Chapter 27

“What a shame.” Amber tutted as she read the news while nursing the strong cup of coffee in front of her.

She just finished making Silas and me a full breakfast of pancakes and strawberries with a side of eggs and bacon. I was full ages ago, but Silas kept poking at me to eat more even though I felt like I was going blow.

“Hm?” I encouraged, turning my attention to her.

“A young boy, eight-year-old Jordan Whittemore,” my stomach instantly dropped at the name, “was found in a ditch last night. Apparently, his soul has already passed on because not even a dark core can find him. It says he was missing for a few weeks, but there were never any leads.” Amber said, her eyes glued to the newspaper.

“Is-is there a picture of him?” I asked. My attempt to not stutter failed instantly. However, I was able to hold back from the flinch my body was primed to do when I felt Silas and Amber glance at me. I hope that my reaction was just interpreted as hearing the death of anyone, especially someone so young, after the trauma I just faced.

Amber nodded and slid the newspaper in front of me, and I could feel myself practically hyperventilating. The smiling face of Jordan greeted me as vividly as the imprinted image of his death flashed to the front of my mind. The dream. It was real.

So was I astral pojecting in my sleep? Why was I there and why was I witness to that moment specifically? If I was astral projecting, I could have ended up anywhere on this plane and the next. What were the odds that I would end up there then?

Was that the only dream that wasn’t really a dream? Or did I have other dreams that were actually not dreams?

My eyes frantically read the article detailing how devastated the family was at a loss and how they would never rest until justice was served. They even mentioned employing those with gifts to see if they could uncover more about the gruesome fate.

Good luck. I seriously doubt justice would be served here, not with President Russling being the killer.

I didn’t understand why President Russling killed an eight-year-old boy. How did he even kill him? It was like he tore the soul from his body. I didn’t think that was even possible. It was another reason why I just assumed I had a nightmare. Was it something only he could do because he was the Liege of Darkness? Or was it something even more terrifying, like anyone could do it if they had the skill, power, and knowledge behind them? I shivered. I didn’t actually know which one was more terrifying. The very fact he could even do it alone was scary.

“Now that I know you exist, I will do whatever I can to hunt you.” President Russling voice echoed in my head. He knew someone saw him kill Jordan. He said he was going to hunt me down. Had he already started to hunt me? How close was he now to finding it was me, and what would he do once he found me?

I felt Silas place a hand on my knee and rub soothing circles with his thumb, but it didn’t pull me away from my thoughts. It brought a whole other set of questions.

Was Silas and Amber safe with me here? Of course not. I just found them. I could never subject them to this unknown fate. For all I knew, President Russling would kill all three of us tonight. I could leave right now and if they didn’t know what I now knew, maybe they’d be spared.

My omega let a heartbreaking whine from my throat at the thought of either scenario startling both Amber and Silas. Silas was quick to pull me into his lap, making me straddle him as he scented me to see if I was hurt, but my omega wouldn’t let me out of the spiraling thoughts, not even when he grabbed my face and demanded me to tell him what was wrong.

All I could see was me leaving them behind and Silas finding a better omega followed by images of all three of us flopped on the ground as lifeless husks just like Jordan.

Sharp pain took center as I felt sharp teeth bite deep into the side of my neck. My hands immediately rooted themselves in silky hair as my senses came back online with my awareness.

The first thing I noticed was a hand was harshly gripping my hair, and my face was staring straight up. This was a typical Silas position, he seemed to love imobalizing my head as he marked up my neck. The next thing I noticed outside of the teeth still impeded in my skin was that I was now freezing, and blood was escaping my new wound because I felt it trail down my skin.

Slowly, the teeth left my skin making the bite throb in a way that I loved and the pain grounded me. It was probably the reason why Silas chose to bite me instead of doing anything else, the wound would pull me continuously to it, keeping the all consuming thoughts less consuming and more controllable. How he knew to do that was behyond me and I don’t think I really cared.

“Thank you.” I said and was surprised my voice was so hoarse. I wasn’t screaming, that much I knew, I shouldn’t feel this way.

“You were distress calling, hun.” Amber said, answering my question without me even having to ask. “Drink some juice. The coolness will sooth your throat and the sugar will help with everything else.”

I didn’t even have to move before Silas had the glass I was drinking from earlier to my lips.

The juice didn’t stop the shaking in my hands but Amber was right, it did help center me.

