A wretched, anguished scream leaked out of Solana’s lungs as she fell onto her front, clutching her chest.
“You’ll die!” she cried. “You’ll die for this! No one is immune to corruption! No one’s heart is truly pure! You will never banish me!”
She crept away from us on her hands and knees, her blackened fingers clawing at the dirt. She was no longer the powerful, beautiful being I’d once known her to be. She was nothing but a grub wriggling on the ground, trying to hide from the light.
“It’s working!” said Logan.
Around us, the elements soothed themselves as the wind died down and the ground knitted itself back together and became still. At last, we could find our footing and regain our balance. And the eerie green light that was once flowing from Solana was now nothing more than a soft glow that trickled from her weakening limbs.
“You will never banish me,” she whimpered. She looked so pathetic now that she’d been stripped of her power. She could make all the empty threats she wanted to—there was no coming back, and she knew it.
It was time to finish what we started. Hand in hand, Logan and I stood over her failing body and recited the words that would end her reign of terror.
“Banish thee evil to bowels below. Where captivity holds thee for eternity.”
“No . . . !”
“Those pure of heart will cleanse us all with blessed divinity!”
“No. No! NO!” She raised her hands to her ears. “Stop!”
I could see the pain as she twisted up her body and writhed on the ground.
“Those pure of heart will cleanse us all with blessed divinity!”
“Please, I’m begging you!”
She squirmed in agony, rolling onto her back as she reached out her claw-like hands towards us. Was she actually begging us for help? Or was she trying to fight back and take us down with her last dying breath? I didn’t care.
“Those pure of heart will cleanse us all with blessed divinity!” we yelled for the last time.
As though drawn together by an invisible force, our bodies fell together in an explosion of fire and light. For that brief moment in time, we stopping being FBI agents in some human-run department. We were sacred knights sworn to protect those on Earth against the darkness that existed in the great beyond.
Beside us, Solana jerked and spasmed one last time, then fell limp onto the ground, her body dissolving into blackened ashes that melted into the mud. Then she was gone, leaving nothing but a dark space on the ground like a scorch mark. The night became sweet and balmy again, and the summer air filled with crickets chirping and frogs singing.
“She’s . . . I think she’s gone,” Logan said in a daze as he finally let go of me.
For a long while, neither of us could speak. We could only look down at the spot where Solana had melted into nothingness. The only thing left of her was a stain.
I was still clutching the page of my mom’s spell, although the corners of it had been torn and shredded from the wind. I listened as the sounds of the forest returned to normal. An owl hooted as it flew back to its hollowed-out tree trunk. And somewhere deep within the foliage, a family of rabbits hopped into their warren.
Then, among the sounds of the animals, a woman moaned in the shadows. It was followed by a confused grumbling.
“Sylvia!”
We rushed to her side and found her pulling herself to her feet. The elderly woman was tough as nails.
“Sylvia, are you okay?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her.
“Sure, baby, I’m fine. Just got a little ding on my head.” I stepped back to see her rubbing at her scalp where a bump was forming. “I must’ve been knocked out in the ruckus.” She stopped rubbing her head and looked at me and Logan. “Did we do it? Did your mamma’s spell work?”
“Yeah! It worked better than we could have imagined!”
A teary smile flickered on her face and I hugged her again. Logan joined in, wrapping his arms around the both of us.
“Oh, my dears,” said Sylvia, holding us close to her like we were her favorite grandchildren. “You must know how proud I am of you. So very proud. Do you know what I think we all need?”
“A shot of your apple pie moon—”
Before I could finish my sentence, a sound pierced the night that made us all freeze. Then we heard it again.
A child’s unmistakable cry.
“Over there!” I gasped while pointing towards the noise. I started to run, straining to look and listen with my heightened fae senses. Logan was right behind me, then in front of me, pushing through the brambles like a human shield. Thorns tore at his arms and my hair as we zeroed in on the voice.
“Hello?” I called out, pulling away branches.
The crying grew louder. Then, through the deep thicket, a small figure appeared. Curled up in the fetal position wearing a pink unicorn t-shirt, purple leggings, and little red tennis shoes, a young girl sobbed and stared up at us with enormous hopeful eyes.
“Rylee?” Logan cried, scooping her out from beneath the brambles and into his big, strong arms. “Where did you come from?”
“I don’t know!” Rylee wailed. “I was down under the ground and now I’m here. Where’s my mommy and daddy?”
“Don’t worry, hon. We’ll get your mommy and daddy,” he assured her, pulling her up onto his hip. “We’ll get your mommy right away.”
As we soothed the young girl and tried to calm her down, we heard another cry coming from deep within the bushes and brambles. Then another . . . and another. We looked around in disbelief.
“They’re coming back . . . ” said Logan, shocked but elated. “Elena! They’re actually coming back!”
34
Logan
“Promise you won’t forget about me.”
“How could I, Sylvia? We’ll never forget you.”
“You’ll come back and visit?”
“I hope so.”
The sun had risen over Sylvia’s house, bringing a new day filled with hope and promise.
