Flames and Starlight

A month later, Ruben was at home with Laura, completing their classes at home. After the attack from the shapeshifter, he had to stay at the hospital for a week. Miraculously, he hadn’t been injured due to the severity of the attack, though had a nasty puncture scar on the right side of his neck that would never heal. It could have been a lot worse though he was still sore like he was now.

He groaned as he leaned back in the chair in his living room. Laura looked over at him in concern and he said, “I’m fine. Just sore.”

“Do you need to lay down or -”

“I’m fine. Really.” She still had a concerned expression on her face and he gave her a reassuring smile. “Laura, relax. I promise I’m okay. If something is wrong I’d tell you.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

An hour passed later and Ruben hadn’t gotten a single assignment done. His mind was consumed by the attack. He’d never been that terrified before. He’d seriously thought that night he was going to die. He’d never been overpowered like that before. In all of the self-defense classes he’d taken when he was in high school, he’d been one of the top fighters in his class and was considered one of the stronger shapeshifters.

To be fighting for his life, to have to cry out for help, was something he’d never experienced before. He’d never felt so weak before. So powerless. If Mark and Laura hadn’t run out when they did then there was a chance he could’ve been killed.

The shapeshifter had run off when Mark and Laura had chased it off and the Guardians couldn’t locate it. It was like the shifter had vanished off the face of the Eternal World.

His attack hadn’t been the only one that had occurred. There had been attacks that took place in various locations in Raven City and the sky would turn red at random moments during the day and night. The sinister events hadn’t gone away at all. They’d only gotten worse.

The events were growing more sinister and dangerous and everyone was divided. Everyone was blaming each other for what was happening and fights were breaking out between supernaturals left and right.

There were frustrations against the Guardians and Queen Lilith and her Council for not finding out what was causing all of this and why all of this was still happening since there were still no answers.

The frustrations and anger were multiplied by the fact that businesses and schools had to be shut down until further notice and there was an even stricter curfew. This time, if anyone was caught outside after curfew, they could be put in jail and everyone was on edge. Ruben was tense anytime he had to go out and it felt like there were fights every time he was out.

Another thing was weighing heavily on him. He still hadn’t been able to get his parents out of his mind. For some reason, he’d been thinking of his parents a lot lately and he’d been filled with an intense sadness he couldn’t shake off.

He looked over at Laura who was doing one of her assignments in her notebook, her brow furrowed in concentration.

He hesitated for a second on what he was about to ask her. He knew he’d always encouraged her to get away from her toxic family but he wanted to make sure she would be happy and have her family with her.

“Laura?” he said.

“Hmm?” she said but didn’t look up from her notebook, still wrapped up in her assignment.

He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, and set his assignments down. “I know you’re busy but can we talk for a moment?”

She immediately set her notebook down and looked over at him with the concerned expression she’d had ever since the attack. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s necessarily wrong, but I’ve been thinking about my parents a lot lately. I don’t know why but I’ve been missing them.” He shook his head. “It’s weird, missing someone you never even met.”

“No, it’s not. Anyone who lost their parents at a young age probably feels the same way. It’s nothing to be ashamed about.”

“Yeah, it’s just I miss them and can’t stop thinking about them.”

“Oh, Ru.” She touched his arm. “Do you need to -”

“You should go have dinner with your family this Saturday.”

She frowned. “What? Not to sound harsh, but what does that have to do with you missing your parents?”

He looked her right in the eye. “I know you have problems with them and I know I helped push you to get out of their house -”

She gasped. “Are you kicking me out?!”

“No no no no!” He shook his head adamantly. “No. Nothing like that. Nothing like that at all.” He took a deep breath and put a hand over his racing heart. “Jeez, of course, I would never do anything like that. You know that. That’s not what this is about at all.”

She took a deep breath and pushed her wild curls out of her face. “Then what are you getting at?”

“I think it’s worth trying to talk to your mom and Ali again. I know how things are with them, but I think you should try to reconcile your relationship with them. I’m better so you don’t have to stay home and take care of me. You should try to talk with them and work things through.”

Her face grew expressionless and she looked away. “Why are you telling me to do this?”

He touched her arm. “Because with everything going on, you never know when you’ll see your family next and you need to take advantage of the time you have with them before you lose them.”

She was silent.

“Laura, at one point you were close to Ali and your mom. It’s worth trying to make things right, to repair your relationship. Do it now and not risk losing time with them.”

For a second he regretted saying this to her. He wondered if he’d pushed her too hard but then she said, “Okay, I’ll go. Only if you come with me.”

“I will.”

She looked at him again and he couldn’t read the expression on her face. “You’ve changed ever since the attack.”

“I have,” he said honestly. “I have a different outlook now.”

“I’ll go to the dinner but other than that, I can’t promise anything. I can’t promise I’ll want to talk to them after the dinner or anything will change between us.”

“I understand.”

She nodded and went back to her assignments. He watched her for a second then went back to his assignments. He was finally able to concentrate and get some done.

He glanced at Laura out of the corner of his eye and hoped he hadn’t pushed too hard. Her face was expressionless and he couldn’t tell what was in her mind. It was concerning since he’d always been able to read her like an open book but he sensed there was something different between them.

The dark entity peered through the window of the Erikson house. He watched the two shapeshifters sleep in bed, unaware he was out there.

He smiled sinisterly. Everything was coming together. Only a little more time before the plan would come together.

It was only a matter of time now.