by T. M. Cromer
She swiped at the moisture on her cheeks. “Yeah?”
“If you were in the Otherworld, why didn’t you see Ryanne?”
“I went to a plane right before the final destination. Preston found me.”
He nodded and left her to her goodbye.
Nash entered the living room and studied the haggard faces of its occupants. Turning to his father, he said, “Rylee’s awake. She’s still weak, but she said she talked to Uncle Preston during our spell.”
His father noticeably paled. “Preston?”
Aurora reached for Alastair’s hand. In a gesture of unity, he wove his fingers through hers with a light kiss to her knuckles.
“What did he have to say?”
“That Isis mentioned a spell from the Book of Thoth to save Ryanne.” Nash shifted his gaze to Spring. “Apparently, you might be familiar with the spell? Transmutation.”
She nodded slowly and glanced around with a frown. “Obviously, I’ve never performed it—we’ve never needed to—but I have it up here.” She tapped her temple.
“Do we need to be in the clearing again, like with Mama?” Autumn asked from her position by the window. “You know, to light the stones?”
“No. We can perform it here. We will need a few items from my shop. If I’m not mistaken, the spell is also written in our family grimoire.”
As if she’d be mistaken. Nash did a mental eye roll. Spring was the smartest person in their family, and she possessed a photographic memory that kept the Thorne clan in awe more often than not. She knew the spell book inside and out. If she believed there was a transmutation spell in the Thorne grimoire, there damned well was.
“Are there any special requirements? Time of year, phase of the moon, or anything like that?” He moved toward the kitchen with the intent of brewing a pot of coffee.
Quentin had anticipated his need and met him halfway with a steaming hot mug and a shrug when Nash raised his brows. Accepting the offering, he spun back to face the crowd. They all wore thoughtful expressions.
“How does the process work?” Knox asked.
“It’s fairly straightforward. It’s a simple spell, really.” Spring stood and glided toward the bedroom door. “She’s willing to trade her life for her sister’s?”
Autumn joined her sister by the open doorway. “Pfft. I find that hard to believe.”
“I believe her.” Nash joined the sisters and stared at the twins on the bed. Rylee had fallen asleep and shifted positions, resting her forehead against Ryanne’s shoulder, as if to seek a connection.
“Should we all trust your tendency to believe that chick, cousin? Because she’s screwed you already. Or have you forgotten the knife to Spring’s throat and the cursed necklace?” Autumn, although tall in her own right, grabbed him by the ear and jerked his head down to meet her burning gaze. “I promise you, if she tries anything else, I’m going to fry her ass. One wrong twitch of her hand, and it’s a fireball to the head. You got it?” To emphasize her warning, she conjured a dancing ball of fire.
Irritation bordered on anger, and he shoved her arm away. “I have done everything this family has ever asked of me, Autumn. Every. Last. Thing. Despite going against the Council, despite the risks to myself or others, despite making enemies in the witch community at large, I’ve done whatever was required for the good of this family.” Ryanne’s houseplants wilted under the barely contained fury in his voice. “I’m asking you to trust in me now. You do this, and I’ll never ask another thing of you. And before you answer, let me remind you that I was the one who saved your butt once upon a time.”
The fireball snuffed out, and Autumn ducked her chagrined face. “I’m sorry, Nash. Truly. I’m still reactive where Spring is concerned, all things considered.”
“I get it. And if this is too dangerous for the whole…” He paused and swallowed, shifting his gaze to Spring. It hadn’t occurred to him that it might be. “Is it? Dangerous?”
“Not to any of us. To the two of them?” She compressed her lips and shrugged. “Like I said, it’s a fairly simple spell, but the repercussions could be anyone’s guess. Technically, we’ll be altering Fate’s timeline.”
“Would Isis have suggested it if she saw a long-term problem?”
“Who knows with gods and goddesses?”
Autumn snorted. “And they call us volatile.”
