An Unexpected Truth: A Novella in the Alastair Stone Chronicles by R. L. King

Author:R. L. King [King, R. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magespace Press
Published: 2020-02-02T16:00:00+00:00

9

I sleep like crap again, but that doesn’t surprise me. Finally, around two a.m., I give up any pretense of trying, throw off the covers, and sit in the chair by the window in my little room, looking out over the street. The town’s dead this time of night; I don’t even see any cars rolling by on their way home from the bars—assuming Fairbreeze even has any bars.

My thoughts are a whirl of confusion, anger, and sadness. All this time, I’ve had another family I knew nothing about—a father, a half-brother, and a half-sister—and it was mostly because of Lydia and her pathological rage and jealousy that I never got to find out about them.

I caution myself several times against letting my anger get too bad, remembering the lessons Alastair drilled into me during my apprenticeship. Magic is dangerous, and magic driven by anger can be the most dangerous of all, for both the practitioner and the recipient. Powerful emotions lead to powerful magic, to the point where even mediocre talents can lash out stronger than they ever did before when driven by the right passions.

Do I want to kill Lydia? I remember how miserable I felt after I accidentally killed Mathias, the pedophile in Las Vegas who used his talent for illusion magic to enslave children for his horrible “business.” If anybody had needed to die, and with extreme prejudice, it had been him—and I’d killed him by using my healing abilities and my knowledge of the human body to give him an aneurysm. I hadn’t meant to do it, but when it came down to the choice between him and Jason, there was no question about what I’d decide. I’d lashed out in anger, using the only tool I had available.

I still feel guilty for what I did, but I don’t regret doing it.

Could I do it again with Lydia, if she comes after me? I don’t know. It’s not a question I can answer ahead of time, without knowing all the variables.

But part of me, a small part, knows I am capable of it, under the right circumstances.

Another part of me wishes Alastair were here, but I don’t acknowledge that part. This is my problem to deal with, not his. It’s my family and my history.

I hope I can do the right thing, whatever that ends up being.

As I continue looking out the window, watching a shadowy cat slink across the street and disappear under a parked car, I have to consider the one thing I haven’t let myself think about yet: that Josie might be lying to me.

I don’t think she is—I’m a pretty good aura reader, and nothing in hers suggested any deception—but it’s always possible. I’ve never met Lydia, or Sebastian. I don’t know what they’re like. Hell, I don’t even know if they exist. I might be walking into a trap tomorrow, carefully set up by Josie for her own reasons.

But why? What could she gain by it?

I sigh, slumping back. Being smart and aware of potential dangers is a good thing, but paranoia isn’t.

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