“I don’t want to be keeper.”
“Your actions seem to indicate otherwise.”
“I don’t think I would feel the need to help if there were someone who was doing the job they were called to do.”
“That Talisman is going to want you, Veruca. I…”
But Autumn Jones didn’t apologize. Not that Rue expected one, but her Mother's phone was taken from her and Bran said, “Girl up, Rue. Don’t be the keeper if you don't want to be. I asked Hazel about what is happening there. She asked her Presidium boyfriend who had all kinds of info.”
“What did they say,” I demanded, noting that Branka had gotten secrets from Hazel and wondering what else Bran had learned since I'd left.
“Mother dear has to do a ritual to break her bond. Obviously, old people aren't the best candidates for keepers. There is a way to break the bond and retire. Mother dear has to retire.”
“Does she need the Talisman to do it?”
“No, but she needs the full-moon.” I looked up and the moon was clearly visible. From its shape it was about a week before the full moon. Too long.
“Get her to do it.”
There was a long pause and then mother offered, “I didn’t know I hadn’t done it right.”
Finally, she admitted that she had been the keeper. I could see Finn's face flushing in a fury and Felix's shock. Hecate bless him. He didn't know the half of it.
“At first,” I interjected and watched Felix's eyes widen.
“At first,” she admitted.
“Do it right.” My voice was not an order. I said it softly and with emotion that I knew Mother could feel even if Finn and Felix and Jessie and Cyrus couldn't. They weren't my mother. They weren't my family. But Bran and Mother--they knew.
“I said I would.” Her words were not antagonistic either. So much unsaid in the conversations with my family. Every single time. And so much that was conveyed all the same.
“Be safe,” I told her. And then laughed. I was the one in the pentacle waiting to be rescued or for the sun to rise. Maybe both. I wasn’t sure I’d feel safe stepping out of my pentacle while it was dark outside. Even if phone calls were possible does that mean that the necromancer was gone?
“Your mother is the keeper.” Finn’s voice was disgusted.
“I didn’t know.”
“At first,” he said. And the utter hatred in his voice was…painful. Not that I liked or cared what he thought of me. But I cared very much about what Felix felt. And Jessie. And Chrysie.
“At first,” I said. “And then I was afraid the only way to get it to transfer was to be keeper myself.”
My eyes met Felix's. His face was expressionless. I glanced to Jessie--she'd known already, and in the face of Finn's disgust, she still seemed not to blame me. How was that possible?
“And now Lisa and Jen and Presley are dead. It’s your fault.” Finn stood as if he'd leave the pentacle. But even Finny, the Great Captain of the Keeper Team, wasn't taking that risk.
“Enough,” Felix said. And the venom and anger was in his voice as I’d never heard before. “It’s not Rue’s fault. It’s the necromancers. So she figured her Mother out. Someone else should have a long time ago. And I suspect they have. Rue might know jack about being a necromancer and keepers. The Hallow Council can't say the same."
I froze. Gods, I was stupid. They must have an idea about my mother. Some of them must have at least suspected.
* * * * *
“How did you figure it out?” Jessie asked me. We were sitting back to back in the pentacle. We hadn't seen a sign of ghost activity since the necromancer had disappeared, but we'd already lost Lisa. We didn't need to risk another when waiting for the sun to rise or for help was more effective. Cyrus was next to Jessie with Lisa on his lap. He'd been largely quiet as we'd fought with each other. Felix was on my other side, and it was too easy to let my head settle down on his shoulder. Gods, I was tired of people dying and feelings fraught with tragedy and death. Jessie was the one who had asked and because she asked in her soft and gentle way, I answered.
“She’s my mother,” I could hear the exhaustion in my voice. And the sadness. I was so sad. I reached a shaking hand out and touched Lisa’s forehead. She’d been so determined to stop the killer of her sister. Not out of anger. That’s what would have driven me. But out of concern.
Concern for others. Out of goodness. Out of a general love of mankind that I didn’t think I possessed. That was the type of person who should be the keeper. As much as Finn seemed to hate me and my mother, I could see him as keeper. He cared. He was driven because of his sense of responsibility. He hated my family for not wanting the role. For not wanting to solve all of mankind’s ills. Or even the ills of this one thinning.
