Chapter 10
Sunlight was streaming through the windows when Shayla opened her eyes the next morning. Amethyst had shown up at her door several hours after she had left the festival. Said blonde was now sound asleep in the guest room now and Shayla was just getting out of her own bed. She hadn't bothered to shower when she got home the night before as the long walk home had nearly exhausted her.
Of course, when she was nearly home it hit her that there was probably a spell to take her straight home. She kicked herself the rest of the way, wishing she had thought of it before. Briefly, she considered just staying in bed for the rest of the day. The thought that finally caused her to jump out of bed and head to the kitchen was that Soren was coming home later today. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Dillan had gotten to her and she had a few questions for Soren when he got here.
After a cup, or three, of coffee, Shayla decided on cleaning the house to kill time and keep her mind busy. She stripped her soft cotton sheets and quilt off of her bed and tossed them into the washer. She walked through the house opening curtains and blinds, letting the warm golden sunlight spill into each room. Something about the autumn sunlight seemed to bring such life to her home that it brought a smile to her face.
This smile was in direct contrast to how she felt inside. As hard as she had tried to push Dillan's words from her mind, they struck something inside her. They made her realize just how little she really knew about him. He never talked about his life before they met, nor really talked about his coven or family. With a shake of her head, she decided that all of those thoughts would have to wait until later. Sorenwasn't due back until after lunch according to the note that appeared on his side of the bed as she settled down the night before. She grimaced at the thought of the conversation to come, and set off to shower and dress before he got there.
)O(
"What are you getting at Shayla?" Soren's brow was furrowed and his mouth was twisted in frustration as she continued to ask him questions about him and his past.
"I don't know you Soren. I know barely anything about you. And yet, for some reason I allowed you into my home and into my bed. I want answers. Now." She demanded.
"Fine, what do you want to know?"
"What's your full name?" Start easy, she told herself. If she started off with questions that he really didn't want to answer, she'd never get anywhere with him.
"Soren Lucas Killgore. Next?"
"Favorite color? Food? Song?" She smiled to herself as she saw him relaxing. He must think she wasn't going to ask him anything hard.
The simple questions last for a few minutes, and they really did get to know each other better, but she recognized that it was time to progress to the harder stuff.
"Ok Soren, now I want the whole truth. Why did you really come here? To me?"
His eyes narrowed but she could tell that he had accepted that this question was coming. Before answering, he took a deep breath, like he was steadying himself.
"I was sent here. Yes, I know you want to know by who. My coven master. Lawrence Jeffers. I don't know why. He said you needed training, and that I was to report in on your progress." Shayla's eyes had widened with his every word.
"You never thought I should know?" She whispered, almost hoping he wouldn't answer.
"I did Shay, I did. I didn't know how to tell you." He moved off of the couch to kneel in front of her and took her hands in one of his. "I promise."
She looked down at him and could see the guilt written in his eyes, but it didn't matter. He had done the things her mother said all men do. They care nothing about anyone but themselves. Shayla stood up and took her hands out of his grasp.
"Well that doesn't matter does it. You didn't tell me. End of discussion."
Shayla took one last look at Soren, drinking in his features and left her house, it was time to ask Amethyst for help.
)O(
The two women were seated in a chalk circle with all of the elements already called to the circle. Amethyst had already explained that first they would try to scry with the black mirror as they had before, and fail that, they would try a trance. Amethyst would usher Shayla into a trance and help guide her to find the knowledge she needed. They both hoped it wouldn't come to that, since the only place this strange man could find her was in her dreams. A trance was nothing more than a dreamlike state. Albeit a little stranger.
"Alright, put your hands on the frame of the mirror." She did as instructed and began to focus on Soren, and then focused her entire being on his coven master. As her thumb rubbed across the moonstone on the mirror an image began to clear.
It was the same man they had seen in the mirror before, or she was pretty sure it was. For some reason it wouldn't clear up totally and no matter how hard she focused, she couldn't hear anything. The girls began taking turns focusing and pushing magic and spells of clarity into the mirror, but to no avail.
After a few more minutes, the scene cleared totally, and the sound was clear and loud for both of them to hear. The figure in the mirror, this Lawrence man, looked up as though he could see Shayla sitting in the shop. She shook this off as an impossibility until his eyes locked onto hers and he uttered one word.
"Shayla."
