Chapter 481


    Chapter 481


    Ste


    I sleptte the next morning. By the time I got up, morning sun was nting brightly through the


    window of my attic room. I watched the dust motes dancing in the beams for a long time. If I


    concentrated, I could see right inside them, like each was a tiny little all on their own. I


    imagined each one filled with civilizations, rising and falling. Maybe on one of them, a tiny Celestial,


    all alone in her bed, was looking at the dust motes in her own sunbeam…


    “Gah.” I sat up, shaking off those feelings. I was about to get lost in my mind. Maybe so deep I


    wouldn’t be able to get out.


    Anyway, my stomach was rumbling. It seemed impossible that I could be hungry with my heart so


    heavy, but…no matter how many supernatural talents I could use, I was still in this body, and


    apparently, this body needed to eat on a regr basis.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    I’d left my clothes from the night before in a pile on the floor. They stank of sweat and spilled beer,


    with the faintest hint of the other odors that had filled The Silver Crescent. I wrinkled my nose but


    tossed them into the hamper. I wasn’t sure what to do about washing them.


    Here was another thing I was having to learn about skipping from childhood right to adulthood—was


    I going to have to do my ownundry?


    I showered quickly, brushed my teeth, and dressed in a pair of flowered leggings with a long tunic


    top. I paired this outfit with the same ballet ts from the night before. The mirror told me I looked


    cute, but I didn’t feel it. I looked tired.


    Not feeling like putting on makeup, I used a little bit of energy to pink up my cheeks and darken my


    eyshes. Nothing too obvious, but at least I didn’t look hungover anymore. I didn’t want to have to


    exin to my parents why my face was so haggard and drawn.


    I could smell something good wafting from the kitchen as I went downstairs. I followed my nose


    along the corridors, past closed doors, pausing to peek into any rooms with open ones. I could’ve


    dug into the minds of the various staff members passing me on their way to their duties, or even into


    my Dad’s or Papa’s, but I was trying not to overextend myself. Using powers on people without their


    knowledge felt icky, but especially when it wasn’t for their benefit, but only for mine.


    Was I ever going to figure out how all of this was supposed to work? Shaking my head, I peered into


    an open room that featured floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. It also had a nice firece, no fire lit now,


    and a set of cozy looking armchairs facing it. Tall windows let in a lot of light, but sheer curtains


    diffused it, making it soft. I stepped inside to take a closer look and let out a slow breath.


    It was the library from inside my head. Right down to the scrolled woodwork on the arms of the


    chairs and the floormp with the stained-ss shade. With my mouth open in wonder, I went to the


    shelves and studied the books. I ran my finger along the spines.


    The books here were different, anyway. Which made sense, since in my head, the books were a


    construct I’d imagined as a way of helping to catalog and coordinate the myriad of supernatural


    powers I could ess. Here, they were just books. Novels, non-fiction, even a few photo albums.


    Intrigued, I pulled an album off the shelf and flipped through it. I recognized my grandma Gabri


    right away, even though she looked so much younger. She was smiling, happy, her arm linked


    through a man’s. That must be my grandfather, Orion. I studied him closely. He didn’t look evil.


    Frowning, I flipped through more pages. Pictures of my Daddy when he was a pup made me giggle.


    I could see myself in those pictures. I traced the lines of his face for a moment, imagining what it


    might have been like if I’d been born a normal pup.


    Strangely, the photosforted me in a way the Moon Goddess’s words from the night before


    hadn’t quite managed. I might stumble through social encounters, but these pictures and the


    resemnce I shared with my father showed me that I did belong here in Constantine. It was my


    lineage. My home.


    “Oh, shit. Sorry. Didn’t know anyone was in here.”


    I turned at the rasping female voice and saw Aunt Selena in the doorway. She carried a carafe that


    smelled like coffee and an empty mug. Dark sunsses covered her eyes, and her hair was wet like


    she’de right out of the shower. She wore a in T-shirt and a pair of fuzzy pajama bottoms


    emzoned with cartoon characters, along with a matching set of bunny slippers.


    “I was trying to hide from my sister,” she said.


    Quickly, I moved around her to close the door. I locked it. Turned back.


    “Yeah,” I said. “Me too.”