Chapter Thirty-Two: Red-Handed

When the first wave of tears passed, He whispered to Reanna, "There is one who still lives, though he is wavering on the cusp of death. Do you wish to save him?"

She nodded, and He set her down. She watched as He walked over to the charred body laying on the ground and set His hand upon the blackened head. She gasped when his skin shed the coat of char. She had never meant to hurt him!

God he hurt. The burning had finally stopped, but the pain lingered on. He couldn't even open his eyes for they seemed to be sealed closed. He thought he could hear two voices over the roaring in his ears, and tried to understand what they were saying. Something about killing? Power being taken? He couldn't make sense of their conversation, but he suspected that the distraught voice was Reanna's. The other one sounded...well, he couldn't describe what the other one sounded like. He couldn't seem to decide whether the other voice was male or female, deep or high, soft or loud. It seemed very important that he decide who--what--this other person was.

His heightened senses picked up someone coming close to him. When they stopped, barely an inch from his arm, he almost groaned in anticipation, though he knew not whether the anticipation was for death, or healing.

He started badly, tearing skin from his back when a surprisingly cool hand rested upon his head. The pain receded and he almost felt whole again. When he would have opened his eyes and looked around him, that indefinable voice said, "Sleep."

So he did.

"Gods, Devon!" she gasped. "I never meant to hurt him!" The tears started anew, and He held her again.

"It was only because you held little enmity towards him that he survived, Child. You wished to hurt him, but not to the extent that you wanted to hurt everyone else. Be at peace, Child, he will be fine."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You must know, however, that you will not be able to take him with you. He is too much of this world, and fully human. He will never be able to be what you need, or even want. Soon you will find yourself drifting farther and farther from him. I will not tell you what you should do. You will make that choice on your own."

"Where are you going?" she cried when He started to fade.

"I cannot stay any longer, Child. Your shipmates are approaching, your last nemesis escapes. Know that what I took from you has been returned. I will be back only when you have greatest need of me."

As He spoke, He continued to fade until His voice was all that was left to prove that He had been here. Tears trickled down her cheeks, nothing like the torrent of tears that had poured before. He had left her again to her own devices. Why? she asked herself. It's obvious that I can't do things right on my own...

For the moment, she decided, she would watch over Devon until he woke. After all, he had never truly intended harm to come to her.

The seer grimly waited until all was quiet above before daring to step out of the dungeon onto the first floor. The first thing he did was to go to the safe where all of the money had been locked up. It took him a moment to find the combination, but he did, and when the safe came open, he emptied its considerable contents into a large bag.

He smiled, mentally thanking Reanna for helping him get what he wanted without him having to lift a finger. She was such a wonderful girl.

Having gotten what he wanted from the safe, he decided to do a bit of snooping around the kitchen to see if there was perhaps some valuable silver that could be taken and sold (all honestly, of course, since the man who had owned the silver previously was now dead, it couldn't be considered stealing) to some merchant who would offer the right price. He had little need of more money, but it was a shame to leave anything behind for petty thieves to take and sell far below actual value.

The clock chimed the hour: seven o'clock. He had been looting for more than three hours now, it was time to leave. He closed the velvet-lined box in which the full set of silver was contained, locked it, and slid it into his bag full of money and jewels.

He considered leaving by the back door, but a haughty smirk stole over his face. Why leave by the back door? No one even knew what had happened here! He wasn't going to sneak away like some thief--no, that was dangerous, for if you looked guilty, the police would be sure to assume that you were guilty.

So he would leave by the front door, standing tall and whistling jauntily. Yes, that was the perfect course.

He soon discovered that the perfect course wasn't so perfect when he opened the front door to see several people standing there. Pirates, by the look of them. The one that stared at him with some surprise, then disdain, and then fury, he recognized. He had "seen" her in the dungeon some hours ago.

"You killed Jack," she said, her voice hard with fury and grief. The rest of the group glared at him murderously.

So was he caught.

Wow, I got four whole reviews for the last chapter! That's more than I've gotten for any one chapter throughout the whole story! Thanks you guys!

Rin: The "father-like spirt," as you call him, isn't just a spirit. He is the rise or fall of everything, even and especially the gods. He is the Aether out of which everything is born. He is not even necessarily a "he," though He appears to Reanna as a male--likely because that is what she has need of: someone fatherly that she can trust, as she's had little luck with her mother. Just thought I'd clarify that for everyone. .

Also, I'm curious as to how many chapters are left, myself. I THINK that there are only one or two left (most likely two, though that "two" could turn into three, or even four...).Thanks for your review!

Nikee: I hope you understood more in this chapter! Especially after my explanation to Rin above. If you would like some more explanation, I would be quite happy to give it to you. Thanks for the review!

Elkengrove: Another gasping review! I'm flattered, lmao! And yes, that was quite a bit of pent-up rage...I quite understand how she felt. If I had her power, likely every house I've ever lived in would have been burned to the ground...Muchas Gracias por el review!

Never A Dull Moment: WOW it's been a long time since I've heard anything from you! I'm glad you're back! You rather missed a lot in the month you were gone, I'm sorry, lol. I am very glad that you're liking this story so much, it's so very much appreciated, and I hope you liked this chapter as well as the others. I'm glad you don't seem to angry with me for killing Jack, lol. I had thought that this would be the last story, but apparently it isn't, so I'll have to wait until IT'S finished to actually write a fantasy novel that's completely original...blah. Ah well!

Thank you so much for your review!

Thank you all, you guys have no idea how much I appreciate you!

And wow, this new Preview/Quick Edit tool is pretty neat!