"What?"
"It's true."
"I don't understand. Cadamus, yes. But the Ancients leave human remains alone."
"The police were adamant."
"What's going to happen to me?" Stevie asked. She looked almost as forlorn as Charlie did.
Gillian wiped her eyes and drew the little girl to her side. "I'm going to raise you and train you to be the next Huntress."
"Really?" Stevie gazed up at Gillian with huge, trusting eyes.
"That was Nick's final request to me, and I intend to see that it's carried out"
"I understand you wanting to raise Stevie," Charlie said, "but is it necessary to train her? You and Nick eliminated all three female creatures."
"Before he died, Cadamus claimed he found another female and mated with her."
"A fourth female?" Charlie shook his head. "Impossible."
"He could have been bluffing, but do we really want to take the chance?"
"No, we don't," Charlie said.
"Do the Ancients ever speak to you?"
"Sometimes. But they haven't lately and not about this." He reached for Stevie's hand. "Why don't we go home?"
By home he meant Nick's apartment. As difficult as it would be for her, Gillian was determined to handle whatever tasks awaited her there before moving Stevie to her condo.
"We came in your car," Charlie said. "I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not." They'd have to arrange for Nick's car to be picked up. It was still parked outside the cemetery, if it hadn't been already towed. "Can you drive, please? I'm not up to it."
Gillian sat in the front passenger seat and stared out the window at morning rush-hour traffic. She tried not to dwell on the events of the last day and night but was unable to think of anything else.
She would do right by Stevie, make Nick proud of her. Of them both. He'd sacrificed his own life to save hers and the whole world. She owed him the next twenty-five years and much, much more.
I love you. Don't ever forget that.
"I love you, Nick," she said under her breath, too softly for anyone in the car to hear. "And I always will."
"You want to lie down and rest for a while?" Charlie asked Gillian shortly after they arrived at the apartment. "We could all use a nap."
They were in the living room, flipping through TV channels, looking for any relevant news items and finding none.
"In a little while." Gillian was tired but not yet ready to face sleeping alone or the unpleasant dreams she was sure were waiting for her. "I'll put Stevie to bed when she's done with breakfast. The poor kid's exhausted."
"I hated bringing her with me last night, but I didn't want to leave her alone either. I must have been making too much noise. She woke up and when she learned what had happened and where I was planning on going, she insisted on tagging along."
"She can be very determined." Gillian had turned down the sound on the TV so they could talk.
"You're going to have your hands full with her. I'll help you all I can. Though I don't know how much longer I'll be around."
"I appreciate that. I'm sure I'll need every bit of help I can get." She tried to smile at Charlie, but the corners of her mouth refused to turn up. "And speaking of Stevie, I'd better check on her."
Gillian found the girl sitting at the kitchen table, her cereal only half eaten, her head resting on the table beside the bowl. She was out like a light.
Gillian's heart, broken into a thousand pieces, hurt a tiny bit less. Stevie needed her, and she needed Stevie. Together, they might just make it.
"Come on, sweetie pie. Wake up."
She gently shook the girl's shoulder until Stevie roused enough to be led to the spare bedroom and the futon bed. Feeling she might already be failing as a parent, Gillian slipped off Stevie's shoes and socks and, leaving her in her clothes, covered her with a blanket. She hoped skipping a bath and teeth brushing this once wouldn't ruin the girl for life.
In the hall outside the spare bedroom, Gillian paused. A glance through the doorway into the living room assured her that Charlie was still on the couch, either watching TV or possibly snoozing.
Maybe now, when she was relatively alone, was the best time for Gillian to brave Nick's bedroom and confront her personal demons. Grieving was a long process. And while she had Charlie's and Stevie's support and comfort, she wanted to take this initial step alone-just her, Nick's memory, and no one else.
Her throat burning, her eyes watering, and her stomach tied in knots, Gillian slowly walked down the short hall, past the bathroom to Nick's bedroom. The door was shut except for a small crack. She placed her hand on the knob but didn't go in, needing another moment to muster her courage.
