“He isn’t human.”
Skepticism shadows Kaius’s face. “I don’t know, Jade.”
“I don’t need you to believe me right now. I just need you to come with us and stay out of the building.”
“Until when?”
“I don’t know.”
Kaius nods at Griffin. “Has he seen him?”
Griffin shakes his head. “I’m not going down there. He’s not after me, but I’m not going to get in his way.”
“He’s after someone?”
I nod.
“Who?”
“You. And Jerod. And Dad.”
Kaius blinks. I can see him working out the logic in his head. He turns to Griffin. “And you believe all this?”
Griffin looks up from the screen. “I’m trying. She’s very clearly spooked by something. And she keeps bringing up stuff that she shouldn’t know that turns out to be true or turns out to be real.”
“I’ll save you a headache,” I say to Kaius. “Merlin, whose real name is Aric, killed Grandpa and Uncle Arthur. I’m assuming he’s going from oldest to youngest, for whatever reason, maybe it has something to do with the spell that locked him up, and he’s picking the men off every two days. Dad dies tomorrow if he steps foot inside this building. I know how that sounds, but—”
“You’re saying Arthur’s death wasn’t an accident?” His expression is set in hard lines.
“No, it wasn’t.”
He closes his eyes for a moment. “I believe you.”
“Why?”
He lifts his eyes to my face. “I never thought you were psychotic in any way. It just didn’t fit. Honestly, I believed Granddad when he said there was a curse. And more honestly, your eyes are just damn freaky. It’s cool, and I’m not scared of you or anything like Grandma or Eliane, but that’s not normal. Something is clearly going on. No one has eyes that change color like that. And every single woman in this family had eyes like that. There’s also that long line of suicides. I get that Dad was trying to convince us that it just runs in the family, but come on. Every woman? Every one? I mean, I’m not saying I’m one hundred percent on board with what you’re saying, but if you say something’s going on…I believe you.”
I let out a breath. “Kaius…thank you.”
“Yeah. Well. I need to pack. And I’ll give Dad a ring and see what his plans are for tomorrow. He wants me to call him anyway.” He starts to the door and then stops and turns back around. “You know we can’t keep him out of the building. Even if he thinks all this Merlin stuff is real and thinks he’s in danger, he won’t stay away. This place is his baby. He cares about it more than any of us.”
Something pinches inside my heart. “I know.”
He nods. Then he leaves and the door clicks softly shut behind him.
“Are you going to be okay?” Griffin asks.
“How would you feel if you killed your father?”
“Jade, no, listen.” He sets the laptop down on the cushions. “You’re not a murderer.” He crosses the room and laces his fingers through mine.
“You don’t understand.”
“I’m trying to understand. And I really am trying to believe you, but it’s hard. I’m not going to stop trying though. Or stop helping you. My brain just keeps fighting with itself.”
“I understand.” I would be suspicious if he didn’t have doubts. I had them myself until I saw Merlin claw his way through Fallon’s body. My scalp and skin crawl at the memory. Since there’s no way I’m taking anyone down there, I get the fun and difficult task of trying to get them to take my word for it.
“I know you don’t believe me when I say it’s not your fault, but it isn’t.”
“If a zookeeper lets a hungry tiger out of its cage, whose fault is it when the tiger mauls someone?”
“You’re not a wild animal.”
I guess not. Animals act on instinct. I was driven by emotion.
“We’ll figure something out.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and hold onto him tight. He embraces me and rests his head on top of mine.
“Does this mean I’m not getting friend-zoned?”
I press my face against his shirt. He smells like rain and deodorant. “Not too hard anyway.”
His arms tighten around me. “Good. As long as I can still climb my way out.”
A tiny smile tugs at my lips. “I can’t believe all my crazy talk hasn’t scared you off yet.”
He chuckles. “Really, your whole family is kind of weird. I’m used to it.”
His heart beats steadily against my ear, and I close my eyes and let it soothe my nerves.
30
Death Always Takes A Toll
Aric’s energy wakes me early. His sighing rubs against my sheets and wafts along the walls.
Griffin is asleep next to me, having passed out while reading the journal and letter. I barely slept at all. I spent the night staring at every millimeter of the map and family tree, wondering if I’m overlooking something. I’m sure Megara did her best, but it’s not nearly enough. We’re no closer to having a solution. Nothing I read helps me.
The sun is brightening the sky as I go into the living room and pick up the paper with the unreadable text. I wonder if Aric would tell me what this is if I asked. It’s unlikely, but I start heading that way anyway.
I stop in the tunnels. I don’t know if I’m halfway there or almost there. The cavern always comes up later or sooner than I’m expecting.
What am I doing? I’m not thinking straight. What am I going to say? Can you translate this for me? And also, please spare my brothers. Thanks. I groan and turn to go back, but my feet don’t move. Did Megara ever try to talk to him? Why didn’t she leave more clues somewhere so the rest of us wouldn’t be so blind? I shiver and wrap my hands around my arms. Why did I leave so hastily? It’s freezing down here and my arms are bare.
A hot hand wraps around my shoulder, and I gasp and whirl around.
