by Sara Mack
As I head to the bathroom to throw my hair up in a ponytail, Dane’s phone vibrates again. Someone is really trying to get a hold of him. I decide to grab his cell and take it with me, to give it to him downstairs. Unfortunately, the text message received is prominently displayed.
It’s because of that bitch isn’t it?
Okay, what? Those are fighting words. I know I shouldn’t, but I slide my finger across the screen to unlock it. Dane’s cell opens to a text thread with Teagan. Only the last few messages are visible, and they’re all from this morning.
8:08 Teagan: You’re late.
8:09 Dane: I quit.
8:10 Teagan: You can’t do that to me.
He didn’t respond.
8:42 Teagan: Can you at least tell me why?
Then, five minutes later, the message that degrades me appeared.
I set the phone back on the table because I’m tempted to scroll through their prior discussions. Nothing screams “I don’t trust you!” like snooping through someone’s cell. I decide to leave the device behind as I leave the room; I don’t want Dane to know I purposefully read his texts. In the bathroom, as I pull my hair back, the thought of Teagan makes my skin crawl. I understand why Dane quit his job again. How could I subtly hint to him that he should also change his number?
When I find him in the kitchen he’s scraping scrambled eggs out of a pan and on to two plates. I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist.
“Good morning,” I say against his back.
He looks over his shoulder and smiles. “Hungry?”
“Starving. I didn’t know you could cook.”
“My repertoire is limited,” he says as he focuses on the task at hand. “How much bacon do you want?”
“Did you seriously ask me that?” I sound surprised. “Like, all of it.”
He laughs and places a few pieces on one plate and then sets the rest on the other. He picks up both dishes, and I release him so he can turn around. When he looks at me his face falls. “Shouldn’t you be wearing my shirt?”
I look down at myself and back at him with a smirk. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I quit,” he says like it’s an everyday thing to do.
“Why?” I manage a confused glance. “Teagan’s going to be pissed.”
He shrugs and moves past me to the small dining table where silverware and orange juice wait. “That’s not my problem. Lucas will be back soon; she doesn’t need me.”
Following him, I take a seat. “But what will you do?” Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy that he won’t be around his gorgeous and annoying ex. But, I don’t want him broke either.
“My resume is ready to go.” He stabs his eggs. “All I have to do is send it out.” He smiles at me before taking a bite. “No worries, Grace.”
I smile at his nickname for me and pick up a salty strip of bacon. “Well, since you have nothing better to do,” I pull the meat in half, “can you drop me at Ash and Mad’s? I need to shower and brush my teeth. I feel kinda gross.”
Dane swallows his food. “You can use my toothbrush.”
“Ew!” My face contorts. “That’s nasty.”
He grins. “You didn’t have a problem with my tongue in your mouth. What’s the difference?”
My face flushes. “You did not just say that.”
“It’s the truth.”
I concentrate on eating, unable to look at him. It may be true, but do we have to discuss it?
“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed,” his voice is playful. “What else can I tease you about?”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” I say sarcastically. It doesn’t bode well for me that he has a memory bank of us that I don’t have access to.
After a few more bites, he changes the subject. “So, I’ve been thinking.”
I shoot him a questioning glance.
“Aren’t you supposed to be vacationing with Shel? When do your parents expect you back?”
“Saturday,” I answer. “My internship begins next week and so does my class.”
“What would you say if I asked you to stay with me for the next few days?”
I pick up my juice. “Like live here?”
“Just until you have to be home.”
“Don’t you think you’ll get sick of me? We just got together.”
He smiles. “I lived with you in St. Thomas for almost a month. I think I can handle it.”
I look down to think it over, but who am I kidding? His proposition sounds perfect. Except… “What will we do all day? Stare at each other?”
His eyes light up. “I have some ideas.”
Butterflies instantly appear in my stomach.
Dane stands and approaches me, setting one hand on the table and the other on my chair, boxing me in. “Let me romance you.” His eyes soften and search mine. “At Western I promised we’d date and so far I’ve only managed to take you to the Bay Woods employee party. When you start working you’ll be busy what? Twenty? Thirty hours a week? Let’s enjoy this time while we can.”
Now my heart starts to flutter. Am I turning into some sort of lovesick mess? “You want to wine and dine me for the next three days?”
“Amongst other things.” His expression turns wicked. “The harder you fall the easier it will be to get you naked.”
My mouth falls open as I blush. “That’s what this is about? You’re expecting the Big Event before Saturday?”
He laughs. “The what?”
“You know what I mean.” I cross my arms. “I thought I won your patience from our bet.”
He shakes his head. “I’m teasing you, Grace.” He plants an innocent kiss on my forehead. “I don’t expect the Big Event before Saturday.” He looks into my eyes again. “What do you say?”
Of course I’m going to say yes; I’m not stupid. But, I feel like he’s going overboard and it isn’t necessary. “I’ll stay but on one condition.” I hold up my finger. “No fancy stuff.” He’s not working and he doesn’t need to spend a bunch of money on me. “In fact, let me make you dinner tonight. Then you can have the other two days.”
