by Gina LaManna
“Matthew. I’m with you. I love you, and I’m in love with you,” I said. “Grey knows that. He’s not trying to interfere.”
“He might never interfere,” Matthew said. “But that doesn’t change anything.”
I sat on the bed, crumpled. “This sucks. This super sucks. Why is this our responsibility?”
Matthew shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I suppose it’s all in the grand design somewhere, the balance of good and evil. There will always be an equilibrium, and a fight to maintain it.”
“We don’t know this is true though,” I said. “We don’t know any of this for a fact. I was just with Grey, and he didn’t say... nothing was different. He knows we’re just friends.”
Matthew just shook his head. “Look at Kady. Her fate has already been sealed.”
“What are you talking about?” I gave Matthew my best death stare. “She’s in the hospital recovering. I mean, things aren’t looking good, but Nurse Anita hasn’t given up yet, and we shouldn’t either.”
“I don’t think you understand Willa’s file,” Matthew said softly. “Willa can’t come into her power until her darkest moment.”
“Right. And that’s now. When she thinks she’s going to lose her mother.”
Matthew’s face was tinged in sadness. “I don’t think so, Danielle.”
I stood, the blood draining from my body. “I have to get to the hospital.”
Matthew stood along with me. “I think that’s a good idea. I’ll come with you.”
“No, please. I have to do this alone. And you...” I sucked in a breath. “I think you should stay out of the spotlight. While you’re at it, it’s probably best if you talk to Grey.”
Chapter 28
It was nearing morning by the time I made it to the hospital. I climbed the stairs and bypassed the front desk which was quiet and sleepy at this ungodly hour. The hallways, however, were filled with chipper night staff and exhausted family members.
Main visiting hours were over, but there were plenty of people waiting for news on a loved one. While I normally came to the hospital on business, today it was personal.
As I eased down the hallway toward the Bloomer room, I was startled to find Arthur Lemont strolling toward me.
“Chief,” I said, straightening. “What brings you to Wicked?”
I could count on one hand the number of times I’d seen Chief Lemont here, and I thought his presence couldn’t be good. Especially since he’d already sent his puppet along to watch over us. Watters was doing an excellent job disrupting the borough.
“There’s been an unfortunate development.” Lemont pulled to a stop and frowned, his gray-flecked eyes tinted with concern. “Unfortunately, we’ve had another attack. This time on Watters.”
My heart thumped. “Do you know who did it? Is she... surviving?”
“She’s alive, yes,” Lemont said. “That’s why I’m here. I’ve brought some members of our SWAT team with me to make an arrest. Hopefully this will all come to an end soon.”
“An arrest?”
Lemont nodded. “Head to the Sixth Precinct building in an hour. I’ve planned a debriefing. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to check on my lieutenant.”
Still reeling from surprise, I knocked on the door to Kady’s room and took a step through. I peeked tentatively around the corner and caught sight of her thin form, covered lightly by a sheet. Next to the bed sat Willa and Jack.
My heart thudded; my stomach plummeted. Willa was hunched over, her body completely limp, her head in Jack’s lap. Her hand was latched firmly with her mother’s. Jack’s hand stroked tenderly through her locks, the blond curls matted and damp with salty tears.
The room was devoid of beeps and buzzes. No nurse scurried in to check on things. My soul ripped in half for Willa.
I’d frozen halfway through the doorway, not realizing I’d let out a small whimper the moment I realized what had happened. Jack looked up, his face gaunt and pale, though his fingers never stopped listlessly running through Willa’s curls.
His eyes averted to Kady for a moment, then back to me. I almost asked why he hadn’t called, but I realized how selfish that sounded. Finally, Jack gave one shake of his head. It was final. It reeked with hopelessness.
And death.
I took another step into the room and paused, uncertain for one of the first times in my life. As a detective, I had no place here. As a friend, I was clueless. I didn’t know how to help Willa, to ease her pain, and that made me feel more helpless than ever before.
