Seventy

" She was upset," I say as he rises from the bed, discards his cup and begins to pace in the room. There could be a thousand reasons why she did what she did, but I chose to believe that one because that one makes the most sense. The alternative is far too daunting.

" You should've told me immediately. You don't understand the implications," His tone reaches a pitch I haven't heard from him before. It carries a threatening edge to it, and I don't know what to make of it.

" What implications Mason?" I ask, this time around, I'm the fearful one. Of another secret. Yet another lie.

" She knows things, Lily. If he got to her, she knows things. Has access to places, no one like her should have. Zareen, Eric's home where the twins and Emmeline live. She can get anywhere and no one, and I mean no one would even dare to question her," Bollocks. I hadn't taken it that far. I put her attacks on the account that she was hurt, and I was the cause of it. Lashing out in a moment of great distress is common, and instinctual.

" Mase, I don't think that she is what you think she is. I think she was just upset, that you were hurt. She said she was sorry right before she did it, " I say calmly but I know that there is a good chance that he is right. I don't want to admit it, not even to myself that the woman I love and considered a mother is one of them or has chosen to follow my brother instead. What would she gain from it?

Enid has no desire for riches or fame. She has always been happier living a simple life. The alternative makes no sense.

" Mase," I try to keep calm but his agitation is slowly getting to me.

He stops and pushes me back towards the bed, " You should rest. I'll be back in a few," I fall back onto the bed while he strides towards the door, picks up the blade leaning against the wall and walks out of the house. Where to?? No clue.

My best guess. To find Enid and answers.

I'd tag along but I know the answer is a resounding no, so I give up and lay back on the bed, feeling miserable and overall pretty shitty.

Slowly, I drift off to sleep, while the winds whistle past the windows announcing a sand storm.

It's not a dreamless, restful sleep like I'd hoped. It is haunted by dreams of total annihilation, of Enid attacking me, of my brother killing everyone I know and love. Overall, it makes me wish I'd never closed my eyes.

I wake up feeling groggy and even worse than I did before I went to sleep in the first place.

Complete darkness surrounds me and I have no idea where everything is, so I sit in the dark and wait while I imagine the worst.

Mostly, I blame myself for letting Mason go alone to find answers.

After a few hours, I get fed up with waiting, and sitting in the dark alone, torturing myself with what I should and shouldn't have done.

I've put most of what I had into the blade, but I still have enough for a round trip. The problem is that the blade is precise and I'm not. Not even by far when compared to the blade.

It takes an enormous amount of power to carve the path and find what I'm looking for. So, if my search is not timed the right way there is a good chance that I'll run dry before I even reach my destination.

I'll be stranded again, and that is a risk I can't take. I talk myself out of it before I even take the first step to even leave.

With a defeated sigh, I fumble in the dark room until I hit something. It screeches against the stone, and I know I've found the table that sits in the middle of the room.

There is no electricity in this place so Mason must have candles somewhere and matches.

Rising from my seat, I stumble a few steps forward only to be thrown backwards by a shock wave. The damn blade might be precise but it sure can make an entrance. It's only a matter of seconds before the shock wanes, the air begins to ripple, slowly becoming translucent and with Mason standing on the other side looking like he has been through the meat grinder. His clothes are shredded and bloodied, and he himself looks like he has gone head-to-head with a battering ram. Swaying on his feet he takes a step forward and falls through the doorway he's created, landing face first. The dim light creeping from the other side is enough for me to see where to put a foot in front of the other without tripping. Just as he is about to reach the floor, I catch him by the scruff of his neck and we both tumble to the floor just as the veil returns to its status quo.

He groans as we roll both on the floor, I can't see a thing but blood quickly soaks my clothes and I have to find where everything is and fast.

Scrambling off the floor, I blindly begin to rummage through the three drawers and two cupboards. First I find the matches, it's a bit of a treasure hunt but in the process, I find what I need to treat wounds. I just hope his aren't fatal wounds. I don't have what it takes to rewrite the past. If he dies, he is dead for good and I don't think I can do it without him.

I open the matchbox and light one, hoping that would speed up my search. It does. It takes seconds to find the candles, and it's almost funny how a life-and-death situation kind of solved my dilemma of bumbling through the darkness.