Better, though, would be someone like Lisa who had cared for the sake of caring. Who would have given it her all. Who had given it her all. Not someone like me, who had to be dragged along.
Gods. I was a monster. Like my mother.
“I just realized,” I told them tiredly, “It came together one morning. I was freaking shaving my legs and thinking about my childhood and wondering what I would have done if someone had killed Mother and Daddy. Or Hazel. Or Bran. And I knew. Mother would have known where to find the Talisman. She would have had the ability that matched the thinning. She would have been the natural heir to the thinning. And Mandi’s legion of ghosts. They’d killed her parents. I’d have gone after it.”
“You did,” Felix said. “You left your mom bleeding and barely stable and you went after it.”
“Right,” I said. “I did. And my mother would have done the same thing. And she’d have taken all of her arsenal. Including that Talisman. I'm sure she did. I don't know why she survived, but she ran after she did.”
"How do you know she ran?" Felix squeezed my hand and Jessie took hold of it as well.
"She's alive. She's not in St. Angelus. My mother would never have left a position of power and money unless there was no other choice. It's not...her."
"Your mother becoming the keeper and leaving..." The disgust in Finn's voice was evident in the extreme, but everyone ignored him.
"Why didn't she do it when she came back?" Felix's voice was the gentle one now, and I started against his shoulder.
Gods...she'd left behind a position of power and a fortune. A house that teemed with magical artifacts. She—sweet Hecate—she'd set me up so hard. What would she say if I called her on it? She'd tell me that no one can make me take up the Talisman. No one made her stay. No one could make me stay. Maybe I should leave…
Now I knew why my mother focused harder on me than on Branka. My childhood was being rewritten in my mind due to one single sentence from Felix.
Felix knew what he'd done. But he said nothing, but he squeezed my hand again. Jessie who had been holding my hand as well--she felt it all and I could see her eyes widen as well. Neither said anything and neither helped Finn to see what Felix had.
“It’s obvious when you say it like that,” Jessie said a little awkwardly as she covered for me and my eyes shinning with bright tears. “Your mom is scary. Even in a hospital bed, she was scary.”
“What did you mean,” Cyrus interrupted, asking Felix, “When you asked Rue if she’d caught what the necromancer had said.”
“There it is,” I said. I looked around and then I drew my magic back into me. The spells were still there. I was still a Hallow. And the daughter of a monster. Before...I hadn't been sure it would be safe to try to disable the spells. But now...now I didn't care.
And I thrust my magic against the top layer of one of the spells. I probably shouldn't have. These spells were better than mine and layered in a way to confuse me. There were probably traps. But I was so angry. And I couldn't go running. Not when we were assuming the necromancer had left and who knew if the ghosts were laying in wait like they had when they'd destroyed Lisa? But breaking spells. Violently. That would weaken the necromancer some, and now that I was so far
past my boiling point I didn't care about the risks.
"What are you doing, Rue?" Jessie tensed as I flooded myself with magic.
I pushed to my feet and faced the spells.
Clearly, the necromancer had some other way of calling the ghosts back to her. Still…I wasn’t leaving these spells intact. I couldn't break plates or go running or screaming out my ire at my mother, but I would crush the shiz out of the spells.
“The necromancer referenced something that was said in front of me and Elspeth. There were only so many people there.” I said it as I nudged the spells laying on the church.
"Rue..." Jessie said again. She seemed to be the only one who realized that I was doing something. Though, Felix's sharp eyes were fixed on my face. Perhaps he knew too.
“Who were they?” Finn’s voice was dangerous as he asked.
Felix answered, “Elspeth Hallow, Portia Hallow, Martin Hallow, Chrysanthemum Hallow—though I think we can excuse her due to vampirism, Habitha Leone, me and Rue.”
Finn looked sick as well as angry. Key council members. It had to be one of them. Probably.
“Do you think it could be Elspeth?” I could see that Finn wanted it to be Chrysie's mom. So quick to hate our moms rather than the council.
