Of Light And Shadows

Chapter Forty Seven...

Four days had passed since Jia pierced Abaddon's heart with the obsidian knife. She expected to feel elated, or devastated, or nauseous, or something, but after the original sickness and shock she just felt numb.

"Shortstack? Hey!" Mammon grabbed Jia's shoulder and shook it gently. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just lost in thought."

"You looked like a zombie. You've not been right since Abaddon." He frowned and tipped her chin up, peering at her face. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?"

"Not really," she admitted.

"Nightmares?"

"No, actually." He squinted at her for a moment.

"Wait here." She watched in bewilderment as he scanned the common room and found who he was looking for. He marched over to where Evander and Belphegor were chatting quietly and grabbed both of them by the elbows, ignoring their protests as he dragged them towards her.

"What now?" Bell muttered.

"Why does everyone insist on dragging me everywhere?" Evander complained, tugging his arm out of Mammon's grip.

"Talk to her," the amber eyed Demon replied, nodding towards Jia.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. You're her best friend and Bel knows how to handle trauma better than most. So both of you talk to her." And then Mammon turned and walked away.

"Is he always like that?" Evander asked, scowling at his retreating back.

"Pretty much. You get used to it after a few thousand years," Belphegor shrugged. Evan shook his head and turned his attention to Jia.

"You okay?"

"I guess so."

"No, you're not," Bel answered. "You're in shock."

"I am?"

"Do you feel anything about your father dying? Joy, anger, hatred, relief?"

"Not really." He nodded knowingly.

"That's shock. You killed someone four days ago and your brain is struggling to process it."

"But she hated him," Evander frowned. "And he was evil."

"The who and why don't matter. You killed your father four days ago and your mind hasn't figured out how to handle it yet." Belphegor patted her shoulder gently before pulling her into a hug. "You might be like this for a while. I was the same when I saw what Satan did to Zach and his family. But eventually the feelings you're supposed to feel will come and they'll be heavy." His arms tightened around her. "But it will get better."

"I'm not much good at therapy so I'll leave that up to Belphie here, but I am here if you just need a friend to lean on," Evan promised. Somehow their words made Jia feel better. The feeling was still muted, a shadow of what she knew it could be, but it was more than just numbness and that was enough.

"Thank you." She squeezed Bell back gently and smiled at Evander over his shoulder. "Both of you."

"I overheard you say you weren't sleeping," the violet eyed Demon admitted when he let her go. "I have a good tea for that. You should drink some before bed tonight and see if it helps. Take a hot shower and make sure you eat something beforehand, take a book you love and make yourself read it. Take the time to absorb the words on the page and make your brain focus on how the book normally makes you feel." He smiled softly.

"Did that work for you?" Jia asked.

"It's not a fix, and I know our situations are very different, but it did force me to focus. Once I forced myself to properly concentrate on my surroundings it was like my ability to process emotions sort of...rebooted. It has to be a book you love though. You need the memory of how it made you feel the first time you read it to help you remember how to feel that way."