by Flynn, Mac
Bram's eyes widened. "The stain!"
Umbra nodded. "Yes. My constant reminder of my two sins." He sighed and hung his head. "Now I'm trapped here. Alone for eternity."
"Michael~"
He raised his head and his eyes widened. We all looked around us. Quill pointed at the lake. "There!"
We followed his gaze. The white form of a woman in a white dress walked towards us. Her bare feet floated above the water, an each step caused a small ripple against the surface. A halo of light surrounded her, and behind her floated her long, black hair. She had a bright smile on her face that eased my weary body.
Umbra stumbled towards her. "Adriana? My god, is it really you?"
She stopped at the edge of the dock and opened her arms. Her voice was like soft wind chimes in a refreshing breeze. "You've suffered enough, my beloved. It's time to rest now."
He paused and raised his hands. His eyes looked down at them and he shook his head. "But how? How can I rest with so much blood?"
"I will show you the way," she promised.
He struggled through the water. His progress was too slow, so he climbed onto the dock and rushed to her. Adriana stepped onto the dock and he wrapped his arms around her.
"My love, my beloved," he murmured.
She returned his embrace and lay her head on his shoulder. "It's time to rest now." She raised her head and smiled at us. "Thank you."
"For what?" I asked her.
Her eyes swept over our small group. "For your humanity, and your caring for one another. For that, I thank you."
Cool, white, fluffy mist rose from the water. There was no chill or clammy feeling from the mist. It wrapped us in a warm, soothing blanket that warmed me to my soul. The mist floated around the pair of lovers and covered them from our view.
A breeze blew from the shore and past us. It swept away the mist. The dock was empty. They were gone.
CHAPTER 12
There was silence among us for a while. Then Quill raised his hand.
"Could somebody pinch me?" he requested. Bram obliged. "Ouch! Not that hard, Pipsqueak!"
"Stop yer whining. You asked for it," he snapped.
Quill rubbed his wounded arm. "Yeah, but just to wake me up, not to cut off my arm."
"Leila," Vincent whispered. I turned to him. He was back to his human self. "I'm. . .I'm sorry I-" I pressed a finger to his lips and smiled.
"No apologizing," I reminded him.
Vincent smiled and grasped my hand in both of his. He leaned down and pressed our lips together in a chaste kiss that warmed me against the cool night.
"Yuk!" Bram commented.
"You're telling me, Pipsqueak," Quill agreed.
I broke us apart and glared at them. "Don't you two have a lake to drowned in?"
"I think there's been enough death in there," Quill retorted. He turned his attention to Vincent. "I couldn't get a good look at you, but you looked different. How'd you do that skin-changing thing, anyway?"
"That's his half-werewolf self, you idiot," Bram explained.
"At least I'm not a pipsqueak, Pipsqueak."
Bram stretched his neck so his face was closer to Quill's. "Wanna say that during a full moon?"
"I don't have to wait for a new month to fight you, Pipsqueak."
A loud, deep groan interrupted their childish behavior. We spun around and glimpsed a change come over the cabin house. Over a century of rot fell over the logs and windows. The wood cracked and splintered, and the glass windows shattered. One of the deck uprights snapped and forced the entire structure to sag. Trees forced their way from beneath the deck and foundation, and invaded the rooms.
"It's all. . .rotted," Quill commented.
"With him goes the illusion," I whispered.
Quill raised an eyebrow. "So everything we saw was just a trick?"
I nodded. "Yeah. The deck, the rooms. Probably even the food."
The color drained from Bram's face. He simultaneously clutched his stomach and covered his mouth. "I'll be right back," he muttered. He turned and raced into the trees. A moment later we heard the sound of barfing.
Quill shook his head. "Kids."
I smiled and glanced at Vincent. He gazed out on the lake. I followed his eyes and saw the perfect reflection of the sky. The waning moon illuminated the entire lake shore.
"I remember something," he whispered.
My eyes widened. "You remember who you are?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, at least not quite. But I know where we need to go." He turned to me and studied my face. "Will you. . .will you go with me?"
I grinned. "I've got a promise to keep, too." He blinked at me. "I'm not leaving until I get all my answers. They're the same answers you're looking for."
He smiled and gave a nod. "Thank you."
I turned away and folded my arms across my chest. "Of course, I would like it if there wasn't so many ghosts. I can't shoot them with my gun."
He chuckled. "I'll try to make things easier for you next time."
"So where do we go from here?" Quill spoke up.
Vincent pointed at the woods behind the cabin. "That way."
And so we went on the last leg of our journey. We left behind destruction and death, but this time there was something different.
This time, we left behind love. And maybe a little hope.
For all books by Mac Flynn visit her author's page or visit Mac Flynn's website.
Want to get an email when my next book is released? Join the Wolf Den and receive an email whenever a new book comes out!
Sign up here for my newsletter