Until We're Home

by Lina Langley

  The Conjurer may try to look for him, may even use her psychic link to him, but she would not be able to find him.

  It only took him a couple of minutes to get to the field. He laid down on the grass before he put his hand on his head. Every conversation had resulted in some sort of migraine, but he didn’t mind that much.

  I’m here, Taln thought at Jesse. Sorry. I was running away.

  Running away from what?

  You don’t want to know. Taln replied. The Conjurer hasn’t assigned me anything yet so she takes pleasure in catching me doing nothing and berating me. It’s great fun.

  I’m sorry, that sounds lame.

  It’s not great, Taln thought. What’s wrong? You seem upset.

  You’re in my head. I thought you’d know.

  Taln smiled. You know I’m not actually in your head.

  Right, Jesse replied. Well, Jon killed himself. And there was this suicide note that was addressed to me. I could have stopped him, Taln. I could have just talked to him and stopped him, and I could have stopped your sister from getting hurt.

  I doubt that. Aren’t you glad?

  Glad? Jesse replied. He seemed incredulous. I mean, I guess, a little bit. I’m glad that he won’t come after me again. Mostly I’m just really sad. Someone died because of me, you know?

  No, Jesse, Taln thought. And if he hadn’t done it himself, I would have found a way to go back just to kill him.

  Jesse didn’t say anything for a minute. Or rather, he didn’t think anything back. Taln wondered if their connection had been lost, if The Conjurer may have found a way to stop it.

  I wish you would come back, Jesse finally replied. But not because of him.

  Taln sighed. I know, Jesse. I’m trying.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Taln hadn’t liked The Conjurer before, but being there, looking at her sitting on her throne while he couldn’t even hold Jesse, he thought he might hate her. He didn’t really understand the feeling yet—there was this heat borne from inside his body that went all the way to his head and his eyes would get cloudy. He wanted to fight her, but he knew that wouldn’t work, so he had to stand there and pretend to listen to whatever it is that she was saying.

  And she had been incredibly talkative lately. She was yet to assign him to anything, to anyone, and Taln was starting to get suspicious. No one could be idle. He suspected it was part of his punishment somehow. He had heard her say something about time to wallow, but he hadn’t been paying attention. Taln knew that it upset her, which was part of the reason he kept doing it, until she was trying to dig around in his head.

  Their psychic link had never been very strong.

  “Taln,” she said. He could see that whatever she was talking about had annoyed her.

  “What?”

  She smirked. “I know you’ve been talking to him.”

  The heat turned to something else. He was trembling. His tongue felt heavy when he finally spoke back to her, beads of sweat stuck his bangs to his forehead. “Talking to who?”

  “To Jesse,” she replied. “That’s his name. Isn’t it?”

  Taln looked into her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, you do,” she replied. “You can try to pretend that you don’t, but it won’t work. I know the truth. The Mage told me everything. She said she didn’t understand why the link between the two of you wasn’t broken. I’ve been watching you, Taln Lahtinen, and I know what needs to happen now.”

  Taln watched her. Everything he thought about saying to her would just make things worse. His heart was beating fast and he was starting to feel a bit dizzy.

  “I thought seeing how good you had it here would make you fit in more,” The Conjurer continued. “But I was wrong. All it did was make things worse. Much worse.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Taln repeated. He scanned the room to find something he could hold himself up against. He was sure his knees would give in at any moment.

  Her smile widened. “You’re just like your father.”

  He smiled back at her. “Thank you.”

  “That was not intended as a compliment,” The Conjurer said quickly and frowned. “Your father didn’t know his place. If he had known his place—”

  “I would have never been born,” Taln interrupted her. “I know the story. You don’t have to tell me again.”

  “He could have had power,” she replied, her cheeks reddening as she frowned. “He could have had everything.”

  She was actually surprisingly small, despite the regal appearance and the head garment. He wondered if she would kill him.

  “He did have everything,” Taln finally said. “He just didn’t want you.”

  She smirked. “You’re a fool. Everyone in your clan is a fool.”

  Taln’s smile widened, despite how scared he felt. He needed to appear brave. He was trying really hard to resist the urge to run. If he stayed around her something bad was about to happen. He was trapped.

  “I know that you won’t learn without taking drastic action.”

  Taln wondered if he was about to die. Normally, a person sentenced to death would have to go through a trial, but he was already sentenced. He was carrying out his sentence. He realized that now and he felt stupid for not being able to see it before.

  “Drastic action?”

  She nodded. Taln waited for her to explain her plan, tell him what was supposed to happen to him. Instead, she stopped nodding. “You’re dismissed.”

  Taln turned around, made his hands into fists and left the castle.

  * * *

  He was about to break into a run when he felt something tug at his clothes.

  Isocrice stood in front of him. She was wearing some sort of veil around her face, something he had never seen before, and he barely recognized her at first.

  “Silence,” she said.

  Taln stared at her.

  “We don’t have much time,” she replied. “She’s going to kill him.”

  Taln shook his head. He was sure that he had misheard her. “What?”

