Imprisoned by the devil 3

Chapter 14

I followed Roen silently through the mansion. The hallways were all lit with dimmed lights and the sun peeking through the window. The sky was a bright blue, with a faint yellow tint that brightened up the hallway even more. It was almost to the point where the lights weren't even needed to be on. The carpet was a red color but looked faint with little dirt patches that led down the hallway. The hallway was silent, except for the sound of Roen sniffing the ground, walking lightly as he tried not to make much noise. I followed him silently while looking at the pictures and different things that were on the walls. I slowed down a bit as I studied them in silence. Each one was a different scenery that was taken at night. They looked like part of the immortal world and nothing from the human world. I slowed and stopped to look at one. It was a night scene with a waterfall as the focus of the whole picture. Around the waterfall were trees, with branches that draped over each other. I looked at it with curiosity and started to get the feeling that there was something unordinary about it. I studied it with confusion as I leaned closer at it. The waterfall glistened a little bit when I inched closer, looking like the water was flowing down into the pond that was painted at the bottom.

I got closer to it as I put all my focus onto it. But once again, nothing happened. Barking entered the room as I glanced at Roen, who switched back into his human form. "Ella, it wouldn't be good to get caught wandering. I don't know where any of them are at the moment," he explained as I looked at the picture again. "Roen, come look at this," I said, pointing to the painting. Roen walked over as he looked at the picture in confusion. He tilted his head to study it better. "What about it? It's just a waterfall painting," he said, as I shook my head. "No. Just study it again. Does it look like the water is actually moving to you?" I asked as he tilted his head. He watched the painting for a moment, as he squinted at it. He slowly walked up to the panting as he pressed his fingers up to it, feeling the texture of the canvas. He moved his hand slowly up and down the water, putting all of his focus on what he was doing. When he was done, he pulled his hand away to examine his fingers. He turned to me in confusion. "The water is wet, but the painting doesn't look like it's been touched in years," he explained. I crossed my arms as I watched him in confusion. "It's wet like... Wet paint, or water?" I asked as he turned to me. "Water. It's like the stream is moving," he explained. I didn't talk for a moment, just stared at him in confusion. Roen sighed as he pointed at the painting. "Feel it. It's like putting a hand in a river," he explained, as I looked at the painting again.

I walked up to the painting as I studied the water closely. Nothing was strange about the painting, which made me think that Roen was just playing around. I walked up carefully as I placed my fingers on the water. He was right. The feeling of cool water brushed against my fingers like I just stuck my hand in an actual river. It was cold and damp, turning warmer as it passed. I took my hand off as I studied my fingers. It was like I never touched the painting, my hand being dry and warm. I turned to Roen. "Your right. But Max had the power of water. So why is this painting feeling like it has water in it?" I asked as Roen shrugged. "I don't know. It feels like Max has been here, but he's still with my kids," he said, lowering his voice towards the end of his sentence. I studied the painting as I thought to myself again. I thought about what position Max was in when I last saw him. I looked down at the floor in thought. I looked back up at Roen. "Roen, is there any way that the committee took some of Max's power and put it into the picture?" I asked as Roen looked at me funny. "What do you mean?" he asked as I looked at the picture again. "The water in this painting is wet. When I visited Max, he looked weaker. Do you think they drained his power and put it into this picture?" I asked as Roen looked at it again. "Maybe. But how would that happen? I don't know anyone that can do that," he said, as he started to look around the hallway. I looked up at the painting in thought, as I looked down. We both stood in silence, due to being on alert. "But we'll talk about that later. Why don't we find Aaron and get out of here," he suggested as I nodded. We turned to go down the direction that we were heading, silently sneaking around the mansion. Roen stayed in his human form, as we continued through.