Just Before Dawn

Chapter 19

I blinked and at first everything was blurry. After a couple more tries, my vision cleared a bit. I was still in the mini secret cabin, and I was lying in the couch. Something touched my forehead and I saw Zerek's handsome face. He looked so relived to the point that his hand was shaking.

"You're awake. I thought you were never going to wake up for a minute there." He sighed and replaced the tea towel on my head to another. It was warmer than the one before.

"How long was I out for?" I asked since it felt like a long time.

"Oh, just a couple of hours. But you weren't breathing for quite a long time. That's why I was scared..." He faded away as he stared at me. I stared back at him and there was something in his eyes that made my stomach flutter and my heart beat faster. But I just couldn't tell what it was. He cleared his throat and looked away first.

"So... do you still remember what you saw?" Zerek questioned as he took the other cloth away from my forehead. The question took my mind off him and to the vision.

"Yes, yes I do! She was in the other side of the gate and in a house in a village. I saw the number, but I cannot remember it now. Then I saw the inside of the cabin and it showed me a carpet, for some wired reason. But you took me out of the vision before I could go further." He nodded in approval and thought about it. Then shook his head.

"It's going take a while for us to find that specific house without the number." He tried to think of something, but I came up with an idea faster than him.

"We could do it again?" I said, sitting up. He stood up so fast I almost fell back again.

"No, we will not do it again. You fainted and didn't wake up for a couple hours. Who knows next time you won't wake up until a couple of days. Or you won't wake up at all." Concern laced his tone as he laid me back down on the couch. I tried to get back up again, but he just gave me this intense stare that told me to just stay where I was. I sighed, feeling helpless.

"Got any other ideas?" I questioned.

"Do you remember how the house looked different from the others or did it look the same?"

"They all looked the same except for the number. I think it was thirty something. I can't believe I forgot it!" I mentally slapped myself on the head and Zerek smiled softly.

"Don't beat yourself up. We might've not gotten a specific house but at least this is something. Better than nothing at least." I repaid that smile, then frowned.

"Just a question, but how do you have a grimoire when you don't even need it?" I saw him flinch before he cast his eyes away from me. From the pain etched on his face, I knew my question hit a painful target. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to." I said quietly. He closed his eyes and let out a breath that I thought was of relief. I was slightly disappointed when he still hadn't said anything as he stood up and walked to the bathroom to heat up the cloth again. I could easily read his mind and see what he was hiding, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's like an invasion of privacy. So, I just laid on the couch with my eyes closed.

"It was my mother's." his voice was so soft that I almost barley heard it. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw him staring at the floor. I stayed silent, not knowing what to say, and he used the silence to go on. "She was a witch, and obviously she was with my father. My father was human." That was a huge shock for me. How can his father be a human if I have seen him access to magic.

"How...?" I asked.

"My mother liked a human. They got together and had me. My father was jealous that she had so much power over him with a whip of her hand and so..." he trailed off, choking in his own tears. An image slammed into my mind. And image of a kid struggling against the police offices, trying to get past them. It was a tiny cabin, with pictures hung on walls and placed on shelves. And on the most glorious carpet I've ever seen was a mangled body. It's head had been severed, so as its arms and legs. Organs everywhere as if the murderer had dissected it.