  “She’s going to travel to his realm,” she said. “And she’s going to hunt him down and kill him. And she wants to show you everything.”

  Taln shook his head again. “Who is she going to kill?”

  “Jesse,” Isocrice whispered. “She’s going to kill Jesse.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Taln was pretty sure he was going to throw up. Isocrice had explained the plan a few times, but every time she spoke, Taln could see exactly what would happen play out in his head.

  He would get there after The Conjurer. It would be too late. She would find a way to kill Jesse and to make sure that it was dangled in Taln’s face as something that he could change. It was probably all part of her plan, Isocrice talking to him like this, trying to come up with some sort of plan to stop the most powerful person in the citadel.

  “Listen,” Isocrice said. She grabbed his face. His eyes met hers. “I am attempting to fix things. And if you don’t listen closely, you may not be able to save him.”

  “Fine,” Taln replied. “I’m just—”

  “Once she goes to his realm, I only have a moment before she establishes a link with me. That means that I only have a moment to get you there.”

  Taln waited.

  “Once she establishes the link, I can’t get you back. Ever.”

  “Why?”

  Isocrice shook her head. “Why would you want me to?”

  Taln sighed. “What about my sister?”

  “If you stop her, your sister will be okay.”

  “I can’t kill her,” Taln said. “Even if I wanted to, she’s incredibly powerful.”

  “She won’t be in Jesse’s world. Your magic didn’t work there.”

  Taln shook his head. “Yes, it did. Sometimes, it did. And she’s more powerful than me. There’s no reason to believe that she won’t have access to her magic.”

  “Taln,” she sai
d, grabbing his hands. “If you don’t kill her, what do you think is going to happen to you?”

  “I don’t—”

  “What do you think is going to happen to Jesse? To Salisei?”

  He let go of her hands. “Tell me what I have to do.”

  * * *

  Jesse stepped outside of his apartment.

  He looked at it one last time before he closed the door. He thought it looked weird without furniture in it. He had lived there for years and now all of his stuff had either been sold or it was in his car. He had thrown away the coffee table. Coming back to his apartment had been hard. Everything was still in the same position it had been after the scuffle, there was still blood on the carpet and on the coffee table and there were still sheets on the sofa.

  Peter and Rayne had cleaned up some, but Jesse could tell they hadn’t wanted to intrude. He wished they had. Or maybe he didn’t. He couldn’t decide. At least when he was cleaning, he wasn’t thinking about what had happened. Now that he was done, it was all he could think about.

  He sighed as he closed the door and heard the lock click in place. He took the apartment’s keys out of the key chain and put them in the mailbox when he walked past it.

  He looked down at his phone as he walked to his car, barely noticing the woman that walked past him the first time. He got in his car and started it before he noticed her in the rear-view mirror.

  She was older, tiny, wore a weird dress and he would have thought she was cosplaying, if it wasn’t for her hair. It changed color as she moved up his stairs.

  Jesse wondered why she was moving up his stairs. He watched her try the handle on his door then knock gently. The gentle knocking only lasted a few seconds before she started to pound the door with her fists.

  He wondered if he should get out of the car. Maybe she was there because something had happened to Taln. He needed to talk to her. He was about to push the door open when he heard someone get into his car.

  He turned to his right, doing a double-take when he saw Taln on his passenger seat. He had lost weight and his hair was longer. He was wearing the same type of clothes that he was when they had first met. And there were scratches on his face and his arms.

  “Hello,” Taln said, smiling at him. “Drive.”

  Jesse’s head was spinning. “What—”

  “Drive,” Taln repeated. “If she sees us, she’s going to kill you.”

  “You’re here.”

  “Yes,” Taln said. “I know. Jesse—”

  “I’m going.” Jesse put the car in gear and drove.

  * * *

  Jesse parked behind a drug store after pulling off the freeway, about fifteen minutes away from his house. He had been driving aimlessly. He had opened his mouth to speak a couple of times, but nothing had come out. Taln hadn’t said anything, either. He had been watching Jesse’s mirrors or looking intensely at the people in other cars.

  Jesse barely remembered to put it in park as they came to a stop. He was looking at Taln, who still seemed more concerned with their environment than with Jesse.

  “Taln,” he said, after what seemed to him like forever. He wasn’t sure, exactly, what he was going to say, but it seemed like he should say something.

  Taln turned around to look at him. “She’s not here.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Taln sat back in the chair and closed his eyes. “The Conjurer. She’s trying to kill you.”

  Jesse frowned. “What?”

  “It has nothing to do with you,” Taln said. “It’s about me. Well, it’s not about me, it’s about my father.”

  Jesse shook his head. “What?”

  Taln smiled at him. “Nothing. It’s nothing you need to worry about, I promise.”

  “I never thought I'd see you again,” Jesse said. “I’m so confused. I thought I would never see you again and suddenly you jump into my car and tell me that someone’s trying to kill me.”

  “I told you I would come back,” Taln replied. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do it before.”

  “That was actually you? I was talking to you all those times?”