“Agreed.” He leans back and moves around the table to finish his breakfast. He picks up his fork with a gleam in his eye. “Hurry and eat so we can go get your things.”
“Welcome back,” Ash greets us as we enter the house. He’s wearing splattered coveralls and holds a spackling knife, his hands covered in white paste.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Fixing the damage.”
He smiles like he’s having fun, and I read his thoughts. He’s relieved everything is over even if it means major home repair.
“Let me help you,” Dane murmurs as he looks around the living room. His eyes land on mine, and he frowns. “You downplayed the fight a bit don’t you think?”
I glance around. There are sporadically spaced gaping holes in the drywall, only about a quarter of which are patched. You can see where part of the staircase railing was blasted away and the remaining spindles stand cut off and sharp. Scorch marks grace the floor and ceiling, and minimal furniture remains in the room.
I turn to Dane and shrug. “You didn’t ask for a play by play.”
He takes off his coat and starts to roll up his sleeves. “What can I do?” he asks Ash.
“I’ll help too,” I volunteer, “after I take a quick shower.” I’m literally craving hot water and deodorant; I hope I don’t come across as yucky as I feel. I make my way to the stairs, take one last look at Dane, and read his mind. “Don’t forget to pack.”
I can’t help but smile.
When I’m clean and comfortable, I round up the few things I brought with me to stay with The Larvatus. It all fits in my suitcase with no trouble. Seeing the bag reminds me that I need to call Shel and fill her in on everything that’s happened. She’s going to be disappointed that Garrett didn’t make it; I hope she won’t blame herself in any way. There was nothing any of us could have done. Which
reminds me – where is his body? I involuntarily shudder.
“Are you leaving?”
I look up to find James in the doorway. “Yeah, Dane asked me to stay with him for a few days.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
I smile as I mess with my suitcase. “So how are things with Meg? Good?”
“They’re decent,” he says and tries to suppress a grin.
My eyes light up, happy for him. Any rational person would be upset that their ex found happiness with someone else so soon. Not me. I’m excited for him because I can relate to what he’s experiencing. Plus, Meg isn’t all that terrible; she helped me tremendously during the fight.
“I’m glad.” I set my suitcase by the door. “I’m headed to help Ash and Dane. What are you up to?”
“Fetching you,” he says. “We brought Lucas here last night. He’d like to talk to you.”
This is news. “How is he?”
“Still weak, but better. He’s disappointed that Garrett suffered and angry about what we had to go through. He feels he owes you an apology.”
I grimace. The bad guys are gone; it’s time to move on. Let’s stop rehashing the past and move forward already. “I’m not in the mood to discuss anything depressing.”
James shrugs. “Better now than later.”
I sigh and start out the door.
“Em, wait,” he says and gently pulls me back. He catches my hand and runs his thumb across my knuckles. “I need to tell you something.”
I give him a curious look and his cerulean blue eyes focus on mine. “Meg is great, and I’m excited about what our future may hold. But, I want you to know she will never replace what we had. I don’t want you to think that I’m moving on easily, as if all our time together meant nothing. Because it means everything. I’ll never forget what we shared.”
Why does it sound like he’s saying goodbye? I frown. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Nowhere unfamiliar.” He gives me half a smile. “Lucas has asked me to accompany him to the Intermediate to keep things in order. We’re the only two Allegiant left that can be trusted.”
I recall the fight and the one Allegiant that ran away. “Do you think the other could be a problem?”
“Depends.” James weaves his fingers through mine. “He could reveal what happened here which wouldn’t be good. As far as the Intermediate is concerned nothing has changed. The Guardians still think the same Allegiant watch over them and humanity is not an option. Once word spreads who knows what will happen.”
I recall the story Ash told when we first met, about The Larvatus and when they were first created. If unhappy Guardians find out The Larvatus exist, how many will leave their Wards, search out the Charmed, and ask to be Reborn? “Mass exodus,” I murmur.
James nods. “Possibly. We need to sit down and make some decisions. And soon.”
“Like what?”
“We have to figure out how many Allegiant to create and who is worthy; we need to decide how to work with the Charmed now that we know they still exist. The Larvatus have agreed to spread the word that any Guardian who seeks them out should not be automatically Reborn, but we still need to figure out how to organize our efforts.”
A slow smile breaks across my face. “See? I told you we were a team.”
He returns my grin.
“And look at you, helping to rule the Intermediate. That’s quite a promotion.”
He sighs. “It’s a job I never signed up for.”
“But one you’ll be amazing at.” I step closer to him. “What you’ve experienced will prevent what happened to us from happening to other people. Maybe this was your calling all along.”
He pauses to consider my thoughts. “You could be right. I just wish I didn’t have to hurt you so much in the process.”
I push his hair off his forehead and out of his eyes. “I won’t forget what we’ve shared either,” I tell him. “But I will miss my friend. Are you planning on having a human life too?”
“Absolutely,” he says without hesitation. “I’m not giving up you or Matt or Shel.”
“Good.” I step forward and wrap him in a hug. He holds me tightly and when we step apart he smiles. “So, you know my plans for the foreseeable future. What about you?”