I wanted to say no. But…but Elspeth’s timing was too ideal for this. Who knew when she had come into town? Soon enough, perhaps, to have hurt Jen. How long did it take? I shoved my magic at a layer of spells and watched them crumple. As I did, movement caught my gaze. It was the forming ghost of Lisa. From what Finn said, I doubted another necromancer would be able to sense or see her. Whatever made me Hallow gave me that ability. So no one else saw the forming ghost of our friend. But they would if I had to make Finn use my senses to push Lisa through the thinning. I’d risk pushing her myself to free her from that dark necromancer. I would do whatever it takes including let Finn touch my magic.
“Hi,” I told Lisa. Gathering her attention to me. I could already see her wavering towards those spells. The traps set up for her. She looked towards me, as did everyone else.
“Quit playing games, Rue.” Finn again. Always so angry with me.
But I didn’t have attention or time for him. I found the next layer of the spell and broke it. As I did, Dr. Hallow and Elspeth rushed towards us with Chrysie, in tow. It was too late though. The trapped slapped me back, and I went flying from the pentacle. I landed and skidded across the ground.
"Hecate eye's," I coughed. And then choked. Darkness flowed over my vision, but someone dropped down next to me and fed magic into me. It was gentle and perfect, and it opened my eyes to things of beauty I had never seen before. I expected to find Jessie, but I found Felix. I smiled up at him, and he shook his head at me.
"So you were screwing around with the necromancer's spells,” Felix said.
I nodded and then coughed.
"Stupid," he said, pulling me to my feet, so we could turn to face the worried gazes of Elspeth, Chrysie, Dr. Hallow, Cyrus, and Jessie. And the furious gaze of Finn.
“We think she’s gone,” Finn said, ignoring what had happened. Gods, I hated him. “But we stayed in the pentacle to be sure.”
“I would guess that the ghosts are gone," I offered, knowing it was true since none of us were being attacked.
Finn gave me the same type of withering look my mother would have. It made me giggle. I think Chrysie and Jessie joined in more out of relief than humor. But regardless the three of us laughed at him, while he scowled and crossed his perfect arms over his perfect chest and despite all of that perfection had become entirely and utterly unattractive.
I didn’t bother to explain. I broke the next layer of spells, hoping it wouldn't kill me.
“Good job, Rue,” Dr. Hallow said. “Careful the next two are intertwined heavily.”
I didn’t reply. Sweat was forming on my brow, but I called, “Lisa. Come this way. Come talk to us.”
She was a cloud with the feel of Lisa to her. She hadn’t formed hardly at all, but she wafted our way all the same.
“That’s it,” I said. And followed the spell layer until I found the next one. Dr. Hallow was focused on me with one hand over Elspeth’s mouth. They watched intently as I pushed once, and then quickly the second time. It was so quick that if I were wrong, it would maybe kill me but the spell would collapse all the same. I'm sure that would be of comfort to my Daddy and sister.
Of course, that’s where the trap would have been laid if there was one. Either there hadn’t been a trap, or I’d been right. Regardless, there were only a few layers left, and they were much easier to see.
“Darling, why don’t you come back over here?” It was Dr. Hallow who address Lisa now, and she wafted our way.
“You can see her,” Finn asked as I finished unlayering the spells on the church.
“Of course,” Dr. Hallow said. “It’s a rare enough gift but rather common among the Hallow line.”
“Did you see my sister,” Lisa asked me. Her voice was like a whisper along my spine and made the hair on my body rise. She spared little attention for the others. She kept glancing over her shoulder, making me wonder if she saw something that I could not see.
“Yes,” I said. I could feel the others gazes on me. But only Elspeth, Dr. Hallow, and I could hear Lisa’s side.
“She’s trapped by that…murderer.”
“Yes,” I agreed, wanting to apologize, but how could I? What good would it do? And it wasn’t my fault. I had to remind myself of that. I couldn’t let Finn’s determination of my guilt be valid by taking it on me.
“Tell my parents that I love them. And say it for Jen too.”
