Eddie chuckled, wiping his face. “Sure. I’m sorry we argued at school, Susan. And I’m sorry for what I said.”
“Forgiven. I’m sorry I hocked a loogie in your face.” She laughed, holding him tight.
Looking at Eddie, Susan, and now Catherine in the kitchen together, Jennifer suddenly realized what she wanted to do today.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get in that car.”
They opened the door just in time to catch Skip ready to ring the doorbell.
There was a tense moment as he and Eddie stared at each other, but then Skip shook himself and offered Eddie his hand. Jennifer sighed in relief as Eddie took it, thinking of her mother’s words: There is always hope.
“Okay,” she declared. “Let’s make sure we all know each other. I’m Jennifer Scales and I’m half-dragon, half-beaststalker. This is Skip Wilson. He’s my ex-boyfriend, he’s super smart, and he can turn into the ugliest freaking scorpions and spiders you’ve ever seen. This is Catherine Brandfire. She’s a trampler dragon, and she can’t hunt or fly to save her own life—”
“Hey!”
“—but she has a Ford Mustang convertible and a driver’s license, so she is a goddess unto us. This is Eddie Blacktooth. He’s a beaststalker and his father would like to see all of us dead, but Eddie’s the best kid you could ever hope to grow up with. And this is Susan Elmsmith.” She turned and placed her hand on Susan’s arm. “She’s incredibly loyal, and the most special friend I have. I owe her so much.”
Susan blushed furiously through a wicked grin. “You’re right. We’ll start with dibs on the front passenger seat.”
“We’re all going to hang,” Jennifer announced, looking at each of them in turn. “We’re going to get along. And we’re not going to keep secrets from each other anymore. Right?”
“Right.”
“Right.”
“Right.”
A pause. “Right.”
Jennifer didn’t catch the hesitation: She had turned to call back to her mother down the hallway.
“We’re going out now.”
“Where?” Her mother’s voice sounded serene over the sound of rinsing dishes.
Her gray eyes twinkled. “We’re all going to Crescent Valley.”
The crash of a glass shattering on the kitchen floor made Jennifer smile. Her mother’s head appeared in the hallway, laced with an expression of awe and admiration.
“Are you serious, honey?”
Jennifer flexed the finger that wore the Ring of Seraphina. There was a new moon in the sky, but the gateway would always be open to her now. “Yep. We’re definitely going. I’ll get Dad’s approval once I’m there.”
Elizabeth bit her lip anxiously, longing filling her emerald eyes. Jennifer knew exactly what she was thinking.
“We’ll be back soon,” she promised. “You should go to the hospital. You have your own friend to catch up with. In a day or two, maybe you and I can go back to Crescent Valley to see Dad together.”
Her mother rewarded her with a brilliant smile—and to Jennifer’s delight, all of the years Evangelina had stolen came tumbling back in a youthful instant. “Thanks, honey. See you later. Love you!”
“Love you, too.” She turned back to her friends. “I hope you all can swim!”
The five of them held hands as they walked down the sidewalk and plunged together into a waiting world.
EPILOGUE
Rebirth
The eternal crescent moon was dark and silent. Only the reflection of an unseen sun off the lunar surface gave Evangelina any sense of bearing or direction.
Even without this light, the path was clear. The venerables moved in only one direction, and their numbers stretched as far as she could sense, both before and behind.
Brothers. Sisters. Fathers. Mothers. Cousins. They were all there, a family of nearly infinite size, dating back thousands of generations. Evangelina still had bittersweet memories of her own brothers, but those were not the only ones she had any more. It would take Evangelina an eternity to absorb the new and sundry recollections that surrounded her—lives full of happiness and grief, fear and passion, and above all…hope for those still below.
She thought of Father’s new wife again and felt some of her own sorrow and guilt slowly strip away.
The shape closest to her reached out, with his thoughts and memories. Evangelina took it all in, but lingered over the joy. She felt her first genuine smile as she recognizedthe memories of a child, and a child’s bride, and a child’s child. There was so much within that future to look forward to.
Suddenly, the host caught fire, their sign to new arrivals in the valley below. A sheet of flame swept through them all, each spirit adding their own breath to the conflagration.
Family! Friends!
She exulted in the thought.
Easing closer to her grandfather’s shape as they flew together, she let him feel her own joy.
She would never be alone again.
Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light Page 27