I jerked away from him. “How about I explain?”
His lips twitched and I realized we’d both changed so much in the last months . . . but I would never stop loving him. I only hoped he felt the same.
“Spit it out, Adamson,” he growled, but there was a teasing light in his eyes and on his lips.
A breath I didn’t realize I was holding slid out of me. “My blood was gone; they had to replace it with something, didn’t they?”
“So Doran offered?”
Doran laughed softly. “She owed me a kiss.”
Liam seemed to be thinking it through, and for a moment, I thought he was listening to Faris. That maybe that brassy vampire wasn’t gone. “You only owed him one, right?” He slid his arms around me and pulled me to him once more. I smiled up at him.
“Yeah, only one.”
“Good, because I’m staking my claim on these lips for the rest of forever.”
I grimaced. “Maybe staking isn’t the word you should use.”
Laughing, he pressed his lips to mine and I fell into the kiss, peace rolling through me.
We’d done it. We’d defeated Orion.
It was time to go home.
But first, we had two little people to pick up.
My heart skipped a beat and I grabbed Liam’s hand. “Marcella and Zane.”
“I left them with John and Mary, at the hotel. And you are not going to believe what I found out,” he said and laughed again. “Seriously, Rylee. You aren’t going to fucking well believe it.”
“As long as it’s a good surprise, I don’t care.”
I grabbed him and pulled him toward the barn door with me. He looked around, his eyes sweeping those who were left.
“No.” The word whispered out of him and his feet stopped moving. “Tell me he’s off scrounging for rabbits.”
My heart clenched and I closed my eyes. “He gave his life for me. So that I could have a second chance.”
Liam dropped his head until his chin touched his chest. Tears slipped down his cheeks and I wrapped my arms around him. So many tears, too many. The barn door opened and Lark stepped inside.
“We have visitors.” Her voice was dull. I wasn’t the only one who had been pushed to their limit. All of us had been forced to face things we’d been afraid of.
“Tell me they’re good visitors.”
She nodded. “They are.”
Liam turned and tipped his head. “Sounds like your Jeep.”
My Jeep? How the hell could that be.
I walked out of the barn and stared as a Jeep bounced down the driveway, coming to a stop near the remainder of the house. John stepped out first, then went to the back and opened the door. “Finding car seats was a bit of a pain with the black out, you know.”
I jogged to his side and reached past him to my girl. Marcella saw me and squealed, wriggling in her seat like mad as she lifted her hands to me. I had the buckles off and pulled her into my arms in a flash, the new speed I’d acquired like having a bite constantly invoked.
I breathed her smell in, held her out, and stared at her beautiful face. She laughed and touched my face, running her hands over my wet cheeks.
John laughed. “Don’t forget this little man.” He handed me Zane and I kissed the little boy who’d so deftly stolen my heart. Doran once said I would love another . . . that had been Marcella he’d spoken of, I was sure. Yet as I held Zane, I knew I loved him as much as I loved her.
Then there was Faris.
I fought the tears as I thought of him, telling me he loved me, and he was leaving. He’d died protecting me; because of love.
Zane clung to me. “Mama.”
Liam held out his hands and Marcella went to him, snuggling herself into his neck. He didn’t look anywhere near the FBI agent I’d met eleven years ago. He’d changed in every way someone could.
And yet . . . he was everything I needed to forge this new life ahead of us.
John touched my arm. “Ry.” I turned to see him smiling, his eyes watering. “You look a great deal like our Elena. I’ve wanted to tell you that since we met.”
Elena that was my mother’s . . . “Elle?”
Mary stepped out from around the Jeep and smiled at me. I’d only seen glimpses of her in the past when I’d gone to the hotel.
Now I knew why. She was an older version of my mother, down to the dark hair and slim build, the angle of her jaw and shape of her nose.
I swallowed hard at what was being offered to me. Family. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
John shrugged. “I’m not your real grandfather, Ry. He passed on not long after your mother was conceived.”
Lark moved up beside me. “He was my uncle. He was killed because he was a Spirit Elemental.”
