Page 20 of Shattered Jewel

After five minutes of hearing nothing out of the ordinary, I inch the closet door open, wincing at every unwilling sound we make.

But my mother is alone in this house. Her fears are realized by a man rifling through our things. If she stumbles upon him, or worse, if he seeks her out...

“God, El,” Sasha exhales as we step out of the closet and into the aftermath.

I can’t think of cleaning up right now. We have to get to my mother.

“Did you see his face?” I ask as I creep toward the bedroom door, lending half an eye and all my fear to the hallway beyond.

Sasha shakes her head, her eyes clouded with concern.

“Do you think he’s complicit, or a victim in all this?”

Sasha’s question makes my shoulders tense.

“Both? Neither?” I answer while battling a sobering thought. The intruder could be like us—pawns thrown to the mercy of a merciless Court, scrambling for answers in desperate places.

Those answers still elude me, but one truth stands out—that man is not welcome in our home.

The hallway stretches dark and still. I motion for Sasha to follow as I slip out, eyes roving for any tripwires, other traps, or more men in black ready to jump us.

At the end of the hall, a door hangs open a crack.

My mother’s room. She always shuts and locks her door.

I dart forward, the dread of something happening to her thick in my mind.

Sasha’s hand finds my arm, pulling me back. She shakes her head minutely, mouthing, We need to call the police.

I shake my head in return. The police, with their blinding lights and chaotic storm of authority, would only push my mother further into her madness. The man wasn’t after her; he was looking for something.

Sasha hisses a warning breath as I near Mom’s door, where a faint rustling becomes audible. I grip the door handle, heart thundering in my ears. With a deep inhalation to steady myself, I push it all the way open.

My mother cowers in a corner. She’s tangled in bedsheets she tore off her bed and muttering unintelligibly. Bottles of medication and supplies litter the floor around her. She doesn’t seem to register our presence.

I carefully enter the room, sidestepping the debris. “Mom? It’s just me, Elara. We need to get you to safety.”

Mom’s eyes, lost and feverish, clash against mine.

“Stay back!” she shrieks. “You’re not real! You’re not my daughter!”

Sasha moves to my side, hands raised in a calming gesture. “Hi, Mrs. Wraithwood, remember me? I’m Sasha, Elara’s roommate. We’re not going to hurt you.”

“Lies! Liar! You’re shapeshifters, you can’t fool me!”

The accusation flies from her lips with venomous certainty. Mom grabs blindly at the clutter around her, seizing an antiquated revolver.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Sasha’s panicked whisper hisses through her clenched teeth.

Mom levels it at us with trembling hands and a deranged look in her eyes.

Chapter 5

Elara

“Is that thing loaded?” Sasha asks in a wet whisper.

---