Chapter 16: Soul Seal

Sebastian watched from as closely as he dared. He liked to live on edge compared to what other people deemed as socially acceptable, but even he wasn’t an idiot. He knew better than to get too close to Kauzic Syn while the ‘great’ Commander was controlling more than eighty percent of his power. Especially not while he was spying on the guy.

Of course, the Commander would already know that he was here. He had his powers linked all the way to Washington, there was no way he didn’t know about Sebastian standing behind a corner about ten feet away. But that was the point, he was expendable to the operation. He didn’t like it, but it was true.

The Commander’s energy simmered against the moonlit void, then vanished. He looked up at the night sky, eyes glowing with raw power. Whatever he’d been doing, he was done. He rose from his spot on the roof, brushing dust and small chips of gravel from his navy coat.

Once he was satisfied that he’d gotten all of the dust, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box, roughly the size of a deck of cards, but twice as wide. He flipped open the top and pulled out a singular cigarette, lighting it with a flash of his fingers.

He took a long drag, then offered the box out to the shadow cast by the roof entrance.

“Those things will kill you,” Sebastian teased, stepping out the shadows to accept one from the box. Call it hypocritical, but it was a night to celebrate. “I’m assuming you found her.”

“You could say that. Though, next time you want me to look at something, try not to use one of my Captain’s to pass along the message,” he sighed, taking another drag on the cigarette.

Sebastian smiled, this would be the first and only tip he passed along to Kauzic. It was all he owed, now his debts were up. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

They sat in silence for a while. It was nice to just appreciate someone else’s company for a change, but Sebastian knew that there was business to get to. Plus, if he stayed here much longer there was a chance of someone seeing him.

“How did it go?” He asked, opting to twirl the cigarette through his fingers instead of liting it. A nervous habit he’d picked up, but it was better than the alternative.

“Not sure, couldn’t gone great or…”

“You could’ve Scorched her,” Sebastian finalized.

Kauzic nodded, “But the connection is what’s important. Even if I couldn’t directly get the Summoner I still got the girl.”

“Some people might say that that’s more important,” Sebastian warned.

“And to them I would say the Summoner is always more important than the spirit,” he paused as he brought the cigarette back up to his mouth. “You control the Summoner you control the spirit, you control the spirit, well, you’ve got nothing on the Summoner.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” Sebastian chuckled. Part of him wished they could stay like this, but there was work to be done on his part. There was no time for friends.

“You’re not being watched?” Kauzic asked, throwing his cigarette on the ground and stamping it out.

Sebastian stopped spinning his through his fingers and nimbly slipped it into one of the pockets inside his jacket. He’d need it later. “You know I wouldn’t be here if I was.”

“Alright, so what’s the point?”

“Silas is heading to Washington on the twenty-sixth, if you want things to change you need to get there before him.” If anyone saw him here or heard what he was saying he’d be dead. Actually no, he’d seen this happen enough times to know that they probably wouldn’t kill him, he’d just vanish. Every record of him would disappear from the Society and no one would be the wiser. This was his one play, he just hoped it was worth it.

“What’s his itinerary?” Kauzic asked.

“He’s neglected to inform me.” It wasn’t a lie. Silas hadn’t told him or any of his commanding officers as far as Sebastian was aware. That doesn’t mean that none of them knew, chances were that his second in command had been informed, but approaching him would be suicide at this point. Luckily, Sebastian had always been good at getting his hands on ‘unknown’ information.

“What’ve you found out?”

Sebastian smiled. “His flight leaves at noon, I’m assuming he intends to go after the Summoner but I could be wrong. He’s already got a few locations confirmed so it won’t take him too long to find her. You’ll need to hurry if you want to get ahead.”

“Or he’ll have to hurry if he wants to catch up with me,” Kauzic baited.

Catch up with Kauzic? What could he already have planned? There was no way he’d known about anything before Sebastian had. There was no way he already had something in the works. This was bad. He’d need to tell Silas, and of course then he’d be asked why he was talking with the man he was supposed to be spying on. Did Kauzic intentionally screw him over?

“You shouldn’t have told me that.”

“I’m playing a hunch, go ahead and tell Silas everything.”

