Hendricks opened the bedroom door and quietly stepped inside. Instantly, Egan kicked the door closed and grabbed Hendricks from behind, holding the knife tightly against his throat. Hendricks tensed, ready to fight, then he saw the bed and the fight drained from him instantly.
Veronica – Hendricks’ mistress – lay in the bed, dead. Her throat was slit and the sheets were sopping wet with her blood.
“How’s it feel, Hendricks?” Egan sneered into Hendricks’ ear. “Having someone close to you ripped out of your life?”
A tear ran down Hendricks’ cheek. He swallowed hard and the motion of his throat dug the knife blade into his neck. A trickle of blood ran down his neck.
“You loved her, didn’t you?” Egan taunted. “How’s that feel? How does it feel to see the woman you love so much butchered? I should have done it front of you, you son of a bitch. I should have made you watch like you made me watch.”
Hendricks closed his eyes.
“Open your eyes, arsehole,” Egan growled. “You don’t get to pull yourself away from this, you American pig.” He pressed the knife tighter against Hendricks’ throat, widening the thin cut in his neck.
“You remember me?” Egan asked. “You remember what you did to me? Say yes, you fucking traitor. Lie to me if you have to, but tell me you fucking remember me.” He loosened the blade slightly.
Hendricks gulped. “I remember you. You’re that Brit we chased out in Connecticut. Before the war.”
“You killed my children.”
“Those were crazy times. I don’t think we even really knew what we were doing.” Hendricks’ voice was thick with panic.
“And now I’ve killed your wife.”
“Veronica wasn’t my–”
“I know,” Egan interrupted. “Your Adriana went with much more grace than Veronica.”
“You…? Oh, my god.”
“You feel it?” Egan asked. “You feel them both, dead because of you? Because of what you did?”
“Adriana…”
“And Veronica,” Egan chuckled. “Both of your women. Both gone. And now, it’s your turn.”
Hendricks swallowed hard again and nodded slightly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what we–” Hendricks gurgled and the breath hissed out of the gash as Egan pulled the knife across his throat.
“You were the last one,” Egan whispered. “Now you’ve all been dealt with.”
Egan relaxed his grip and Hendricks’ body collapsed to the floor. He let out a deep sigh. “It’s been over ten years, you piece of shit.” He kicked Hendricks in the ribs. “But I got every fucking last one of you.”
He looked at Hendricks and then at Veronica. He sat on the bed and patted Veronica’s ankle.
“No,” he whispered. “I really don’t feel any better, but thanks for asking.” He chuckled, then started laughing. He laughed until his eyes teared up, then he stood and kicked Hendricks in the face. He landed kick after kick, laughing hysterically, even after he felt the bone of the skull give way under his boot. He spun and swept the mirror and perfume and makeup brushes off the vanity, enjoying the sound of the all of that glass smashing and shattering on the ground.
Egan picked up a glass bauble and hurled it against the wall, again, reveling in the sound of shattering glass. He stomped on the glass fragments that littered the ground and ground them into the floor. Every bit of glass he could find in the room ended up smashed against the wall. He realized as it left his fingers that the last glass object in the room was the lit oil lamp from Veronica’s bedside table.
The lamp shattered against the wall and, instantly, fire rolled up and down the wall. The long curtains burst into flames. Immediately, looked around for some way to deal with the fire, then he froze and stared into the flames, content. He stood straight, then blinked to pixie size and hovered in the bedroom for a moment, then flew down the hall and out the window.
Egan felt vindicated but unsatisfied. Days later, when he would hear that the fire spread through New Orleans and destroyed three quarters of the city, he would feel no remorse. The affairs of humanity held no sway over Jeegan any longer.
Chapter 26
“It’s good to see you again, Jim,” Gen said, smiling hesitantly. “You look great.”
Jim gaped at her. “You look different. I’m not sure I like it.”
Gen’s smile vanished.
“What are you doing here, Jimmy?” Gabby asked.
“Michelle invited me over.”
