Descending Darkness(19)

“I think so.” Logan lifts the edge of her shirt to check the wound. Despite a long scar under her ribs, the skin is smooth and healed. I’ve never seen that scar before. How did she get that? He pulls her shirt back down and nods up at me. Bending down, I lift Ryanne in my arms and cradle her against my chest. I want to go put her in bed, but I need to know what happened. I sit down on the couch with Ryanne in my arms and turn toward Logan.

“What happened?” I can feel my magic bubbling to the surface.

He instantly starts shaking his head. “I have no idea. The vision started with her standing in this field. Alone. Adam and Dravin jumped out of the woods and just attacked her. She didn’t stand a chance.” She was alone with Adam and Dravin? How the heck were they always able to find her?

“Where were we?” I ask.

“I don’t know. Like I said, she was alone. I have no idea where we were,” he whispers.

“Could you tell when it happens?” Liam asks.

“I don’t know for sure. Ryanne would know, but I don’t think it happens for a little while,” he says. I glance between Conner and Natalie and find them staring down at Ryanne with worried expressions. They’ve never witnessed her going into a vision, let alone one that resulted in her being hurt. “She looked scared. I don’t think she knew what was happening until it actually happened. She kept looking around like she was lost…or didn’t know how she got there.”

With an exasperated sigh, I stand up and carry Ryanne upstairs. Nothing can be done right now, especially since Ryanne is out. I gently place her in the bed and pull the comforter around her. Grabbing some clothes, I go into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. When I am finished, I slowly walk back into the room and turn the light off. When the room plunges into darkness, I hear some light scratching on the outside of the door. I open the door and let Olive in. Picking her up, I move back over to the bed and place Olive at the end of it, where she curls up into a ball. I crawl into the bed and quietly move the covers back, lying down beside Ryanne. I glance over at her. Her head is rolled to the side away from me, so I can’t see her expression. Her shallow breathing lets me know that she is asleep. I hope that one day she’ll be able to go to sleep without worrying about attacks.



Rubbing my eyes, I slowly wake up. I feel more tired now than I did before I went to bed last night. Sleep just isn’t as easy to come by anymore. I’m about to get up, when I feel a weight against my chest and slight movements. Ryanne is pressed against my side; her hand sprawled across my chest. She is still asleep, but starting to move, so she’ll wake up soon. I gently push her hair out of her eyes. I don’t see any obvious injuries. Her long eyelashes fan across her cheekbones, and her lips are slightly parted. She sighs quietly before her eyelids flutter open. Blinking rapidly, she rolls onto her back and groans. “I’m too tired to be awake,” she grumbles.

Pushing herself into a seated position, she runs her hand through her curly hair, trying to tame it. I yearn to reach out and wrap one of the spirals around my finger. She glances over her shoulder and smiles at me. Wow, she is beautiful. This is the girl I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with. I can’t believe that it’s her. “Morning,” she says lightly.

“Good morning.” I laugh as she starts blinking slowly. Sleep is trying to call her back. Rubbing her eyes, she arches her back and stretches.

“Sorry, Olive,” she says after she slams her hands onto the mattress, scaring her. Getting out of the bed, she attempts to smooth her wrinkled clothing. She is still wearing what she wore yesterday. The side of the shirt still has a bloodstain on it. The vision.

“Ryanne, what happened in your vision last night?” I ask her. She looks around the room. I point to the corner, near the armoire where her suitcase is located. She thanks me and walks over to it. Unzipping the suitcase, she starts to elaborate.

“I don’t know exactly. I was just thrown into the middle of this field. I was scared, but I kept thinking it’s working. I don’t know…I just got attacked.”

“Ryanne, you were attacked by Adam and Dravin.” Why is she so calm?

“Yeah, I think that was part of the plan,” she says. “Look, I don’t know much about the vision except for that it doesn’t happen anytime in the near future. It was just a vision. We have a small chance of changing it if that’s any consolation. I’d rather just focus on the present though,” she pauses and looks toward the bathroom. “Can I take a shower in here? I feel gross.”