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She moans softly in her sleep, but she does not waken.
It takes me a moment to walk away from her.
She is safe now, and I am not leaving the house.
I close her bedroom door, and I go back to the kitchen.
Pushing the table out, I move the chairs and place the heavy, solid wooden object in front of the busted back door. It will keep it closed, and I will hear it if anyone tries to enter.
Once that has been done, I close the door to the kitchen behind me, and I check the living room.
It is empty. There is a candle on the coffee table that was lit recently, and my mother’s scent is strong in this room. I find blankets on one end of the couch, and I pick them up. Lita could use the extra to keep her warm tonight.
Leaving the room, I see the bathroom door is open, and the room is dark.
My mother’s bedroom door is closed. I move across the hall and say a silent prayer to Artemis that I will find her safe and sound, sleeping in her bed. The door creaks when I open it, the sound making me pause, breath held, waiting to find out if I’ve woken her up.
If I did, she isn’t ready to talk.
I can hear raspy breaths being taken. They do not sound like her at all.
“Mother? Are you awake?” I ask, keeping my voice low and soft to avoid startling her.
There is no response. All I can hear are her raspy breaths.
I take a couple of steps into the room and move my hand over the wall until I find the light switch by touch. A moment later and I am blinking against the sudden illumination of the room.
When I see my mother’s trembling form on the bed, I am instantly alarmed.
Her skin is red and patchy, and she is breathing out of her open mouth.
She looks and sounds as if she is sick.
Her eyelids flicker, and she mumbles something under her breath as she begins to stir.
“Mother, are you okay?” I ask, kneeling by the side of the bed with the blankets.
She blinks awake, squinting and covering her eyes from the light.
“So … Sol … is that you?” she asks, her voice rough and scratchy.
“Yes, it’s me.”
She turns onto her side and takes my hand in hers. “Tell me you found her. Please?”
She looks as if she is ready to cry.
I nod, and she lets out a choked sob.
“Oh, thank the Goddess! Is she okay? Can I see her?”
“She is okay,” I tell her, believing it is the truth. “But she is sleeping now. I brought her home.”
She wipes at her eyes. “Oh, Artemis, I’ve been beside myself since it happened.”
“Do you need me to get you anything?” I do not think she is sick now that I know she has been worried about Lita, but she has been in pain, not knowing if Lita was hurt or safe.
She shakes her head. “No. I’ll be fine. I was just so worried. After the announcement, after the new Alphas said they were going to kill her … I don’t know how I got through the rest of the day. The other women from the work had to stop me from chasing them.”
