The Haunted Hero (Aria Fae #4)

by H. D. Gordon

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I was ready at all.

  CHAPTER 22

  “Time passes differently on the Other Side,” Thomas told me. “We’ll need to be quick, because entire weeks can slip by in the living world in what seems a matter of hours over there. Okay?”

  I swallowed. “Okay,” I agreed.

  “And stay close to me. No matter what you see, don’t go wandering off.”

  I tried for a smile and didn’t quite succeed. My nerves felt as frayed as an old string. “And don’t take candy from strangers, right?”

  Thomas gave me a look that I’d received many times from teachers over the years when I’d made a joke at an inappropriate time, and I snapped my mouth shut and nodded.

  Satisfied, Thomas took a deep breath and whispered something in what sounded like Latin, but likely wasn’t. I tensed, waiting for…well, something, but having no idea what to expect. Several seconds passed where I stood there looking around as if ghosts were going to jump out from the shadows and yell boo!

  Just as I was about to tell Thomas that I didn’t think whatever he was trying to do had worked, the air around us shimmered. The atmosphere took on a liquid quality; like looking at the image of something through rippling water. Around me, I watched the Grant City that I knew morph into a Grant City I’d never seen before. Much like the gray world of my nightmares in the Land of the Lost, the geography and structures that made up the landscape was the same, but that was where the similarities to any place I’d ever known stopped.

  Unlike the gray world, this place was teeming with life…or I guess afterlife would be a better word. I moved over to the edge of the roof again, looking down in wonder at what I saw. Auras were everywhere, hovering around people whose physical forms also had a shimmering, liquid-like appearance.

  Thomas stepped up beside me, his hazel eyes grave as they took in the sights. “Welcome to the Other Side.”

  “There’s so many of them,” I said, waving a hand at all the souls. “Is this… heaven?”

  Thomas laughed without humor. “No. Not even close. This is just a weigh station between this world and the next. Most of these are souls that have chosen not to move on for one reason or another.”

  I leaned over the ledge a little more, my brows furrowing. “Their auras… They were all supernatural in their former lives, weren’t they?”

  Now it was Thomas’s turn to look surprised. “You’re amazing, you know that? I can’t imagine what it’s like to be able to see auras all the time, but to answer your question, yes, this is the Other Side exclusive to supernaturals. Human’s have a similar setup…like a separate apartment in the same complex.”

  “Why would my mother be here? You don’t think she moved on?”

  Thomas shrugged. “Maybe she did and maybe she didn’t. Either way, this is where we have to be to reach her. Come on, we don’t have much time.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  Thomas took my hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Think of the place where your mother spent most of her time when she was alive. The Fae Forest, maybe?”

  I nodded. “Definitely the Fae Forest.”

  “Okay. Close your eyes and picture it. Use as much detail as possible.”

  I did as I was asked, and again, waited for whatever was supposed to happen. When nothing did, I peeked one eye open. Then, both eyes popped open and I stared around in amazement.

  We were no longer in the ‘Other Side’ of Grant City. Now, we were standing amidst the trees in the Fae Forest. My breath hitched in my throat as I took it in, remembering the nightmare and the last time I’d been here.

  I must have been squeezing Thomas’s hand too hard, because he said, “Hell of a grip you got there, little Halfling.”

  I couldn’t respond to this, because I was too busy running through a range of emotions. Instead, I released my hold on him and reminded myself to just breathe.

  Thomas took a few tentative steps forward. It seemed it was his turn to marvel again. He wandered over to one of the trees, with its wavering pastel branches, and kicked at the fuchsia fog swallowing the bottom half of his legs.

  “Incredible,” he said. “I’ve never seen any place like this.”

  Finally, I found my voice. “That’s because there is no place like this. The Fae Forest is the only one of its kind.”

  “This is where you were born?”

  I nodded.

  “Extraordinary places produce extraordinary things,” he mumbled, in a voice that was too low to be meant for me to hear. He brought his hands together, and more audibly, said, “What was your mother’s name?”

  My heart was thumping so hard in my chest I could hardly speak over it. Somehow, I managed. “Elisa,” I said. “Her name was Elisa.”

  Thomas gave a single nod and closed his eyes, mumbling something in that almost-Latin language again and adding my mother’s name to the end of the incantation.

  Lump in my throat and butterflies in my stomach, I waited. And, then, miracles of miracles and wonder of wonders, my lost mother appeared before me.

  ***

  I blinked, unable to equate what I was seeing. It wasn’t that I’d doubted Thomas’s ability to reach her, it was just that the idea of something and the experience of that thing are wholly separate entities. Now that I was looking at her, I wondered how I could have ever mistaken that thing from my nightmare as being her.

