Page 62 of Ever Dark Academy: Vol. 3
“And is it as good as you hoped?”
She nodded. “It is. Actually, it’s a bit better than that.”
Ryder! Fiona! Balthazar’s voice was sharp. Grayson has felt a structure! It’s someone in the basement. They’re going up the back set of stairs.
“We’ve got it,” Fiona said as he placed a hand on Ryder’s forearm.
The teleportation was always a little unnerving to him and he stumbled a little when going from one set of stairs to another. In that moment of discombobulation, he used his other senses than sight. And that was when the scent came to him.
Like a long ago memory.
Of a bitter mistake.
Legion, Ryder identified the smell with the person. Legion is here!
Doppelganger
“Grayson, what is it? What’s wrong?” Rachel asked, touching his forearm, as she noticed his distress.
His power sparked and she jerked back as if caught by an electric surge. Confusion reigned in her brown eyes as she cradled her hand to her chest. He was trying to reel himself in while at the same time track the Sect member whose mind he had touched. But he’d lost their mind in the sheer shock of finding it and Rachel’s revelations. That last bit had him gritting his teeth. This was proof that he needed to dump Grayson’s memories and feelings into the memory bin. They were impacting his work!
“Rachel, I can’t deal with this now,” Grayson said as he tried to shake the young woman off.
“Grayson, I know this is a shock. When your mom found out you were here, she couldn’t believe it either,” Rachel prattled on. “Not that she’d given up hope of finding you, but in the Ever Dark? She couldn’t believe it!”
He ignored her words or tried to. His eyes scanned the crowd where he had felt the Sect member, but it was too dark. There were too many people. No one was looking suspicious. In fact, they were all laughing and drinking, dancing and fucking, having a time they would never forget and might not remember. Any single one of them could be the Sect member and he was alone down here without any backup. Had he made the same mistake again that he had with Kaly?
No, they don’t know who I am. And I’m not alone, Grayson thought then sent, Balthazar, there’s a Sect member in the basement. North side.
Can you see them? Who is it? Show me their face? Balthazar insisted.
I can’t see them. I just felt them for a second, Grayson explained, leaving off the reason why he had lost track of them. Balthazar likely knew or could know if he wanted to. I need to find them again. And once I do, we need them to be taken out of here.
Help is on the way! Balthazar answered.
Tell Ryder–
“Grayson, you have to deal with this sometime,” Rachel interrupted his mental conversation by gently touching his chin.
He whipped his head around to look at her, not knowing what she had been saying for likely a few minutes. He blinked, feeling like an owl thrust into the light. But he realized she must still be going on about his denial of wanting to discuss his mother.
“Rachel, that’s not what I meant,” Grayson said, actually trying to physically fend her off by holding up his hands. He had to find that Sect member!
But she kept a hold of him. “Your mother was devastated by what happened–”
“By my stepfather meeting justice?” he growled, knowing it was the wrong thing to say.
He was practically admitting his guilt. Damnit, he would need Balthazar or another Eyros to deal with her memory. His emotions roiled. The young man who had felt abandoned and betrayed rose to the surface so easily and the great Immortal general fell.
“What? No, by losing you!” Rachel looked honestly shocked he would think of anything else. “Grayson, she’s been looking for you since you disappeared. She’s never forgotten you. Not for one minute. You have to believe me!”
“Believe you?” He actually laughed.
She jerked at the ugly sound. “I’m telling the truth. Please believe that.”
“I don’t have to. I can know whether you’re telling the truth or not. Even whether she is. We have people who can read minds here, don’t you remember?” Grayson stated coldly, reaching for his Ashyr self and shoving Grayson down into the depths.
How badly will I feel if someone dies because I’m mourning my mother’s lost love? Grayson snarled at himself. Get it together! This can wait!
