CHAPTER 193

"Big sister?"

Abella turned around and saw Emery sitting on the burnt remains of a stud. He was hugging his knees to his chest.

"Hey." She wiped her fingers off again, then turned to face the little imp. "How are you feeling?"

"Miserable." He hunched forward, looking almost like he would disappear into his wings. "It feels like there's a pressure inside my body, like I'm going to explode if I can't let it out. I don't know what to do with myself."

"That is called grief." She moved closer to him and crouched so that they were eye level. "Have you never experienced it before?"

He shrugged. "I don't think so," he informed her. "When I was created, my job was to take care of this place and any who were welcome here. I'm an elemental, I'm only happy when I'm doing my job. It's really the only thing I've ever known for sure. I learned about sadness when Darren and Ana died, but it never felt anything like this."

She nodded, then touched his foot with a finger. "You have lived more in the last few decades than you have in all the rest of your life, haven't you?"

He pondered this for a moment, his eyes widening at the revelation.

"It is something I have come to realize myself," she added. "Creatures like us can live for centuries, not realizing the joy and warmth that can come from a loving home. Darren and Ana, they got a chance to live full lives here. I think maybe you understand that an entire lifetime was stolen from Velvet, a life that should have been full of laughter and happiness. Now that we know how much joy can be crammed into such a short time, we recognize the true tragedy of a life cut short. My own heart feels broken, and I was not as close to her as you were."

The imp let out a sigh, then shook out his wings.

"I feel like I can't fly anymore," he told her. "I feel too heavy now. Like I'm carrying a giant weight in my chest."

She patted him on the head. "It may take some time, but you will know the joy of the sky once again."

"But is that okay?" He tilted his head to one side, considering her words. "I feel guilty wanting to feel better. It feels so wrong."

"Wanting to feel better doesn't betray those we have lost. After all, our time here is still limited." She looked up at the sun, squinting into its harsh rays. Knowing now that it was a sight that she might not have seen if not for Velvet, she closed her eyes and cherished the warmth. "No matter how long you think you have, death has a way of sneaking up on you."

"My kind doesn't have souls," he told her. "When I die, I just become rocks and sand once again."

"Perhaps that is true," she told him. "But I am starting to learn that nothing is as simple as we believe it to be."

"You are hurt." He cleared his throat and stood. "I can tell by the way you hold your wing. I almost lost a wing myself, one time. Velvet..." Emery choked on her name. "She got into an argument with her mom and slammed the front door as I was coming in."

Abella winced. "I am indeed damaged," she told him. What she didn't tell him was that she was afraid to look closer at the damage. She was still in shock from discovering Velvet's body, and may have lied to herself about how bad her wing actually was.

"I may be able to help," he told her, standing to his full height.

"I'm not sure you can." She smiled at him. "But thank you for offering."

"You misunderstand." He stomped his foot in indignation. "I am an earth elemental. In the same way that they are stitching together the master's wounds, I may be able to assist you with yours."

"You can do that?" she asked, incredulous.

Emery nodded. "I can. It would give me something to do," he told her with confidence. "I could use something to do right now."

Shrugging, she unfurled her wings. The look of shock on Emery's face when he saw what was left of her damaged wing almost made her walk away, but he demanded that she hold still while he inspected her joints. The little imp's wings fluttered as he checked her body, pausing every now and then to mutter under his breath.

"The structure is good," he declared after landing on her shoulder. "The joint here is the most important, and it remains undamaged." He kicked at the base of her wing where it met her shoulder blade for emphasis. "These holes that you have will not close on their own. They are too ragged, and the wound will become like a human scar. Useless for flying."

"So you can't help me."

"I never said that." He leapt off her shoulder and flew toward the house. When he was about twenty feet away, he turned around. "Come, I have just the thing."

Figuring she had nothing to lose, she followed him. He took her back inside the cabin, where Quetzalli greeted them with a ladle in her hand. The cabin was still quiet, but felt less like a tomb.

"Can you keep a secret?' he asked.

Abella nodded.

Emery looked over her shoulder. She turned around and saw that Quetzalli was busy in the kitchen while Dana sat on the couch with a pair of earbuds in. The imp held a finger to his lips and led her beneath the stairs and into a small storage area.

"Down here," he whispered, then put his hands on the wall. Green light surrounded his fingers and a section of wood paneling slid to one side. Inside, she could see light glittering off of a stash of silver coins.