by T. M. Cromer
“You should get some rest. I can sit with her for a while,” his mother offered.
“I can’t leave her, Mom. I just can’t.”
The smell of her subtle perfume surrounded him just before her arms embraced him. “Let me know what I can do.”
“Can you check on Autumn?” he asked hoarsely, all the worry for her in his voice. Now that he’d calmed down and had a chance to think things through, he realized none of this was her fault. GiGi had been correct; Lin would’ve found them regardless. “She… she might not…”
“Consider it done, son,” his father said.
Chapter 21
Autumn wandered aimlessly along the river’s edge, surprised by how mild the weather seemed. They were only a few months away from winter, yet flowers still bloomed along the riverbank and birds sang their happy songs as they swooped from tree branch to tree branch.
She smiled at the beauty of the day. If only every day were this lovely.
After another few minutes of walking, she encountered a solitary figure on a bench overlooking the water. The woman’s soft smile widened, and her stunning eyes burned with love.
“Hello, dear one.”
“Hello.”
Who exactly the female was, Autumn didn’t know, but the peace she experienced in the other woman’s presence was immeasurable.
Autumn studied her for a moment, taking in the long, shining black hair, the kohl-lined, light amber eyes, and the smooth, olive complexion. The woman wore a sheer, white dress with a material that reflected just enough light to provide modest coverage of her ample assets. The dress draped over her left shoulder, held together with a jeweled clasp. A gold scorpion bangle balanced the look and graced her upper right arm. In her hand, she held a long staff with a dark yellow stone at the tip.
“Do I know you?” Autumn asked as she shifted forward.
“You do.” The amusement in the other woman’s voice was thick.
“Who are you?”
“Isis.”
“Isis? As in the Goddess Isis?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.” It was probably bad form, but Autumn plunked down on the bench beside where the Goddess stood. Seeing your ancestor mysteriously appear during your morning walk had that effect.
Isis’s full red lips twitched in amusement. “Do you know why you are here, dear?”
Autumn frowned and looked around. She turned confused eyes to the Goddess. “No. I… Where am I?”
“You know it as the Otherworld,” Isis said gently and paused to allow her words to sink in.
Dear Goddess! She was dead. That was the only reason to be in the Otherworld.
It took three tries before Autumn could speak, but she finally managed to croak, “I’m dead?”
“Nearly.”
“I didn’t get to say goodbye,” she cried.
“There was no time. Come. There is someone I’d like you to meet.”
Autumn followed Isis to a clearing that was eerily similar to the one between the Thorne and Carlyle estates. “Is this…?”
“Yes. Just on a different plane of existence.”
“Gotcha.” She choked back the million questions dancing about in her mind.
They stopped on the exact spot where Autumn and Keaton had fought nearly ten years before.
“Why are we here?” she asked.
“Patience. She will be here soon.”
“She?”
“Chloe.”
“No!” Autumn yelled. “No! You don’t get to take her. She’s innocent.” Tears, once they started, refused to stop flowing from her eyes. “Please!”
Isis cupped Autumn’s cheek and ran a thumb under her eyes to dry the moisture there. “The decision is not mine. Nor is it yours. The decision to stay or go belongs to young Chloe alone.”
“You don’t understand. Keaton can’t lose her. He won’t be able to survive the loss.”
“This is not about Keaton’s journey, dear one. This is about Chloe’s journey.”
“Please!” she begged.
“You and your young man share a great love. If your daughter should decide to stay, you will get through this together.”
“Our daughter?” Autumn’s hand rested against her abdomen. “But our daughter died before she was born.”
“No. The physical body died. Her spirit remained and took the form of another,” Isis corrected.
“Chloe would’ve been my daughter?” Autumn asked incredulously.
“Yes. Your souls have been tied together for many incarnations.”
Knees weak, Autumn leaned against a nearby tree. “My daughter? Chloe was mine first?”
Isis didn’t answer; she merely smiled.
The sun flared brighter as the little girl stepped into the clearing.
“Autumn!” Chloe yelled happily as she ran across the glen.
They met halfway in a tangle of arms. “Oh, Chloe,” she cried softly.
“Did she tell you? Did Isis tell you that you are my mom?” the girl asked unable to contain her excitement.
“She did, sweetie.”
“Isn’t that the best thing ever?”
“It is.”
Tears poured unchecked down Autumn’s face.
Chloe pulled back with a frown. “Why are you crying? Aren’t you happy?”
“Sometimes adults cry when they are overwhelmed with happiness,” she said on a husky whisper. It was all she could manage past the thick lump in her throat.
The girl turned her shining gaze upon Autumn.
How had she missed the similarity in the color and shape of their eyes? A witch’s tell.
“I love you, kid. You know that, right?”
“I love you, too, Autumn.”
“Apparently, you need to make a decision about returning to your dad.”
“I know.” Chloe grew quiet for a moment and looked back over her shoulder toward the Carlyle estate. “Derek is here, too.”
Autumn’s inquiring gaze sought Isis. A slight nod confirmed Chloe’s pronouncement.
“Seems the three of us ended up in a pickle, huh?” she tried to joke.