Michelle huddled against the wall, again, with her arms wrapped tightly across her chest. Her black hair fell and covered the left side of her face. “I don’t really know anybody. I just wanted a friend.”
Gabby’s expression softened. “It’s okay, sweetie.”
“George said that she,” Michelle shot a quick look at Gen, “got Jim a present.”
George nodded. “Yeah. She did. Hang on.” He opened the front closet and reached up to the top shelf and pulled out a small, wrapped package. It was addressed to Jim. George handed Jim the present.
Gen chuckled. “Jesus. That was so long ago. It seems so unimportant now.”
“Oh,” Jim sneered. “Thanks a lot. I know I’m terribly unimportant.” He snatched the gift out of George’s hand. “What is it, Gen? A bus ticket to get rid of me? Or maybe a postcard from your magical lands that says, ‘I don’t wish you were here’?”
“It’s a CD,” Gen said. “It’s my favorite album and I wanted you to have it. Now you have it. You should probably go.”
“You abandoned me! Left me there to deal with the cops, and then you were gone for three months! I thought you loved me!” Jim shouted. “But you didn’t! You never did! And you left me for her!” Jim pointed a finger at Hope.
Gen nodded slowly. “I thought I’d never be able to come back. The Bridge I came through collapsed. I didn’t know if there were any more. The fairies say they were all shut down a long time ago. I was stuck there. Plus, you found somebody else, too. I hoped you would.”
“Did you?” Jim spat. “Well, thank you so much. Welcome home, Genny. A stranger’s living in your room. Your mom doesn’t remember you. And you’ve lost all your friends. Merry fucking Christmas.” He spun and opened the door, darted outside into the snow and slammed the door behind him.
Gen sighed. “That could’ve gone better.”
“You okay?” Hope asked.
“Yeah.” She turned to Michelle. “You’re staying in my room, huh?”
“Don’t be mad,” Michelle said, defensively. “They said I could!”
Gen shook her head. “I’m not mad. My parents are great people. If you need their help, of course they’ll help you. No. I’m glad. It was just startling. I didn’t know what to expect.”
Geoff put his hand on Gen’s shoulder. “We didn’t think you were ever coming back.”
“I didn’t think I was. I didn’t think I could. And then I found out that I could and...” Gen swallowed hard, but she held her dad’s gaze. “And then I didn’t want to.”
“Are you back for good?” Geoff asked.
Gen shook her head. “No.”
Geoff glanced at Gen’s tiny companions. “I didn’t think so.”
“We have something important to do. We need to fly to Rockford, to the angel Enclave there, and talk to someone. Jewel and Fall,” Gen pointed to them, “need to help us figure out why someone is in danger. But the weather is bad enough that we didn’t want to risk it. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if we could stay here until the weather breaks.”
Geoff looked at Gabby.
She shrugged. “Greg’s room is free.”
“Thanks, mom.”
“Ah,” Gabby said, hesitantly, “maybe call me Gabby for the time being.”
Gen flinched as though she’d been slapped.
“Mom,” George said, “it’s Genny.”
“Please, George. Don’t push me.” Gabby walked quietly into the kitchen.
“Come on,” Laura said to Michelle, then
took her by the arm and led her upstairs.
Gen didn’t move. She stared at the doorway to the kitchen and tears streamed down her cheeks.
George cleared his throat. “Uh, so you’re Genny’s girlfriend, huh?”
Hope smiled at him. “I’m Hope.”
“I feel a little ridiculous, talking to a tiny person on Gen’s shoulder. I’m sorry if I’m being rude. I’ve never met a fairy before.”
“Aside from Gen, I’ve never met a human before. So I think we’re even,” Hope said.
“I’m sure this sounds terrible,” George said awkwardly, “but I kind of have to know. With such a size difference, how do you... You know? Like how do you kiss?”
Gen cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. “I’ll show you,” she said, “but you have to promise not to freak.” She looked at her dad. “Both of you.”
George looked intrigued. “Okay.”
Geoff sat on the stairs and said, “I’ll do my best.”
