Brent squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll see you later, if you’re up to it.”
“I will be,” she answered, then hugged him. “Promise.”
He kissed her head and walked back to his car.
Chatan nodded toward the hall. “Follow me,” he murmured, taking her to the first room on the right. “Jackie lost her mother at two weeks old, or so she thought. She found her again. Her father had died when she was six, or so she believed. They’re both alive, and that’s another long story. But she knows what you’re going through. So do I. Tell me what I can do.”
“Hold me,” she answered. “That’s all, for now.”
He pulled her to the bed and wrapped her in his arms. “I’m here for you, Jacinda.”
“And I’ll be here for you no matter what,” she vowed. Running wasn’t the answer. She just hoped they could find one.
Chapter 8
Brent dropped his head forward as Amelia dug into the knots in his shoulders. She took her time massaging. “She’s powerful,” Amelia said. “Like you.”
He snorted. “More than me. And that’s fine. She has threads of magic I can’t even define. But I definitely sense our kind of magic. I wonder how deep her sorcerer talents run.”
“What do you mean?”
Brent couldn’t help smiling. “When she first looks at someone, she looks off to the side or just above. She’s gauging auras. Doesn’t mean she hears the spirits, but she sees ours.”
“Hmm, is that what the aura is? Our spirit?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know for sure. I’m not a Deathcaller. I can’t see the dead. But perhaps it’s something like that. I wonder how much of the original Thanatos is left in the monster hunting her family.”
“Does that honestly matter?” Amelia asked.
“Remember how you wanted to save Eamon?”
She rolled her eyes. “Only because he wasn’t truly evil. And he didn’t seek Crom Cruach. That was my fault, if you recall.”
“No Eamon wasn’t, but can we be sure Thanatos didn’t seek this entity?”
“You want to save the creature who killed your son?”
“Oh no, the creature must die. I doubt there is anything left worth saving, but I do wonder what’s really left in there.” He sighed. “You made me look at things differently. I was ready to kill Eamon for wanting what’s mine.”
She rolled her eyes.
He sighed. “Yeah, I know, you are your own woman, but you’re still mine. You always will be, love.”
“Same goes for you.” She glanced at the clock. “Think she’ll be ready for dinner?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Only one way to find out, and maybe if enough of us are there and talking about everything but her current mess, she may be able to stop thinking for a little while.”
“True.”
“We’re going to stop that thing,” Brent said, more to ensure he believed it. There was still so much to figure out. Records to find, and if the monster was as old as he believed, that could prove hard. But even Draecyn was looking into it for him. And Brent had a feeling he’d be sucked into the age-old battle he’d avoided for so long. Jacinda would too. He’d seen it.
* * * *
Matoskah flipped through the pages of Tyrell’s journal. Closing his eyes, he lay back. Those kids were expected to do so much. And the fight against Thanatos was so much worse than either of them could ever expect.
Loretta had already told him the good news. Chatan’s magic had been unleashed. Something he knew would happen but wished the truth wouldn’t have to go with it.
The story may break Chatan’s heart, but it was one he needed to understand, especially now that he’d found Jacinda. Oh, how he wished there were more time. Chatan may not understand why his mother did what she did. He still didn’t.
All to protect him from what would come.
Tomorrow, he’d worry about that. Now, he needed to figure out the best way to approach them both. He’d called, left messages. All their families’ secrets, and some of the Branches of Emrys. So much knowledge, and so much responsibility. And they were supposed to trust such youth to unravel the mysteries.
Some days, he wished he’d never met Ceridwen Murdock or Draecyn Montgomery.
His phone rang once again. He looked at the number. Chatan.
After a deep breath, he hit talk and put the phone to his ear. “How is she?”
“What do you know?” Chatan asked.
“I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Bring whoever needs to come. They all need to hear the story. I’ll be inviting a few people. They also need to know the details.”
“Should I be worried?” Chatan asked. “Should Jacinda? She just lost her mother.” The warning in his tone made Matoskah proud.
And when the story came out, Chatan might feel like he lost his mother all over again. And there was always the chance he would break their relationship further.
“About Thanatos, yes. Bring her to the longhouse tomorrow. Please. I have something she needs.”
“What time?”
“As soon as she’s ready. Give her tonight, though. Do what you can. Eddie already told me more about her mother.” Mina was a good woman. Protective of her daughter and her husband.
“How well did you know her?” Wary curiosity. That was Chatan. One day, he hoped to gain his trust back, but didn’t think that would happen anytime soon.
He blew out a breath. “Well. I introduced her to Tyrell.” Once, they were close, but after Mina lost Tyrell, she started running, and he didn’t see her again.
“I see. How much don’t I know?”
“A lot. But that changes tomorrow. I need to go, Chatan. Hopefully, you won’t hate me by the end. Or your mother.”
“What?” he whispered harshly.
“Tomorrow, Chatan. Be there for Jacinda, tonight.”
“I will. But I want answers. I need to understand.”
“You have my word. Tomorrow.”
Chatan hung up. Yup, he was mad. Matoskah didn’t even blame his son. Hopefully the truth wouldn’t divide them further.
