He flew back, but there was no joy in it. The Universe shoved him hard, clearly angry with his choice. He found himself somersaulting down to his body and then He was gone, all connection to the Universe terminated.
Zach found himself back at the kitchen table, staring at soggy Cocoa Puffs. “Universe? I love her. You can’t ask me to reap a girl I love.”
It was an excuse. He knew even as he spoke the words that he would have done the same thing, would have committed himself to the same wrong again and again, regardless of the Universe’s wishes. Yes, he wanted to be forgiven. But he truly wasn’t sorry.
The Universe was silent. Zach swallowed, feeling a strange sense of loss and awkward loneliness. He kept thinking that his connection would pop back.
When it didn’t he said, “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Please talk to me.”
The absolute emptiness of the reply wounded Zach to his core. He had thrown away his gift. Right or wrong, it was gone. Grabbing his jacket, Zach shoved his keys in the pocket, and stepped into the bitter cold, autumn morning. His dad was in the garage. His brothers away at college. He slipped outside, grateful for the chance to hide before his Dad discovered what he had done.
Zach didn’t want to interact with anyone. He felt lost. Without a note or a word to his dad, he drove to Jade’s house. He needed to know that she survived. He needed to know that he didn’t lose his gift for nothing.
He pulled into Jade’s driveway expecting ambulances, maybe a hearse. The Gray family cars were parked in the gravel in front of the house, but nothing unusual seemed to be going on.
Frowning, Zach parked. The sky was a brilliant blue and somehow seemed to jeer him. The Universe remained silent. Not just silent, but empty, gone, as if He had completely moved out of Zach’s mind. He was so used to the interaction, even banter with the Universe that he still felt a sense of shock and loss when he reached out to find nothing.
Ringing the doorbell, Zach was surprised when Raven answered. Her hair was a rat’s nest, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She stared at Zach like she didn’t know what to do with him.
Raven cleared her throat, “I’m sure Jade would like to see you. It’s just that we went to bed late and you’ve come at a really bad time.”
So Jade hadn’t told her yet. At least she was still alive. Raven’s excuse had confirmed that much. Zach wanted to push his way through, storm the house and find Jade, make sure she was really okay. He itched to move as he stood politely at the door and said, “I really need to see her. It’s important.”
Raven wore blue plaid pajamas and slippers that had dogs’ heads on them. She stood back and held the door open with a sly smile, “She is totally going to kill me for this, but sure, come on in.”
It was still early morning and the house was eerily quiet. Mindy and Claire huddled at the kitchen table over pancakes, but they ate in silence. Raven tilted her head toward the back hallway, “Come on back.”
Zach didn’t know what to tell Jade. He didn’t want her to develop a strange case of hero-worship and make their relationship awkward. If he told her how he saved her life, she’d probably moon over him like a puppy, following him around and telling him how great he was. Still, if he didn’t tell the truth, and they lasted, at some point she would figure it out. Then he’d be in trouble for not telling her everything. When Raven opened the door to Jade’s bedroom, Zach still hadn’t decided what to tell her.
~~ Jade ~~
Jade wanted most in the world to be left alone. Aunt Bertha wouldn’t leave her side. A little weak and in need of rest, Jade felt fine. Bertha was shaken by her near-death.
The worst was that Jade was convinced that she was supposed to be dead. She had seen the light. She’d seen a much younger Grandma, and Grandpa, Great Aunt Juliet, and people she didn’t know, all welcoming her into the new world. Zach wouldn’t take her.
He was a Death Keeper.
Jade couldn’t even cry with Aunt Bertha sitting right there. She felt betrayed. Zach had been spying on her all this time. He probably wouldn’t even take her to her proper rest because the Keepers didn’t know where their precious gift of Time was. To think she actually thought he liked her.
She KISSED HIM.
The doorbell rang. Jade could hear Raven and then she heard Zach’s voice. It made her cringe. Surely he wasn’t planning to continue the charade. Raven pushed the door open and poked her head in, “Everybody decent?”
“NO!” Jade growled.
“Yes,” Aunt Bertha said, in a small exhausted voice.