Gen concentrated for a second and willed herself through the change and shrunk. She hovered in the hallway, flitting her bright orange butterfly wings.
George scrambled backwards until bumped into the wall. “Holy shit!”
Geoff’s mouth hung open.
“Don’t freak out!” Gen cried.
Hope hovered next to Gen and took her hand. “Like this,” she laughed. She brought Gen’s hand to her lips and kissed it gently.
“Wow,” George breathed.
Geoff tried to clear his head, shaking it from side to side. “Whoa.”
“Daddy?” Gen asked.
Geoff struggled to focus on her, tiny and bobbing slightly up and down in the air. “Yeah, pumpkin?”
“Can you forgive me for leaving you guys? For leaving without telling you?”
Geoff was quiet for a moment, then he closed his eyes and nodded. “We forgive you.”
“You can’t say that. You can’t speak for Greg! He’s gone! You can’t speak for mom. She’s fucking gone, too! She’s gone for me, anyway. And you can’t speak for George. Can you forgive me?”
“I’ll always forgive you,” Geoff said.
Gen was full size again in an instant and threw herself into her dad’s arms. “I’m sorry.”
Geoff petted the back of Gen’s head until Gen stood up. She turned to George.
“How about you?”
“It was a dick move,” George said.
“I know. But I have to ask. Someone very dear to me recently asked my forgiveness and I didn’t give it in time and she never got to hear it. I really regret that,” Gen said.
“I forgive you.”
Gen and George hugged, then he said, “I don’t like that you can clearly kick my ass now.”
Gen stepped back and laughed. “Yeah. You bet I can. There’s something else you guys should know…”
“What?”
“I’m kind of… I can’t get hurt. I guess I’m, like, immortal.” She shrugged self-consciously. “That’s how I can change sizes and live over there. It’s magical, I guess.”
“Wow,” Geoff sighed.
“What’s going on with mom?” Gen asked.
Geoff looked from side to side, and then turned to George. “Why don’t you take Genny’s companions up to Greg’s room?”
George nodded and turned to Slynn, Hope, Fall, Shae, and Jewel. “Come on. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of room for you all.” He started up the stairs.
Hope lingered behind. She looked at Gen, obviously concerned.
“It’s okay, my love,” Gen said. “Go on. I’ll be up in a while.”
Hope frowned. “Okay.” She flew partway up the stairs after George, then stopped. “Hey, Gen?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. I’m here if you need me, okay?”
Gen smiled at her. “Okay.”
Hope followed George upstairs.
“She seems really nice,” Geoff said.
“She’s amazing,” Gen smiled. “I never would have been able to get through everything if I didn’t have her. I’m so glad you like her. I really thought you’d never get to meet her.”
“I’m glad you’re happy. Really.”
“Thanks, dad. But what about mom?”
Geoff shrugged. “You can talk to her, but I’m not sure it’ll do much good. I’m really sorry, Genny, but…”
“But I’m just not in there anymore. I know. You know, I think I saw when she got shocked. Slynn, here, is mom’s pixie.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“We all have a counterpart in the other world. It happens when we’re babies. My counterpart was Ivy, my fairy. Jim’s counterpart is Hope, here. She’s a fairy. A pixie is a little different. They live in a different place and their society is different, not as… Naïve or idyllic, I guess. Mom’s counterpart is Slynn. He’s a pixie–a lot like a fairy, but not exactly the same.”
Gen shrugged. “Anyway, Slynn took on a lot of mom’s personality and memories for a while. I got to spend some time with her, then Slynn got shocked, himself, and the rest of her faded away. It’s like the memories she lost came to Slynn for a while. And then he lost them. And now,” her voice caught in her throat. “And now, I wonder if they’re gone for good. What if she never remembers me again?”
“The doctor said it’s probably temporary. Go talk to her.”
Gen swallowed hard and looked toward the kitchen. “She wants me to call her Gabby. I can’t do that, dad.”
“Go talk to her.”
“Okay.” Gen walked slowly, fearfully, into the kitchen.