Thick, green smoke fills the tunnels behind Aric. It’s weird seeing him out of the cavern. I take a step away from him.
“I feel like you’re angry with me.” His cloudy eye stares through me. A shudder rolls up my spine, and I force myself to focus on his other one.
“I am.”
“It’s cold out here. Come.” He turns, and I follow him. The smoke disperses as we near the silver door. He moves silently, like mist. My slippers sound clunky in comparison and echo faintly around us.
The cave is indeed significantly warmer. He travels deep into the center, to the reconstructed stone slab. I stay by the door.
“I know that you’re leaving for a few days.” His voice sounds forlorn. He slides his hands over the surface of the slab and then gazes at me. “I hope you enjoy yourself.”
I try to swallow past the fear expanding in my throat. If he knows I’m leaving, does he also know why? “Do you know where I’m going?”
He closes his eyes and breathes in deep. “Someplace far away. You need to get away from everything. You need to get away from me.” He takes in another breath. “I understand. You need more time. Death is hard.” When he opens his eyes again, his gaze drops to the paper clutched in my hand. “What is that?”
I hold it closer to my body. “I don’t know. I found it in the box with the family tree.”
He crosses the room and gently pries it from my grasp. The page shimmers yellow as he looks at it. Then he turns it back around so I can see. The once faded script is whole and readable again. At least, readable to someone who understands Gaelic.
“Megara had this?” he asks.
I shrug. “I guess.”
“Do you know what this is?”
I shake my head.
He frowns. “This is the spell Morgana used to trap me.” The paper catches fire, and he holds onto it while it burns to ash. “I’m sorry, you can’t keep this.”
I think about the picture Griffin took of it yesterday, but what good is it to us really? “I wouldn’t be able to read it anyway.
”
“Just in case.” The frown continues to crease his brows. “I think perhaps she was hiding things from me. That is disappointing after everything I helped her with.” He looks into my eyes. “What are you hiding from me?” He steps in closer, cloaking me in his cloud of heat. “Tell me I can trust you, Jade.”
I press my back into the wall, and my breath falls shallow.
“Tell me you’re not doing something stupid.”
I’m so stupid for thinking I could ever trust him. Who trusts a creepy voice in their head? Desperate people do.
“You need to talk to me. I know it’s difficult right now, but you need to let go of your guilt. No one’s blood is on your hands.” He reaches for me, and I duck under his arm and retreat until I crash into a chest. Gold coins spill onto the floor.
“Of course it’s my fault.” My voice shakes. “I’m the one who let you out.”
He shakes his head. “No, Jade. You didn’t know. You’re not to blame.” He corners me again and takes my hands. “I am sorry for the pain I’m causing you, but I want you to be free. Neither of us can be who we’re meant to be while they’re still alive. You will come to see that.”
I try to pull my hands away, but his grip tightens until it’s almost painful.
“What are you hiding from me?”
“Nothing.” My throat goes dry. I shouldn’t have come down here. I don’t know when Griffin is going to get up, and we have a funeral to go to and a flight to catch.
He pulls me close and inhales the aura around me. I shrink away from him, but there’s only so far I can go with my hands locked in his. “You can talk openly with me,” he says pulling back. “You do know that?”
“What do you know about a sorceress in the woods?”
His grip loosens but not enough for me to break free. “You’ve been reading up on me.” His tone isn’t accusatory, but I still feel like he’s accusing me of something. He lets go of one of my hands and leads me down the steps to the stone slab. He sits me on top and stands so close his thighs are pressed against my knees. He folds his arms across his chest. “What do you want to know?”
“Who was she?”
“She helped me when I needed it, and then I moved on to find a family to serve. She didn’t make me what I am. I’ve always been this way. I was born into the world, like anyone else. But my parents couldn’t have children. They went to a practitioner of magical arts, and I was born from that. Once my mother and father passed away, I left to explore other lands. I didn’t know how to control my abilities, as I didn’t use them much because they frightened my parents. The woman in the woods helped me with that. She mentored me.”
I guess that makes sense. I don’t suppose he has a reason to lie about it. “A practitioner? Like the sorceress?”
“I imagine they were similar. He wasn’t someone people liked to be around. Neither was she. But they were always easy to find, if you really wanted their help. I don’t know much about him. Only that he was secluded and had a deep connection to many powerful spirits. In life, I would have been more like them, able to manipulate energy and elements.”
“What are you now?”
“Something stronger.” He cups my face. “I want you to be strong, as well. And you will be if you let me help you. I can’t help you if you hide from me. But I understand that I need to re-earn your trust.” His hands fall away and he steps back.
I hop down and away from him.
“I’ll be here when you get back.”
I hurry to the exit, and stop briefly in the doorway. “Aric?” I turn to face him. “Where will you go once you’re free?”
“I’ll explore the world again. Hopefully, with you by my side. There is much I would like to show you.” He moves forward, and I step back. “I can be the family you deserve, and give you the life you were meant to have. Once you’re no longer chained.” He shifts his gaze to the scattered coins I knocked over earlier, and one by one, they float into the air and plunk back into the chest.
