Chapter 24 Silence of the Stone
Leela woke up with a gasp, her body jerking violently as if she’d been struck. She sat bolt upright, her chest heaving, the echo of breaking glass still ringing in her ears.
“Hey, hey. I’ve got you.”
Finnegan was awake instantly. He sat up, wrapping his arms around her trembling frame, pulling her back against his chest.
“You’re safe,” he murmured, rubbing her arms. “You’re at the Blackwood House. You’re in the East Suite. Nobody is breaking windows.”
Leela clutched his t-shirt, burying her face in his neck. She was shaking so hard her teeth chattered.
“It was them,” she sobbed, her voice thick with panic. “I was back on Maple Drive. Helen was screaming…Frank was…he was hitting me. It felt so real, Finnegan. It felt more real than this.”
She pulled back, wiping her eyes frantically.
“I haven’t had a dream that bad in years. Usually, I just dream about running or hiding. But this…it was like I was trapped there.”
Finnegan reached out and touched the iron collar at her throat. The heavy green stone was cold against her skin.
“It’s because of this,” he said softly.
Leela looked down at the Earth Stone. “The necklace gave me a nightmare?”
“No,” Finnegan shook his head brushing a tear from her cheek.”The necklace took away the noise.”
He looked into her eyes, his expression serious.
“Leela, for the first time in your life, you don’t have the Hum.”
“The Hum?”
“The earth,” Finnegan explained. “You’re a Conduit. You’ve been hearing the energy of the world since you were born. It’s like..white noise. A constant, low-level vibration in the back of your mind. It comforts you. It drowns out the silence.”
He traced the chain around her neck.
“This stone cut the connection. For the first time, your mind is completely quiet. And when it’s that quiet…the demons have room to speak up.”
Leela shuddered. “I hate it. I hate the quiet.”
“I know,” Finnegan said, pulling her close again. “It’s like sleeping in a house where the fan suddenly turns off. Every creak sounds like a gun shot.”
He kissed the top of her head.
“That’s why we have to go to the Grove today. You need to learn how to control the volume yourself, so you don’t need the stone to keep us safe. You need to learn how to face the quiet without letting them back in.”
He pulled the covers back.
“Come on. Let’s get moving. The sooner we get to the trees, the sooner you get your hum back.”