Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(13)

“You know I did, Jossy, you’re so funny.” He chuckled and rolled off of me.

“Funny ha ha, or funny hee hee?”

“Definitely hee hee.” he said, as he continued to giggle.

“You sure about that?” I asked, poking him in the ribs.

He could hear the mischief in my voice so he jumped up and away from me before I could grab and tickle him.

“Don’t, Jossy,” Ryland squealed.

“Why not?” I asked, moving up on all fours in an attempt to look like I was going to lunge at him.

“Because if you do, I can’t show you my new drawing,”

“A new one?” I asked, my curiosity peaking.

For some reason Ryland had never been able to leave our shared space, not since his memory was erased. So he spent all of his time coloring new masterpieces to fill the white void. Every time I came he had a new drawing to share or a new story that he wanted to tell me.

He grabbed my hand and towed me behind him toward the swimming pool. I willingly followed; his joy at sharing his new creation infectious.

“Just wait until you see it,” he called back to me, “I want to play ‘Princess and the Dragon of Delagn’ after you see it, kay? It looks just like a dragon.”

“Okay, but can I be the dragon this time? I am tired of being the... princess,” I stammered, as Ryland signaled toward the wall where he had drawn his masterpiece. I froze, my head flopping curiously to the side.

On the wall before me Ryland had drawn a giant cage, it stood as tall as I did and was drawn with heavy black lines. Inside the cage unintelligible figures were drawn in hundreds of colors, the door to the cage stood open, Ryland standing next to it. And on his finger perched Ryland’s ‘dragon’. It was small and scaled like a dragon or a dinosaur, but it wasn’t a dragon at all. Its scales were a bright jewel blue and on his back were large feathered wings. The face of the creature was somewhat feminine, but distorted somehow. Its cheek bones were high, eyes large and wide, it nose was almost nonexistent. Even though I had only fleetingly seen one before, I knew what it was immediately.

Ryland had drawn a Vil?.

The little creature that had given me my mark, his poisonous bite awakening my magic. My hand moved to cover the mark that lay on my skin instinctively.

“Do you like him?” Ryland asked, “I am going to name him Opal, because he kind of looks like a woman, but I really think it’s a man.”

I only half heard what Ryland had said. I couldn’t rip my eyes from the intricate drawing before me. This picture was much more detailed than Ryland had drawn before, more than a child his age should be able to.

“When did you draw this, Ryland?” I asked.

“Last night, it took some time. But it was worth it. See, this is me, holding Opal. I am about to let him loose and he’s going to grow big and strong and destroy an evil wizard. You can be Opal, and I’ll be myself and the wizard, cuz I always wanted to be a wizard...”

“Did you see this somewhere before?” I interrupted him, panicking a bit. “Why did you draw this?”

Ryland screwed up his face and squared his shoulders, upset I wasn’t going to play his game. “I just drew it, Jossy. It didn’t come from anywhere. I thought it would be a fun game.”

“A game.” I ran my fingers over the delicate chalk of the Vil?’s face, careful not to smudge the marks. “Do you know what this means?”

“If you want to be the wizard that’s fine, I just thought it would be cool if...”

“You remember me,” I spun to him and grabbed his tiny little shoulders.

I looked deep into his eyes expecting him to smile and be his old self right away, but nothing happened. He gazed at me like I had gone mad.

“Of course I remember you, you’re right here.”

I stood and wheeled away from him, back to the black door that served as my exit.

“I have to go.”

“You have to go?” he called after me, his little voice upset. “But, you just got here! We have to play the game. Don’t you want to be Opal?”

I turned back to him when I had reached the door, my gut wrenching to see tears in his eyes. “I’ll be back, Ry. Okay? I need to go tell Ilyan something and then I’ll be right back.”

“You promise you’ll come back today?”

“Of course I do.” I ruffled his hair before turning the knob of my door, my eyes opening instantaneously to the brightening apartment.

“Ilyan!” I noticed the empty mass of blankets on the floor and turned to the bed to find it empty. I hadn’t been gone long – less than twenty minutes in the T?uha, meaning it would only have been a matter of minutes in the real world. I stood up and ran to the bathroom door, hearing water running behind it. Steam seeped underneath the door, filling the room with a warm musty smell.

“Ilyan!” I called through the door, knowing he would ignore me the first few times. Ilyan needed his morning showers to wake him up or he was grumpy all day.

“Ilyan!” I called again, this time letting my magic flow through the door to turn off the water. I heard Ilyan swear loudly in Czech before turning it back on. I knew I shouldn’t bug him, doing this would only make him more upset, but I didn’t care. My heart beat uncomfortably, the drawing still visible in my mind’s eye. I knew I shouldn’t dare to hope, dare to dream – but I couldn’t stop myself.