None of them dared contradict her. The woman had firebombed her husband’s truck when they were fighting.
“What about the Chintamani Stone?” Autumn suggested. “I hadn’t thought of it until right now, but didn’t it give you the boost you needed to wake me?”
“Dad?” Nash redirected the question to Alastair. In this, his father was more knowledgeable.
“It couldn’t hurt, I suppose. Spring, is there anything you can remember about the original spell that would indicate a magical artifact might muck it up?”
“No, but I’ll grab our book just to be sure. Be back in a sec.” With hardly a ripple of the air around them, Spring was gone.
“I’ll retrieve the stone and return momentarily. Son, I don’t need to remind you to keep an eye on that viper in there.”
Nash turned his attention back on Rylee. “She seems regretful.”
“She’s a duplicitous bitch,” Autumn argued. “You go get some rest. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“I’ll rest when this is over, but I will take a few minutes to shower, if that’s all the same to you.”
“Whatever you need, Nash. When you come out, we’ll have something for you to eat.”
“I don’t want anything.”
“Too bad. You’re going to eat anyway. You need to keep up your strength for when we wake Ryanne.”
Nash opened his arms to his cousin. “Thank you. I know your bossiness is your way of showing you care.”
“You’ve become vital to all of us, and not for that incredible brain of yours. We love you, Nash. It kills everyone to see you suffer.” She sniffed and squeezed him harder. “We’ll bring her back because you deserve to be happy.”
His high emotions wouldn’t let him form a verbal response. Instead, he dropped a light kiss on her forehead and released her.
* * *
Alastair watched his son hurry away before anyone could catch a glimpse of the emotional tidal wave crashing over him. But Alastair saw. Could feel it, too. His son had empathic abilities and felt more than most. The flip side of that coin was that when he was hurting, Nash’s feelings pulsed out and smacked at others, like him. Similar to the way the sea beats upon the shoreline on a stormy day. For that reason, Nash was always contained.
The exception was Ryanne. With her, his son had come alive. Deviltry and happiness frequently shined from Nash’s bright jade eyes whenever Ryanne was near and giving him sass.
Alastair hated to see how dark his son’s eyes had turned in his pain. If they couldn’t pull off a resurrection, Nash would become a shell of his former self. That much was obvious.
With a side glance at his niece, Alastair placed an arm around her shoulder. “Whatever you want, whatever you need, if you help my son, it is yours.”
“I’m not doing this for personal gain, Uncle.”
“I know that, child. But I’m offering you a boon anyway.”
“You’ve already paid a hundred times over.” She turned away but then stopped and shot him a grin over her shoulder. “But if you want to set up a trust fund for my children, who am I to stop you, you rich old Midas.”
His own laughter caught him by surprise. “What is it with you girls and my money?”
“If I have to answer that, you don’t know women at all,” she teased.
“Fair enough.” His smile died out. “Nash likes his steak slightly seared with a faint touch of pink in the center. He’d most likely devour that and a baked potato with a pint of Guinness. Will you see that he eats? I have an errand to run before I pick up the Chintamani Stone.”
“Yes.”
He nodded his th
anks, and visualized the clearing by the Thorne estate in Tennessee. Pausing for a second, he cast Aurora a concerned look. “Go back to our place and get some rest, Rorie. It’s liable to be a long night, and you’re still recovering. Will you do that for me?”
She smiled softly. “Of course. I’ll have Alfred get the Chintamani Stone from your vault. It will be ready when you return home.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
Chapter 23
When Nash walked into the dining room after his shower, he found the table set for five. “Where is everyone else?”
“Your dad had an errand to run before picking up the stone. The rest of the family went home to check on the kids. Spring and Knox went for a walk, but should be back any time.”
“And the fifth plate?”
“For your girlfriend’s sister. I thought maybe she should have a final meal and all.”
“She might find it hard to digest the food if everyone is viewing her with disdain and anger.”