“I plan to,” Sebastian turned away, putting an end to the conversation. There was no point in hanging around any longer, he’d gotten the information he’d been looking for, and then some. He needed to see Silas. Damnit. He really hated Kauzic right now.

“Oh, and one last thing,” Sebastian didn’t turn around, he already knew what the Commander was going to say. “The next time you interfere with my magic I’ll kill you.”

Sebastian couldn’t help but smile as he entered the stairwell. Everything was going according to plan. He looked at his watch. 2:33 am. Any minute now the pieces would start to fall into place. He pulled out his phone once he reached the bottom, dialing the numbers as he pushed open the door to the outside. The Commander was still watching him, but it didn’t matter.

The perfect smooth voice answered the phone, not a hint of sleep in his voice despite the time.

“We need to talk, I’ve got some information you may want to hear.” He was going to love this.

“What could be so important that you felt it was important to call me now?” The voice breathed angrily through the receiver.

“I just thought you would like to know that starting at day break that Summoner will be completely defenseless.”

The garbled sound of someone moving on the other end of the phone was all Sebastian heard for a few moments. He thought that would get Silas’s attention.

“I knew you were the right person to put on this job, even with your history. We need to talk, come to my office.”

“Yes sir.”

***

Mandie reappeared in the pitch black, Nia’s weight heavy in her arms. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew she was in the right place. The earthy smell, the untouched atmosphere, the abundance of energy. What the Society wouldn’t give to access a place like this.

She took a step back and flipped on the light with her elbow. She’d been here enough times that she didn’t need light to move around, but that didn’t mean it wouldn't be useful. She surveyed the curtain draped, rug and pillow covered stone room; she’d need to dust while she was here, but everything else was exactly as she’d left it.

She would’ve liked to take a minute to relax, but there was no time for that. The jump had unsurprisingly aggravated Nia’s breathing again, and her temperature was still dropping. And there was still the matter of that burn in her shirt. Where had that come from? She’d worry about it later, it wasn’t really important right now.

What was important, was her breathing. Not the fact that it was sporadic, uneven, and generally haunting. No. It was that she was breathing. How was that even possible? She was already dead, overtime her soul should’ve naturally phased out of that habit. So why was she still breathing, and why was it affecting her so much?

So many questions, so little time.

She lay Nia down on a makeshift bed of rugs and blankets, ignoring her groans of protest as her back came into contact with the fabric. She pulled out Gale’s inhaler and walked Nia through all the steps again, making sure to breath with her. It didn’t help this time. Damn. Maybe it would’ve been better if they’d stayed there.

Well, at least here Mandie was stronger, and she could take more liberty with her magic. Hopefully though, she wouldn’t need to rely on that. Now then, what did she need? Peppermint definitely, maybe some thyme and oregano too. She’d only be able to make a vapor, but she’d always found that natural medicines worked better here than the synthetics.

She spun around, searching for her bag. She paused. She hadn’t picked it up, it was still at Alice’s. She cursed under her breath. Maybe she could get back there without a navigator, maybe she’d still have enough magic to get back her again, but there was no way she’d be able to avoid Bea. It was unlikely that she didn’t know what was going on at Alice’s by now. And there was no doubt in Mandie’s mind that Bea would be over there the second she teleported back.

Mandie bit her lip, pulling at some of the dead skin on her chapped lips. The herbs would help, but she’d need to leave Nia alone for who knows how long. She didn’t have time to deal with that, damn the consequences. She rushed over to a small dresser she had tucked away behind a drape and pulled her black leather summoning gloves out of the top draw. She wasn’t a summoner, but these certainly helped regulate magic; which is what she needed if she was going to tamper with healing.

She pulled them on, surprised by their perfect fit despite that fact that she hadn’t worn them in years. Her memories stopped her. The last time she’d used these gloves, even used this magic, was in the aftermath of the Bastion. And after helping with the seemingly endless weeks of mental and physical healing and therapy for those involved, she’d sworn off healing.

That didn’t matter now. She just hoped she was still as good as she had been back then. Without a second thought she dove into the surplus of natural energy that radiated through the ancient temple. Feeling the magic race through her blood boosted her confidence. She used to be one of the best way back when, and supposedly magic was kind of like riding a bike.

She dug into her memories and began building the spells she needed with a somewhat sloppy expertise. She still didn’t know exactly what would help Nia, but within minutes she held a surplus of seals at the tips of her fingers. It was time to get to work. Anything was better than nothing, right?

