Even his Lemure fury would be better than this.
“Dad, what have you done to Abigail?” I ask, hoping the switch in tactic will soften his energy. “I feel her here.”
As if suddenly appalled, he recoils. “It’s all her fault. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for her.”
“But what did you do to her?” I press, this time reaching out for him.
He recoils, pulling his hand back as if touching me would burn him. The blue in his eyes deepens, darkening to the point of turning purple as he stares at my hand.
“You should stay away from me,” he warns, his face tilting away from mine. “This is not the place for you.”
“I know what happened. I’m here to help you,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm and steady. “I read your journal.”
A flash of insight sweeps across his features, but fades away before it can take root.
“There’s nothing left for us. The Blackwood family will end with us,” he hisses. “You should have stayed away. I never should have summoned you…” Dad tugs at his hair, pulling large tufts of his strawberry blond strands out. He stares down at his clenched fists, his eyes wide with horror.
“Dad, you’re stronger than this. Don’t let the Lemure win,” I whisper, watching his every move.
His dark eyes tip upward, taking me in for a moment.
I hold my breath, unsure what’s going on in his mind. He’s so unpredictable, and without knowing what he’s truly capable of in this form, worry begins to gnaw at my reserve.
Maybe Wade was right. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all.
“Dad, please stay calm. I’m trying to help you,” I say, holding out my hands. “You can fight this.”
An absurd laugh erupts from his lips. “Fight fate? You truly are out of your league.”
His fingers fly to his mouth, as if saying the word fate suddenly reminded him about the Moirai. His features writhe in agony, and all at once, his skin melts away from his face. He arches backward at an odd angle, contorting into something dark and grotesque. The shape of his eyes elongates and his skin is replaced by an inky-black film. The joints in his arms and legs twist and grow until he looms over me.
“No, you’re mine. I won’t let them have you…” the Lemure wails. “They can’t have you if they can’t find you.”
Holding gnarly black hands out in front of him, a ball of red energy grows between his palms. The Lemure mutters under his breath as his focus turns solely on the growing ball of light between his fingers. As it gets bigger, he pulls his hands apart like he’s playing some sort of magickal game of cat’s cradle.
Without warning, my entire astral being feels like it’s being torn apart from the inside out. The room darkens, then shifts in and out of focus as he continues to mutter to himself. I stumble forward, trying to reach out for him, but my feet sink into the ground as if they’ve melted down and become a part of the floor somehow.
“Dad, please, no—I don’t want to stay with you. I need to go back,” I cry out, clutching at the air and struggling to maintain my sense of self.
The room spins and it’s almost as if everything I am is melting away, deconstructing atom by atom.
“You heard the lady. She said no,” someone says from somewhere in the room, though I can’t tell where.
The dark figure of the Lemure spins around. With his concentration no longer on the ball of energy, the room comes back into focus. Everything that I am pulls back together, and I’m no longer melting into the floor.
Dominic somehow rushes to me, bringing in a wave of fresh energy and light where only moments ago was utter darkness.
“How—?” I sputter.
“Forget that. We need to get out of here,” Dominic says. “Time to pull the plug.”
“No, we have to protect the others,” I say.
“Others?” The Lemure snarls. Its dark-purple eyes widen, and fury erupts across its quivering body. “What others?” Tipping his nose to the sky like some kind of animal, he sniffs at the air.
“The others need you alive, remember? Time to go,” Dominic repeats, tipping his head to the door.
I wave him off, shaking my head. “But what about him?” I stare at the mutated version of my father, unable to stop the well of compassion bubbling up inside me. “Will he be bound to his remains?”
Dominic’s eyes reflect the same confusion I feel and he shudders. “I don’t know, Autumn. It’s not my area of expertise.”
Panic spreads through me like wildfire, and I’m struck by total insight. He can’t stay separated from his body for this to work. I know what I need to do. I was never meant to simply distract him. I’m meant to bring his soul—pieces and all—to the catacombs. This was…
Fate.
The word floats through my mind, chilling me to the very core.
“What others?” The Lemure demands again. Its size expands, darkening the entryway and pulling all of the light with it. “What have you done?”
“Nothing. I didn’t mean—” I begin, putting on my best performance and trying to sound as terrified as possible.
“Where are they? How did I not know?” he growls, turning to face Dominic. “They can’t come in here and take you away from me. This is my home.”
The Lemure raises one of his gnarly hands, swinging it back to attack Dominic.
Rushing forward, I grab my Dad’s mangled body. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I press my cheek to the Lemure’s cold, almost clammy, chest and focus on the love I feel for my dad. How grateful I am that he loved me and my mother as much as he did.
Grateful for his sacrifice—even if it failed.
Then, with my mind centered on just one final wish, everything around me vanishes from view.
Chapter 30
Always Be With You
When I open my eyes, my dad and I are no longer in the middle of the entryway of the manor. Dominic isn’t with us, either. Instead, it’s just the two of us. We stand beneath the archway leading into the catacombs’ central hub, which glows softly from the torches on the walls. The symbols on the archway twinkle in bright oranges and blues, waiting, as I now know, to see if my dad’s soul is worthy.