This, she said to herself, would be the most difficult part. If she could withstand being in Nick's bedroom, sit on the bed where'd they'd made love so often, and not fall apart, she could endure all the hardships ahead of her.
Pushing the door open, she stepped inside the room. Everything appeared exactly the same as before. The magazine Nick had been reading the other day lay on the nightstand. His digital alarm clock displayed the time in red numerals. The heel of one misplaced shoe peeked out from under the bed.
The ritual dagger was on the dresser.
"What ... ?" Gillian stared. Where had that come from?
A sense of confusion overtook her, leaving her lightheaded. It didn't last. She was suddenly blinded by a bright, golden light emanating from the center of the bed. It wasn't altogether different from when the female creatures dissolved.
She shielded her eyes against the unbearable glow.
"What the . . . oh, my God."
As the light dimmed, Gillian saw a form take shape on the bed. A human form. A man.
No, it couldn't be. She squinted, took a tentative step. "Nick!"
She flung herself toward the bed, falling onto the mattress beside him. With frantic hands, she touched his face and neck. His skin was warm. Gloriously, wonderfully warm. His pallor normal. She glanced down at his chest. It rose and fell, shallow but steady.
His eyes, however, were closed and though she repeated his name over and over, he didn't open them. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he wake up?
"Charlie," she screamed.
He came running as fast as his pushing-eighty legs could carry him. "What's wrong?"
"It's Nick. He's here."
"He's what?" Charlie burst into the bedroom only to come to an abrupt stop. His eyes went wide, and his face drained of color. "Well, I'll be damned."
"I came into the room, and he just appeared in this shower of golden light." Gillian spoke so fast, she babbled.
"Is he alive?" Charlie came closer.
"Yes. But not conscious. I think he's like Stevie was, communing with the Ancients."
"I don't believe it." He patted Nick's cheeks to confirm for himself Nick's live and-from all appearances-healthy state.
"How can this be? Do the Ancients bring back people from the dead?"
"Not that I've ever heard of. Unless . . ." Charlie frowned.
"Unless what?"
"Was he injured before he and Cadamus fell?"
"Yes, but I don't know how badly."
"If Nick killed Cadamus before they reached the ground, then technically Nick won the final battle."
"Why didn't the Ancients bring Jonathan back? He won his battle with Radium."
"I don't know." Charlie shook his head in confusion. "Maybe because his wounds were fatal and Nick's weren't. Let's hope Nick can tell us when he wakes up."
"I wish he would soon." Gillian scooted over so that she sat right next to him. She kept touching him, assuring herself over and over that he was all right.
"It could be a while."
Gillian remembered back to when Stevie had her commune with the Ancients. It had lasted almost three hours. "I'll stay with him."
When Nick didn't wake up in the next fifteen minutes, Charlie left the bedroom. From his haggard expression and weary ga
it, Gillian figured he and the living room couch would soon be seeing eye to eye.
Once she was alone with Nick, she bent and kissed his forehead, cheek, and lips, which, while not responsive, were warm and soft and incredibly sweet.
"You scared me," she whispered. "When I saw you and Cadamus go over the side of the building, my heart stopped beating." She combed her fingers through his hair. "I'm so very glad you aren't dead."
Gillian wasn't sure if she should be talking to Nick or not while he was communing with the Ancients, but she didn't care. Her need to talk to him was too strong to go unrequited.
Just a short while ago she was convinced she'd never see him again and now, here he was. She sent a prayer of thanks heavenward, hoping it reached who ever was responsible for this miracle.
Eventually, Gillian's fatigue caught up with her. Attempting to disturb Nick as little as possible, she stretched out beside him, wrapped an arm protectively around his middle, and rested her head on his shoulder. Lying next to him, feeling every inch of him flush against her, was all her overtaxed mind and body needed to finally let go and relax. Within minutes, Gillian dozed off and spent the next hour drifting in and out of a fitful sleep.