Mary nodded slowly. “That he was. John found me after the accident and helped me heal. I’m sorry we never told you, Rylee, who we were. We were afraid you wouldn’t believe us. So many times people didn’t believe us.” Her eyes went to his, and I suspected a story there, an explanation for doing things the way they did. Perhaps another time they would tell me.
Lark touched my arm and then tipped her head to the side. “Rylee, I have to go. There are other problems waiting on me.” Right behind her Jonathan fidgeted, his eyes still as screwball as ever.
“She’s right, she has to go. So do I. I have to go with her.” Jonathan’s hands twitched as though he were holding a pencil, writing in the air. I wasn’t going to be sad to see him go.
I shifted Zane on my hip. The little boy wrapped his arms and legs tightly around me. “What can I do to help?”
She shook her head. “This is not your fight, my friend. Though, I thank you for the offer. Perhaps we will meet again.”
Her words had the feeling of a final goodbye. “Just like that.”
She shrugged and looked over her shoulder. Cactus and the other elementals who’d stayed were standing in a group, waiting for her. “No. I think we will meet again, Rylee. But not for a long time.” Gently, she brushed a hand over Zane’s head. He smiled up at her, his dimples flashing. “These two are going to be trouble, you know that, right?”
I laughed. “I have no doubt about it. Call on me, Lark. I will do everything I can to help you.” With my free arm, I pulled her into a hug and squeezed her as tightly as I dared. “Thank you does not begin to cover things.”
“Oh, hell,” she muttered, “what’s family for if not to get you out of a jam once in a while?”
Smiling, she backed away from me, her one hand raised in farewell. Pausing, she locked eyes with me. “Two last things. Watch the sword, Rylee. An elemental named Blackbird may try and take it from you. I suggest you hide it.” Her eyes swept past me, looking over my shoulder. “Pamela, in five years, come to the Rim.”
I turned in time to see Pamela nod, a faint, tired smile on her lips.
When I turned back, Lark, Jonathan, and the other elementals were gone.
“Goodbye, Lark,” I whispered into the air and I was sure she whispered back on the wind.
“Goodbye, Rylee. And good luck. You’re going to need it in your new life.”
CHAPTER 57
RYLEE
THE FOLLOWING WEEKS were hectic as we all tried to settle into something that resembled a normal life.
While we’d fought for the survival of the world, human technology had shut down completely. All that supernatural energy from the demons had put everything on the blink, and the humans had gone into panic mode. Three days they were without power and electricity.
Three days, and the fools lost their minds rioting and burning the shit out of things. The pox was gone as if it had never been, and a lot of people were saying that it was all a terrorist plot to wipe out whoever it was terrorists were after. Conspiracy theories ran rampant on every channel.
“What’s wrong with them?” Pamela asked once our TV turned back on and a news channel showed the extensive damage.
“I don’t know. But if this is ho
w they react when things go sideways, it’s all the more reason to keep the supernatural from them,” I said softly.
The Tamoskin Crush went back to the badlands, Calliope in the lead and Tiomon promising to come back for Marcella when the time was right. India went with them, though I tried to get her to stay with us.
“My human family is dead, Rylee.” Her hand wove into Calliope’s mane. “I . . . I can’t go back to pretending I’m something I’m not.”
I pulled her into a hug. “We’re right here, India.”
She smiled up at me, her light auburn hair catching the light and her hazel eyes twinkling. “I will come see you often. The spirits are going to be drawn to you, Rylee. Your calling has shifted, I think.”
With a quick leap that belied the fact that she was so tiny, she mounted on one of the older unicorns. Seconds later, the Crush was gone in a flash of golden horns and thundering hooves.
To be honest, I was hoping it was going to be a long, long time before Tiomon decided Marcella needed her. Because I had a feeling that when the unicorn showed up on my doorstep, trouble wouldn’t be far behind her back hooves.
Doran stayed for a week, making sure I got the hang of my new life. “I’m your sponsor; I have to see you can handle things without me around.”