Gabby sat at the kitchen table. She took a long drink from a tall and very full glass of red wine. “I heard you talking in the hall.” She gestured to an empty chair and Gen sat down.
“I can’t do what you asked. I can’t call you that,” Gen said.
“I know that I’m your mother.” Gabby’s voice was flat and matter of fact. “I’ve pored over every photo album in the house. I’ve been through your room. I found your diary and I read that.”
Gen’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“I know who you are now. You’re a good kid.” Gabby looked Gen up and down. “Except you’re not a kid anymore.”
“No, not so much.”
Gabby took a photograph from her pocket and put it carefully down on the table. It showed Gen, about three years ago, scrawny, in the middle of a tremendous belly laugh, covered from hair to stomach in soup. “I don’t think I’d recognize you even if you were still in here.” She tapped her head on the temple.
Gen tried not to cry. “I remember that. You warned me I didn’t have the lid on the blender on all the way and I hit the button anyway.” Gen chuckled, remembering the moment, but it sounded like a single, wet sob when it escaped. “You’ve really lost all of that?”
Gabby’s expression didn’t change. She took another long swallow of wine and regarded Gen carefully. Then slowly, she nodded her head. “I’m sorry.”
Gen shoved back her chair and bolted to her feet. The chair tipped over but Gen didn’t stop to pick it up. She whirled around, shrunk to fairy size, and flew to Greg’s room. She was too angry to cry. The door was left open a crack and Gen zipped in and settled on top of a tall bookshelf. She sat on the edge and hung her feet over the side.
Hope touched down next to her and sat down. She hung her feet over the edge, too, and gently kicked them back and forth. She sat quietly next to Gen and looked down over Greg’s room.
David the angel stood on the windowsill, arms akimbo, staring out into the snowstorm. Shae, Fall, and Jewel were taking turns climbing in and out of the dozens of die-cast car models lining Greg Summers’ shelves, laughing. Slynn sat quietly alone, inspecting, polishing, and cleaning their equipment.
Slynn felt Gen’s eyes on him and stiffened, then turned around and looked up at her. Gen stared down at him, and after a moment, he turned away, resuming his task.
“Hope,” Gen said, “you’re all I have left. I’ve lost ever
yone. My mom. Herron. Jim. Don’t get upset about that–I didn’t mean as my boyfriend. He hates me now, and he’s totally right to. We’ll never be friends again. I lost my brother. But, Hope, my mom doesn’t even know me. I know you don’t know what that’s like, but I’m crushed.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Hope asked.
“Just be here. Don’t leave me. Keep talking to me. Keep joking with me. Keep loving me. Just being here and talking to you, I can put all of that out of my mind, you know?”
Hope put her arm around Gen, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
“Let’s sleep up here, alone,” Gen said. “We haven’t too much alone time lately.”
Hope glanced down at the desk on the other side of the room where all of their equipment was laid out. “All right,” she sighed. “I’ll go get our stuff.”
“No,” Gen said. “Wait. I have an idea.”
She pushed herself off the edge of the bookshelf, caught the air with her wings and glided to the middle of the room, then popped to full size. She took a pillow off of Greg’s bed and slid it on top of the bookshelf, then went to his dresser drawer and took two clean t-shirts and put those up with the pillow. Then she shrunk again and joined Hope on top of the bookshelf.
“There! This is going to be so decadent!” Gen laughed. Up here, with her friends, isolated from the rest of the house, she felt a little better. Up here, she felt more in control, more at peace, and more in-tune with this group of mystical creatures than with the humans outside. She took Hope by the shoulders and guided her back onto the pillow. “Now,” she purred, “let’s get you out of those clothes.”
Chapter 27
“The storm’s died down,” David announced. “It’s time to go.”
Slynn was on his feet immediately. Shae stretched and rolled onto her side, yawning. Jewel was already awake, sitting on the windowsill and looking out over the fresh morning snow. Fall didn’t even wake up. Hope and Gen were giggling and rolling around under their covers.
“I think we should get up,” Hope whispered.
“Maybe they’ll just forget that we’re even here,” Gen giggled.
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