At one point she dreamed-at least she thought it was a dream. Her mother appeared to her, her image as vivid as it had been that night in the parking garage when Gillian was attacked by the first female creature.
"You did well," her mother said in a voice gentle as a lullaby. "I'm proud of you."
Her praise filled Gillian with warmth. She put out her arms to embrace her mother, who floated just out of reach. "Come back."
"I can't stay." Her mother said, her image starting to fade. "Good-bye, Gillian. I love you." "Don't go! Please."
"I have to. It's past time. And Nick is coming home. Be happy, darling."
Gillian came suddenly awake. Nick's face was the first thing she saw. He'd crawled on top of her, pinned her beneath him, and was pressing his very obvious erection into the junction of her legs.
"I couldn't ask for a better welcome home," he said, nuzzling her neck and rocking his hips.
"Nick. Oh, Nick! You're awake. I thought I'd lost you. When you and Cadamus went over the side of-"
He silenced her with a kiss.
Wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close, Gillian poured all the emotions bottled up inside her into their kiss.
"Miss me?" He lifted his head and flashed her the sexy half grin she so adored.
"More than you can imagine." She cuffed him in the arm and scowled. "Don't ever do that again."
"You won't get rid of me that easy."
His hand snuck under the hem of her shirt to fondle her breast through her bra. His eyes glinted hungrily. "This makes everything worthwhile."
"Nick, Nick!"
Stevie came running into the room. Oblivious to what Nick and Gillian were up to, she dove onto the foot of the bed, her corkscrew curls in wild disarray. Gillian instantly sat up and rearranged her shirt.
Nick was a little slower to respond. He sighed with perfect parental patience and grumbled, "Kids. No respect for privacy."
Stevie promptly bombarded him. He hugged her tight and swung her around so that she stood on the floor in front of him.
"You're back." Her face was awash with joy.
He tugged on one of her curls until she giggled. "I couldn't leave you alone now, could I?"
"Gillian said she was going to raise me and train me to be a Huntress. The best one ever."
"She did?" Nick looked over at Gillian, his smile soft and for her alone. "Well, now we can do it to gether." He returned his gaze to Stevie.
"Cool."
"I see you finally decided to rejoin us." Charlie hobbled into the room. His joints were noticeably stiff from sleeping on the couch, but his smile was wide and exuberant. "Thought I was going to get stuck with training my third Huntsman."
"Nope. You can retire now, old man."
"'Bout time."
Nick stood and went to his foster father and mentor. The two embraced fondly.
Gillian also stood and took Stevie's hand. They followed Nick and Charlie out into the living room. "Are you hungry?" Gillian asked.
"More thirsty than hungry. I'll take a big glass of ice water if you're offering."
"I'm offering."
Gillian got everyone something to drink, then settled next to Nick on the couch. Stevie immediately snuggled beside her, and she automatically put her arm around the girl.
"What exactly happened after you fell off the building?" Charlie asked, sitting in the recliner. "Do you remember?"
"Some of it," Nick said after finishing half his water. "I remember the Ancients carrying me away. I thought I'd died."
"So did we," Gillian added, suppressing a shudder.
"Things are a little fuzzy after that. Then, I heard their voices telling me it was time to go home. I thought by home they meant the afterlife."
"Did they tell you why they brought you back?" Charlie asked.
Nick leaned forward and winked at Stevie, but the look he gave Gillian and Charlie was somber. "To train my successor. Cadamus wasn't bluffing. He did mate with a female. There will be a new generation of creatures in twenty-five years."
"How?" Gillian and Charlie said at the same time.
"The Ancients didn't explain. Evidently, there were four females and not three."
"But there are always three." Charlie's snow-white brows drew together in a puzzled frown.
"There have been a lot of differences this cycle. Cadamus had his own Synsar. And the females went from being timid to aggressive."