Liam snorted. “Her sponsor? This isn’t AA.”
The cheeky-assed vampire grinned at him, green eyes sparkling. “I could sponsor you, too, if you like.”
Liam shook his head and walked away, though not before I saw his lips twitch as he fought a smile of his own.
“I think one set of fangs is enough in the family, thanks,” I muttered, running my tongue over my newly acquired teeth.
Eve and Marco set up a clutch not far from where Calliope and her herd ran. They decided to raise their species together, to start fresh. Watching them bridge the gap between the age-old enemies, I knew Eve and Calliope had the hearts for it to work.
Will and what was left of his Destruction headed back to England; Deanna had been wrong about his death. Though looking into his eyes as he said his goodbyes, it was easy to see that a part of him had died during the battle. Pamela shook his hand when he moved to hug her and I fought a smile. Once he’d sent her into a blushing stammer. She’d grown up a lot, and apparently left her crush on him behind.
He hugged me gently. “Rylee. Take care of yourself.”
“You too, Will.” I let him go. Perhaps I would see him again, but I had a feeling my time across the water was done.
At least for the foreseeable future.
The Veil was once more open—minus the connection to the seventh Veil—and working smoothly. The mineshaft—after the doorways were unsealed—was an easy way to travel.
Charlie was hailed as a hero by his fellow brownies and asked to lead them, an honor he couldn’t turn down. “Yous sees, Rylee girl, they no longer thinks of me as a liability.” He tapped his wooden leg.
I blinked several times. “Is that why you didn’t have much to do with them? I didn’t realize—” All the years we’d worked together on salvages, he never spoke of his kind. I realized that to take Zane as he had to protect him would have been a monumental task. Yet he’d done it.
He waved me to silence. “They’s don’t likes to admit they be so damn critical. But it bees the truth. I thinks I can change that now.” He grinned at me and I bent to hug him.
No more words between us. There was no need. He turned, stepped through the door to Liam’s house, and was gone. Would I see him again? The question wandered through my head, but I had no answer. Things were changing so fast, I wasn’t sure what would shift next.
When we were able to tally the supernaturals left, I wasn’t sure I’d saved enough of us. Species had been nearly wiped out by the pox, and those remaining had fought with us, cutting their numbers further.
In some cases, like Eve and Marco, there was only a pair of each species left. Sas, as far as we knew, was the only ogre left.
Do you still wish to get the children from her? Ophelia asked me about a week after we’d closed the seventh Veil. I nodded slowly and scrubbed my hands over my face. To be honest, I’d lost my desire to wipe Sas from the face of the earth. “I think we have to at least see what the hell she’s up to. If she really is the last ogre, then we need to make sure she’s alive.”
“Agreed,” Liam said moving beside me. He knew me well enough not to fill in what I wasn’t saying. Though the pain of Blaz’s death still clung to me, the anger had faded. Unless Dox’s and the triplets’ children were in danger, I wouldn’t be taking them from their mother.
Even if she was a total bitch.
That didn’t mean we could just leave her out there alone. For Dox, I would check in on his child. With the nice weather, we’d stayed out on the farm, roughing it with tents and the barn as cover. Pamela stayed behind to see if she could track down any supernaturals that survived the pox. So far, she’d only found a handful, but she wasn’t deterred.
Gathering up Marcella and Zane, Liam and I packed for the trip to find Sas.
Ophelia flew the four of us to the West Coast. The trip was not rushed and we took our time, letting the babies play along the way at different stops.
Partway to our destination, I went for a solo flight with Ophelia, scouting out the area. At least, that was what I told her. “Ophelia, I saw Blaz on the other side.”
Her wings slowed and she stilled under me as if we weren’t hovering far above the ground.
You did?
This was something I hadn’t spoken about to anyone, not even Liam. I would perhaps one day, but not yet. I opened myself up to her, and let her see my memories. Let her see those who’d passed so they could fight for me on the other side of the Veil.