Mandie’s spells circled around Nia, assessing the multiple problems. The breathing, the heartbeat, chances were they were just issues brought up by Cana digging through Nia’s memories. But how? Exactly how far had Cana dug to cause this caliber of reaction? It’s not everyday a spirit’s heart remembers how to beat, or their lungs remember how to breath.

This wasn’t the level of memory tampering Mandie was used to. She didn’t know what to do to fix everything. So, she set to work casting spells that could help where he knew Nia needed it.

Mandie’s hands set to work weaving magic seals into the air, increasing Nia’s temperature, evening out her breaths, slowing her heart. Mandie would’ve liked to cast a spell to ease Nia’s mind as well, but it wasn’t long before her magic reached its upper limit and forced her to stop. She teleported twice and used a large amount of energy consuming magic within the last hour, she was honestly surprised she’d been able to do as much as she had.

But now all she could do was sit back and watch as Nia lay in a fitful sleep across the pile of blankets. Mandie herself leaned against the wall, unable to summon the smallest amount of energy it would take to pull herself off the ground and walk over to her bed.

She felt drained. Completely empty. Even thinking seemed like a struggle she couldn’t bring herself to do. But there was something else too, another feeling she knew all too well. It would be coming any minute now, she could feel it rising up her throat. She coughed, pulling out her handkerchief just in time to cover her mouth.

She could smell it before she could see it. She pulled away the piece of cloth from her mouth and stared at the fresh blotches of blood. Before she could assess if it was more or less than usual she started coughing again. More blood. She really had pushed herself too far. She was just thankful that none of the others were here. They would’ve given her hell for not practicing what she preached.

Not that it really mattered anyway, it wouldn’t change anything. She sighed, closing her eyes for what seemed like a few seconds. She couldn’t stay here, she’d regret it if she did. So, Mandie summoned up what little energy she had left, pulled herself off the floor, trudged over to her bed in the corner hidden by another drape, and flopped onto the pleasantly comfy mattress which was also piled high with blankets and pillows. She needed to rest, she’d deserved it.

***

When Mandie woke up there was only one thought on her mind: the burn on Nia’s back. She’d completely forgotten about it. Mandie rubbed her tired, watering eyes and looked at her watch. 6:27. She groaned and pulled herself out of bed, she’d only gotten three or so hours of sleep. It was better than nothing she guessed; unfortunately, she had things to do.

Nia was still asleep, that was a relief, one less thing to deal with. Mandie snuck over to her in complete silence, as of right now Nia seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Who knew how much longer that would last. Mandie did a quick check up, being careful not to disturb the girl. Breathing: normal. Temperature: a little hot, but fine. Energy: low. She’d been maintaining a physical form for over twenty-four hours as far as Mandie was aware, it was no wonder her energy was almost non existent.

Speaking of physical. Mandie shifted Nia onto her side, allowing her to get a better look at the burn, and-

“Holy s**t.”

Mandie couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and couldn’t help but reach out to touch the intricate seals that had been burned into Nia’s back. She’d never seen designs like this before. She’d seen stuff similar of course, but never something with this level of intricacy.

She traced the patterns with her fingers, identifying each one, feeling out the power behind it. Magic like this didn’t just happen on accident, it wasn’t some flaw or mistake in the universe. Someone had done this on purpose. But why? Why these spells?

They were ancient--archaic even--and considered forbidden magic. Spells like these had been known to kill people, both casters and the subjects. The level of magic it took to cast, the level of control it took to succeed. It was all too dangerous.

Mandie was at a loss. No one would attempt this level of magic for s***s and giggles, especially not on someone so young. These seals were here for a reason. She traced them again, making sure to suppress the magic in her hands, she didn’t want to aggravate the sigils. One stood for consciousness, the other for power. Whoever had cast these, they would have absolute control over Nia. That is, assuming they were still alive and everything.

She managed to pull her fingers away and take a step back. There wasn’t really anything she’d be able to do to help with this. The burns weren’t physical, they were magical. It’s not like she could just slap on some burn salve and they would be all better. No, this would require a level of healing she just wasn’t capable of anymore. If Sebastian was here that would be something, but she wasn’t even sure if he’d know how to handle something like this.

