Chaos Lives in Everything - 46. Chapter 46

Rebecca sat on her bed-correction: the hotel bed that was a thousand times more comfortable than her own-looking at her cell phone, trying to will herself to pick it up and call Melanie.

She wanted to call her, to hear her voice, but she couldn’t think of how to tell Melanie what she was doing: I’m in Berlin right now and I’m going to Romania with Skold to save the world-oh and there could be a chance that I might not make it back. That’s why I haven’t answered any of the two dozen times that you tried to call me within the last two days. The truth was simple, there was no simple way to say what she needed to say; all she could do was call Melanie and hope for the best in the end.

She remembered the look on Skold’s face has he told her, Dom, Candestine, and Maeglin; they’d been sitting on the two sofas, looking up at them, waiting for him to finish. Skold had looked so grave. I’m not going to ask you all to go with me, he’d said. You’ve been by my side too much already.

Don’t be stupid, Candestine had said with her usual unladylike snort. Quit trying to be noble, it doesn’t suit you. Of course we’re going with you. Don’t forget that we fought in Paladin’s war. We were built for this you and I.

Aye, Maeglin had said.

Dom nodded: Aye.

And Rebecca knew in her heart that she was going too. She had to. How could she not go? She’d done her best to ignore it, but over the last couple of weeks she had the feeling that this was what she was meant to do. Every trial and tribulation that she had been through, all of the anger she had felt towards her parents for barely acknowleging her existence, for making her feel like a piece of trash when they did, and even her run-in with Bajork had accumulated to this. This was her destiny, her calling, the very reason why she had been born.

She sighed and thought, Just do it. Just call her and say what you need to. Whatever happens is what happens. You’ll deal with it as you’ve always dealt with things.

Rebecca picked up her phone and hit Melanie’s name on her contact log. After two rings Melanie answered. “Hello?”

Rebecca’s heart did a doubletake at the sound of voice; she hadn’t realized until now how much she’d needed to hear it. “Hey.”

“Hey. Where are you? I’ve called you, like, a million of times, and have gone to your apartment at least three times. You didn’t answer. I’ve been worried sick about you, girl.”

I’ve been worried sick about you, girl…Those words echoed in her ears. They made her want to cry. Her mother and father had never once said anything like that to her. This girl, this girl who she hadn’t even known for a month yet had.

“I’m in Berlin,” Rebecca said, trying to force her voice not to break.

“Berlin? What are you doing Berlin? You should have told me you were going to Berlin, I would have gone with you. You know how much I want to travel.”

She chuckled despite herself. “I’m not doing anything fun, believe me. There’s something important to take care of. I’ll be going to Romania tomorrow.”

There was a long moment of silence on the other line that made Rebecca’s skin break out in goosebumps. She felt the strong, irrational fear that Melanie was going to hang up on her and that she would never hear Melanie’s voice, never see her face, never hold her again.

That was irrational, wasn’t it? It didn’t feel irrational. No, the fear was real and it weighed like a paperweight in her gut.

“Rebecca, what’s going on?” Melanie said finally.

“It’s complicated. I don’t have time to explain it all in full detail. I’m going to Romania with Skold to prevent something very bad from happening. If I don’t a lot of people are going to die.”

“I understand.”

“You do.”

“Yes, you’re my Super Girl.”

Rebecca exhaled. “Melanie, I’m scared.”

“I’m scared too. Scared for you. But I also believe in you. I know that you’ll make it back because you’re strong and nothing can ever get you down. You’ll make it back and when you do I’ll be waiting here for you. I love you.”

This time she couldn’t stop her voice from breaking; tears were welling up in her eyes. “I love you too.”

“Call me later when you’re done saving the world, okay? Just so that I can know you’re alright.”

“I will. Bye.”

Rebecca hung up and tossed her phone down back on the bed. Unable to hold back the tears any longer she buried her face in a pillow and wept silently.

Skold rested on the banister of the balcony and looked up at the moon. The banister was made of marble and just big enough to fit his slim, tiny frame. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t feel the chill of a small snowflake sliding down his cheek.

Dominyc came out onto the patio. “Why do you like the cold so much? I feel like my balls are about to fall off.”

“Then perhaps you should go back inside,” Skold said without looking at him.

“Not unless you come to bed with me.”

“I can’t sleep.” Skold sat up and faced Dom.

Dom went over to him and looked down at the street below. A couple walked by the hotel hand in hand, wearing warm coats and thick scarves. “What is on your mind?”

“For the last six hundred years I’ve been having the same dream almost every night. In the dream I am standing above this mountain and I can see this village below me. There are bodies lying in the snow. Thousands of bodies, both human and fae. Not unlike the vision that the seer showed us. And everytime I have that I dream I get the feeling that I will remember something, anything, from the memories that I lost. But I never do except for that same dream. Dom, I am frightened.”

“You have every reason to be,” Dom said, taking Skold’s hand.

“You don’t understand, there isn’t many things I am afraid of. Death is certainly not one of them. I am afraid of Bane. And I am afraid of what we have to do tomorrow evening. I know rationally that the village where we will land will look different from the one in my dreams. Six hundred years have passed, how can it not? Paladin’s castle has been rebuilt. And even though I know that I can’t remember what it looks like I will get this feeling, this itch, this sense of deja vu. I’ve had that feeling a million times before and when I do I feel like I’m going to go mad.”

“It will be fine,” Dom said.

“How can you know that? What if we fail?”

“We won’t.”

“Are you always so certain of everything?” Skold asked with a smirk. “Do you have an ability to see the future that I don’t know about?”

Dom laughed. “No, I am not a seer. But I do have faith in you.”

“You are a fool to believe in me so blindly.”

“You only say that because you have no faith in yourself. You’ve let yourself become weighed down by the past and the judgement of others. Cast it all aside, it means nothing. And since you do not have faith in yourself I have faith enough for the both of us. Now come to bed. You’re going to freeze to death if you don’t.”

Skold rolled his eyes and jumped of the banister. “I’m only doing it so that you will stop badgering me.”

He wrapped his finger through Dom’s and allowed the large elf to pull him inside.