“What is this place?” Dad asks, his voice a hushed whisper beside me.
I turn to see the distorted and darkened version of the Lemure fade away. He transforms before my eyes, as if there’s a plug in the center of his body and someone’s pulled the drain. When the last of darkness has faded, his blue eyes fill with wonder as his gaze extends beyond me.
“Welcome to the catacombs, Lyle,” Abigail says, stepping out from one of the dark tunnels beyond. “You’ve waited a long while.”
Dad’s lips falter, slipping into a frown as his forehead creases. “Abigail, I’m so sorry…”
She waves a hand dismissively. “None of this should be yours to shoulder alone, Lyle. You are but a byproduct of the centuries. Come, it is time to absolve you,” Abigail says, waving us into the inner sanctum.
Tilting his head to the side, Dad looks my direction with the question written across his face.
I nod, stepping into the central room as I extend a hand to him. “Come on—it’s time for you to rest.”
His shoulders stiffen as he looks down at the space separating the inner chamber from the outer tunnel. Lifting his right foot, he crosses the threshold. A deep rumbling starts off low and grows louder. The walls rattle, sifting dust that floats from its crevasses into the room like a blanket of smoke.
Dad steps the rest of the way into the chamber, his eyes glued on the walls around him.
“This is…”—he sighs contently—“beautiful.”
I narrow my eyes, confused.
Abigail smiles. “I wish dearly to see it as you do.”
Dad’s eyebrows tip up in the middle as confusion blossoms across his features.
Abigail turns to me, her features softening. “To you and I, we see this place of stone and earth. But I know not what t
he others behold. Perhaps it’s different for each, as there are many accounts.”
Turning back to my dad, I reach out for his hand. This time, as I take his spectral appendage, there’s no fear hidden in his eyes. He takes it, squeezing gently.
“What do you see?” I ask him.
“It’s the most beautiful garden I’ve ever seen. Flowers, trees, and animals are everywhere. There’s a pond over there,” Dad raises his free hand, pointing beyond Abigail. “The swans are circling by a willow tree just over there. I always wanted a willow tree…” His eyes go distant and his chin tips downward. When he looks back up again, he turns to Abigail. “This isn’t real? Is it?”
Abigail walks over to him, her dress swaying with her movements but never touching the ground the way it really should.
“For you, it is but the only reality you need to focus on,” she whispers, placing a hand along his cheek. “I wish I could have saved you from this untimely passage, grandson.”
“That makes two of us,” Dad says, shifting his gaze from Abigail to me. Sighing, he walks my direction. “Autumn, I never meant for any of this to happen. I had hoped…”
“It’s okay, Dad. I know,” I whisper. My chest suddenly feels very heavy, despite having no physical form. The thought makes me pause, curious about how the feelings of physicality can linger so strongly in this form.
Dad’s jaw tightens, and his expression darkens—only this time, it’s out of concern and not Lemure rage. “I wish I could have protected you from all of this.”
“It’s not up to you to protect me,” I say, shaking my head.
“But it is. Pretty sure it’s in the parental handbook,” he says, narrowing his gaze.
My eyes widen. “There’s a parental handbook?“
Chuckling, Dad’s head drops a bit. “No, sweetheart. I wish there was, though. It might have made things a bit easier.”
I flit my gaze from my dad to Abigail, who simply watches us thoughtfully.
“What happens now?” Dad asks, turning to Abigail.
“You’ll be called home soon,” she says. Though she smiles, there’s a hint of sorrow hidden in her features.
He nods, as if this makes total sense to him. “How long?”
I turn to Abigail, who lifts her chin and says, “Should the others manage to maneuver the maze, we have but minutes. Your remains have entered the catacombs.”
Dad turns to me. “Autumn, there’s so much I wish I could say to you.”
“It’s okay,” I say, stepping forward and wrapping my arms around him.
He returns my embrace, holding on so tightly I almost feel like I’m five again.
“Sweetheart, you do need to be careful, though. The Moirai—”
“I know,” I say, pulling back from his hug.
His forehead furrows and he tilts his head. “You know?”
“Yeah, thanks to you,” I say, trying to keep myself from succumbing to the panic and sadness rising inside of me.
“Promise me you’ll be careful. Aisa and her sisters, they’re formidable and they won’t bend to compromise,” Dad says. “It’s up to you to break this curse, sweetheart. I wish that weren’t the case, but it is.”
Footsteps and voices echo into the inner sanctum from not too far away. Some of the pressure that’s been building during the wait falls away. Cat and Wade have managed to find their way through the tunnels after all.
I exhale in relief. Wade is carrying my dad’s remains in his arms, but they’re covered by a black sheet. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to come face to face with what the Moirai have done to him. I want to remember him the way I see him here, now.
Wade steps into the circular chamber, his eyes full of trepidation. “This is the place, right?” he asks, readjusting the load in his arms.
“Don’t look at me. I barely remember what happened. It’s like a dream and I’ve been awake too long to keep hold of it,” Cat says, shrugging.
“I know the feeling. It took a lot longer to get this far than I thought it would,” Wade says. “All of the tunnels started looking the same.”
Cat nods. “I think that was the point.”
