by C. J. Valles
I stop as Ever’s eyes darken with disapproval, probably at the certainty of my statement.
“But,” I continue, “if being with you is counted among the risks I’ve taken, then it was worth it.”
My smile fades as reality resurfaces. I’ve had my night with Ever. Now it’s time to give him up. It’s time to pay the price for every choice I’ve made.
“We need to go back.”
My voice is barely a whisper, because I don’t want to give this up. I don’t want to give up Ever.
“Why?” he asks evenly.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I laugh. “Maybe to avert the end of the world?”
“Time can’t touch us here, Wren. We could stay.”
“What? Forever?” I laugh again.
When he doesn’t smile, I sit up at stare at him in the moonlight.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I meant what I said. I would gladly let this world burn if it meant being with you.”
Before I can move, I’m on my back with him floating over me. His fingers begin to trace my skin until my breathing is uneven.
“We … can’t,” I whisper.
“Then let me enjoy these last few moments with you before we return to reality.”
His mouth drops to mine, and rational thought begins to fade. If these are going to be my last experiences before giving myself up, then it’s more than I ever imagined I would have. And Ever is more than I could have dreamt of.
***
Opening my eyes, I sit up and look at the empty bed. The room has returned to a tropical temperature, and there’s a thin white dress draped across the edge of the bed. I sigh. The outfit is a little on the virginal side, and maybe Ever was going for irony—I don’t know.
Reaching for the dress, I find a bra and panties to go with it. As soon as I’m dressed, I walk across the wooden floor, stopping at the open entrance. Ever is at the edge of the water under the midnight sky, staring out at this place on the edge of human reality. I know he’ll never let me go. And part of me wants to stay in this eternal midnight with him. Breathing in, I raise my mental wall.
“Audra,” I whisper.
Ever turns the moment I say her name, and I jump when Audra appears in front of me, her cerulean eyes as guilty as mine. She grips my hand, and suddenly I’m retching and coughing in the bitter cold before she drags me into the shelter. The door slams shut behind us, and I drop to the floor as soon as I reach the bottom of the stairs.
“Trouble deciding between them?” Audra asks flatly.
I shrug. I’m not going to argue with her about Alex. In my mind, she and I are even, because one way or another, she’s getting this world back thanks to me. My internal conflict isn’t her business. And I’m not going to tell her about the deal I made with Alex. After I’m gone and they have this world back, it will be better that they all think I’m dead.
“Are you ready, then?” she asks.
I nod and push myself up off the floor.
“After I’m gone, promise you’ll take care of everyone. Ever, too. Make sure he’s … happy.”
She laughs grimly.
“That I can’t promise you.”
Reaching up in a familiar motion, I gather up my hair and wind it into a ponytail, smiling briefly when Audra hands me a black elastic band. As I start walking back toward the reinforced door, Audra stops me.
“Wren, he may be waiting on the other side of the door. Are you prepared for that?”
She means Ever, of course, not Victor. I think of the power I harnessed to keep Ever and Alex from stopping me—the blast of electricity that sent Ever flying and the fireball of heat that blew Alex off his feet.
“Yes.”
I follow her toward the stairs, stopping short when she looks back at me.
“Was it worth it?” she asks with her typical immortal impassiveness.
She means my one night before betraying Ever and leaving this life.
“Yes,” I whisper again.
She takes my hand and presses the button. The next thing I know, we’re standing in the freezing cold again, me in nothing but a flimsy, above-the-knee white dress. When I look up, Ever is about ten feet away, just like Audra said he would be.
“What have I done, sister, to warrant your betrayal?” he asks with deadly calm as he stares at Audra.
I step out from behind her.
“It wasn’t her, Ever. It was me. This is my choice.”
It’s the only choice I can make. Suddenly he’s right in front of us. When he reaches toward Audra, I channel my memories of her force field and throw my arms up, imagining her invisible wall around us. Ever stops, blocked—by me. Audra turns and stares at me, her eyes wide as she grabs my arm. The next thing I know, we’re standing in a darkened living room.
