by M. R. Polish
“Raya?” I asked. “Who is she?” My mind still searched for how I knew her.
Luke glanced over his shoulder. “The Queen of the Watchers.”
Great. Now I had the attention of royalty. Somehow, I knew she wasn’t there to invite me to a grand ball.
Jarak picked Kara’s body up, and Lauren stayed close to him.
They walked out of the cave, leaving me and Luke. He grabbed my arm. “What aren’t you telling me? I know you are powerful.” Taking one more look outside before returning to me, he added, “I don’t know what or how, but there’s something special about you, and I want you to know I’ll protect you all the way.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I don’t have what you want. I can’t bring the dead back.”
“Have you tried? I won’t force you to, but I think if you focused hard enough you could bring us all back.” He let go of my arm. “Esmerelda, whatever you have, it’s caught Raya’s attention. That counts for something.”
I nodded. No words could make him understand that I didn’t have the ability to do what he so desperately wanted.
Jarak stopped short. His expression softened. “Es, Raya was there the day you saved me from Nicholas. She was the one who sent you the message through Ailaina.”
Her face matched her name in my memory and it all began to make sense. Torres fought her to save me, I never asked who won. Now, knowing what I did about him, I wondered if it was all a set up and they were in this together.
Fifteen
Ian
D avin’s face contorted as he listened intently to Torres on the other end of the phone. He nodded my way, covering the phone with his hand. “He’s got Julie.”
Letting out a huge breath, I bowed my head. My knees weakened as relief flashed through me, but was quickly replaced by anger. Rage fueled my need for answers. Grabbing the phone from Davin, I placed it to my ear. “Torres, it’s Ian.”
“Ian.” His voice sounded strained, tired.
“So you really have her?” I wasn’t there for formalities.
“Yes. Adonia is bringing her to you.”
“You aren’t coming? Are you sure she can bring her?” After finding out about Torres I wanted to have a talk with him, face to face. My future and Es’s future was riding on his deal.
And I didn’t like someone else having a say in my life.
Torres exhaled loudly, his breath making a steady whoosh into the phone. “Camilla’s coming with her. It was the B.O.M.B. who found her, so technically they are saying Julie is in their care.”
He completely ignored my question about whether or not he was coming. Of course he would. He was probably planning on how to massacre everyone once Es came back.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll be here waiting.” Handing the cell phone back to Davin, I walked away. Carving my hands through my hair, I threw them back down to my side, kicking the leg of a chair.
Picking up a wineglass off the table, I pitched it across the room, shattering it against the wall.
Ailaina strode into the room. “What was that?” She looked over at the mess glistening on the floor. “Did they not find her?”
“No, they found her.” I let out long breath trying to calm my nerves.
“Then why did you murder an innocent glass?” She bent over attempting to pick up the larger chunks.
“Just leave it,” I told her. It was my mess. “What? Davin hasn’t told you?”
Her head popped up, her blonde ponytail flopping to the side, she eyed Davin then me. “Davin hasn’t told me what?”
Davin grumbled. “Ian, you just don’t know how to keep your mouth shut do you.” He took the few steps over to Ailaina and helped her stand. “You know that I make deals, and some of them I hate doing. Right?”
She nodded, and then gasped. Her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, you didn’t let Ian make a deal with you, did you?”
“What? No! This is about Torres.” He took her hands in his.
“Oh my gosh. This has something about why I can’t see into Es’s past isn’t it? He made a deal with you.” She pulled her hand back, wrapping her arms around her middle. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Davin glared over his shoulder at me, and then returned his attention to Ailaina. “Yes, it has something to do with that.” He proceeded to fill his girlfriend in on the past deal that shaped all of our futures.
Just the sight of Julie in the villa I shared with Es made my blood boil. It took every ounce of strength I had to not release Dregan on her—and that was the nice thought.
Julie sat immobile under a spell Adonia held on her, and an extra one placed by Davin, just in case she tried to run.
Adonia paced the living area, wringing her hands. “Something is wrong. I just know it. Torres refused to come back with us. It doesn’t make sense. He won’t tell me anything.”
I glanced at Davin with a raised brow. I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to tell Adonia her husband was the cause of her daughter’s pain—and eventual death.
He shook his head slightly.
Ailaina pressed her lips together, shaking her head. “Adonia, I’m sorry, but I can’t keep a secret from you. Torres made a deal with Davin.” She gasped then covered her mouth with hands.
Adonia stopped pacing and swirled violently around to Davin. “He did what? He knows what happens to the ones who make deals with you! Why would he do that? We have Julie. We’re going to get Es back. I don’t understand.”
Davin rolled his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.
Adonia pushed him back. “You did make a deal with him! How could you?”
Davin raised his hands. “Just listen. It’s not like you think.” He paused. “It’s worse.”
After Davin finished explaining Torres’s past and deal, Julie snickered. “See? Es is dead either way. I think Torres’s deal was the perfect revenge.”
Adonia swept the room in one motion, her hand coming down hard across the side of Julie’s face, knocking her back. The chair tipped, bringing Julie to the ground with it.
I folded my arms. “At least you saved me the trouble.”