Chapter 9
Jacinda had fallen asleep within minutes. The sniffles didn’t stop until an hour ago. And he refused to let her go. He wanted to be there for her. Hell, had she asked him to be a cat again, he would have done it. Anything to see her smile.
Jackie peeked in. “How is she?” she whispered.
“Worn out,” Chatan answered quietly. “I wish I could do more for her.”
“You’re doing everything for her.”
“Doesn’t feel like enough.” He looked up at the ceiling. “And now my father is being cryptic. I don’t understand what his deal is.”
“Sorry, Chatan. Well, I’ll be out in the living room. I want to meet her, when she’s awake, of course.” Jackie shut the door without a sound.
Jacinda’s hand trailed up his chest as she leaned back and looked into his eyes. “You okay? Should we skip going to your father? We could find another way.”
“You were awake?”
“I just wanted to lie here, in your arms.”
He brushed her hair back and kissed her softly. “We need to go to Dad. He has another of your father’s journals. We’ll figure all of this out.”
“He upset you. I don’t want to make this worse.”
“Oh no, Jace. This is about you. You need the journal, and whatever he knows.”
She brushed her fingertips over his jaw. “It’s about us, and you’re part of us, so it’s about you too.”
He couldn’t have stopped the smile. “Finally see that?”
“Yeah, I do. So, talk to me. What’s going on with your father?”
“He hinted at some dark secret he and Mom may have kept. I honestly don’t know.”
“What could they be hiding?”
He shook his head. “Don’t have a damned clue.”
She curled closer. “I love you, Chatan, and no matter what you learn, you still have me.”
Jacinda nodded toward the door. “You want to introduce me to Jackie, now?”
And for the first time, he had to wonder. He hadn’t even considered his brief history with Jackie before she asked. “You sure you’re okay knowing I was with her once?”
Her eyes sparkled with humor. “I swear it’s fine.”
He ran his thumb under her jaw. “You’re all I want. There is no other woman for me.” She needed to understand that.
“And no other man for me. I might feel differently if she were the second one you fell for.”
“She’s not. That was Lisanna. A nymph.” He blew out a breath. “Only, she never loved me.”
“She doesn’t know what she’s missing.” She slipped her hand around the back of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine.
He kissed her. He couldn’t help it. “Don’t want her now. Haven’t wanted her in years.”
“Good, because I’d put up a fight.”
He laughed, and she smiled. He traced her lips with a fingertip. “You’re beautiful when you smile. Well, you always are, but more so when your face lights up.”
“You light me up. Now introduce me to your friends.”
“Maybe I should have taken you to a hotel, so you wouldn’t be focused on them.”
“You think they can help us?”
He lifted a shoulder. “They’re connected. At worst, they can help us find who we need to help.”
“This is getting so big.” She sat up. “Come on, introduce me, and tonight you can take my mind off everything else. All right?”
As if he could deny her. He climbed from the bed. “Better rested at least?”
“I am. Thank you. So much easier to sleep in your arms than holding a cat.” She winked, moving to the door.
He caught her hand and pulled her back to hug her tight. “I missed holding you, but I didn’t mind you holding me.”
“You were cute as a cat.” She slipped through the door.
He caught up as she stepped into the living room.
Jackie smiled when she looked up. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived, Jacinda. Brent had a last-minute assignment because someone else had canceled.”
“I needed the rest,” Jacinda answered. “Thank you for letting us stay.”
Chatan squeezed her to his side. “How long before Eddie gets back?”
“He’s on his way with Brent,” Jackie answered. “They’re bringing pizza. And if you want a distraction, we can provide that. If you want to figure out how we can help, we’ll do that. Totally up to you, Jacinda.”
“Distraction for now.” Jacinda shoved her hands in her pockets. “I need to read through the journal I found at my mother’s, but that can wait until tomorrow.” And she wasn’t sure she was ready to go through the book or handle her emotions.
“And you’ll have the one my father has tomorrow,” Chatan assured.
“Which means it can wait until then,” Jacinda answered.
The door opened, and in came Brent, Amelia, and Eddie with several pizzas. “Hopefully you like one of the choices. There’s a variety,” Brent said.
“I’m not terribly picky. I’m sure all of them will be good,” she answered.
Eddie moved closer. “It’s good to see you smiling.”
“Thanks.” Jacinda squeezed Chatan’s hand as he took hers.
Jackie smiled. “Let’s eat. Maybe we can tell you something about Chatan he hasn’t shared yet.”
“Like what?” Jacinda had perked up and followed Jackie to the dining room.
Eddie handed her a plate. “Anything you’d like to drink?”
“Coffee? Or water, please.”
“Nothing more?” Eddie nodded to a liquor cabinet.
She shook her head. “No, thanks.” She’d never had alcohol before. Not for any reason other than she never had a reason to try it before. And now, she didn’t want her first experience in such an awkward situation.
Brent’s brow arched.
Jackie smiled. “There’s a fresh pot. I’ll get you a cup.”
“Thank you. And just black.”
“You got it.”
Eddie nodded to Chatan. “Want a beer?”