31
Dust To Dust
A light breeze scatters fallen rose petals around my grandfather’s shiny, steel-blue coffin. My mother is the first person to hightail it to the parking lot as the body is lowered into the ground. I hurry after her. “Mom!”
She stops but doesn’t turn around. “What do you want, Jade?”
I throw any attempt at niceties to the wind. “Dad told me you filed for divorce. You couldn’t wait a couple of days? Arthur just died.”
She blows out an impatient breath and turns to face me. She avoids eye contact, training her gaze instead on the cluster of people behind me. “There will never be a good time to file. With all the deaths…” She shakes her head. “I want out. I want away from this family.”
Jerod steps up beside me. “We’re your children. I can’t believe you would say that.”
“You’re adults. You can take care of yourselves. I’m moving in with my mother. I never should have married him. I had a good life.”
Jerod glares at her. “Yeah. Until you married a wealthy man who gave you everything you wanted and had two beautiful children. Don’t stand there and pretend like you married him because you loved him.”
Her face scrunches up in disgust. “Your father is horrible. And so is your sister. The second I saw her I knew she would ruin this family. And she has. As soon as she came out, your father was obsessed with her. He immediately dumped all these crazy stories on me. Telling me her eyes are going to change colors and that madness runs in the family. He could have told me that earlier, and maybe we could have done something about it. They have procedures where you can abort one twin without harming the other. He knew about all the stress she would cause, and he still made me have her anyway.”
I hear what she’s saying, but I don’t feel anything. I don’t have to, though. Jerod feels it for me.
“Why am I not surprised that you would say something so horrible to her face?” He steps in front of me. “You know what?” He points to her car. “Leave. Jade hasn’t ruined anything. You have. You knew what kind of man you were marrying. What did you think would happen? You steal a man away from his wife, and you think the same won’t happen to you? Why? Because you’re so beautiful, right? And you think that makes you above decency and excuses you for treating Jade like shit?”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “This whole family is fucked up. You want me to say that I stayed for the money? Of course I did! I didn’t want children. He did. He loves children, but he doesn’t want a family. He doesn’t want a wife.”
“Please, Mom, stop talking to us like we’re stupid,” Jerod says. “We all know why you hung around as long as you did. The longer you’re married, the more money you get. That ought to buy a nice penthouse in São Paulo. If you were so miserable, you should have left us years ago. It’s not like you ever did any actual parenting. I was raised by Granddad and Vivian, and then you show up at his funeral with your nose in the air and whining about how burdened you’ve been by all the non-existent responsibilities you’ve had.”
Moisture forms in her eyes, and still I feel nothing for her. “Do you have any idea how stressful it is to have a daughter who’s crazy? Do you know how many hours of my life I’ve wasted in waiting rooms and clinics and doctors’ offices? I thought she would have thrown herself out of a window by now, and then things could go back to normal. Your father could relax and pay attention to me again, and I could pretend I didn’t see a receipt from a designer boutique filled with items he clearly bought for someone else. But I can’t do this anymore. I can’t look at her anymore. I can’t ignore the affairs. This family is cursed, and I’m not sticking around to see another disaster.”
“We know he cheats on you,” Jerod says. “Everyone knows. I don’t feel sorry for you.”
“Well, I hear you narrowly escaped a similar fate. Lucky you.”
Jerod shakes his head. “Piss off.” He links his arm through mine and drags me back to Grandpa’s grave.
&nb
sp; Vivian pulls us into her arms as soon as we reach her. “I know I’m not your mother, but you know I love you both as if I am.”
“We know.” Jerod kisses her cheek and throws a disdainful glance over his shoulder.
I had no idea he and Mom had issues. I thought she loved him. All these years I singled myself out, and she didn’t like either one of us.
“What did you hear?” Jerod asks.
Vivian shakes her head. “Too much. I’m not surprised, but I still wish she had some sense, you know? For you guys’ sake.” She hugs us again. “I can’t believe what happened to Arthur. How’s your father taking it?”
“It’s hard to tell,” Jerod says. “He’s just been angry and keeping to himself.”
Vivian breathes out. “When is Arthur’s funeral?”
“I don’t know. Aunt Cece doesn’t want to have one. She and Dad got into a fight about it last night. Grandma called me crying, and then I had to go over there and try to calm everyone down. We’re actually heading out for a few days. I feel kind of guilty for leaving, but—”
“No, don’t feel guilty.” Vivian pats his arm. “You guys need a change of scenery. It won’t be hard to get back once the funeral plans are made.”
Kaius and Griffin approach us, matching somber looks on their faces. Kaius gives his mom a long hug. “Thanks for coming, Mom.”
“There’s no way I wouldn’t be here.”
My father stalks by without looking at or speaking to anyone, his phone pressed to his ear. I watch him until he reaches the parking lot. Then I chase after him. “Dad!”
He looks over his shoulder but doesn’t slow.
“Dad!”
He stops by his car long enough for me to catch up with him. “I’m spending the day with my mother,” he says into the phone, “but I’ll stop by the office right quick and fax the signature over.”
My heart skips a beat. “You can’t go to the office.”
He drops his phone into his suit pocket and throws me a look of irritation. “Not now, Jade.”
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