Chapter 113: Dinner

It took me three days to get out of bed. Liam visited me several times a day, but I didn't listen much. They still hadn't found Kezia or Amy. I had all the books with the family blood runes brought to my room. They laid out over the floor and bed, all just within reach. My head felt fuzzy, and my body ached like mad. I felt like I had been stretched like taffy, and everything was just trying to figure out where it fit again.
On day four, I finally decided to get out of my room. I showered and dressed. I wore the black leather this time. I donned my freshly cleaned Ardor Brothers jacket. I slipped on a pair of tall leather boots. Everything fit like a glove, and this time, I felt like I could pull it off. It was that, or maybe I didn't care if I did.
I looked down over the balcony. Anton was sitting watching the television. It was playing the news. The giant hole where the bowling alley used to be was plastered all over the large screen with a headline reading: "Sinkhole appears in middle of town."
I guessed the Veil had done its job cleaning up my mess already. I started down. Anton's eyes shifted to me as soon as my boots clicked the surface of the steps. He watched me as I walked down the stairs. He didn't look at me any differently.
"Good evening, sis."
"Is that what you've taken to calling me?"
"It seems appropriate."
"I guess."
"Can I make you something?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is it edible?"
"It will be. I promise."
"Fine. Dealer's choice. I will eat whatever you bring me."
"Great!" He dived towards the kitchen.
I sat at the dining table with my current book and flipped through the old pages. They felt leathery. I had a feeling they were made out of human skin, but I really didn't want to think about it too much.
My eyes scanned through the resurrection spell. I had really brushed up on my ancient languages. This one was Sumerian. It looked like it required one thousand souls and the blood of a relative. There were some other ingredients, but nothing hard to get. It had to be done at a major node. Of all the spells, I seemed to gravitate towards this one. If the darkness really was trying to bring my mother back from the dead, this spell was it. If she wasn't, then none of her motives made sense.
A clank of dishes on the table snapped me up from my studies.
"All served!" Anton said. He grinned from ear to ear.
On the plate sat a steak, mashed potatoes loaded with everything, and a side of bright green steamed broccoli.
"It looks... perfect. How did you make this?" I arched an eyebrow at him.
He smiled even bigger. "Practice."
"Is that all you did while I was up there?"
He nodded so much I thought he was going to fall over. I held up a hand to make him stop.
"Good job. It seems like it paid off."
He sat down across from me at the table. I stared at him. I realized he was waiting for me to try it. I picked up the fork and knife and cut into the steak. It was a perfect medium-rare. I took the slice with the fork and put it in my mouth. It melted on my tongue.
"Well?"
"It's very good."
"That's it?"
"Very delicious."
He waited.
"If you're looking for more praise, you are barking up the wrong tree." I shook my steak knife at him. "Very delicious is as high as my category goes. I'm used to eating boxed pasta. I'm not one of those foodies."
"Hrumph." He sat back in the chair with his arms crossed.
I continued with my meal. It was very good. Good enough I thought I would have to pay fifty dollars at a steak house kind of good, but no matter what I said or how I oohed and awed, it wouldn't come off as genuine. I just wasn't very good at that stuff.
I finished the last little bit off the plate.
"Well? Anything else?"
"It was very good. A plus."
He narrowed his eyes at me as he removed the plate. "Dessert?"
I shook my head. "If I eat anymore, I'm going to explode."
He muttered something as he left.
"Hey, it was really good." I stood from the table. "Thank you."
"Yeah, okay." He went about cleaning up the kitchen.
I strode through the loft and out the door. I had too many things to do to worry about his ego. It was good. I told him so. That's all I could do.
I walked down the stairs past the garage and into the hallway behind the bar. I exited into the bar proper next to the counter. Cherry gave me a nod while she poured a beer. The bar slowly became silent as eyes fell on me. I looked out over their faces. Most of the people here were brothers or sisters. The last time I had seen them, I had given them back their lives. I would probably look at me like that, too.
Instead of putting on a plastic smile like I would have before, I gave a slight nod and walked out into the bar. I walked between the chairs and sat at a table in the middle of the room. As I settled in, people slowly pulled their eyes from me and started back with their conversations. Before too long, I was no longer the center of attention.
Cole slipped into the chair next to me. "How are you?"
"You're an empath. You already know."
He shrugged. "It's polite to ask."
"I guess it is. Since you're an empath, how is everyone? Are they scared of me?"
Cole shrugged. "Some are. Everyone appreciates what you did, but... the hole you left in the ground has a lot of people worried."
I nodded. It had me worried, too. I had no idea I was capable of that. Now that I thought back on it, I really hadn't chosen to do it. There was only one thought going through my mind at the time, which was to gain power. I just did it. I just ripped open the ground to get at it. I didn't really lose control. I was just hyper-focused on that one thing. Maybe that was losing control.
"Is there something that I can do that will put them at ease?" I asked.
"Just give them time. You command their respect. With a little space, they will see you for who you really are."
I shook my head. "I don't command their respect. I command their faith. And I don't even know who I am. How will they see me?"
Cole gave me an empathetic look. "They will see you through your actions just like you will find yourself through them."
"That sounds like some very wise gobblygook."
He chuckled. "I'm good at that. But I can't say anything like that around Liam. He hates us half-humans enough as it is."
"Hates you?"
"Orcs and humans have a long bad history. We've overcome some large hurdles over the centuries, but there is still a certain animosity between the races."
"So, an orc sleeping with a human must be really humiliating."
Cole shrugged. "I guess. I don't pretend to understand them. They're all anger and rage. It's hard to get a better read off of them. But they are loyal. You'll never find a more loyal friend."
The double doors to the front of the bar flew open. Everyone looked up and watched as purple smoke billowed through.