Skaydal - Demon's Forever

Ashes Under Skin

✦Dolly✦

By the time we got home, my mother smelled like soil and worry. She didn’t say much during the walk from Project Future to the house. Neither did I. She carried the sample containers in a cooler bag like they were something dangerous, and I kept my hands buried in the pockets of my jacket. I didn’t trust them anymore. That sounded ridiculous. They were my hands. But I had watched one seedling die beneath my fingers. I had seen the tomato greenhouse rot overnight. I had felt something under the soil that didn’t feel dead at all. So no, I didn’t trust them. I didn’t even trust myself. Elias was sitting on the porch when we got home, and it was clear from the look on his face that he knew something was wrong.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Inside first,” my mother answered.

“That means something happened,” he pushed. I didn’t say a word.

“Inside, Elias,” my mother repeated. The three of us headed inside, but when Elias looked at me, I just shook my head. I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what was I supposed to say?

Oh, I think I may be killing Skaydal one plant at a time.

No, I couldn’t say that. My father was in the kitchen, and he stood by the counter, silent and oddly calm. However, as soon as he saw my mother, his entire posture changed. He tensed up and frowned. The concern in his eyes was clear.

“What’s going on?” he asked. My mother placed the cooler bag on the table.

“The tomato greenhouse is dead,” she stated softly. Both my father and Elias went still as they looked between us.

“Dead how?” Elias asked.

“The plants blackened. The soil, too,” my mother answered. And in that moment, both my father and Elias looked at me. Not for long. But the fact that they did hurt. Did they blame me? I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Which, of course, made all of them look at me.

“It’s fine. Everyone can look. Everyone can blame me,”

“Dolly,” my father warned, but I shook my head.

“No, really. I mean, it’s not like we aren’t all thinking the same thing,” my mother stepped toward me.

“We are not blaming you,”

“Then why does it feel like I’m standing in the middle of a room waiting to be accused?” I asked. No one answered. I hated the silence. I hated that I had created it. But most of all, I hated that they didn’t have an answer. Elias touched my arm lightly.

“Look at me,” he said. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to see whatever was in his eyes. “Dolly, look at me,”

“I don’t want to,” I muttered.

“Too bad,” he snapped, and I shot him a look. But that meant looking at him. “I don’t know what this is all about, but I am scared,” my throat tightened as we stared at each other. The fact that he was scared unsettled me. “Not of you, Dolly,” he added softly.

“I’m scared too,” I whispered.

“Enough of this,” my father said firmly. “No one is blaming Dolly,”

“No, no one,” my mother agreed. “We will figure out what is going on,”

“What if it is my fault?” I asked softly. “What if I am the problem?”

“We will still figure it out,” my mother said. My eyes burned, but I refused to cry.

“You aren’t a plant murderer,” Elias said, and for some reason, that made me smile.

“Plant murderer?” I repeated, and Elias shrugged. He was teasing me. He was trying to lighten the mood. But it still hurt.

“Regardless, we need to discuss this with Grayson,” my father said. My mother nodded in agreement. The packhouse was a safe space. I knew that. Grayson and Sierna weren’t horrible leaders. Not at all. But I knew I was going to be judged. We left the house and headed to the packhouse in silence. This was the last thing I wanted to do. Logically, I understood that none of this was my fault. I had touched the basil, and it had died. That was why I blamed myself. I figured that my darkness had somehow seeped through my hands and damaged the plants. Was that true? Grayson and Sierna were waiting for us when we arrived. I didn’t question how they even knew we were coming. Wolves had connections I didn’t understand. Because I wasn’t a wolf. I was a demon.

“Stop that,” Elias hissed as he bumped his shoulder with mine. “I know what you are doing to yourself. So, stop it,” he was angry. I understood that, but I didn’t say a word as we headed inside. My mother explained everything to them. She told them about the basil. The herbs. The tomato greenhouse. The black soil. The tests Gavin had started. The irrigation line. The fertilizer. She told them everything. My mother didn’t mention me. She didn’t blame me. But every word made my skin crawl. It bothered me that it wasn’t just us. It wasn’t just Grayson and Sierna. We had a small audience.

Grayson and Sierna. Zack and Mato. Ronnie and Blaise.

And even though no one said a word, I felt like they all blamed me. Like all of this was my fault. My mother set the container of soil on the table. Ronnie inched closer, but kept her hands to herself.

“What is it?” Ronnie asked curiously. “What’s wrong with it?” Blaise stepped closer and hovered her hand over the soil.

“It’s old,” she said at last. My father stepped closer, just as curious.

“Evil?” he asked, and Blaise glanced at me before she looked away.

“Not exactly,”

“What does not exactly mean?” Zack asked.

“It means there is darkness here,” Blaise said. “But it doesn’t feel like Dolly’s,” the fact that she even said my name made me freeze. Then I understood what she had just said. It wasn’t my darkness. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“No offence to Dolly, but then where is this darkness coming from?” Grayson asked. He shot me a quick apologetic smile before he turned his attention back to Blaise.

“I don’t know yet,” Blaise admitted. “But it feels like something is pressing against the land from underneath,” I went cold. Underneath. As if the soil didn’t feel dead.

It felt awake.

Alive.

Without warning, Sierna stepped into my line of view. She took my hands in hers and squeezed. I wanted to snatch my evil hands away, but the look on her face warned me not to. So, instead, I stared down at our joined fingers. She wasn’t afraid to touch me. I wasn’t even sure why, but that nearly undid me.

“This is not your fault. No one is blaming you. The only reason we look at you is that you are the only demon in Skaydal. We aren’t looking to you because we think you are to blame, we are looking to you for guidance. For help,” Sierna said softly. Blaise came over and placed her hands over ours.

“I agree. You could help us with this, Dolly,”

“How?” I whispered.

“Tell us what you feel,” she urged. My parents looked worried, and I sighed softly as I closed my eyes.

“Cold. Darkness. But alive,” I opened my eyes, and I tried to act aloof. Carefree or something. I shrugged, but my entire body tensed up as I waited for their response. But before anyone could say anything, one of Grayson’s guards rushed into the room. His face was pale, and he looked like he was about to pass out.

“Alpha, it's dead,”

“What is dead?” Grayson questioned.

“The flowers. In the town square,”

“All of them?” my mother asked. The guard looked at her and nodded. And for whatever reason, I still felt like this was all my fault.

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