Willa’s eyes flicked toward me. “Dani?”
“Honey,” I said, standing awkwardly still. “I am—I am so sorry. I didn’t know, or I would have been here sooner. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
“Me neither.” Willa’s body was limp, her humor gone. Lifeless. “I can’t believe she’s dead.”
The word dead jarred something in me, an anger, a fury at The Hex Files for demanding this fate of Willa and her mother. How could I tell my friend—my one true friend—that her mother had to die in order to prevent evil from reigning in the future? How was that a fair price to pay?
“Willa, please, don’t give up.” I moved toward her, knelt and rested my hands on her lap to plead with her. “You have got to push through this. Your mom would have wanted you to.”
“Yeah, well, she shouldn’t have died.” A whisper of a gasp racked her shoulders. “I wasn’t ready; she wasn’t ready. She was innocent.”
“I know she was, honey. I know.” I looked to Jack, but he merely gave a shrug of one shoulder. Neither of us could argue with Willa’s point. “It’s not fair, but it’s not fair that your mom got sick in the first place, either. It’s not fair that some bastard attacked her. It’s not fair that Matthew landed in the hospital, or that Sienna...”
Jack’s gaze snapped to mine. “Sienna?”
Willa’s puffy face more cautiously followed suit, alarm in her eyes. “What happened to Sienna?”
“She’s...” I hesitated. “She’s in trouble. I’m sorry, you have enough to think about. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, I want to know.” Willa shifted in her seat. “It’s so damn unfair! Who is doing this? Was it a werewolf?”
“No,” I said, “and we don’t even know it was a werewolf who attacked your mother and Matthew. We’re still grasping at straws, but we’re going to figure it out, Willa. I promise you.”
“I thought that lieutenant from New York kicked you off the case,” Jack said warily. “Are you sure you should be investigating?”
“I’m positive,” I snapped, then softened. “Willa, I swear to you, we’ll find who did this. We’ll get justice for your mother. I promise you.”
Willa looked mildly curious for a split second, then that curiosity slipped away, retreated like the tide, and left only despair in its place. “What’s it matter?” she slurred in her exhaustion. “It won’t bring her back.”
I gripped Willa’s hands. “I know, hon. Nothing will bring her back. That’s what sucks about my job.”
“She’s not a job,” Willa said with a sudden fierceness. “She’s my mother. It’s different this time.”
“Believe me, I know it is,” I said, feeling Willa easing further and further from me. With each inch backward, I felt my heart clutch at the distance she was wedging between us. “I just mean, I’ve seen this before, and it’s never easy. It’s—I don’t know what to say, Willa. I’m so sorry. I’m here for you.”
“Fine,” she said, her voice limp, dead. As an afterthought, she added, “Thanks.”
“Willa, please listen to me,” I said. “Your mom would have wanted you to keep living, she’d have needed to know—”
“Don’t tell me what my mother needed.” Willa slid her hands away from mine and stared blankly at the wall. “She’s my mother. Oh, God,” she wailed. “She was my mother. Oh, God.”
Willa dissolved into a shudder of tears, curling away from me. I stood, my
helplessness extrapolated a million times over. Willa’s blond hair had turned dull and stringy, her face red and blotchy, a pool of mascara under her eyes that had long ago streaked across her face. I could practically hear her will to exist slipping away with each gulp of oxygen.
“This wasn’t how it was supposed to go!” I muttered to the ceiling. “What the hell is happening?”
Jack glared at me, confused and frustrated, and nodded for me to back off. I did, keeping behind Willa so she couldn’t see me. I sat on the hard, cold window seat and felt another wave of pitiful helplessness wash over me as I watched Jack ease an arm around Willa. She calmed at his touch while the very sight of me, the squeeze of her hands in mine, had turned her angsty and upset.
