Chapter Thirteen
Elodie stood and beckoned for Florian to follow as she stepped toward the hearth, where a low fire was crackling. Florian hesitated, remembering that she had brought him up to the fireplace last time, right before they teleported to her strange liminal space.
“One second,” he said, standing and gesturing toward the door. “I should tell them we’re about to do this. So they don’t worry if we’re not back for a... a little while.”
She huffed, looking annoyed, but turned away and busied herself with adjusting some of the various knick-knacks on the hearth. Florian hurried to the door, poking his head out to see Kade observing Koji and Rune spar. But the wolf shifter looked back at him the moment the door opened, and Koji and Rune paused too, noticing the shift in his attention.
“We’re going to, um,” Florian started, uncertain. This was what he had been waiting for, but now he felt nervous all over again. “We’re going to look into the stuff with Thaddeus, so wemight be gone for a bit, like last time. So don’t worry if we’re not back right away.”
Koji and Rune exchanged a worried glance, and Kade seemed to visibly steel himself. Then he stepped toward Florian.
“Be safe,” he repeated, and Florian took a step down from the threshold to close the distance between them, kissing him fervently. When Kade pulled away, there was still some tension in his eyes, but he gave Florian a soft, encouraging smile. “We’ll be okay out here. Promise.”
Florian managed a weak smile in return. “Yeah. I know you will. And I’ll be back before you know it. We’ll be okay.”
Kade nodded.
“I love you,” Florian said, and Kade’s smile widened a bit.
“I love you, too,” he said, then kissed him again, softer this time. “Alright. Go on before I change my mind.” He released Florian from his arms. With a nervous laugh, Florian waved goodbye to the others and stepped back into the tree. He wasn’t sure what had caused Kade to lose so much of his worry about... everything related to the witch, really, but he was grateful nonetheless. Knowing Kade wouldn’t be freaking out without him was a weight off his shoulders.
Elodie was still waiting for him at the hearth, not looking at him until he stood by her side.
“Ready?” she asked, still fiddling with what looked like a preserved flower of some sort within a glass case.
“Ready,” Florian said, and without ceremony, she turned to face him and grasped his wrist. Immediately, that familiar lurching sensation wrenched Florian through space. In a blink they were no longer standing in her little cottage, but the eerily empty, white expanse of nothingness where they had done this before. Florian coughed, his stomach churning in protest. “Give me some warning next time. Jeez.”
“Mmm,” she answered noncommittally, stepping away from him with her gaze slightly above his head. “This is different from the last time we were here. Thaddeus’ aura is quite apparent now.”
Florian blinked, looking around him. He didn’t see anything, and he certainly didn’t feel any different. “Is he?”
“I suspect whatever awareness he’s capable of has detected your intentions,” Elodie mused. “Perhaps he wants to help, or perhaps he is upset. No telling until we connect with him. Are you prepared?”
Florian took in a steadying breath, remembering how the other man’s memories had engulfed him before. It had been unpleasant, but entirely manageable, especially now that he knew what to expect—still, he wasn’t looking forward to being drowned in visions and sensations that weren’t his own.
“Ready,” Florian said, nodding.
“Close your eyes,” Elodie said, and Florian obeyed. The light from all around them still burned through his eyelids, a yellow-orange overtaking his vision. He felt Elodie lightly touch his shoulders, her long spindly fingers moving spider-like down his arms until she grasped both of his hands in hers.
“Tell us what you want, Thaddeus,” Elodie said softly, then she yanked on Florian’s hands. He almost stumbled forward, but caught himself. Her hands kept pulling, though, and it felt like something was being drawn out from the veins in his hands, all the way up his forearms and through his shoulders. The sensation made him want to retch, but it was over quickly.
In front of him, Elodie was holding a silvery string that ended in the center of Florian’s chest, like the way she had brought it out before. Florian watched as Elodie seemed to thread the cord through her fingers, and her eyes took on an unfocused, faraway look as she concentrated.
After a moment, though, she blinked quickly and focused on Florian. “I can’t connect enough to get more than a few flashes. It’ll have to be you who speaks with him. I’ll keep his essence drawn out. Hold it near your chest and focus on his presence.”
Florian nodded, then reached up to hold the thread. It felt like a wire against his palm, sharp and biting, but he still grasped it and closed his eyes.
“I’m listening,” he said softly. “We want to talk to you, too, Thaddeus.”
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the liminal space with Elodie. He was standing...somewhere, but it was murky and indistinct. It was a room—his room—but it didn’t look like anywhere he had ever been. Glancing around, everything came more into focus: gleaming gray stone walls with golden accents, wide windows letting in afternoon sunlight, and soft gossamer curtains shimmering in a light breeze.
He turned and looked into a mirror on the wall. Thaddeus stared back at him from the mirror, looking haggard and tired—his features somehow both gaunt and indistinct, hair messy and beard unkempt. His appearance kept shifting, as if Florian were seeing different versions of Thaddeus throughout his life all at once.
“I see you,” Florian said, reaching for the mirror. Thaddeus made the same motion; but it was cold glass when Florian touched his fingertips to the surface. “Can you help us?”
Thaddeus’ lips quivered, as if he were mumbling something as Florian spoke, but Florian couldn’t hear anything. Thaddeus’ eyes flickered past Florian to a point behind him. Florian’s gaze followed to find Soleil standing in a doorway that he didn’t think had been there when he first looked. But then hewasThaddeus, turning to face her and smiling fondly at her appearance. When she smiled back, it was as beautiful as the sunrise.
“Ready?” she asked, and her voice was sweet and lilting and made his heart squeeze still, as if he were hearing it anew every time.