“How did you do that?” she demands.
“Do what?” I ask, looking around for signs of where we are.
“You used my power to stop Ever. How?”
“I don’t know. I just imagined your power and pushed it outward …”
I hear someone on the stairs, and Audra suddenly disappears.
“Wren?”
I look and see Matt wearing a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a UCLA T-shirt.
“Hey, Matt,” I smile crookedly. “We missed you at prom.”
He walks down the stairs, staring at me.
“Yeah …”
In his mind, I see a flash of a phone call—his date bailing on him at the last second. I’m about to tell him that he should have just come along with the rest of us. Then I remember how prom ended: with Victor dangling my mom and Matt in front of me. Matt was at prom; he just doesn’t remember it.
“You didn’t miss much,” I say lightly. “I left early.”
His eyes narrow as he studies me.
“Dude! You totally had sex tonight!”
“Matt!” I hiss. “Shut up! You’ll wake up your parents!”
Audra walks out of the dark living room.
“I’m sorry to cut this short, but …”
I turn to Matt, whose expression just went from confused to shocked.
“So, you wanna do me a huge favor?” I ask him.
“Right now?”
“Right now,” I nod.
When Audra reaches out for his hand, he smiles sheepishly.
“This should be interesting,” he mumbles.
“Try mind blowing,” I correct.
I sit up, instantly shocked into awareness by the blaring music and flashing lights. Matt is slumped next to me in a booth, and Audra is sitting across the table from us.
“Audra!”
She looks over at me.
“Did you bring us to a rave?”
“We’re waiting for Chasen.”
Such a typical Audra answer. I shake my head and look around. We’re in a huge club, and judging from the way everyone is dressed—like Audra—we’re in New York or Paris. Turning toward Matt, I shake him as Audra slides two bottles of a bright green energy drink in our direction.
“Matt! Are you all right?”
Blinking, he turns to look at me, his eyes widening.
“Holy … holy—I think I’m gonna throw up.”
I open a bottle and hand it to him. He starts chugging the drink as Chasen suddenly appears on the bench seat next to Audra. Matt sets down the bottle, his mouth agape.
“Hey, Wren,” Chasen says with a wink. “In trouble again?”
Chasen turns to Audra, the smile dropping from his face.
“I don’t like this,” he says seriously.
“No one does. But there’s no other way. Do you think I want him to hate me forever?”
She’s talking about Ever, of course. Chasen looks over at me again.
“Wren? This is your choice?”
“You want a Victor-free world, don’t you?”
“I’d rather you be around,” he answers seriously.
I feel Matt staring at me, but I ignore him as I sip my dri
nk.
“Besides,” Chasen says with a trace of his old humor. “Who am I going to pick on when you’re gone? No offense to my lady love or my brother, but they can be a bit too—”
“Judgmental? Serious? Grim? Dour?” I offer, smiling.
“All of the above,” he says with another look at Audra.
“You know what to do, then?” Audra asks Chasen, completely ignoring our conversation.
Chasen nods, and I reach my hand across the table, remembering the first day we met in the cafeteria at Springview—the day Ever was afraid that Chasen might kill me. Chasen takes my hand in his enormous one.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “Both of you. Tell Alistair and Persephone the same. I wish I could see them again.”
As Chasen gives my hand the slightest of squeezes, I think about the fact that he could easily break every bone in my hand without even trying.
“Yo! Wren! What … the … hell?” Matt demands.
I turn to face him.
“Here’s the short version: Ever, Audra, and Chasen are immortals from another dimension, and the world is ending.”
“Is that all?” he asks.
I shrug.
“Yeah, pretty much. Oh, wait. And I was hoping we could sacrifice you to a dragon to save the world.” I smile. “I’m just kidding about that last part.”