"That's true."
Well, thought Gillian, there went her theory about the eggs and destroying them before the larvae hatched, since they had no idea where the fourth female creature was hiding.
"You're going to have your work cut out for you, kiddo," Nick told Stevie. "Especially if the female creatures continue to "become more aggressive."
"I'm ready." Her demeanor was that of someone considerably older than eight.
"Not yet. Though you will be one day, I have no doubt."
Neither did Gillian.
"So are you and Gillian getting married?" Stevie's glance went from Nick to Gillian and back to Nick.
Charlie coughed in an obvious attempt to disguise a laugh. Gillian felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
Nick grinned. "I've been contemplating it. What do you think?"
"I think yes and right away." Stevie beamed.
"I'm all for that." Nick chuckled. "But it's really up to Gillian." He reached over and brushed his knuckles along the line of her jaw. "She hasn't agreed to make an honest man of me yet."
"You're going to marry Nick, aren't you?" Stevie snuggled up closer to Gillian. "That way, we can be a real family."
Gillian tried to counter the unexpected rush of emotion with a light laugh.
"Maybe." She swallowed, which proved difficult because her throat had suddenly closed. "We'll have to see." She patted Stevie's knee, got up, and went to the kitchen, taking her and Stevie's glasses with her as an excuse.
Nick came up behind her while she stood at the sink, took her by the shoulders, and turned her around. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" She tried to pretend she wasn't upset.
"For botching my marriage proposal. Give me time, I'll do it right, I promise. Flowers, diamond ring, down on one knee. The whole nine yards."
"You didn't botch your proposal."
"You sure? Because you don't look like a gal who's just been swept off her feet. Is it the coming-backfrom-the-dead part that's making you hesitant?"
"Not at all." This time her laugh was genuine, but short-lived. "I do want to marry you. And be a mom to Stevie. Even have one or two more kids if Huntsmen are allowed."
"We're allowed. Encouraged even." He tugged her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I promise you, Gillian, my hero days are over. The most dangerous work I'll do from now on
will be as a camera operator for TV-7 News."
"Somehow, I'm not reassured. You embark on a lot of dangerous stunts in your job."
"Those days are also over. Now that I'll have a wife and kids to come home to every night, I'm planning on playing it safe."
She sighed into his chest.
He drew back to stare at her, his expression troubled. "What's wrong?"
"You're going to think I'm silly."
"Tell me," he coaxed.
"I want my father to walk me down the aisle." She sniffed back a tear. "But I don't know if that's possible."
"We'll make it possible."
"But the cancer. If it's come back, if he's terminal-"
"First of all, we don't know if the cancer's come back. We'll find out Friday after his biopsy surgery. Depending on the results, which could be negative," he reminded her, "and his treatment, we'll set a date for the wedding. And starting tomorrow, I'll go to work on getting him paroled."
"What can you do that I haven't already tried?"
"Like I said before, I have some connections. People of influence I've worked with over the years. In fact, I've already been laying the groundwork to see if they can help."
"What people?"
"A couple of state senators. The governor. The warden at Florence Prison."
"The warden?"
"My visits to Florence weren't always to see your dad. We did a story there last year about some new reforms that shed a positive light on the prison and particularly the warden."
The realization that her father hadn't been lying completely about Nick's visits made her glad. "Do you think they'll agree to help us?" For the first time in days, Gillian felt a ray of hope. She clung to it.
Nick hugged her to him and pressed a light kiss to her temple. "One way or another, my bride's father is going to give her away."
She held him tighter, deeply touched by his willingness to make her wedding day everything she'd ever imagined. "Oh, Nick. I love you so much." "I know. I heard you," he said in her ear. "When?"
"I'm not sure. I just remember your voice coming to me. It was soft and far away, but I could still hear it. You said, `I love you, Nick. I always will."'
"I did say that. In the car when Charlie was driving us home. But how could you hear me?"
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