I heaved a huge sigh, hating this stupid prophecy. The Hex Files, the weight of it, the death sentence it carried. I was on the verge of throwing it out entirely and ignoring all that had happened. I closed my eyes, thinking that maybe if we ignored it long enough, it would just go away. I couldn’t bear for these damn files to steal away any more of my precious few loved ones.
When I opened my eyes, I was startled by the tender, emotional sight before me. Willa had nuzzled in against Jack in a truly intimate movement. There was no romance, no expectation, just the closeness of two like souls.
Jack was murmuring in Willa’s ear. I turned to the side and looked out the window, wishing I’d left the room when I had the chance. It felt too private a moment for me to witness, but it was too late to leave. I’d disturb them if I moved, and I could practically see Willa healing with every word Jack spoke.
So, I tried my best to turn into a statue and tune out the conversation, though it didn’t work entirely. I blinked, watching the stars twinkle in the distance, the vast expanse of the universe stretching blankly before us like a canvas. I wondered if Willa’s mother was out there, watching over her distraught daughter.
“Please,” I whispered, barely audible, “please help us.”
Jack’s voice rose, and it was impossible to tune out entirely. The words he spoke were so foreign coming from my baby brother’s lips, so wise and sure and caring. I wondered where he’d learned it, and I hated that it shifted something in me, brought tears to my own eyes as I unwillingly eavesdropped. But I couldn’t turn away. It was no wonder Willa felt drawn to him, even latched onto him like a beacon of light.
“It’s not fair,” Jack continued, and he tipped Willa’s head to face him. His eyes were torn with hurt, destroyed as they watched the woman he cared for so dearly as she fell apart. “I’m so sorry, Willa. We all are. But Dani’s right. You can’t give up.”
Willa’s eyes—deep pools of water—blinked and sent a waterfall down her cheek. She looked pale and beautiful and broken. Jack raised a hand, dragged his thumb down her reddened skin.
“But how?” she murmured. “And why? My mother was my best friend, my only family.”
Jack just nodded, but his face took on a hardened look of determination as he swallowed, worked up his courage, and gripped her hands so hard the veins on his arms popped. “Because I need you.”
“What?” Willa’s gasp came from a place of hope and a place of pain. “What are you talking about?”
“Willa, I’ve gotten to know you these last few months,” Jack said, “and I was waiting for the right time to tell you this. I don’t think this is the time, but I do think you need to know.”
“Jack, what are you talking about?”
Jack took a sustaining breath. “You are beautiful, Willa. And so smart, and funny, and warm. You care more than anyone I’ve ever met, and even if you never feel the same way about me, it’s fine. But I think you need to know.” Jack raised her hands, kissed the back of one.
I shrunk back against the wall, overwhelmed by the display of emotion and heart I was seeing in my youngest brother for the first time ever. My throat constricted, my heart thumped. It was impossible not to feel something. He was entirely raw, preparing to lay his heart on the line. He looked terrified and so certain, there was no doubt in my mind what he’d say next.
“I’m madly, deeply, crazy in love with you,” Jack whispered, his eyes tearing up, pooling with heart. “I know this is the worst possible time to tell you, but I can’t bear to see you fall apart. If you ever decide you have any feelings for me, well, I would become whole. I just know it. Don’t say anything back, but just... consider it. Because you have people here who love you. And I am one of them.”
“Oh, Jack.” Willa reached for his face. “You idiot, I’ve loved you since I laid eyes on you!”
A wave of relief dripped through Jack’s body and he almost collapsed with nerves against Willa, their lips meeting in a glimmer of a kiss. I averted my eyes.
While it felt wrong I’d witnessed one of the most private moments of two people, I was grateful. For Jack, for Willa, for their hope. It had shifted me, too. It was impossible to be in the presence of such love and not be affected one way or another.
I was on the verge of clearing my throat to alert them when I flicked my gaze back to the couple and saw something strange happening. Willa’s entire body glowed in a golden light. It wasn’t the effect of shimmering Residuals. It was pure power beaming from her.