“You’re decent,” Raven said and pushed the door all the way open. She stepped past Zach and disappeared down the hall…the traitor.
Zach stood, hands in his pockets, looking like he wanted the Earth to swallow him whole. Jade could arrange that…with a little help from Mindy.
“What do you want?” Jade was hurt. He could have told her he was a Death Keeper from the beginning and let her decide what to do. He could have waited to ask her out until they were better friends. He wormed his way into her affections, made her like him, made her trust him, the lying creep.
Zach swallowed, “I wanted to see how you were. I saw what happened. Do you remember…any of it?”
“Every last bit.” Jade said, “You couldn’t find the time once during class to mention that I am your enemy, that maybe, just maybe I should flee for my life?” Jade clutched the blankets as if she would choke the life out of them.
Fire whispered, Do you want him to burn?
It was tempting…so very tempting. In her mind, Jade said, Not yet.
“I knew what you would say. I was planning to tell after a few more dates, when things got serious,” Zach said. He didn’t even look properly guilty. It was just a surface excuse.
Jade set her jaw, “When things got serious? I kissed you. How many guys do you think I’ve freakin’ kissed in my life. Get out. Get out and don’t come back. I never want to see you again!”
Zach didn’t leave. He stood there staring at her, as if he couldn’t quite get past her anger. He said, “I saved your life. If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead.”
“I saw my Grandma! I felt the light and the peace and the warmth. It was my time. Why would you stop me? Did you want your precious gift? Well, guess what? I don’t have it. And if anyone in our family does, I don’t know who, so you played your little game for nothing. GET OUT!” Jade was so angry that she shook.
She wanted to storm off, but she was afraid she’d fall if she pushed herself out of bed. Plus, Aunt Bertha was in the chair, tight-lipped and looking from Jade to Zach as if she might interject a word of advice at any minute.
Zach spun on his heel, storming down the hall, through the kitchen, and out the door. Jade heard all three girls say goodbye. She heard Raven tell Zach, “Don’t worry, she’ll come around.”
Jade punched her pillow. She hated herself for it, but she really needed the silence. She said, “Aunt Bertha, I’d like to be alone.”
Nodding, Aunt Bertha said, “I understand.”
Aunt Bertha didn’t move.
Jade waited.
Bertha finally gathered herself to lift up from the chair. She stood for a second and then sat right back down, “I need my cane.”
Just a few months ago Aunt Bertha could walk short distances without her cane. Jade frowned, “Did the Void hurt you?”
“No. It’s just been a rough day.” Bertha said, her voice cracking with effort.
“Do you think I did the right thing?” Jade asked. She was sure that she had, but it would be nice to have Bertha’s support. Just in case, she clarified, “With Zach?”
“Honey, that boy’s a bundle of nerves right now. He may be a Death Keeper, but he didn’t come here to hurt you. Not all Death Keepers are bad.”
The sun’s light pushed through the window, giving the room a cheery look. It felt so unnatural. Jade wanted everything to stop. Even if Death Keepers weren’t all bad, Zach knew that Death Keepers were aft
er her family. And he kept his involvement a secret. Jade couldn’t believe her own family was backing up a Death Keeper over their own sister and niece.
“He lied to me. Aunt Bertha, he’s one of them,” Jade wanted to crawl under the covers and cry. Her whole heart hurt.
“Well, Dear, you sure liked him enough a few nights back. Just give yourself time to settle and try to forgive.” Aunt Bertha was winding up for one of her super long anecdotes about how she learned to forgive as a child when Raven opened the door. Saved by the sister.
“Aunt Bertha, do you need help getting to the kitchen? I’ll bring Jade some pancakes. She can have breakfast in bed.” Raven held her arm out, giving Aunt Bertha a strong arm to lean on. Over her shoulder, Raven said, “I’ll be back to talk to you in a minute.”
Jade wanted to grumble. She wanted to cry. She felt used up and worn out, and the idea of a charity talk with Raven didn’t appeal. It would end up in massive pity or massive scorn, neither of which Jade wanted to face.
She was surprised when Raven returned and her first topic of conversation had nothing to do with Zach or Jade’s near-death. She said, “I know how to get Mom back.”