As soon as the last syllable was out of his mouth the mirror began to vibrate. First it was a light vibration, then it became harder. Soon they could barely hold on it was shaking so hard. Amethyst cast a worried glance at Shayla, and opened her mouth to speak.
"Drop the mirror! Cover your eyes!" She yelled and they both did so just as the mirror exploded. Shockingly enough, it didn't shatter into shards, but into a fine silvery black powder. The girls uncovered their eyes and looked at one another and around the room.
"Shayla, are you sure you want to try the trance. If he can do that to a simple scrying mirror, I have no idea what he could do in a realm where he seems to have free reign."
Shayla grimaced, but knew the other woman was right. "Amethyst, I have to try."
)O(
Try they would. Amethyst prepared a tea to make Shayla drowsy, and used several potions and spells of protection on both of them. They recast the circle together, and finally settled down in the center. Shayla swayed lightly and smiled contentedly as the tea began to relax her.
"Alright Shayla, clear your mind. Think of a beautiful pasture, empty and untouched. Imagine yourself there. Smell the grass, feel the breeze. Feel the grass tickling at your legs, and the sun warming your face. Now open your eyes and see the beauty of such a place. So full of green. Somehow empty yet still full of life. See it Shayla. See it."
Shayla did see it. At first she wanted to laugh as Amethyst described the place, but as relaxed as she was, the sensations the other woman's voice described began to feel real.
So when she opened her eyes to see a beautiful pasture, she almost wasn't surprised. She was, however surprised to see Amethyst beside her a moment later.
"Amethyst, why do the colors seem so dull?" Shayla asked with a slight slur in her words.
"Because he has been in your head. I don't know for what, but he's been here a lot."
Shayla wondered if Soren had been breaking into her mind for his coven leader. She really hoped that wasn't the case. Not telling her the truth had been enough, if he had been helping along her demise, there wouldn't be enough apologies in the world to make her forgive him. Hell, at this point she wasn't even sure there was a reason to forgive him. For him it had all been a job. She let him into her bed, and it was all just work to him. He didn't care for her forgiveness, why would he? He had no heart.
While these thoughts ran through her mind, she was too caught up to notice that around them seemed to be movies playing in mid air. No, not movies, memories of her times with Soren. She glanced around, and blushed at a couple of the memories before looking at Amethyst with a question clearly on her face.
"You focus all your thoughts on one thing or person, and this is what happens. Clear him out of your mind. We aren't yet where we need to be." Shayla was beginning to think that Amethyst had an old soul. It was a phenomenon she read about in one of her books. When a soul was reincarnated enough times, it became wiser and would share that wisdom with all who would listen.
She took another minute to look around the meadow while Amethyst seemed to be meditating and sighed at the beauty that met her eyes. Though the colors were dulled it was still a captivating sight. The grass did tickled her calves, and the smell of it reminded her of days spent in her garden. The breeze blew all around, gently but insistent and made the grass look like wavy water far away from any shore. The sights awoke some part of her that had been deeply buried and made her want to fill a canvas with this place.
"Shayla?" The musical voice shook her from her appreciative moment and called her to the exact center of the field.
She mumbled an apology and took Amethyst's outstretched hand.
"Alright I need you to clear your mind and allow me to lead you to where we need to go. Close your eyes, focus on breathing only."
Shayla did as she was told and began to feel light, as though she could just float away. The sensation stole her breath and opened her eyes. They seemed to be floating in some sort of totally blank space. It wasn't outside, nor in, it was just a dull shade of grey in any direction she looked, with no apparent end.
Amethyst's eyes met her own, and she opened her mouth to explain. Nothing ever came out. Their hands were wrenched apart and it was like a wall was placed between their minds. They were thrown apart with such force that Shayla squeezed her eyes shut, braced for an impact that never came. When she forced herself to look again, she couldn't spot even a single blonde hair.
A whisper filled with such pure evil ignited terror in her. "Shayla." She stilled her quaking knees, took a deep breath and forced herself to turn. She expected almost anything. A monster, a stereotypical Dracula looking guy. She even thought of Voldemort for a moment. What she didn't expect was to recognize the man she faced. She remember him from a box of pictures from her mother's childhood she had uncovered in the attic of her new home. "What? Not what you expected? I think there are some things you need to see. We need to have a little talk----Father to daughter."
Shayla's heart plummeted and her mouth gaped like a fish as she fought against the dizziness threatening her consciousness.
She managed one word between gasps. "No."
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This chapter is dedicated to DistantDreamer because she is an inspiration to us all!