Mandie bit her lip. At most she could probably just cover them up with Healer’s Bandages and hope for the best. It wouldn’t do much, but it’d be better than nothing. Of course, even if she somehow healed the burns, the spells would still be there. There was nothing she could do about that, even as a seal breaker it just wasn’t a type of magic that was covered anymore.

She let go of Nia and moved back over to the dresser she had gotten her gloves out of. She opened the top drawer and began digging around for the bandages, moving through each drawer systematically until she found some. She pulled the three rolls out from the bottom drawer and turned back to Nia, judging how much she would actually need.

The two seals had mostly been contained to her lower back, unless there were more that Mandie hadn’t seen yet. It would probably be best to make sure whoever had done this hadn’t gone after more than Nia’s powers and consciousness. She doubted they had, but it would be better to check now than later.

It was when she was wrapping the bandages around Nia’s lower back and abdomen that she saw it. It was just a glimpse, but there was no mistaking the thin line of black pigment for anything other than a tattoo. Once she was done with the bandages she pulled Nia’s shirt a little further up her back, revealing two separate tattoos along her spine, both written in simple Japanese characters.

Now this was really starting to get weird. First the seals, now the tattoos, what would pop up next? Why were there just so many mysteries around Nia? The deeper Mandie looked, the more she saw, the more confused she got. There were just so many pieces of this puzzle, and so far none of them were fitting together.

Supposedly Nia had been partners with Kiyan, but Mandie had never known of Kiyan having a partner, and as far as she knew no one else did either. Supposedly Nia bad been alive at least seven years ago, but if that was true there was no way she could be here now. Supposedly Nia was a summoning spirit, but the level of power she controlled was far beyond anything any summoning spirit should be able to control. Supposedly Alice was a Tamer, but somehow she had a summoning sign with Nia.

Supposedly Nia’s specialty had been casting barriers, but that couldn’t be it, not with these seals affecting her. There was something more to this picture, something she wasn’t seeing. Her powers had frightened someone so much that they had taken extreme measures to control whether she was conscious or not, and they’d even taken the same measures to ensure that they could cut off her magic whenever they wanted.

Just who was this girl?

When Nia got better, Mandie would need to visit the Society again. She needed to talk with Kiyan, and she would bet every last dollar she had that Kauzic knew something too. But, there was a harder decision to be made. Alice. When this was all over should she allow Nia to go back to Alice? It could be catastrophic, but it could just as easily be the best option.

She’d needed to consult Bea. That would be the only way to know the full extent of Alice’s powers. If Alice had inherited her mother gift maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to make something work out. But for now…

Mandie looked back at Nia, she was still asleep with no visible signs of waking up. Her breathing was normal, her heart rate was normal, her mind, well, that was the question. Cana had said she had broken Nia, that her mind would shatter.

Cana had known what she was pulling at in Nia’s memories. She had known what chain reaction she was causing, she’d warned Mandie that it would be best if ‘someone like her’ didn’t handle this situation. That it was best left to ‘divine beings’. And that man, the one she’d told Cana she would find, the one with ‘dark shaggy hair and impossibly light eyes,’ Mandie didn’t even know where to start with that. She had so much work ahead of her, she really wasn’t looking forward to all the secrets she would have to start keeping from the boys. It really was going to be a rough few weeks.

As if on queue, a burst of electricity sparked through the room, destroying the overhead light. Within seconds Mandie was right back by Nia’s side, measuring her pulse and checking her temperature. Accelerated and burning up, again. This wasn’t going to be fun.

***

Thanks to Mandie’s warning, Alice was able to open the door almost at the exact instant Chase knocked. However, what she hadn’t been expecting was the bright green flash that filled the apartment only moments after. She hadn’t even had time to say hello when the light flared up from behind her, illuminating Chase and Jackson’s features in emerald for an instant before disappearing again.

Alice turned to see what had happened, finding her apartment empty. No Nia, no Mandie, no magic. What had just happened had they-

“Mandie hopped again, huh?” Chase asked, leaning uncomfortably close over Alice’s shoulder.

“Appears so,” Jackson responded.

“Do you think she went back to the office?” Gale asked.

“No, she went to the Temple.” Jackson responded, pulling Chase away from Alice. “Mind if we come in?”