Surprised, Jade waved for the pillows on Mindy’s bed, “Help me sit up, and then tell me.”
Raven grabbed the Tigger pillow from Mindy’s bed. Mindy loved Winnie-the-Pooh more than anything else. Handing Jade the pillow, she said, “What the Void told me was that ‘Earth, Air, Fire, Water, must join with a Keeper to open the portal to the Dark Keeper, the one who lost Time. We take the key from him, which might require releasing him for reasons the Void didn’t go into, and then we use the key to get Mom. The Keeper will have to help us with that, too.”
“We have to work with the enemy who kidnapped Mom to save Mom. Sounds like a brilliant plan.” Jade said sarcastically. The bitterness of Zach’s betrayal would take a long time to overcome. She didn’t want to see him in Chemistry tomorrow. It would be tomorrow or the next day. Aunt Bertha said she called the girls out of school today, but they’d have to go back eventually. She’d have to go back and face him.
She wasn’t ready.
Raven said, “It’s Mom. You can swallow your pride and ask Zach for help. If you won’t, I will. Are you going to trust Harold? The Void said that he killed Dad. The person I saw was so much younger, but looked a lot like him. I’m not sure, but what if it’s true? Are you really going to risk something like this over a misunderstanding?”
Jade didn’t want to have this conversation. Not now. Not ever. She said, “Yes. You ask. I’m not talking to Zach ever again. We could ask Wayne. I’d trust him over Zach any day.”
“Well, I wouldn’t. I’m asking Zach. Today.”
Jade heard the stubbornness in Raven’s voice, and knew it was a losing fight. She said, “Ask him whatever you want. Just don’t involve me.”
Raven put a hand on her sister’s arm. “I am glad you’re okay. I was so scared.”
Jade remembered opening her eyes and seeing Raven, Claire, and Mindy huddled next to Aunt Bertha, each one of them watching her, mourning her. She had been perfectly and completely healed with no explanation. Now she knew it was Zach.
Her clothes had been soaked in blood. Even when Raven opened the window, the smell was overpowering. Raven helped her change and dumped her clothes in the garbage. The carpet was stained. No amount of scrubbing could get it out. Raven again took charge, because Jade was so exhausted that once they moved her to the bed, she could barely keep her eyes open, and Aunt Bertha sat beside her, nearly as drained.
After eating three bites of pancake, Jade asked Claire to take the dish away. “Has Raven already gone?”
Claire was still in her pink footy pajamas. She looked much too young to deal with everything, but she was doing fine, better than Jade. She nodded, “Do you think we’ll get Mom back?”
It was the question of the day. That and ‘Did I really almost die?’
Jade handed Claire the pillow, “I hope so.”
~~Raven~~
Raven nagged Aunt Bertha to drive her to Zach’s house. Poor Aunt Bertha was looking as beat up as Jade, but Raven knew it was important. Finally Aunt Bertha relented, “But you’re driving. It’s high-time you put that learner’s permit to use.”
She didn’t mention Raven’s crazy driving last summer, which was probably for the best. After a few minutes of driving in silence, Aunt Bertha said, “I’m not going to be around forever. Jade won’t turn eighteen before I pass. I’m planning to leave the care of you girls to Bill and Martha.”
“The Death Keeper Bill? Jade is going to love that,” Raven said.
“Exactly. Don’t trust him. He’s nice enough, but he’s a wild card,” Aunt Bertha leaned back against the seat. Even while Raven was driving, she glanced over to see the paper thin skin and weariness in Aunt Bertha’s whole demeanor.
“Are you in pain?” Raven asked as she turned onto the highway.
“Some. Honey, I’ve had a vision, and I know you’re going to suffer terribly. If you save your mother, you will pay in a way that costs you happiness and peace of mind. I won’t fault you if you decide another path. We can find another way to your Mom,” Aunt Bertha said. Her glasses were slightly askew and even her wispy white hair seemed dull.