I nodded, and I felt tears falling down my face for the pain she was feeling. The sadness her parents would feel.
“Will you promise me to find Jen and free her?”
I nodded.
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” I said so Lisa would be sure I meant it.
“Thank you,” Lisa said simply. She reached ghostly fingers out to ruffle Cyrus’s hair before a crack appeared in the universe behind her, and she simply stepped through. There was no exorcism needed for Lisa, no black cage that forced her through, no dark necromancer to steal her will and power. And her deliberate crossing of the thinning was beautiful.
Light folded her in. Light, and I hoped, there would be someone or something on the other side to welcome her.
Dr. Hallow and Elspeth quartered the churchyard working together to ensure the necromancer was gone. Nothing.
Finn looked at me with such disgust. Hatred even. And he shook his head without saying a word, following after Elspeth and Dr. Hallow as they called the police and attended to the details.
“Do you think he’ll tell them?” Jessie whispered the question into my ear.
“About the Talisman,” I asked.
Jessie and Felix both nodded.
“Yes,” I said. “Jessie, come back to Hallow House. You too, Cyrus. The house is as safe as it gets in St. Angelus.”
What I wondered wasn’t whether he’d tell them about my mother. What I wanted to know was whether he was sorry for the way he’d treated me. I wanted an apology from him. For doubting me about the ghosts, for making me feel like a poseur, for treating me like an infant who needed to be yelled at and manhandled.
But I had little doubt about the answer to that question. He wasn’t sorry. Not one little bit.
Officer Drake had come to the church and listened to our story and arranged for poor Lisa’s body to be taken away. I’d waited until I could no longer see the taillights of the ambulance before I’d been able to get into Dr. Hallow’s SUV and be driven home. I wanted—I needed—I didn’t even know.
Something else.
CHAPTER 15
I felt hollow inside. Like someone had scooped out who I was and left behind a shell that looked like me. Martha welcomed me home like only a magical house who had chosen and accepted me could—with a fresh breeze of raspberry and basil and with warm water in my
massive tub.
The truth was—this suite of rooms was the princess suite my sister described it as. It had lush carpet that almost massaged your feet. It had a bath that you could literally swim in and that stayed warm and fresh. It had a fan overhead that knew when you needed fresh air. Wide windows opened to welcome the sunlight but never let anyone look in.
Right at that moment—I wasn’t sure there was anything I was more grateful for than a safe place of my own. I took a bath in my princess tub and hated myself for having it while somewhere out there someone’s parents were getting their second call of the week. And although the heat relaxed my muscles—I didn’t feel any better for the way I could no longer smell the graveyard on me.
I decided to try lighting candles for clarity and peace. Before I tried that, I told Martha, “High alert, Martha dear. I'm not sure we can trust everyone running around you today.”
I felt a ruffling in my mind, and it translated to the feel of armor being put on and wards flaring with more energy.
“Thank you, Martha dear," I said and dressed in my rattiest and favorite pajamas and wrapped myself in a big cushy robe and then slumped into the center of my permanent pentacle. Around my rooms were the illusions I’d crafted in my room to remind me of my island home. It was so easy for me to listen to bird song from the San Juan Islands and the sound of the ocean and wind from Puget Sound. Magic was incredible. It made a home in Connecticut feel like home in the San Juan’s. If I closed my eyes tight enough and focused hard enough, I could almost believe that Bran would come barging into my room to take my favorite jeans without asking. She’d wear them, and they’d look better on her than me since I was slender and she was curvy without being fat.
Even with all that magic, though, Lisa Abuela, Jennifer Abuela, and Presley were dead. It made me tired. Tired and depressed. Tired of being the only Hallow who didn’t know necromancy. I was tired of people manipulating me. I was tired of worrying about my electric bill and school and feeding a vampire. I was tired of people dying. I wanted…my mother.
If she were here…she wouldn’t take over and make me safe. Who was I kidding? She’d throw me to the wolves in order to teach me how to survive. But I wouldn’t feel so alone if she were here. Because as much as Branka and Mother were without sympathy, they were on my side.
Hungry Graves: A Rue Hallow Mystery Page 11