  “Yes,” Taln replied, rolling his eyes. “But you didn’t believe me when I tried to convince you, so—”

  Jesse didn't say anything, and put his hand on Taln’s cheek. Taln leaned into his touch, closed his eyes, and smiled.

  “You’re here,” Jesse said. “You’re really here.”

  “Yes,” Taln replied, opening his eyes. “I’m here. Are you crying?”

  Jesse nodded, smiling. “I thought I would never see you again.”

  Taln put his hand over Jesse’s. “You said that. I’m here, Jesse.”

  “I missed you so much,” Jesse said. “I thought I was going crazy. Actually crazy.”

  “You weren’t going crazy. Listen, someone is trying to—”

  “I don’t care. Are you here for good?”

  “Yes,” Taln replied. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  “He’s saying someone is trying to kill you and you’re acting like you won the lottery,” Rayne said. They were sitting in Rayne and Peter’s garden and listening to Taln tell his story. Jesse wasn’t sure if they believed him.

  “You need new clothes,” he said, completely ignoring Rayne. “Like, you’re not going to go out in that. I’m sure I have some stuff that’ll fit you—”

  “Jesse,” Peter said. “If what Taln is saying is true, someone very powerful is trying to kill you. Why aren’t you more concerned?”

  Jesse shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m used to people trying to kill me. Seems standard.”

  Rayne and Peter exchanged a look.

  Taln set his gaze on Jesse. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.”

  “Great,” Jesse said, smiling at Taln. “So, about your clothes—”

  “What about my clothes?”

  “Can we talk about the murderer on the loose, please?” Rayne asked.

  “Yes,” Jesse replied. “Sorry.”

  “She’s going to find him,” Taln said. “As long as I’m with him. I don’t think she knows what he looks like, but she may. Her magic may work here but it’s possible that it won’t. Even if her magic doesn’t work here, she’s going to try to kill him in a different way. Maybe a less direct way. We need to get to her first.”

  “You’re going to kill an old lady first because she may or may not be a threat to your boyfriend?” Peter asked Taln.

  Taln scoffed. “I’m going to kill her because she’s not going to stop coming after him. As long as I’m alive, Jesse is a target.”

  Peter sighed. “Why?”

  “Those are the rules,” Taln said. “If I don’t follow the rules, I’m a threat. As long as I’m with Jesse, I’m a threat.”

  “But you’re not even there,” Jesse said.

  “I know,” Taln replied. “Sometimes I think the rules thing is an excuse. She hates our clan. She will do anything to see us extinguished. If I don’t kill her and she goes back to Minburry, my sister will be punished.”

  “We don’t kill people here, Taln,” Rayne said.

  Taln knit his eyebrows. “I don’t think that’s true.”

  Peter squeezed Rayne’s shoulder. “Say you get to her and you do kill her. What’s going to happen after that?”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Jesse answered, though the question wasn’t directed at him. “Together. Right?”

  “Yes,” Taln said. “I’m sure we will.”

  * * *

  “You can stay here,” Rayne said, probably for the tenth time. “We really don’t mind.”

  “I don’t want to put you in danger,” Taln said. “The Conjurer is unconcerned with collateral damage.”

  “We’re worried about you,” Rayne replied. “About both of you.”

  “I’ll call you first thing in the morning,” Jesse replied.

  They decided to head to a motel on the edge of town. That had been T
aln’s idea, staying somewhere secluded, letting The Conjurer come to them. Jesse had readily agreed. That day, he would have probably agreed to anything Taln suggested and while he was aware of that fact, it didn’t seem to change anything.

  “Let us know if you need any help,” Peter said.

  “We will,” Jesse said. “We should go. We’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  Rayne put her arms around Jesse and held him close. Jesse smiled at her when she finally let him go, feeling a twinge of apprehension. “Maybe you guys should stay somewhere else tonight?”

  “Jesse—”

  “Look,” Jesse said. “I know you think this is ridiculous. And I know you’ve probably been humoring us all along. But I have a bad feeling about all this, and you said that if we needed any help—”

  “I’ll be at the hospital tonight,” Peter said. “Rayne can stay with a friend. Will that make you feel better?”

  “Yes,” Jesse replied. “A lot better. Thank you.”

  “We should go,” Taln said. “I don’t like being out when it’s dark.”

  “Alright,” Jesse replied. “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  “Taln,” Jesse said. “Why don’t you come away from the window? You told me you would sense her, so you don’t have to be on alert all the time, right?”

  Taln sighed. “I will.”

  “Then you don’t have to be looking out the window all the time. Come on. This bed is going to waste.”

  Taln turned to look at him and smiled. “You seem to be using it.”

  “Not well,” Jesse said. “Come here. I haven’t seen you for weeks.”

  “Okay,” Taln said. He sat down on the edge of the bed, still keeping an eye on the window.

  Jesse groaned. “I guess you didn’t miss me as much as I missed you.”

  “No,” Taln replied. “I missed you a lot. I’m just—I’m sorry, I’m worried. I don’t want anything to happen to you, that’s all.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to me.”