Sheriff McKinney’s body had been collected hours ago, driven to the morgue where an autopsy would be conducted. The officers and forensic analysts didn’t know what had truly happened. They never could. But the one thing they did know was that I had killed their beloved sheriff. I was an FBI agent, an outsider, some prick in a suit who firmly believed in the paranormal.
It was safe to say I wasn’t too welcome on the scene.
Around the house, a forensic team bustled around, busy collecting soil samples and whatever else they could gather to get some kind of clue as to how the children had all returned at once. And of course, what happened to the ground. Although they had mostly joined back together, a web of fissures ran out like stretch marks from Sylvia’s house, making it look like an isolated earthquake had destroyed the earth. Between the geologist, the surveyor, and a building inspector, they were able to convince Sylvia that her home wasn’t structurally safe to keep living in. She took it a lot better than I expected.
“I’ll just move in with my niece Bernice. She’s been begging me to come live with her.” She turned to look at her crumbling plantation home. “This place has a lot of memories, but a lot of them are sad. It’s time to move on. I’m thinking about donating the property for public use since it’s right by all the hiking trails. Maybe they can tear down the house and put up a picnic shelter or something? That would be nice.”
I couldn’t help but be skeptical of Sylvia’s upbeat attitude.
“What about all your cats?” I asked. “Does your niece have enough room?”
Sylvia started to laugh.
“Enough room? Agent Hawthorne, she’s got a mansion on thirty acres! That’s plenty of room for me and the kitties. And her wife’s a vet, so they can help me spay and neuter all the ones I haven’t been able to take in myself. I could stay on top of it when I was younger, but people kept dumping batches of kittens at my house. It got to be a bit much for my arthritis, you know? I just hope t
he cats leave Bernie’s Bees alone.”
Elena scrunched up her nose and gave Sylvia a closer look.
“Wait a minute . . . are you saying that your niece Bernice is the owner of Bernie’s Bees?”
Sylvia nodded and gave a modest smile.
“I don’t like talking about it. People get all kinds of weird when they find out you’re a multi-millionaire. I invested in Bernie’s business when it was just a few hives in her backyard. She started out selling honey and beeswax candles at the farmer’s market. Now her little hobby is worth over a billion dollars. So yes . . . me and the kitties will be just fine.”
I felt a lump in my throat as I realized how badly I’d misjudged this poor woman just for being an eccentric cat lady in a run-down house.
“I’m going to talk to you every day and see how you’re doing,” said Elena to Sylvia, giving her another hug.
“You are?”
“In here,” she explained, tapping the side of her head. “You taught me a really useful power. I can see the world from inside my head. That means I can keep an eye on you.”
“You use that power wisely,” Sylvia said, wagging a finger at her. “It’s more powerful than you could ever know. If you just want to catch up, use a telephone.”
“Okay, I promise.”
As we stood on Sylvia’s porch, a gathering of cats spilled out the porch and rubbed themselves against their owner’s legs. I looked down and saw my old buddy with the messed up haircut.
“Lafayette!”
I bent down and scratched the top of his head. He responded by raising himself on his back legs and rubbing his head vigorously against my hand. His green eyes were looking directly into mine. I could just imagine him saying he deserved more than a can of tuna for helping save my partner’s life.
“Aw, he really likes you, Agent Hawthorne,” Sylvia said with a smile.
“Think I’ve got a soft spot for the little guy myself.”
“You know . . . I wouldn’t be offended if you were to offer him a home. He’s a very special guy, but cats have a way of choosing their people. And I think Lafayette’s chosen you. He told me. He talks, you know.”
I gave her a surprised look and she shot me a wry smile.
“Oh, there’s no way I could have a cat,” I told her. “I work too much. Have too many commitments. I’ll never be home now that I’ve been promoted.”
Sylvia opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps battering across the cracked ground.
“Agent Hawthorne!”
I turned to see young Officer McKinney jogging towards me. He was wearing a poker face, but I knew by the look in his eyes what he was thinking. I mentally prepared myself to get reamed by the nephew of the man I’d killed.
“I’m so sorry about your uncle,” I said to him, raising my hands. “I did what I had to do. I . . . ”
“I get it, Agent Hawthorne. I know you were just doing your job.” He looked sadly down at his boots and sighed. “Can’t believe he’s gone. He’s the center of this town.”
“I mean it. I really am sorry.”
“Is it true that he tried to kill Agent Rivera?”
Elena answered his question by pulling her long pink hair away from her neck, revealing the large purple bruises around her throat that couldn’t be anything but fingerprints. McKinney’s eyes widened in shock.
“Jesus! I didn’t know the old man had it in him! I guess you can’t ever truly know someone. I think my uncle kept a lot of secrets.”
“It would seem that way.”
“The rumors are circulating already,” the officer continued. “They’re saying all these crazy things about him . . . that he was partly responsible for the children disappearing. That he helped them get captured.”
Neither of us said a thing. Elena and I just let him speak his thoughts.
“They’re saying he did it for some messed-up power grab that involved demon-worship! They’re saying he’s Satanic. Can you believe any of that?”
Again, neither of us said a word.
“His body was found next to one of those rocks,” he said. “It had a big symbol on it like the one you made me look for.”