Alice wasn’t sure what to think. One second ago she had been filled with panic, worried about Nia, but everything had shifted. She was still frightened of course, but there was a weird sort of serenity hanging in the air. “Uh, yeah,” she moved out of the doorway, “come on in.”

A bizarre suspension of magic and energy hung in the apartment. Alice hadn’t even noticed it before with everything going on, but now that she had calmed down. Well, it made everything feel heavy, almost stagnant.

Chase and Jackson entered the room with Gale close behind. Alice looked at them, really looked, noting their unbrushed hair and hastily thrown on clothes. Aside from Chase, who was still wearing what Alice assumed where the clothes he had slept in. Well, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about how she looked, though she imagined she looked like a wreck in her fuzzy pink and white plaid pajamas.

This was getting awkward. What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to say anything? Were they supposed to be comforting her? Was there some kind of status quo for stuff like this that said they should all just stand silently in a livingroom at three in the morning?

“So,” Chase broke the silence, much to Alice’s relief, “How are you doing?”

How was she feeling? She didn’t really know, just like what had happened with Cana. It wasn’t that she couldn’t feel anything, far from it actually. She just felt consumed by so many different emotions and thoughts that nothing really seemed to matter. One thing was clear though, something was definitely missing. But, there was nothing she could do about it.

“Um, fine, I guess.” Alice replied after giving it careful thought. Fine didn’t mean good or bad, so she wasn’t lying.

“You sure?” He asked.

Alice nodded, there was nothing to say.

“If you want to talk about it…” Gale trailed off into the silence. She didn’t. She didn’t want to talk about it. For the second time in twenty-four hours she just wanted to be left alone. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to feel. She needed time to figure out what was going on with herself. Could she ask for some time? Maybe then she’d be up for talking.

Gale placed a comforting hand on her shoulder; a bit of the world fell back into place, like everything was just a little warmer. “We’ve all gone through something like this before. Well, at least everyone in this room has.”

“Something like what?” Alice bit back. None of them were connected to a spirit, so how could they know what it felt to have that part of you taken away? That feeling of not being complete, like some unexplainable part of you is missing and there’s nothing you can do about it. They couldn’t know what she was feeling. She didn’t even know what she was feeling. Besides, hadn’t she made it clear that she didn’t want to talk?

“Like being lost,” Jackson replied. “That feeling of loneliness and abandonment that builds and builds until there’s just nothing left.” He paused, staring at her only out of the corner of his icy blue eye. “Is that about right?”

He was right. Alice was stunned, and she immediately regretted snapping at Gale. He was only trying to help, though honestly she still wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk. But, she couldn’t help but wonder what he’d meant when he had said they’d all gone through something like this. “How did you?”

“Despite the huge differences between all of our powers,” Chase interrupted, “They actually have a lot more in common than you’d think.”

“How do you mean?” Alice asked.

“Well, magic manifests itself in many different ways. In your case, you became connected to a spirit. In my case, I gained the ability to cast spells. Jackson can see spiritual energy, Gale can talk with ghosts, and Mandie can do a little bit of everything. The point is, it all stems from the same place, every type of magic works the same way.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Gale stepped forward, “Just because you have powers now doesn’t mean you’ll always have them. Magic like this, it doesn’t just manifest itself all at once. And if you never take the step beyond the first spark of activation, they’ll slowly disappear.”

“It’s why the world isn’t overrun with spiritualists,” Chase explained, “And it’s why we take pains to make sure people want to be a part of this life before we permanently anchor their powers.”

“So, what you’re saying is that it doesn’t matter how much I use my abilities, they’ll just vanish after a while?” Alice’s head was still fuzzy with adrenaline and sleep, but she wanted to make sure she was understanding this correctly.

“Yes and no,” Jackson answered.

“Ages ago exorcists learned that spiritual magic could be linked to people’s emotions,” Chase continued, “And this link would allow people to unlock special skills and keep their powers almost indefinitely. Since that discovery, it has become common practice to put newbies through experiences that generate enough of specific emotions to anchor their powers.”

“So the job with Cana, was that just meant to-” she couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence mostly because she couldn’t believe it. From what they were saying, it sounded like this had been planned, all of it had been planned. All of her emptiness and worry, all of Nia’s pain, was it just so Alice’s powers were anchored completely? If this is what it took, Alice wasn’t so sure she really wanted to be a part of this world.

