Chapter 16: Astoria - Bound to Ruin

THE WEAVE

The mirror’s surface fades away until there’s nothing but the Weave beyond. Jinx’s cocoon closes around me and I’m enveloped in her soft embrace. I curl into it, my knees coming to my chest. My heart aches.

Do not cry, Tori.

I sniffle regardless, my tears slipping past my lashes. “I can’t help it. My heart hurts so much.”

I know, child. Come. Sleep again. It will ease your pain. I promise.

The warmth and familiar scent of Jinx’s kitty fur fill my aching chest. I relax, but my mind does not permit me to rest.

“Valen will never forgive me for not telling him immediately. I’ve hurt him too deeply this time.”

The boy lives and breathes to yearn for you. He will forgive because he has no choice but to.

“Somehow that’s not as comforting as you think it is.”

Mortals are not complex creatures. Your lives are so short. Give him time and the pain of his grief will ease. And if not, then all the better for me.

I snort, my tight lips softening in a smile. “Why do you hate him?”

Hate is a simple human emotion. What I feel for the Bauer line is a scorn that is as deep as the Weave itself. They were among the founders of the Order. Their forefathers’ sins will never be forgotten. But I tolerate this Bauer for you. That is how deeply I love your line.

The soft rumbling of Jinx’s purr fills my existence. My eyes close as I fall into its healing vibration. “I’m scared for them, Jinx. I don’t know if I can stay here with you and sleep knowing they’re in danger. Do you think we can use the mirrors or something else reflective to watch over them?”

Every portal made between the physical world and this place runs the risk of attracting other demons hungry for fresh souls. It is safer for us if you don’t.

Memories of that slug creature have me shuddering. I could live a very long, happy life never seeing one of those again. “When I was sleeping before, I kept seeing flashes of Lucas. Were those dreams, or…?”

They were portals, and it caused other demons to come near, though not close enough to be a threat. Your soul was calling for him so desperately that even I couldn’t repress its search. If I moved us each time to reduce the risk, it would keep you from sleep, and you must sleep. Your soul is gravely injured.

My eyes open and I touch the rough patchwork of scars along my sternum and the dark line of corruption that mars it. “Will it heal?”

As much as any wound will. It depends on the severity, and care during healing. If you rest, the wound will at least stop reopening.

I wet my lips and try again. “But what if they need to find something within the bookshop, something only I know the location of? I could help them.”

They’re clever enough. They will figure it out.

I suck in breath and whisper the truth into Jinx’s embrace. “But what if they fail?”

Jinx constricts around me, and I go lax in the comfort. Not every man in your life will eventually betray or disappoint you. Trust in them, Tori.

My knees pull tighter to my chest, and I hide my face in them. “It’s hard. I’ve been hurt so badly.”

Trust my judgement, then. I have faith that the two of them will make it through. Now, rest.

I smile, and a pressure along my cranium weighs on me like Jinx is sleeping on top of my pillow within my loft. My heart pulses in time with Jinx’s purring, and I slip back into the deep healing sleep that will knit my broken pieces back together.