripped my shoulder, squeezing gently, and Owen, his blond hair gleaming, crouched down. Celia followed.

"Hey Mrs. Knight." Owen spoke, his baritone voice low and kind. "It's the first time we've met you but you should know that we love your granddaughter very much. She's family to us." He smiled. That boy always knew just what to say. Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes and threatened to spill over.

"Yeah." Eric spoke up. "We've been taking good care of her, even if she's a pain in the butt."

"Although sometimes it's her taking care of us." Celia piped up, smacking his arm.

My face burned from embarrassment and before I could try to stop them, tears fell down my face. With the salty taste in my mouth, and in and effort to distract myself, I focused on the inscriptions on the tombstone, blinking the tears away. The headstone, just like all of the others, had Eutriv's seal engraved into it. It's ancient. Meema used to tel me stories about her grandmother, who was chosen at the age of seventeen to become a Companion. She always wanted me to be chosen, but that had stopped a long time ago.

I wiped my eyes one last time, stood up, and placed a rose on top of the stone and chucked. Meema hated roses, but she would appreciate the sentiment. She always said that roses on headstones meant that they had thorns in their sides for all eternity. It was with that last laugh that I brushed the grass off of my bare legs, which left prints like stamped art.