“Look at that,” I said, crouching down closer to the widow, reluctantly moving my palm across the dirty glass pane.
“Where?” Field asked, coming beside me.
I pointed to a painting at the back of the room, hidden behind an old chest of drawers. It was an image of a woman, and her face stared out at us, with very pale eyes. She looked solemnly at the artist, reclining on a chair with her hands placed demurely on her lap.
“Do you think it’s the other Oracle, Elissa?” I asked.
“I’m guessing so,” Field replied.
She also had no breasts to speak of, though the shadows of runes that were typically associated with the Oracles were gone. Perhaps this was the artist, or even the subject’s desire, though. It didn’t mean she hadn’t had them.
“I’ll ask Phoenix later if he recognizes her,” I decided. “But I wonder why it’s not hanging up somewhere? Phoenix said that Draven and Elissa were close…why would he hide this away?”
Field shrugged, moving away from the window.
“We still don’t know exactly what happened to her. It might have been painful for him to keep it up after she was gone.”
Perhaps Field was right. I hadn’t actually asked Serena what she’d found in the diary since we last spoke to her. I hoped she was a little closer to uncovering the mystery of Elissa. I was relying on her to help us in some way—to learn how to regain our sight if we ever lost it.
It was something I didn’t really want to think about, and I too turned away from the window, looking out across the jungle.
“It will be all right,” Field murmured. I quickly glanced toward him, noticing that he was watching me. His expression was anxious, as I was sure mine was. I appreciated his reassurance, but I wasn’t sure that what he said was true. I wasn’t sure that things were going to be all right.
Vita
I followed Draven and Bijarki back indoors, with Serena hot on my heels.
“Can you at least explain why we can’t see the Daughters?” Serena asked impatiently as we walked through the house. “Or at least tell us what you’re so afraid of? Even if they can’t help us, there’s no harm in asking, right?” She was insistent, and I knew from experience that my friend wasn’t going to let the matter drop.
“There’s always a price to be paid, Serena,” the Druid snapped as we entered the stifling heat of his living room. He paced back and forth, while Bijarki stared into the fire, his expression hard to read. I thought he was angry, not frightened like Serena had suggested, but I didn’t understand why.
“If the Oracle says we’re not safe, we’re not safe,” Serena pressed again. I could see she was growing more agitated by the second. It didn’t help that the Druid kept pacing, obviously mulling the matter over, but he kept us all shut out.
I moved to stand by the door to the basement. The cold air from below whistled through the door, so it was the only place I could be in the room without fainting. Serena came and stood next to me, moving her cheek to the crack in the doorway while trying to fan herself.
“And will you put the damn fire out already?” she said suddenly, losing her temper.
The Druid stopped his pacing and looked at her in amusement. I didn’t know what he thought was so funny, but Serena’s outburst seemed to have done the job.
“All right,” he replied with some reluctance. “I agree with you, we’re not safe here. We should probably speak to the Daughters.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” Bijarki snapped, glaring at Serena. “None of you do.”
“Silence,” Draven retorted, glaring at his friend.
Bijarki shook his head in disgust, and turned his attention back to the fire. I didn’t understand his outburst—and so far, no matter how fraught the tension in the house had been, the incubus had kept his cool…why was this bothering him so much? Whatever it was, the consequences of paying a visit to the Daughters must be severe, and the thought made me uneasy. The comparison Draven had drawn between them and harpies wasn’t exactly comforting…
“We just need to make sure we’re asking the right question,” the Druid asserted more to Bijarki than us, as if he was trying to placate his friend.
“Then we should ask for more protection for the house?” Serena suggested, seemingly oblivious to the tension building between the friends—either that, or she didn’t care. “Or, even better, a way to get back to The Shade? I know that GASP would take you both in and offer protection if you wanted.”
“How many times do I need to tell you that The Shade isn’t safe?” the Druid growled. “They will find you there, I promise you that.”