I look down. I’m the one who’s getting sacrificed to the dragon. Turning back to Audra, I take a deep breath.
“I think we’re all set.”
I look over at Matt.
“You mind going with Chasen? We’ll meet up with you soon.”
“Wren, are you all right?” he asks.
I nod and smile like I mean it.
“Everything is going to be fine really soon. I promise.”
“You’d better give me the whole story when this is all over,” he mumbles.
“I will,” I promise.
Chasen rises to his full height.
“Ready to rock and roll?” he asks Matt.
“Sure, yeah,” Matt mumbles, looking down at his pajamas. “Dude, Wren. Couldn’t you have at least given me time to change out of my pajamas?”
Audra snaps her fingers dramatically, and suddenly Matt’s wearing a button-up shirt, tie, and slacks.
“Happy?” she sighs.
Matt blinks.
“I’m not even gonna ask,” Matt mutters.
“Good idea,” I tell him as Chasen reaches across the table, placing his hand on Matt’s shoulder.
A second later, they’re gone. When someone arrives at our table and sets down two drinks, I look over at Audra. She shrugs and picks up a glass.
“To averting the end of the world.”
I pick up my glass and sniff it. Sparkling apple cider.
“To the end,” I smile sadly. “Too bad I couldn’t at least make it to graduation, but hey. At least I survived ’til eighteen.”
I raise my glass and clink it with hers. I made it to eighteen, and for better or worse, I had my one night with Ever. Looking down, I close my eyes and see his face.
Having your love was more than I could have asked for until this moment.
The hair on the back of my neck prickles, and I look up, my eyes scanning across the club. I see him for a single second, illuminated by the flashing pink and purple lights.
“Dammit, Wren!” Audra hisses.
When she grabs my arm across the table, the noise of the club disappears.
“Think of somewhere else!” Audra says in my ear as I open my eyes and see my bedroom.
I close my eyes, and the next thing I know, we’re standing in Portland’s Japanese Garden.
“Again! We have to stay ahead of him!” Audra says urgently.
A second later, we’re standing in the fog at the foot of an enormous evergreen. I feel blood rushing in my ears as I remember running for my life. This is the tree that marks the entrance to the cemetery I ran through last year.
Feeling sick and weak, I close my eyes. Before I can open them again, I hear the rushing of thousands of gallons of water. I open my eyes and look down on Multnomah Falls, where I made my deal with Alex last year. I feel Audra squeeze my hand, and suddenly I’m standing in the darkened Art classroom. In my mind, I see Ever holding out my pen, his face expressionless. Then, like magic, he’s standing in front of me.
“Stop,” he pleads.
I shake my head.
“I can’t.”
Suddenly I’m in a dark hospital room. I recognize the smell of antiseptic and sickness. It’s where I woke up after I first locked eyes with Ever. A second later, I’m in an empty coffee shop. I look over and see the table where I sat with Ever before I knew what he was.
I close my eyes and think of one last place, and when I open my eyes again, I see West Street Beach. Even in the darkness, I easily recognize the cove, flanked by cliffs on one side and tide pools on the other. This is the place where the current nearly killed me, and it makes sense that I should come back here for the end, or the beginning—whatever this is.
Sinking down onto the cold sand, I think of the moment more than a year ago when Alex gave himself up for me. And now we’re back where we started—only I’m the one who has the power to end this.
I have the power to sever Victor’s connection to this world.
34: Not the Way We Planned It
“We’ve left a trail of energy for Victor to find us,” Audra says. “He will be here soon.”
“Breadcrumbs,” I mumble as I struggle to my feet.
Audra looks at me like I’ve lost my mind as I imagine two children in the forest leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. At the end of Hansel and Gretel, the lost children defeated the witch, but I don’t know if I’m going to get that lucky.
Suddenly Ever appears—with my mom. The four horsemen appear an instant later. Then I see the smile on Ever’s face, the whiteness of his teeth gleaming in the moonlight, and I know something’s wrong.