“Sure,” Chatan answered. “Just one, though.”
“I don’t mind if you drink,” Jacinda murmured.
“Not tonight.” Chatan leaned close to whisper in her ear, “I’d rather be clearheaded when I take you to bed. I want to focus on you and reminding you how much I need you.”
She closed her eyes, pushing her desire away. Something to look forward to, and maybe she could forget about her mother for a little while.
Chatan nudged her shoulder. “Pick something to eat.”
She took a piece of sausage and mushroom pizza.
Jackie placed a mug in front of her and took a seat with her own cup. “Feel like small talk?” Jackie asked.
Jacinda nodded. “That’s a good place to start.”
“So, how did you meet Chatan?” Jackie asked.
Jacinda didn’t answer, but a tiny smile pulled at her lips.
Chatan squeezed her hand and answered, “She doesn’t know the whole story. I felt her coming from miles away. Her magic called to me while I was watching Morty’s Burger Stop. We suspected Josephine of murdering Others and we were trying to figure out how she was abducting them. Then Mason attempted to take her. And before I could stop it, she escaped, winding up in Loretta’s motel. I brought her dinner and knew I had to get to know her.”
She looked into his eyes. “I was drawn to you too. I kept telling myself not to get attached, but that was impossible.” She wet her bottom lip.
He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers in the softest kiss.
“And you saved him later, right?” Eddie asked Jacinda.
Jacinda shook her head. “I couldn’t let her have him. I knew I could do what the shaman probably couldn’t.”
“And it freaked me out when I couldn’t move,” Chatan muttered. “Mason tied me to a chair in an old barn after hitting me over the head. She led the Elders to me, but they couldn’t follow. And Jacinda had almost everything covered, until Josephine got her with the blade. Scared the hell out of me.”
She looked into his eyes. “You healed me. Remember?”
“I wasn’t losing you.”
“I like her,” Jackie told Eddie.
Confused, Jacinda blinked, then asked, “Because I wanted to protect him?”
She nodded. “He’s family.” That statement made Jacinda like Jackie. Chatan was right, they were good friends, nothing more.
“What about you two?” Jacinda asked. “All I know is that Chatan always knew you two would wind up together.”
Eddie chuckled. “Apparently everyone did but us.” Then he let out a breath. “We grew up together. She moved out when she turned eighteen. Then I moved in when my parents were murdered shortly after. Even then, neither of us got it.”
Jackie dipped her head. “It took Eddie losing his girlfriend to Shadowstalkers who came after me because I gained the interest of the vampire they wanted to destroy.” Her nose scrunched. “Everything got complicated for a while.”
“That’s an understatement. I thought I lost her at a couple points. Once for doing something while asleep.” Eddie rubbed a hand over his neck. “Then, she nearly died thanks to those asshole vampires.”
Smiling, Jackie turned to Eddie. “You aren’t ever losing me.”
Jacinda turned to Brent and Amelia. “What about you?”
Amelia smirked. “I wound up interning at In Other News. And I couldn’t resist chasing after my boss, but he wouldn’t budge. I eventually gave up and wound up a vampire. That’s when he finally told me he felt something, but he was stubborn and sure he was going to somehow corrupt me.” She rolled her eyes. “A story landed in our laps, one that brought out the truth about our past lives, and well, here we are now.”
Brent sighed. “I hope I’ve made up
for my stupidity by now. My memories of our past were locked away. If I had known, I could have made sense of those visions of our many deaths. I thought they were coming, not from our previous lives. I was convinced one of us would be the other’s downfall.”
“Past lives?” Chatan asked.
Brent turned to him. “Yes, past lives. We’ve been bound together for centuries, through many lives. And this time, I get to keep her. Every other time she’d been taken from me. But the problem has been permanently dealt with.”
“Thankfully,” Amelia said. “I’m finally happy and with the man I’ve wanted since I first laid eyes on him.”
“Ah, but our first life, I wanted you far longer than you wanted me.”
“Can’t blame me when you stuck to the shadows in the beginning,” she answered.
Jackie smiled. “So, Chatan, you became a cat just to follow Jacinda?”
“He did. All because I’m afraid of dogs.”
Jackie grinned. “Eddie turns into a cougar. That’s his animal.”
“Never tried one, but I could probably manage,” Chatan teased.
“Yeah, but you were always good at different animals,” Eddie explained. “Seems everything you tried you could manage, which is better than most druids.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Until recently, my magic was pretty weak. At least I was good at that and plants.”
“Which reminds me,” Eddie told Chatan, “I should teach you some things I learned. See if you can do them. And maybe we learn new things neither of us thought of.”
“Sure, but we’re bringing Jacinda. She’s already teaching me to embrace my magic.”
“I want to come too. Should be fun,” Jackie said.
Jacinda nodded. “Sure. More the merrier.” She wasn’t sure she believed that. And would it freak them out if she started to cast what they could? She could replicate most spells she saw.
Chapter 10
Sometime after midnight, Chatan whispered in Jacinda’s ear, “Ready for me?”
“Mmhmm,” she murmured. His constant contact reminded her how much she had to live for.
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