“We’ll keep it to a minimum.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”
“No worries. Go get her and help her to the table. I imagine she’s still a little weak. If she prefers, I can fix a plate and bring it to her.”
Nash stepped into the master suite to find Rylee sitting with her back against the headboard and staring down at her sister.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Any change?”
“No. But then, you didn’t expect there would be, did you?”
“Not really.” He sat on the edge of Ryanne’s side of the bed and clasped her hand. “She died in that clearing today, Rylee. When she crossed to the Otherworld, she made it difficult to bring her back. The gods and goddesses don’t like to give up their new souls without a fight.”
“I gathered as much earlier.”
“I suspect it’s why my Uncle Preston suggested the Book of Thoth.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “When you remove a soul, you have to offer a trade. Isis likes to say, ‘balance in all things.’”
“I get it, Nash, okay? I’m to be the trade.”
“Only if you want to be. None of us will force this on you. This has to be your choice. Ryanne would never understand if I compelled you to do this.”
The defiance fled from her features, and she looked as if she wanted to cry. “I know.”
“I’m going to tell the others that you’re going to sleep on it. If you’re still willing in the morning, we’ll do the ceremony then.” He studied Ryanne’s beautiful pale face for a long moment then turned back to Rylee. “Come on. Autumn made dinner for the family.”
“I’m not your family, Nash.”
“Yes, you are. You’re Ryanne’s beloved sister. That makes you family.”
She did cry then. Big heartbreaking sobs that tugged at Nash’s weary, aching heart. He reached across the body of Ryanne and gripped Rylee’s hand.
“Please don’t cry. I don’t think I can handle it right now. If I break down…” He swallowed hard. “I can’t go there.”
She nodded but continued to cry, and Nash was helpless against her tears. Perhaps if she wasn’t identical to Ryanne, he might have been able to hold out. Instead, he hurried around the bed and pulled her into his arms.
“Let it out.”
He continued to rock her as she released her grief, all the while focusing his gaze on Ryanne’s beloved countenance.
Spring entered the room and brushed a hand down Rylee’s hair. “I can sit with her while you go eat, Nash.”
“We’ll only be a minute longer,” he assured her.
With a pat to his shoulder, she left the way she’d come.
“I’m all right now.” Rylee pulled away and pressed the heels of her palms to her swollen eyes. “I’ll be out in a sec.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
He was halfway to the door when she spoke again.
“Nash? I’m glad she has you. She couldn’t find a better man in all the world.”
Pressing his lips into a thin line, he nodded. Words were impossible.
After dinner, Rylee took a pad of paper and a pen, then disappeared into the guest room. Nash’s cousins were hesitant to leave him, but he insisted they return home to their beds.
Because he was still wary of Rylee’s intent, regardless of her remorseful display earlier, he cast a quick guarding spell on the bedroom door after he closed and locked it for the evening. If anyone entered the master bedroom tonight, they were in for the shock of their life.
Rest. Sleep. Yeah, no. He wouldn’t get any of either. Not tonight. Not when Ryanne’s life hung in the balance. Although they’d been lovers—albeit briefly—curling up next to her on the bed felt like an invasion of her privacy, of her right to lay untouched, so he moved the armchair closer to the bed and settled into it for the remainder of the evening.
Somewhere, on the other side of the veil between the living and the dead, did she sit, watching him? A large part of him hoped she did. Hoped she wanted to come back as badly as he wanted her back. Another huge part of him worried she didn’t. Worried perhaps she had already moved on despite Rylee’s assurances that Ryanne was wandering around the Otherworld as distraught as Nash.
“When you wake up, I’m going to wring your neck for slicing through your vein. Really, it was a foolhardy thing to do. But it was also brave. You’ll fit right in with my crazy relatives, babe.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees, clasping his hands together. “Oh, the stories I could tell. Like you, they plunge into danger without thinking twice. If they feel it’s right or just, they will fight to the death.”