“Jack,” I mumbled. “Willa, look—there’s something happening.”
Jack’s glance at me was drunkenly confused. He’d forgotten I was there. Willa couldn’t bring herself to look at me. By the time Jack snapped his attention back to her, his breath locked in his chest, and he coughed in surprise.
“Willa?” he asked, resting a hand on her arm. He shot me an accusatory glance. “What’d you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “I’m not sure what’s happening, but...”
I trailed off as the glowing light grew brighter and brighter still until it was blinding. Willa’s chest raised, she threw her arms back, her eyes closed.
“Do something, Dani!” Jack stood, tried to prop her up, but he withdrew his hand as if he’d been burned. “Is she possessed?”
“No, Jack!” I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “I think we need to wait.”
“But—”
“Look,” I said. “She’s peaceful. I think... I think she’s coming into her powers.”
“What powers?”
I just shook my head. There was no way to know, nor was there a way to stop what was happening—for better or for worse.
The golden light grew so thick and foggy the power was something tangible, something I could rub between my fingers like a soft fabric, something real and intense. Jack felt it too, shivering as the golden light washed over his body. We could no longer see Kady’s body for the smoggy glow.
Then at once, all of it disappeared. The golden light exploded into tiny bursts, itsy bitsy flecks of gold fluttering away like butterflies into infinity, leaving Willa alone.
She remained seated, her eyes still closed, her arms flung wide, her body immobile.
“Should I—” Jack moved forward, but I dragged him back.
“Give her a minute,” I said. “We don’t know what’s happened yet.”
We waited and watched for what felt like an eternity, though it was probably only a minute or two. Then, without speaking or opening her eyes, Willa stood with zombie-like motions. She turned toward the wall, her face passive, her body rigid.
And then she opened her eyes.
Two beams of golden light shot from her eyes. The power was so heavily concentrated that as she turned her head and swept her gaze around the room, it gave off a similar effect to a lighthouse. As the golden spotlight beamed over me, I felt a warm, trembling sensation. Willa most certainly had come into her powers, and we could all feel it.
Jack shifted next to me, clearly uncomfortable. He didn’t spend as much time around strange and bizarre powers as I did, and he was clearly disoriented.
“Willa?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
At the mention of her name, the lights in her eyes faded and dis
appeared. For an extended moment, she stood still, blinking at us with a curious look before she crumbled.
Jack leapt forward, caught her before she hit the floor. He eased her into the chair. “Willa?” He gave her a light squeeze. “Are you okay? What happened?”
When she merely blinked sleepily in response, Jack turned a harried gaze to me.
“Did I do that?” he asked. “Does that always happen to you magical people when someone says I love you?”
I stifled a laugh and shook my head. “No, Jack. I think Willa’s fine. Aren’t you, honey?”
I carefully moved closer, noting the frustration in Willa’s gaze had faded. Even the sorrow had faded. All that was left was a peculiar gleam in her eye.
“What happened?” She struggled to sit by herself. “I just felt...I don’t know. Warm everywhere. Like someone else’s power just took over me.”
“I think those powers might belong to you,” I suggested softly.
Willa shook her head. “That’s impossible. I’m the least magical person in the borough. I can’t even make simple store-bought spells work.”
I hesitated to bring up the prophecy at a time like this. It still felt drastically unfair. Especially before Willa had had time to comprehend any of it, let alone discover more about her powers in due time.
“You’ll figure it out,” I assured her. “As long as you’re okay. That’s what matters.”
“I feel fine, but that doesn’t change the fact that my mom is dead.” Willa shook her head, the anguish returning to her eyes. “I would trade all these stupid powers if I could just get her back.”
I wanted to agree, but I didn’t have time before she turned back to face her mother and nearly fell off her chair in the process.
“Willa?” Jack lunged for her, clutched her to his chest. “What is it?”
Willa’s face was sheet cake white. “Oh—oh, my God! Tell me you see that?”
Jack glanced around the room. “See what?”