“Besides staying with Dane it’s the same old, same old.” We exit the bedroom and head downstairs. “My class and internship start on Monday.”
“I’m proud of you,” James says as we walk. “You could have easily given up with all that’s happened. You’ll have to let me know when graduation is; I want to be there.”
I smile.
When we reach the living room, I find Dane and Ash still hard at work; although, Dane is talking to Lucas over his shoulder. His boss, Teagan’s father, sits on the couch, and I remember his black hair and moustache from the brief absence of my jewelry.
“There she is.” Lucas gives me a genuine smile and rises to greet me. He appears shaky, so I pick up the pace so he won’t keel over. He extends his hands and I take them. “I’ve heard some amazing things about you.”
I blush. “I’m sure whatever you’ve heard was exaggerated.”
He sits down on the couch and pulls me to join him. “You wiped out a room of Allegiant,” he says. “That’s no small feat.”
I shrug. “My friends were in danger. There was no other choice.”
Lucas grips my hands and looks me in the eye. “I owe you so much. Thank you.”
I’m confused. He owes me nothing. What I did was second nature; anyone in my position would have done the same. My response comes out more like a question. “You’re welcome?”
He chuckles. “You have no idea, do you? You’ve saved me in more ways than one.”
Now he’s really lost me.
“Not only did you get rid of the person that was trying to eliminate me, you convinced my best employee to return to work and save my company. We’re talking about my family’s livelihood here. I love my daughter very much, but there’s no way she could have done it alone. That was incredibly selfless of you seeming as how you and Dane are involved.”
Oh. Does he know I didn’t remember his daughter enough to worry?
Lucas looks at Dane, who has his back to us. “I’ve been trying to convince him to stay on with the promise that Teagan will not.”
Dane ignores him and continues to patch the wall.
“Anyway,” Lucas focuses back on me, “please accept my thanks and an apology. If I had known the Charmed still existed I would have sought them out. Garrett would never have assigned James to you; you wouldn’t have had to run away. You wouldn’t have lost your memory, and you wouldn’t have become Larvatus.”
I open my mouth to tell him I enjoy my new abilities, but James rounds the furniture and asks a question before I can. “Garrett once said that his being Reborn was part of your plan, something you were working toward to benefit humanity. What were you trying to prove?”
As Lucas gives James a defeated look, I realize our conversation now has the attention of everyone in the room. Ash and Dane have focused on us, as well as Madeline who just rounded the corner from the kitchen.
“I’m afraid my plans weren’t that original,” he admits. “The Larvatus have been doing what I envisioned for years.” His eyes land on Ash. “Decades ago, I stumbled upon an old text written by Xavier himself. The book was hidden behind some thick volumes in The Allegiant’s library. His writing documented his experiments with his previous Ward; I believe her name was Catherine.”
“Let me guess,” Ash says. “She wanted to be human.”
Lucas nods. “He analyzed everything in excruciating detail. Why Guardians existed, how they are created, what can they do, it went on and on. Then, when he started to explore why Guardians were released, he found his answer. Catherine assigned her Ward to his true love, and she became human again. She was Reborn.”
I want to ask how that works, but I’m not sure if it’s my place. Ash reads my mind a
nd asks for me. “How does that act restore humanity?”
Lucas looks around the room. “What’s the one thing that releases a Guardian into eternity?”
Do I know the answer to this question? It feels like I should.
James speaks. “Love,” he says quietly. “True love is the only thing that can release a Guardian from their duty.”
“Precisely,” Lucas says. “Love is a powerful force. When a Guardian assigns a Ward to their beloved, what they feel for one another is released. The Guardian absorbs the couple’s connection and their love gives him life.”
My eyes lock on James as this information settles over me. Our feelings for each other gave Garrett life. What we had must have been incredibly strong.
Lucas redirects my attention. “Xavier’s writings ended there. If we look back at history, we can assume he took his findings to the other Allegiant, who then condemned him for his curiosity. I think we all know what happened next, except I was under the impression that none of The Larvatus remained. I thought the method he discovered to create the Charmed was lost long ago.”
He pauses and rubs his palm over his tired eyes. “Once I stumbled upon the method to being Reborn I couldn’t shake it from my mind. It had to exist for a reason and what better reason than to guide humanity from the Intermediate and below? I convinced myself that my idea was progressive, beyond Xavier’s original vision, and I took my thoughts to my brothers. Of course they didn’t agree, so I set out on my own to prove them wrong. I recruited Garrett and Jack because I knew they were unhappy. If one of them could be Reborn, I could support the possibilities.”
“But, you knew it would ruin Emma and me,” James says. He steps closer to Lucas; his eyes hard, his jaw tense. “It’s forbidden to assign a Guardian to who they love. You knew it would ruin us, but you made Garrett do it anyway.”
Lucas sighs. “You know The Allegiant are full of themselves to a debilitating extent. I regret my arrogance; back then, I felt the experiment was worth the risk. All the things that have happened…the attempt on my life…everything…all I have learned has been humbling to say the least. I should never have discounted how hard this would be on the two of you.” He looks between James and I, then offers James his hand. “Search my memories. I want you to know I’m telling the truth.”