“It’s okay. We like it here.”
“But your dad will be sad without you, Chloe. Derek’s parents will be as well.”
Isis joined them and placed one hand on each of their shoulders. “Two must go, one must stay. You must decide soon. Balance must be kept in all things.”
“I’ll stay,” Autumn stated decisively. “The children return to live out their lives.”
“No!” Chloe started to cry. “I don’t want to go without you.”
Autumn squatted in front of the girl and gripped her hands. “You’ll have your dad and Derek. And my sisters will still be around to spoil you rotten.”
“Not without you,” Chloe cried.
“Chloe, I need you to be brave. You have a full life of beautiful things ahead.” Autumn looked to the Goddess for confirmation. When Isis bestowed a single nod, Autumn addressed the child. “Besides, you’re the president of our Witch Club, remember? Who’s going to keep my sisters in line?”
“B-but I l-love you,” Chloe whispered brokenly.
No longer able to hold back, Autumn clutched Chloe to her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I won’t be there to watch you grow up. But your dad will be, and he’s going to love you enough for both of us.”
Together they rocked, back and forth, holding each other in their last goodbyes.
“It is time,” Isis said.
“I love you, Chloe. You hold tight to that and remember it always, okay?”
The girl nodded once, grabbed onto Isis’s outstretched hand, and then was gone.
Left alone in the clearing, she collapsed onto the cool grass and stared up at the canopy of branches overhead. Hard to believe her heart could feel the weight of a thousand bricks in the Otherworld, but it did. It beat hard and heavy in her chest. Would she ever associate this stupid clearing with anything but loss?
Time passed, the
only indication was the sun shifting positions in the sky.
Isis returned. “It is done.”
“Chloe and Derek are going to be okay?”
“Yes.”
Autumn nodded and continued to stare skyward. “What happens to me now?”
“There is someone else you need to meet.”
“Please don’t tell me it’s someone else I love. I can’t go through this again,” she rasped out.
“Come, dear one.”
The small hand cradled within Keaton’s spasmed and woke him from his half-dosing state.
“Chloe? Baby?”
“Daddy?” she whispered
“Welcome back, sweetheart.”
“Autumn is gone.”
He leaned forward, unsure if he heard correctly. “What?”
“She was supposed to be my mom, but now she’s gone.”
Heart hammering, he smoothed a hand across her cheek. “That’s just your fever talking. I’m sure Autumn is fine.”
“She’s not. She stayed with the Goddess,” Chloe tearfully insisted.
Keaton’s body turned cold, then hot. There was a truth in the solemn amber eyes staring up at him. He shook his head back and forth in denial. Autumn was too alive. Too vital. There was no way she was dead.
She wouldn’t leave him. She’d fight like hell to stay. Wouldn’t she?
Not if she believed you didn’t care one way or another.
Hot tears burned his eyes and blurred his vision. Preston Thorne had been right to call him a fool.
“How are you feeling?” he choked out.
With solemn eyes, she studied his face. “Will you go check on her, Daddy?”
“I can’t leave you, midget.”
“Yes, you can. Derek and I both came back. Autumn made me. She also said to keep everyone in line.”
Again, he shook his head in denial. The words sounded as if Chloe honestly believed what she was saying. The terrifying part was that Autumn really would cross the planes of existence to save the children. Was that what she had done? Used magic to save them and became trapped?
“You said the Goddess. What Goddess?” he asked, desperate for her to be wrong and this to be a made-up dream.
“Isis.”
Isis! C.C. had recently mentioned the Thornes were descended from Isis.
He whipped out his phone, but just as he intended to dial her number, his phone rang.
“Winnie? What’s going on?” he demanded hoarsely.
“Keaton? It’s Autumn. She’s…” A hiccuping sob escaped her. “We thought, if Chloe was out of the woods, you might want to come.” The rest of her words were muffled by her crying, but they sounded a lot like “last goodbyes.”
His eyes locked with Chloe’s sad gaze. She knew!
He nodded, kissed her forehead, and ran for the door. “Mom!”
His mother was there in a second.
“It’s Autumn, I have to go. Can you—?”
“Go. I’ll stay with Chloe.”
“She’s awake. Just now. She may be hungry.”
“Keaton, go!”
He raced out of the house and to the nearest vehicle, not caring who owned it. Luckily, with the exception of Coop’s police cruiser, everyone usually left their keys in the ignition.
In mere minutes, he’d pulled into the driveway of Thorne Manor. Spring was outside wrapped in her father’s embrace. Her devastated expression told the story.
“Is she…?” Keaton couldn’t voice his worst fear.
Preston viewed him with red-rimmed eyes. “She’s fading fast, son. You should go in.”
He wasn’t sure how he managed the stairs as quickly as he did, but in an instant, he was by Autumn’s bedside. Winnie touched his shoulder and exited the room.
Autumn’s skin was light gray, and her hair hung in lank strands across her shoulders. Her breathing was so shallow as to not be existent. She looked as if death had already taken her into its embrace.
“Oh, babe,” he whispered. “No. Please, no.”
No movement or response of any kind came from her.