I step away from my dad and Abigail, reaching out to Wade. My hand goes right through his arm and I take a step back. “Oh my god, they can’t see us, can they?”
Abigail shakes her head. “Neither of them have the sight.”
“How will they know when to summon the Fires of Eternity?” I blurt out, suddenly afraid my entire plan is about to fall apart.
“Of that, I am not certain,” Abigail says.
“Is there a way to make contact? How can I reach them?” I say, waving my hand in front of Wade’s face. He doesn’t even flinch.
“Without the gift to see the dead, it’s all but impossible to reach them. These walls do not allow for manifestations,” Abigail says, her eyebrows knitting together.
“What are you talking about? Cat’s Fetch took over Wade—”
Abigail’s face is a stern warning. “And you believe such an action would be wise? It took the Angel of Death to push her aside.”
My gaze drops to the stone floor. “Oh, right.”
Suddenly, the circular chamber is flooded by the sound of a ringtone blaring. Cat scrambles, digging her cell phone out of her coat pocket.
She holds the phone up to her ear as she says, “Hello?” For a moment, she holds utterly still. Then, shooting a sideways glance at Wade, she put one hand against her other ear, her eyes narrowing with her focus. “Diana? I—I can barely hear you. What are you saying? You’re cutting out.”
For a moment, Cat holds very still, her eyes searching the space in front of her as she listens to whatever is being said on the other end of the phone. Then, after what feels like forever, she nods to herself.
“Thanks, Diana. Understood,” she says, dropping the phone and hitting the end button.
“What is it? What did she say?” Wade asks, his silver eyes flashing.
“Dominic entered the astral plane to help Autumn. She was… struggling. But he says Autumn and the Lemure vanished a few minutes ago. He’s not sure what happened to them,” Cat says, her eyes reflecting the same worry evident on Wade’s face.
“Shit, we never should have let her do this. What if she’s trapped, like Dominic said?” Wade says, his voice heavy with worry.
“If she’s trapped, it’s because of the Lemure. That really leaves us no other choice—we need to burn the remains and hope that it does what we want it to,” Cat says, inhaling sharply.
“What if we’re wrong?” Wade says, blinking wildly.
“You’re not wrong,” I say, reaching for him and wishing he could hear me.
Cat’s face hardens. “Then we cross that bridge when we get to it. Diana thinks—”
“I don’t give a damn what Diana thinks,” Wade cries.
“We need to do something. I need to let him know I’m here—that I’m okay,” I say, turning back to Abigail.
She shakes her head, holding up a hand.
“We don’t have any other choice, Wade. We need to finish this and check in on Autumn. The only way we can help her now is to do what we came here to do,” Cat spits back. She holds out her arms, flicking her fingertips at him. “Hand the body over. I can handle the rest.”
Wade stares at her for a moment, but tips his head and does as he’s asked. The battle to know for sure if I’m okay has won out in his mind.
“You’re going to want to take a step back,” she warns, her face the epitome of seriousness.
Wade nods, moving backward as he stares at her.
Taking a step back myself, I sigh in relief. I cast a quick glance in Abigail’s direction, smiling at her as she merely tips her chin in acknowledgement. It’s like she knew he’d cave the whole time.
Cat cradles my dad’s bones, still wrapped in the sheet, close to her body. She lowers her chin and closes her eyes. For a few seconds, she does nothing but take deep, deliberate breaths.
Under her breath, she begins to whisper. At first, I can’t make out the words, but after the third incantation, her head tips back and her eyes glow with the energy of fire blazing against the darkness of her irises. Fire rolls out of them, growing in intensity, as if her eyes could consume you simply by looking in her direction.
“Fili mi requiem. In ignibus uri. Somnus in aeternum,” she chants over and over.
All of a sudden, the fire in her eyes is drowned out by the fire that erupts all over her body, consuming both her and the bundle in her hands. The blaze is so intense I take another huge step back.
“Was this meant to happen?” I cry out, twisting to face Abigail.
She holds out a hand, lifting a single finger and urging me to wait.
The flame changes colors from bright orange to a deep, brilliant crimson. Both Wade and I hold up an arm, shielding our eyes, but refusing to look away.
As the fire dies back, it returns to its original orange and yellow, then settles into the purest white I’ve ever seen.
“Fili mi requiem. In ignibus uri. Somnus in aeternum,” Cat continues to chant until the fire pulls back, settling once again in her eyes.
As it fades completely, not a single part of Cat is singed or burnt, but the bundle of bones that were in her arms scatters to the ground, nothing more than a pile of glowing cinders.
My mouth drops open as I stare at the power and capability of Cat. I knew what she could do with fire, but I had no idea just how impressive she is.
As if an enormous burden is released from his shoulders, my dad sighs.
“Is that…everything?” Wade asks, holding out a hand and helping Cat get to her feet.
She nods. “Everything I can do. I don’t know about the interment stuff. We’ll need Autumn for all of that.”
“Let’s go find her, then,” Wade says, his face full of determination.
“Agreed,” she says, sweeping her hand out and letting him take the lead.
The Windhaven Witches Omnibus Edition : Complete Paranormal Suspense Series, Books 1-4 Page 64