Es’s mom sneered over at Julie. “Well, I didn’t kill her. Her chest is still rising.”
“I can’t picture you killing anyone,” I said with a chuckle tucked in each word.
She looked at me pointedly. “You’d be surprised who I’ve killed. So many, I wonder if they were worth it now. I thought they were threats to my family, when all along it was my family who was the threat.”
“Well, now that we all know about the elephant in the room, I say it’s time to find the Queen of the Dead.” Squatting down next to Julie, I assessed the easiest way to mimic the spells Adonia and Davin held over her in case something happened to Davin and his magic binding broke while we traveled through the Underworld. I didn’t want to lose Julie, not now that we were so close to finding Es.
“Yes, and right now Camilla is in the other room making phone calls back to headquarters. If you want to leave without her, now’s the time,” Ailaina said, nodding to the room opposite the villa from the one I shared with Es.
That was enough incentive for me. I picked Julie’s unconscious body up and flung her over my shoulder. “Ready?” I asked Davin.
He snapped his fingers in response, sending us to his home. A wave of lightheadedness assaulted me on the arrival. The fast transportation usually had the same effect on me.
Not one to stop and dawdle, I marched to his front door, not caring for chit chat. Flinging it open, the full orange moon had just crested the grove of lifeless trees.
On the horizon the trees started blooming, like a wave rolling toward us in green leaves and full blossoms. It wouldn’t be long before whatever magic was creating the scene would reach Davin’s house. But I wasn’t there to see nature revive. I was only there for Es.
Turning the corner to his back yard—if you could call the acres of glorified wasteland a yard—I strode over to the water fountain—complete wit
h gargoyle statues. The water looked refreshing in such a dry place.
Davin kept looking back over his shoulder. “Did you see the trees? I’ve never seen that before.”
I shrugged. Not my world. Not my problem.
“Raya!” I hollered into the night air.
A shrill cackle echoed around the property. An ebony shadow swept across the yard, flying to the line of trees. Clad in her all black dress, complete with cloak that dragged the ground as she walked, Raya emerged from behind the biggest tree.
Her dark eyes held Julie’s still form until she stood only a few feet away from me. She smiled. “You did it.”
Sixteen
Esmerelda
T he thick copse of trees thinned. Stepping over a log, Luna rushed up to meet me. “I can hear him. I can hear Dregan.”
I stopped, squatting down, giving her my full attention. “Are you sure it was him?”
She pranced, her paws crunching the dry leaves on the forest floor. “I’m sure. It’s still hard to hear him, so trying to talk with him is next to impossible, but it’s him.”
I gave her a good rub on the head. “It’s okay. At least you heard him.”
That alone gave me hope and a drive to push harder to find a way home. I couldn’t wait to see Ian or feel his arms wrapped around me. I wanted to hear his deep voice whispering his affirmations of love in my ear. My soul ached to feel his words. It didn’t matter what world I was in, as long as we could be together. My world was with him.
“How much farther?” Jarak asked, helping Lauren over the fallen log.
Standing up, I sent a flare of magic up into the sky. The green light rose about a hundred feet above the treetops before shooting forward and dropping another couple hundred feet ahead of us.
I pointed to where the flare fell. “Not far. It’s just up ahead.”
Luke grumbled something I couldn’t hear.
Rolling my eyes, I started walking again. “You don’t have to come.”
He smirked. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to miss out on whatever special magic you might have.”
The outline of Davin’s house appeared just beyond the tree line. I picked up my pace, almost jogging out of the wooded area.
The tall wrought iron fence loomed around the property, warding off unwanted visitors. His three story house appeared more as a dreary castle than a home.
A girl about sixteen waited at the fence. A long hooded cloak hid her hair, but her round face looked up. Her eyes were hopeful almonds as she watched us descend the side of the hill, fixating on me.
“I could feel you coming. I knew you wouldn’t let me stay here forever,” she said as I approached. She had a slight Spanish accent laced in her words.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I couldn’t take my eyes off her familiar reflection.
Something about her told me I’d met her before. Or at least someone who looked like her. Maybe she was someone I went to school with? She couldn’t be much younger than me. Nah. I couldn’t recall anyone from Elko High dying. Well, not while I was there, or recently.
She held her hand out. “I’m Katrina.”
Ugh. Even her name sounded familiar. How did I know this girl? “I’m Esmerelda,” I said, taking her hand.
A zap shot up through my arm. Jerking my hand back, I stared at her in an open gawk, questioning her with my eyes.
She smiled, with a sheen of excitement flushing her color. “So it’s true. Your powers are strong.”
“What do you know about her powers?” Jarak pushed past Luke, his shoulder barely touched the iron fence but was thrust backward, landing on his butt.
Katrina laughed. “I obviously know more than you. Everyone here knows that the Death Keeper’s home is protected with a ward to keep out all non living.”
Lauren reached down to help Jarak up. “I’ve been here for months, and I never knew that.”
Luke scoffed. “You’ve been hiding in a cave. There’s a lot that you don’t know.”
“Enough,” I said, swinging my arms out like a referee. “Katrina, you seem to know a lot, so why don’t you explain?”