Resting his chin on his joined hands, he sighed. “I’m not sure I ever felt that strongly about anything before. Certainly nothing before you. Definitely nothing after you. If you leave me, I don’t think I want to feel anything ever again.” He swallowed and sat back. “It would hurt too much.”
Nash awoke with a start. Heart pounding, he glanced wildly around the room. A quick check showed Ryanne’s status was still the same. When all seemed in order, he inhaled a deep, cleansing breath and worked to calm his heart.
The bright morning sun mocked him as it peered through the cheerful purple curtains. He frowned at the material. Wispy and bright, with shimmering threads that caught the light. She loved purple, that much he knew. But those curtains brought to mind the decor of a child’s room and were completely at odds with the rest of her room. Why? A pull from the past? Maybe a nod to her parents, but which ones? Birth or adopted?
A light knock sounded at the door.
“Nash? I’m about to make some breakfast. Are you hungry?”
“I’m good. Thanks.” He was a bit hungry, but the idea of Rylee making breakfast while Ryanne lay in stasis was surreal. To a large degree, it angered him. He and Ryanne should be making breakfast together in her tiny kitchen.
A single second knock sounded, harder than the first. “Calm the fuck down. You’re killing my sister’s plants.”
Ryanne’s houseplants didn’t deserve to suffer for his irritation. With a deep sigh, he sent a magical boost out to reverse the damage he’d done with his anger. He cast a defeated look at the stack of books he’d read last night and, with another wave of his hand, removed the ward and opened the bedroom door.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on Nash. He was only in his early thirties, and yet he felt like he was at least three times his age. If they couldn’t pull off the transmutation spell, he didn’t know what he was going to do. The idea of facing every day without Ryanne across the desk from him didn’t bear thinking about.
“Did you sleep?”
Rylee’s concerned voice startled him from his musings.
“Not really. A bit of a cat nap.”
“You’re not doing Ryanne any good by—”
“Stop mothering me, Rylee,” he snapped, surging from the chair. “Just. Stop.”
“I’m not—”
> He slashed a hand through the air. “You are. I don’t know if this is misplaced guilt on your part, but you can’t make up for what you’ve done. Stop trying.”
Her stricken look cut him to the quick. It wasn’t in Nash’s nature to be cruel, but he also couldn’t tolerate her overly solicitous act. Not when she was the one ultimately responsible for Ryanne’s stasis.
“I’ll conjure food when I’m hungry. I have phone calls to make.”
She nodded, cast one last remorseful look toward her twin, and fled.
The air around him altered, and a fizzing pop signaled an incoming group. His cousins Autumn and Spring arrived, bringing Aunt GiGi with them.
“Any change?” GiGi asked as she moved to Ryanne’s bedside.
“Not that I can tell.”
“Is the wonder twin still willing to fix her fuck-up?” Autumn asked.
“Yes, this wonder twin is still willing to fix her fuck-up,” Rylee growled from behind them.
As one, they turned. She stood in the doorway with a plate of food, cutlery, and a napkin. Nash could only assume she intended to feed him regardless of his earlier surliness.
“She didn’t mean anything by it, Rylee. Autumn is just that way.”
“Don’t apologize for me, cousin. I can do that on my own. When necessary,” she added with an arched brow.
“Can we not fight today?” he asked wearily. “I can’t handle any more of this strife. Rylee has already agreed to do what was necessary to help. This animosity isn’t benefiting anyone.”
The hard look on Autumn’s face eased into chagrin. “I’m sorry.” She faced Rylee. “To both of you.”
Rylee took the three steps she needed to reach Nash and shoved the plate into his hands. “I made you something anyway. Eat.”
Her words, actions, and attitude were all Ryanne’s, and that familiarity slayed him. He sank onto the edge of the bed and stared down at the steaming eggs as he fought the gut-wrenching sobs wanting to rip through him.
“I didn’t poison the damned thing,” she snapped before she exited the room in a huff.