Silas watched every single movement I made and I would have found it amusing if I wasn’t so numb from everything I felt in the last ten minutes.

“What happened?” Silas demanded, his eyes still searching for what was wrong in my own, but I knew better. He wasn’t in my mindscape so he wasn’t using the mind arts, just hoping my eyes gave something away. But I also knew they didn’t, I didn’t feel anything at the moment so how could my eyes say anything.

“I saw it.” I said, unable to articulate what that means, hoping that was enough because the energy to explain wasn’t within me at the moment.

“You saw it?” Silas asked slowly trying to find an alternative answer within the three words I said.

I nodded but Silas looked irritated.

“You saw it?” He repeated. “The Whittemore kid? You mean you saw his death?”

I nodded and his expression fell then tightened in anger.

“Where did you see it? Where was I? You haven’t been out of my sight since you arrived. Was this before…” He trailed off not wanting to say it out loud.

“Here.” I whispered. “I saw it while I was here.”

“Was it a dream, love?” Amber spoke up from behind me. I didn’t even turn around to look at her, I didn’t even have the energy for that. I just nodded before pausing and shrugging slightly.

“I saw it in a dream a month maybe a month and a half ago.” I said in a monotone. “I saw him murdered and I saw who murdered him. The why wasn’t there and I honestly thought it was a dream until right now.” I forced myself to get out knowing they need to know.

“Who?” Silas asked quietly, his adjusted his grip on me, holding my lower body tightly to him then using his other hand to tilt my chin to him.

“You’re not going to believe me.” I said as I stared deep in his eyes.

“Try us. Try me.” He said looking right back at me. It was almost easy to forget about anything else in this moment.

“President Russling.” I said. The startle was anticipated as was the confusion but I wasn’t anticipating the conviction to follow.

“He knows I saw it too.” I continued but realized my fault in words as his alarm made itself known as him tightening his grip and his expression darkening. “He knows someone was there but if he knew it was me he would have made his presence known by now, right? I mean I saw him kill a kid. He wouldn’t leave a lose end like this for so long if he knew.” The words came out so quickly I almost felt faint right after from the lack of air.

“She’s right. She wouldn’t be here if he knew if it was her who saw him.” Amber spoke up reminding me she was even there making me startle slightly.

“If he knew someone was there then maybe it wasn’t a dream.” Amber continued, I could hear her place her mug back on the table and paper rustling.

Silas looked away from me for a split second as if he was trying to remember something. “Astral projection, you astral projected.” He mumbled. “That is a shadow skill.”

“But I’m not grey though. I’m a dark core. I see the dead.” I protested. “Only dark cores see the dead.”

“Seers see the dead too,” Silas argued. “They see more than just the dead though. Have you?”

I shook my head. “Not that I can remember. I have seen the dead since I was little, my mom was so mad when she found out because she was hoping I either took after my father or at least was a shadow core. If I was a seer, she would have rejoiced because I would have been spared my father’s assholery.”

“I don’t know.” Amber said. “Just because you didn’t see anything else doesn’t mean you can’t. We can try tonight. We can summon something and test it.”

Both Silas and I nodded in agreement. Even though it wasn’t unheard of that someone could develop an affinity to gifts that were out of the norm for their class, which would make me more of a weirdo to be a dark core that can astral project. But to my knowledge, I didn’t think it was possible for a seer to be a dark core since a seer needed to have a particularly advanced shadow core. So it just makes more sense that I developed an unusual ability because the alternative just doesn’t make sense.

“I know what you will become.” Is another thing President Russling said to me. What did he think I would become? The one thing that came to mind was entirely too silly to even let myself think about.

I needed to know the truth and needed to know soon.

“Once we know for sure, we can start planning on how to protect you.” Amber said.

“Protect me?” The words came out before I could even think it through.

Silas snorted. “If you think we are going to leave you alone to deal with this alone, you are mistaken. You’re ours now so stop thinking you aren’t.”

A rush of warmth flooded my face, spreading swiftly down my neck to my chest, its path visible to Silas, whose gaze followed the blush before flicking back to meet mine with a knowing smirk.

“In the meantime, we can check out the journals your mom left. Maybe there is something we can use in there.” Silas said.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the journals. Since we finished cleaning the house, or rather I finished telling what I wanted and Silas had a cleaning crew go and clean the house out, we stored the box of journals in the basement ready to be read when I was ready for them. I guess I didn’t have the option to be ready or not because that choice was made for me.