“This isn’t how we end. You don’t get to die on me.”
Silence.
“If you go, you’ll take a piece of me that can never be replaced.” A sob caught in his throat. “Do you want that on your eternal conscience? Me, alone the rest of my days, with no one to love?”
Continued silence. He’d never seen her so motionless.
Keaton raised his head to stare upward at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure what he intended until the words poured forth. “Isis? Goddess, if you can hear me, I’m begging you…” he paused to draw in a ragged breath. “…don’t take her from me. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do. You want my life? It’s yours. Just bring her back.” The sobs shook him, and his grief poured out in his words. “Please bring her back. Please. I love her. Please.”
Because he needed the contact, needed to hold her one last time—if only in some small way—he wrapped his arms around Autumn’s stomach and rested his cheek against her flat abdomen. “Please,” he begged on a whisper.
Shadows filled the room, and Autumn’s family came and went. The current mood was somber while everyone was on death watch, expecting her to breathe her last breath at any moment. Still, he continued to hold her, afraid if he let go, so would she.
At one point, young Derek entered the room, looking healthy but a little pale. “She saved me.”
“And you saved Chloe.” Keaton’s voice sounded gravelly, even to his own ears. “Thank you.”
The young teen stroked a finger down Autumn’s gray cheek. “She told me to tell you there is a way.”
Keaton’s head swiveled to stare. “Who? Who told you? Autumn? How?”
“Isis. She told me to tell you there is still a way.”
Heart kicking back into gear, Keaton rose to his feet. “What do I have to do?”
“She said, ‘Alastair will know.’”
Keaton grabbed the boy by the shoulders and gave him a light shake before he hauled him close for a bear hug.
“Mr. Carlyle, you’re hurting me, sir.”
“Yeah, sorry about that, kid. I just…” He swallowed audibly and tried again. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“She also said that you only have until sunrise. Balance must be kept in all things.”
“Stay with her. With Autumn. Talk to her. Let her know I’m coming back for her.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chapter 22
Keaton flew down the stairs and found the man he was looking for in the kitchen. “Mr. Thorne, there’s a way to save her.”
Preston frowned his disbelief. “Son, I think grief has sent you over the edge.”
“No. Let me explain.” He told Preston about his conversation, first with Chloe, then with Derek. “They both said virtually the same thing.”
“Children’s imaginations.”
“I might’ve thought that too if they’d been awake and together these last days. But they haven’t. Not even a phone conversation. And Derek isn’t a young child prone to imagination.”
“You’re asking the impossible, Keaton. My brother wouldn’t help me in a million years.”
“But he might help Autumn. He has before. Would it hurt to ask? We can give him what he wants most—the Chintamani Stone.”
The reality of what they held hit both men at once. “The stone!”
“That has to be what Isis was referring to. I’d wager only Alastair knows how to use it,” Keaton said. “How do we contact him?
“The stone is scheduled to be turned over to the Witches’ Council tomorrow morning,” Preston warned.
“That’s fine by me because we only have until dawn according to Derek.”
“I’ll summon him,” Preston agreed wearily.
The two men were headed to the stairs when a pounding started on the large Mahogany entry doors. Preston reached the door first.
On the other side, Alastair, resplendent in a blue suit an
d pale yellow silk tie, leaned against the door jamb with his arms crossed over his chest. “You rang?”
“How did you…? How did he…?” Keaton was at a loss. If he lived to be two thousand years old, he’d never get used to how casually these men navigated the magical world.
Preston and Alastair stared at each other in challenge. Neither man giving an inch.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Keaton snapped. “Alastair, we need your help. Autumn has very little time left, and the Goddess Isis claims you’re the key to saving her.”
Alastair straightened and became all business. “Where is she?”
“Follow me,” Preston commanded.
“My understanding was that she wasn’t shot. How did this happen?” Alastair lifted her lids, checked her pulse, and placed an ear to her chest to listen for respiratory sounds.
“She saved me, sir,” Derek said from his corner of the room. “I was shot by the man trying to take Chloe.”
“The bullet was laced with a poison from Lin,” Preston added.
Grimness settled over Alastair’s features. “At this point, her chances are slim. You understand that, right?” He looked directly at his brother. “I don’t know how much I can do.”
“I know,” Preston said gruffly. “Please, try.”
“You know I will. Where’s the stone?”
Suspicion clouded Preston’s countenance.
“Brother, I need it to heal her. The stone.”
In a snap, Preston was dangling the necklace from his balled-up fist. When Alastair reached for it, Preston jerked it back. “When you’re done, I have to turn it in to the Council.”
Alastair raised an angry brow but remained silent.
Preston dumped the necklace in his brother’s open palm. “But if I forget and set it on the kitchen table, say, while I run to check on my daughter, and if the necklace disappears, who can blame me for the distraction?”
Wicked amusement lightened Alastair’s sapphire gaze. “Not a soul.” He studied Preston’s face before he spoke again. “We need one more thing.”
“GiGi.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Preston shook his head. “She won’t be in the same house as you, brother.”
“Not even for Autumn?” Keaton asked, appalled at the idea anyone would put an old argument above the life of a loved one.