Gone
The conversation that erupted at Alder’s words was muted as Scylla’s ears started to ring. She swayed, turning away from the TV with her eyes closed.
Fallen. Sacrifice. Raelle Collar.
The image of her haloed shadow filled her mind and stole the air from her lungs. Raelle’s parting weighed heavier than the shackles that bound her.
“I’m sorry we ever met, Scyl.”
Her body tensed as another scream started to well within her. She opened her eyes, having drifted unsteadily to the small house’s shadowed foyer. She caught other words scratching out of the TV’s speakers, muffled like they were being spoken underwater. Phrases like truce , and unity . Not that any of it fucking mattered. She braced herself against the doorframe, going numb as a strained noise escaped her. It caught the attention of a boy settled in the chair closest to her. Scylla turned to regard him venomously as he approached from behind.
He let out a bark of laughter. “Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten attached to a goddamn target, Ramshorn-”
He barely finished before Scylla whispered an incantation that sent him writhing to the floor, holding until his cries of pain reduced to mere sputters. Willa indulged her briefly.
“Enough,” Willa chastised after a moment.
Scylla relented, staring at the man as he stood, sweaty and breathless. He spat at her feet as Willa dismissed him.
Scylla turned, expecting to see the clouded eyes of a grieving mother. Instead, she found the same cold, calculating look Raelle often fronted. The one she’d worn when she stepped into her chamber for the second time. So different from the grief stinging the edges of her own vision.
“We’re going to have to get in touch with some nearby cells to consider Alder’s offer,” Willa sighed.
Scylla’s anguish relented for a moment as she snapped. “Is that all you can about right now?”
Willa narrowed her eyes. “Some of us can’t afford to lose focus of our objective-”
“Don’t,” Scylla threatened.
“Scylla, she was my daughter. You-”
“You didn’t know her anymore!” Scylla thundered, cutting off the older woman. “You had no idea who she was. I-” The words stuck in Scylla’s throat. “I did.”
Willa remained quiet, features hardening.
She was a ghost of Raelle, with none of her warmth or fire, but her expression was a phantom of the one Scylla had watched Raelle front before they got to know one another. The rest of her retort died. She rushed out of the living room, slamming herself in the first bedroom she found and traced two hasty sigils on the doorknob.
She stood still in the darkness for a moment, feeling a tremor work its way through her body as she crawled onto the bed. She grabbed a pillow, pressing her face into it before letting out a guttural scream.The sound quickly morphed into a sob as Sylla sputtered and choked into the fabric. She closed her eyes to no relief, Raelle filling every corner of her mind.
Weightless in the forest. Sighing adoration into her ears. A hand pressed against her cheek, her chin, wrapped around her waist and neck. Blazing warmth as she caught a glimpse of her during Beltane. Foreheads pressed together as Raelle swore her love. Fingers brushing against her hand. The gentle pressure of her body as they swayed to a ballad.
Steady. Loyal. Powerful.
Gone.
Night turned to morning before Scylla exhausted herself into a fitful sleep.