Diamond in the Sky

Chapter 18

I leaned against the door catching my breath. I looked around the unfamiliar room and suddenly had this strange sense that Cronus was watching me. I looked up into the corners looking for a light that might indicate a camera. I began feeling the walls as I moved around the room, searching for signs of a secret entrance. There was no knowing what else was hidden in this house.

Finally, I took the pyjamas Morgan had lent me. The top was made of cotton but had a sweater type look and was a deep read with silhouettes of fairies with a slight sparkle to their wings. The trousers were just plain black. They were comfortable. I sat on the bed ready to get in and sleep when there was a knock at the door and it opened, revealing Cronus.

Where his presence before in my room had excited me, it filled me with fear. Had he found out about my discrepancy and was here to drag me to the hidden basement to rot with Darcia.

"Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

My heart raced. My breaths shortened with the dread that he knew. I tried to hold it together. I had to think fast. Afterall, I was good at lying, that's why everyone from my former life hated me, "The others told me about Reps." I dropped my head to avoid meeting his eyes and to feign sadness. Although part of me feared that perhaps I should be worried for them. I tried to magnify that feeling, to draw it to the forefront, "They said they will kill them and there is nothing I can do."

Cronus sat next to me and placed an arm across my back. "There is much to learn about our ways." I leaned into him enjoying the comfort. "I tell you what, I will stay the night but just as your friend."

He'll turn on you...

I wanted to decline his offer but I was worried it would draw attention to the fact that I no longer trusted him, "Thank you. I think I'm going to bed now though as I'm so tired." I got up and walked around to the other side to create a distance between us.

Cronus rose and pulled back the blanked, "Good. You need your sleep."

With a wave of his hand, he light switch clicked and the room was dark except for the moonlight streaming in through the window. I got in next to him and lay rigid like an egyption mummy, trying desperately not to touch him.

Cronus didn't seem to notice. His deep voice filled the darkness, "The moon fuels the magic of all shifters, whether they be avatars or spiriters."

"What is the difference between the two?"

"Avatars have a soul connected with their body, it makes their immortal life spans have an expiration date although it is far off. A spiriter has no soul, we cannot die. You are truly immortal."

I glanced over at his face gazing out at the night sky. He was smiling and oozing with power. He looked inviting. I turned to my side and watched him for a moment before saying, "Good night, Cronus."

I shut my eyes. There was a reason Darcia was in the basement. That reason could be that she is the one I shouldn't trust.

Keep your wits about you little Chick...

I woke to find Cronus was gone. It made me wonder if his company had been a dream. I ran a comb through my hair and splashed my face with a little water before putting on a dressing gown and heading downstairs.

Breakfast in the dining hall was a buffet style breakfast. There was pretty much anything you fancied and I was encouraged to eat up ready for the big journey ahead. After breakfast, Cronus lead us out of the house. We stood at the edge of the mountain but the way the ledge rose up obscure us from the view of anyone below. One by one, shadows were cast and from the darkness came a crow. I was excited for my turn. I could fill my feathers bristling beneath my skin eager to lift me and feel the wind. The shift was a little uncomfortable but it was more bearable this time as I knew the pain would be over quick and my body to take the form it desired.