Raven hadn’t told Aunt Bertha about the Void’s agreement. She hadn’t said a word about any of it. The attack on Jade had taken so much out of her aunt. Raven didn’t want to worry Aunt Bertha or be grounded from saving Mom. As they say, Easier to ask forgiveness than permission. And yet, Aunt Bertha knew. She always knew.
“I know how to get Mom back. Please, what did you see? We’re planning a rescue as soon as we have all of the Elements in place.”
“You go into a land of mist, a place where shadows build upon shadows. There you meet evil in the form of a Death Keeper. Somehow the bridge fails and you are trapped in that world with him. Raven, you'll have no power there. Air won’t be able to help you.” Aunt Bertha paused. Raven could tell that she didn’t want to say what came next, “He assaulted you in a way no person should have to suffer.”
Raven gripped the steering wheel tighter and braked. She couldn’t concentrate on driving and a conversation like this. It’s not like she didn’t know. You go to grab a key from Jack the Ripper, and you’d better go armed.
“How do I stop him? How do I change the vision?” Raven wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to say that she was too young to make this kind of decision or to face this level of menace.
Turning to glance at Aunt Bertha, Raven was gripped with sudden terror. A skeleton spoke to Raven. Just like that night at the party, Raven was seeing Bertha’s death for the first time. She turned off onto a dirt road and stopped the car.
Her hands were shaking, her whole body thrumming with tension. Tears filled Raven’s eyes. Aunt Bertha was really dying. For the first time, Raven believed it. The trees along the side of the road seemed suddenly menacing, and the whole world a giant battleground.
Aunt Bertha peered at Raven through glasses that made her eyes look big. She answered Raven’s question carefully and with consideration, “Find another way. The place you go is a prison for ancient evil. He has thousands of years more experience than you. He’s cunning and ruthless.”
Raven thought of being shipped off to some relatives she had never met, a Death Keeper and his wife. She thought of leaving her Mom trapped because she was too cowardly to do anything about it. Raven couldn’t look at Aunt Bertha now, not after seeing her as a skeleton. She was too afraid of what she’d see this time. She squeezed her eyes shut and said, “I’m going to do it. Tell me what I can do to avoid getting attacked.”
Bertha didn’t know. She pleaded with Raven, “Don’t go, Raven. He’s a monster. How can I advise you? He had you on the ground. He held a knife to your throat. I was torn out of the vision before it went much further, but his intent was clear. He brutalizes women. Do I have to be more specific? Please don’t make me.”
They were both crying then.
Raven reached over and grabbed Bertha’s hand, “I have an idea.”
Her hand felt so cold. Raven had been looking at everything but Bertha. Now she chanced another look at her aunt and audibly sighed in relief when she was met with those faded green eyes.
“I love you, Raven. I love all you girls.” Aunt Bertha said softly.
“I love you, too,” Raven gave a half-laugh which was as much strangled sob. She said, “I guess we’d better get back on the road.”
It took Raven a few minutes to get the car turned around because she was definitely not as comfortable learning to back up as driving forward. Aunt Bertha was patient. Raven couldn’t help but think about what Bertha told her. It’s not like the Void could be trusted. Who did Raven trust? Did she trust Zach? Maybe he would know more about this.
He lived a mile out of town in a beautiful two story house that had a woodsy feel to it. Raven felt awkward pulling into Zach’s driveway. She hoped he would talk to her. Bertha said, “You’ll get more if you talk to him alone. They’re a little afraid of me.”
Raven knew. It was because they thought Bertha had their gift. Heck, maybe she did. Even though she gave Emptiness to Raven, gifts could be staggered and stacked. Sometimes one Elemental in the family might have strength in all four Elements. Raven wondered if she had been a single child if maybe she would have gotten all of the Elements. Maybe the gifts just pass through the family depending on how many people there were to share.
“Want me to leave the heat on for you?” The air had a cold bite to it.
Aunt Bertha nodded, “Please.”
She was putting off the inevitable. Clenching her jaw, Raven stepped up the walkway, too worried to admire the little lanterns. Raven nervously rang the doorbell. Zach answered. He looked terrible. For the first time, Raven was at a loss for words. She said, “Hi.”
A Time to Die (Elemental Rage Book 2) Page 10