Let her see Blaz’s face as he’d spoken to me. “Tell Ophelia I love her.”
The dragon below me let out a cry of pain, and yet there was a flood of joy as well. To be loved, even to lose it, was a blessing I knew all too well. I pressed my hands against her, tears trickling down my face. Shit, I’d cried more in the last week then I’d probably cried my whole life.
Thank you, Rylee. You are right. Love is a blessing that can help us face the darkest hours of our lives. Your love and the bond between us has healed the madness that was eating at me. And Blaz’s love . . . it will buoy me when I feel like sinking.
We spoke no more of Blaz, but I knew we’d have another trip to make soon enough. There was the clutch of eggs Ophelia had hidden away from the demons.
Reaching Mount Hood, Ophelia circled the green spot that Lark created, and through our bond, I could easily feel her heartache. This was the spot we’d lost Blaz, and she was seeing his grave for the first time.
She winged down slowly, landing on the edge of the blooming trees. Marcella was strapped to my chest in a baby carrier, and Zane was strapped to Liam’s back in another. We slid off the dragon and landed lightly. Liam lifted his head and took in a long breath.
“Something is dead in there. Hours at most.”
Well shit, that couldn’t be good. I unbuckled Marcella from my back and put her on the ground at Ophelia’s feet with a couple of toys. Liam followed suit, putting Zane close to Marcella. The two screeched as they fought over a toy they both wanted.
“‘Phelia, you know what to do if it goes sideways.”
Of course. The babies will come first.
Liam and I pulled our weapons and crept into the trees. I tried not to put too much stock into the fact Liam had kept Faris’s cutlass. Perhaps it was a way to honor the vampire’s sacrifice.
My thoughts scattered as we pushed through a tall section of brush. At the edge of a clear pool, Sas lay on her side with her back to us, her violet skin from her back gone. Arrows fletched with demon insignias had been driven through her spine in several places
Liam took a long deep breath. “Witches did this. They tried to make it look like a demon hit, though.”
A healthy squall of a child had me running towar
d Sas before I thought better of it.
In the crook of her curved body lay three ogre babies. Two violet and one the exact shade of Dox’s blue. I bent and scooped up the blue ogre babe and Liam caught up the other two. Smiling, he shook his head. “Looks like you aren’t done collecting lost souls, my love.”
I rocked the boy in my arms. “Apparently not.”
We left Sas to rot, not bothering to bury her. Considering all she’d done, it was a fairly light penance. Wrapping the tiny boys (tiny being a relative term since they were already the size of Marcella and Zane, who had eight and nine months on them, respectively) into blankets, Ophelia took us into the closest city and dropped us off. Juggling five babies, I let Liam do all the shopping. He brought back a minivan filled with baby seats.
We loaded them up and headed home, the interior of the van replete with five screaming babies who took turns seeing who could out yell who.
“So, as the Tracker who stopped a demon horde, does this feel like something of a letdown?” Liam spoke loudly to be heard over the kids.
Perhaps if I hadn’t experienced all the death that had come for me and my friends, or maybe if I hadn’t seen how dark it could be when all hope was lost, the moment might have felt like it was never going to end.
“Not in the least,” I said softly, knowing he could hear me. “Not in the least.”
Six months later . . . .
Pamela jiggled the two violet boys on either side of her hips as they tried to use her as a climbing apparatus. “Bam, Rut, stop pulling my hair!”
Marcella toddled toward me, Zane right beside her as I lowered Kav to the floor, his blue skin still baby soft. “Put them down. They want to wrestle, let them go at each other.”
With a sigh, she did as I said, and the three ogre babies immediately crawled all over each other, squealing and laughing. Zane joined in—he was big enough to hold his own—but Marcella held back, watching, her eyes never leaving the four boys.
Ophelia had gone to her babies and brought the eggs back to the farm one by one. Five eggs, one with a hairline crack in it. Though she said it wasn’t a problem, I knew she was worried. I couldn’t do anything to help, though I couldn’t help but worry with her. Only time would tell if the worry had any merit.
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