Vance Abernathy – Isolated
Finally alone. It was like being drowned in relief. In the wake of Lee’s ridiculous bargaining, he had no words to see the younger boy off. Is this what I’m resorting to? Having the likes of Bellona and Lee dictate terms to me? He might not have cared anymore for his stature save for the doors that it opened, the obedience it inspired, but maybe he was letting go of who he had been too much. Another evening like this would certainly convince him of as much. The simple truth, he realized, was that alone was the only way he’d ever be comfortable again. There was no trust, not really. Not in a world where Nevaeh had betrayed him.
He’d never truly been alone with her existing. They were twins, after all. For so long, they’d been two parts of the same whole. In killing her, no, in being forced to kill her, he’d killed off part of himself as well. The part that could enjoy, at least, until there was an accounting for the events that had led to her demise at his hands.
He pulled the glove off and stalked amidst the mess, careful not to disturb it as he inspected it for clues. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the course the vandals had taken. Everything was tossed about, and he could discern no pattern, no motive. The lack of one only hinted at another: the break-in was designed to show how easily the inviolable could be violated. He’d never, not in six years at Magus Grex, felt the need to lock his door. Tonight he’d lock it and perch a chair perilously against it, so that any attempt at entry would surely awaken him. Tonight, he’d sleep with his wand under his pillow.
It only took a few moments to set the room aright with the help of magic, but as he looked around, he couldn’t help feel that something was different. Something was missing. His eyes wandered, wandered… there. On his desk. A picture of Nevaeh that he’d left there, framed in silver-scroll. It had been taken at one of the many orchards that the Abernathys owned two falls before; her beautiful face, the female interpretation of his own, caught in a rare, private smile.
Someone had turned the frame face-down on the desk, and when he lifted it, he found that the glass had been cracked. He traced the spider-web fissure with his gloved index finger. The marring felt strangely appropriate, but the picture…
He let it fall into a waste-bin with a clatter. Weariness descended upon him, and he made ready for bed. His earlier words had been prophetic. Sleep drove him into darkness only moments after he laid down. He didn’t even have time to work out how he’d fend off Lee or put him in his place, he simply slept.