“No …” I whisper, shaking my head as Ever’s image melts away, leaving Victor in its place.
Dread flickers through me as I realize that Audra and I didn’t think of every possible scenario. Alistair and Persephone must have let “Ever” take my mom—or at least what they thought was Ever.
“My dear, I applaud you for making the wise choice,” he says to Audra. “Nonetheless, I always feel it’s necessary to have additional … insurance.”
Just as Audra opens her mouth to speak, I see a look of shock spread across her features as a blade pierces her chest from behind. Suddenly she’s frozen in place like a beautiful, tragic statue, her blue eyes frozen.
My stomach pitches as Alex steps from behind her. Everything starts to spin around me when he takes her blade from her. Feeling something float onto my face, I look up and see snowflakes drifting toward the moonlight-bleached sand.
“You were speaking of wise choices,” Alex says to Victor.
Before I can move, Alex grabs my arm, jerking it until I scream in pain just as Ever—the real Ever—appears in front of us, his features enraged.
“You’ve both played this hand before,” Victor sighs in a bored voice. “Am I to believe you would simply hand her over, or better yet, that she would submit to me?”
I shudder, willing myself to wake up from this nightmare. When I look up at Alex, I see no shred of compassion in his eyes. I wilt, realizing that I should have expected this the moment my heart chose Ever. Suddenly Chasen appears with Matt, his expression turning from confusion to rage when he sees Audra frozen—and Alex holding me.
“And history repeats itself,” Chasen growls, releasing Matt.
His eyes blazing with fury, Chasen rushes Alex, who immediately releases my arm and disappears. I swing around violently, trying to keep my eyes on everyone. And that’s when I realize this is a chessboard—and every choice I’ve made has brought me here. Seeing Alex appear behind Matt, I know that I’m losing the game.
“Don’t!” I scream.
But it�
��s too late. Like out of a nightmare, I watch as Alex slices Matt’s throat, a thin red line of crimson appearing across Matt’s neck. Matt, my friend and one of the people I wished I could protect from all the evil and hatred in the world. He doesn’t fall, though, and the blood doesn’t begin to flow from his gash. He remains in suspended animation. Panicked, I look toward my mom, but she hasn’t moved at all.
Suddenly I understand how quickly this is happening—faster than humanly possible. I’m watching this through immortal eyes. I’m watching the worst possible moments of my life in super slow motion.
“Make another choice,” Alex says coldly, “and decide your mother’s fate next.”
Ever disappears from my sight, and then I feel a shockwave as he sends Alex flying. The white- and silver-haired wraiths slither away from Victor’s side, and Chasen motions them forward with his hand.
“Bring it,” he growls.
Victor yawns theatrically.
“This is all very amusing. Truly. I could watch you turn on each other for at least a century, but I have a world to take over.”
The sand beneath my feet begins to shift, and a second later the ground rolls. Turning toward the bluffs, I see a writhing mass flooding down the concrete stairs, rolling toward us with unnatural speed. As the undulating horde spreads closer, I realize what it is—an army of possessed humans. As they swarm around us, I see their blackened eyes gleaming like those of insects.
Then the thunder of footfalls falls silent, and they wait. Suddenly Alex reappears next to Victor, who’s still holding my mom and flanked by the two female wraiths. When Alex points to my mom, I flinch.
“May I?” he asks Victor.
“Hmm,” Victor says, studying Alex with an amused expression. “Perhaps, even now, you are still trying to win this feeble creature’s favor? Let me ask you … Did you truly expect her to choose you?”
I’d be super pissed that Victor just called me a feeble creature, if he weren’t holding my mom like some sort of bargaining chip.
“No, I suppose not,” Alex says harshly. “And I think you and I both understand how bitter unrequited attention can make one.”
Victor gestures to me, causing ice to run through my veins.