Lifting the cap off his head, he ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long exhale through pursed lips.
“I just can’t believe any of it,” he said. “This will kill his family. Poor Aunt Martha . . . ”
“But think of the children,” interrupted Sylvia, turning the conversation to more pleasant things. “I hear they’ve all come back safe and sound.”
“That’s another thing I can’t believe,” said McKinney. “They just reappeared. Just arrived in the night. Some were found wandering along the side of the road and others just appeared where they had first vanished. It’s like they all just fucking materialized out of thin air! Some even walked through the night and got themselves back home.”
“That’s . . . remarkable,” was all I could say. What else could I possibly tell him?
“Remarkable’s an understatement,” said McKinney. “It’s a damn miracle! Whoever heard of such a thing?”
We all fell silent as we contemplated his question. Not even Sylvia had anything to say. She was content to let the matter be dealt with by the authorities. Like Elena and I, she understood that nobody would ever believe the truth . . . not unless they’d been there to see it firsthand.
Beside me, Elena patted me on the arm, tapping her finger near my watch. I knew what that meant.
“We have to get going,” I told him and Sylvia. “Gotta get back to DC now that we’ve given all our statements.”
“Oh, right. Of course,” said McKinney. He reached out to shake Elena’s hand and then mine, but it felt wrong. I’d killed his uncle. No matter how evil he was and what he had done, it still felt wrong.
“I take it you won’t be swinging back around Yarbrough anytime soon,” he said, taking a step back towards the porch steps.
“You never know. Maybe when we come back you’ll be the new sheriff.”
He smiled weakly and dropped his hat back on his head.
“Maybe,” he said as he started to walk away. “Well, take care.”
“Do you really have to leave so soon?” Sylvia asked as she looked up at me.
“I’m afraid so.”
“I’ll admit I’m sad to see you go. It’s been wonderful knowing you.”
We gave her one last hug and said our goodbyes before heading in the direction of where Officer McKinney had gone.
“Wait!” she said, as we reached the steps. “Agent Hawthorne, are you sure you won’t take that cat?”
We all looked towards the front door where Lafayette sat staring right at me expectantly. His tail swished violently from side to side.
“I honestly can’t,” I said, trying to tamper down the guilt welling up inside of me. “I mean, sure, me and Lafayette have history, and yeah, he seems to like me, but I’m just not a cat person.”
“Hogwash,” Sylvia said, raising an eyebrow at me. “I can tell by the look on your face that you’ll change your mind.”
35
Elena
I relaxed into the back of my middle seat on the plane, enjoying the G-forces of takeoff. It was my favorite part about flying. Well, and also the view. And being among the clouds. And landing.
Okay, so I just loved flying.
I blame it on being descended from faeries with wings.
I turned to my partner, who was grinning like a lovesick teenager.
“When Sylvia said she thought you’d change your mind, I didn’t think it would literally be twenty seconds later.”
“What can I say?” Logan gazed down at something sitting by his feet. Tucked safely under the seat in front of him was a soft-sided cat carrier that we’d picked up on the way to the airport. A pair of bright green eyes were peering through the mesh side panel. “I guess I really am a cat person. At least when it comes to this little guy.”
“You’
ll make a great cat dad,” I told him.
“Thanks,” he laughed, and pulled the carrier into his lap. “You hear that, little dude? I’m your Paw-Paw.”
Flattening his ears, Lafayette glared at Logan from inside his mesh carrier.
“I am not calling you that.”
“Fine. How about I give you a chin scratch instead?” He reached his hand into the carrier and Lafayette rolled onto his back to expose his tummy. I watched the two of them cuddling, rolling my eyes at the saccharine sweet spectacle. Eventually, Lafayette curled into a ball and promptly fell asleep.
“So, it’s over,” said Logan, leaning his head back against his seat. “It feels like the whole thing was a dream.”
“More like a nightmare.”
He looked towards me and gave a faint but warm smile.
“Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“Just . . . for everything. I know we got off to a rocky start, but now I can’t imagine working with anyone else.”
I stifled a yawn. The energy I’d used to heal Lafayette’s injuries and perform my mom’s spell had taken a toll on me.
“Nothing like a few near-death experiences to bring us closer together, huh?”
“I suppose so,” Logan agreed. “Speaking of . . . if you wanna use my shoulder for a pillow, go for it.”
“Thanks,” I said, turning to look out the window. I watched the misty Smoky Mountains fade away as we ascended through the clouds. Beside me, Logan’s eyes flickered shut and Lafayette purred in his carrier. The weight of the last few days landed on me and I felt exhaustion tug at my eyelids. The last thing I saw as I drifted off were puffy white clouds caressing the plane’s wing.
“You did it,” came a gentle voice through my dreams.
“Mom?”
I looked around and saw I was no longer on the plane, but back in my childhood bedroom once again. My mom was sitting in the armchair in the corner of the room, smiling.
“You did it, Elena,” she said, standing up to hug me.
“No, Mom. We both did. I couldn’t haven’t done it without you.”
Wiretaps & Whiskers (The Faerie Files Book 1) Page 31