Chase shrugged apologetically, “I’m sure Mandie didn’t expect this to happen exactly, but emotions like loss, fear, dread, and pain, well, those are some of the strongest emotions humans can feel. Meaning they’re the easiest to link a person’s powers too.”

“Everyone's powers need to be linked, and Mandie decided it would be best to link your magic through fear, since it would cause you to rely a partner under stressful circumstance,” Jackson said.

“The plan was to contract Cana to attack you after I had settled her down,” Gale continued, “but things undeniably went wrong. Cana wasn’t supposed to be able to escape the reserve property, and Nia was never supposed to be a target. As a result, we have absolutely no idea what Cana did to Nia and your anchor has most likely been switched to loss despite Mandie’s best efforts.”

With Gale’s last word the room descended once more into silence. Alice sat there, taking it all in. All of their words floated around in her head, even the unspoken ones. All of this… She couldn’t even bring herself to think about what it all really meant.

“Mandie’s best efforts?” Alice figured it was best to start there. At least if they explained, maybe she wouldn’t be angry, though she could feel the rage building up in the back of her mind. She wanted to believe they had good intention, but this game of emotions was really starting to piss her off.

Chase spoke up before anyone else got the chance to. “Just like Jackson said, fear would’ve been the best link for you, it’s also one of the easiest achieved anchors that doesn’t cause any physical or mental trauma. Mandie hoped that if she found Nia fast enough she could reverse the anchoring process that had started inside of you the moment Nia went missing, that’s also why she allowed you and Nia to stay together even though it would’ve been much more logical to keep you two separated until we could do a full analysis over what exactly Cana did.”

“So this really wasn’t supposed to happen?”

They all nodded. Alice still felt angry, but now she knew that Mandie had at least tried to stop it. She’d tried to stop this feeling. If this was her anchor, did that mean that she would always feel like this? Or was it just because Nia was gone?

Alice closed her eyes to think, but she couldn’t bring herself to open them again. They just stung so much, she wasn’t sure if she could handle the kitchen light anymore. She was just so tired, she needed some sleep.

“You should get some sleep, alright.” Gale said, Alice felt his hand on her shoulder again. She knew it was his because of the way her feelings brightened. Not much, but a little. Maybe that was one of his special skills or something.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Alice pried her eyes open, everything looked hazy against the bright light from overhead. She squinted and shook her head, clearing her vision just enough to lead them over to the door.

“If you want we can come by and check on you tomorrow?” Chase offered. “It’s not good to be alone at a time like-”

The ringing of a phone cut him off. Alice looked around, it sounded like her cellphone but her phone was in the other room, and this was much closer.

Chase pulled a sleek black phone case out of his pocket and looked at it with confusion.

“Are you going to answer that?” Alice asked after a couple of rings.

“It’s Mandie’s.” Chase continued to look at the phone, “and it says it’s a call from someone named Bea… Anyone know who that is?”

“The name rings a bell. I think it’s one of Mandie’s friends,” Gale said, “I think you should answer it, what if it’s Mandie?”

“The temple doesn’t have service.” Jackson replied in his regular flat tone.

“She could’ve sent a message through this Bea person though,” Gale explained.

Chase tapped on the screen and held the phone up to his ear, “Hello?” After a few seconds he pulled the phone away from his ear and just looked at it again. “Whoever it was, they hung up without saying anything.”

“That’s odd,” Alice couldn’t think of a better, more bizarre conclusion to this already confusing night.

“Not really, it happens all the time,” Chase smiled and slid the phone back into his pocket. “It was probably just a nervous customer. Anyway, we should be going.” He opened the door and walked outside, quickly followed by Jackson and Gale.

“We’ll swing by tomorrow and let you know if we’ve heard anything from Mandie,” Gale said as he waved goodbye. Alice waved back, then closed the door.

She turned back to her apartment. All alone again. Completely empty. She stood still, trying to feel everything. That weird serenity still hung over everything, hopefully it would be gone in the morning. The next thing she knew she had collapsed into her bed. She was so tired. She felt like she could sleep for years. Anything to get away from tonight.

She clicked off the light in her room, pulled up the blankets, and slept.