She folded her arms. “It’s just like I said, the Death Keeper’s home is protected. Only the living can enter.”
Eyeing her for a moment longer, I debated her words, rolling them around in my head over and over, testing her credibility. There was only one way to find out if her words rang true or not. Cautiously, a little scared of the shock I would receive, I touched the gate.
Still holding onto the wrought iron, I let out a sigh of relief. No jolt sent me flying back into the woods.
Katrina rolled her eyes. “You’re not dead. It won’t hurt you.”
I looked at her pointedly. “If you’re so smart, then why are you here hanging around a place for the living?”
“You really don’t know. Do you?” She pressed her brow in a hard line. “You sent me here. Well, not here here, but in all aspects you killed me. My brother tried to save me, but you couldn’t. He placed a spell on me that if I should die before you could save me, that I would come here and he told me to wait for you. He said he’d make a deal if he had to.”
I glanced at Jarak before returning her stare. I couldn’t be sure but I think my jaw dropped. “Who’s your brother?”
She smiled. “Victor.”
Jarak groaned. “Figures. I should’ve known that man had something to do with Es being here.”
No. Jarak had to be mistaken. Victor wouldn’t have… Couldn’t have… I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Julie was the one who made the deal. It wasn’t Victor.”
But if he wasn’t clued in to my whereabouts, how would he know to send his sister here?
Katrina gave an evil laugh. “Who do you think planted the idea in Julie’s head?”
Her news hit hard, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs. “And why would he do that?”
“So you can bring me back to life of course.” Her matter of fact tone bothered me.
She truly believed I could do it. This was not good. Now I had two dead people thinking I could revive them. “Katrina, I’m really sorry that you didn’t survive. From what I heard you were very weak, so that’s probably why you didn’t make it through, but whatever you’ve heard about me bringing you back is a lie. I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can.” If looks could kill, I’d be in the right place for her to shoot daggers from her eyes. At least I wouldn’t have far for my spirit to go.
“Es, just go,” Jarak said, touching my shoulder.
“I don’t want to leave you.” My gut twisted thinking about how if I left I might not ever see him again. When he died it was hard enough. I didn’t think I could do it again.
Jarak slid his hand up to my face, caressing my cheek with the backside of his hand. “Es, you’ll never truly leave me. You have a life to live with Ian. As much as it pains me to say it, he’s very lucky.”
“Thanks. I kinda like to think I’m the lucky one.” I fingered the small temporary diamond on my ring finger, holding the place of my official wedding ring—a ring Ian wanted to surprise me with at our wedding.
My heart ached at the thought. All I wanted to do was go back.
Lauren stepped up. “It’s time. There’s nothing you can do by staying here. You can’t help us.”
I nodded. She was right. No matter what Luke, Raya, or even Katrina thought I could do, I couldn’t. At least nothing from here anyway.
“No, she can’t go,” Katrina said, trying to push past Lauren.
Lauren thrust her arm out, stopping her. “Es, go.”
I gave her one last look before gazing over Jarak’s face. He nodded.
Swinging the gate open, I rushed up the walkway, leaving everyone behind. I didn’t even look behind me as I ran up the front steps.
“Dregan is close. His voice is so clear now.” Luna ran beside me.
“Where is he?” I asked out loud, pulling back the front door, rushing inside Davin’s house.
<
br /> “He’s here! Es, he’s out back.” Luna’s excitement carried over to my own emotions, fusing the two.
Ian was here. I could feel him.
Sprinting down the halls, winding my way through the maze of the house, I found a window looking out over the back yard. Ian stood next to Davin, Dregan next to him.
I pounded on the glass, trying to get his attention. “Ian! Ian, I’m here!”
Nothing.
He couldn’t hear me. My heart raced faster each second that I stood there.
Watching as Ian handed Julie’s unconscious body over to a woman, I held my breath. The lady’s dark eyes and black streaks that crawled up her porcelain neck made me think crossbreed, but her aura was different. I recognized her instantly. Raya.
Taking off down the hall, I found the back door and rushed outside. “Ian!”
He spun around and took off toward me. His arms couldn’t wrap around me fast enough.
Es. My soul heard him, rejoicing over our reunion.
A loud cackle reverberated on the air. The ground started shaking, and I clung to Ian. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” he said over the thunderous rattle.
The woman who took Julie walked over to us, if walking was what she did. It looked like she zipped over, but never touched the ground. “I told you that I’d tell you where she was, but not that you could have her.”
What? I couldn’t take my eyes off Raya, while my hands stayed clasped around Ian’s middle.
I could feel Ian’s anger rising. Heat melted a new fear inside of me.
The ground continued to shake until it cracked and began splitting wide open leaving Davin on the other side than us.
“What are you doing?” Ian roared above the ripping of the earth.
Raya laughed. “I told you. You can’t have her.”
A force tore Ian and me apart.
Screaming as I flew back, the edge of the crevice was the only thing I could grab as I fell in between the crack. “Ian! I can’t hold on!”
I tried using my magic to lift me above the open ground, but nothing happened. It was like everything that made me a witch was gone. Panic climbed my throat as my fingers slipped.