  I took two steps forward, and all but flung myself into her arms. I half expected for my physical form to pass right through her, like an apparition, but whatever plane we were occupying had seemed to set us on mutual ground, and she folded me up into an embrace that was heartbreakingly familiar.

  “Mom?” I said, the single word coming out childlike and small.

  When she spoke, her voice was exactly how I remembered it. “Aria,” she said, holding me at arm’s length and taking me in. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  I was going to cry again and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I swallowed hard before I could speak. “I’ve missed you, too.”

  “I’ll give you two some time,” Thomas said quietly, and slipped away between the trees without waiting for a response.

  My mother smiled, her green eyes—two shades lighter than mine and slanted in the characteristic way of the full Fae—were framed by long reddish-brown hair I’d also inherited, high cheekbones and full lips.

  “You’ve grown into a woman since last I saw you, my dearest child…but why are you here? Did you… Have you passed on?”

  I worked to gain control over my roiling emotions and stuttering thoughts. “No. No, I’m fine. Still alive, anyway. I just… I came for a visit. To see you.”

  “How did you get here?”

  “My friend,” I said, gesturing toward where Thomas had gone. “His name is Thomas.”

  My mother gave me a knowing look. “Friend?”

  I shifted on my feet and changed the subject. “Are you…happy, mom?”

  Her head tilted in the birdlike fashion relative to Fae. “I get the feeling I should be asking you that, but yes, I’ve found peace.”

  “Good,” I said. “That’s good.”

  It was funny, because I’d lain awake many nights fantasizing about just this situation, thinking of all the things I would’ve said to my mother if I’d been given the chance to say goodbye, but now that I was standing here before her, I couldn’t seem to think of a single thing.

  “Aria,” she said, “I’m happy to see you, but why have you come?” As was her habit, my mother didn’t wait for an answer from me before coming to her own conclusion. I’d gotten my aura-reading abilities from my Fae half, after all. “Don’t be silly, my child,” she continued. “My death was no fault of yours. I rebelled against Tristell, and she is the reason for my passing.”

  I was afraid to ask my next question—terrified, actually, but felt compelled despite this. “Why did you rebel?” I asked.

  My mother’s chin lifted, her gaze looking all b
ut through me. “Because she was an unjust queen. Unfit to rule the Fae.”

  “Because she consented to the Peace Brokers claiming Halfling children?” I probed. “Because she allowed me to be taken from you?”

  Several seconds passed before she answered, and I knew her well enough to know she was treading carefully, that whether she wanted to admit it or not, my inferences had touched a nerve.

  “You can’t lie to me, mom,” I said gently. “I’m a Reader, too.”

  My mother sighed, and the slight scent of her natural perfume—floral and a touch spicy, like that of most full Fae—floated to me on the air.

  “Among other things, yes,” she admitted. “But it’s nonsensical to blame yourself for any of that. Your humans, do they blame the ones they call the Jews for being Jewish during their World War I, or is the common consensus that Hitler was to blame for their deaths?”

  “I get what you’re saying,” I said, “but it doesn’t change the fact that you would likely still be alive if I’d never existed.”

  My mother moved in the swift, graceful way of the Fae, her hands coming up and resting on my shoulders.

  “My sweet child,” she said, “what a thing to say.” Her head tilted again, and her aura flashed with a sympathy I wished away, but remained, nonetheless. “You can’t understand this yet because you are not a mother, but you were not a burden or a curse, as you seem to think.” Her soft fingers lifted my chin, forcing me to look at her and causing a few warm tears to spill over my lids. “You were my greatest gift, my blessing.”

  My breathing hitched, my chest shuddering. I felt more like a child than I could remember feeling in a really long time.

  “But if not for me…being what I am…none of it would’ve happened…you’d still be alive.” I could hardly get the words out between my stupid sobs, and I wiped a hand under my nose and swiped at my eyes.

  “Oh, Aria,” said my mother. It was something I remembered her saying a million times before, when I was a child and would have to leave her again to return to my life with the Brokers.

  Oh, Aria. Two words that said so much, held so much emotion.

  “You misunderstand, dearest,” she continued after some time. “Maybe I would still be on the other side if you were never born, and maybe I wouldn’t. There’s no way to know something like that. But what I do know is that my life began with you, not the other way around.”

  With this, she pulled me close again, and I melted into her hold. When she released me, she said, “Your aura… you’re suffering so much. What’s going on with you?”

  Before I could answer, Thomas stepped out from between the trees. “Aria, I’m sorry, but we have to go,” he said, pointing toward his wrist to remind me of the time.

  I nodded and held up one finger, turning back to my mother. “I’m under a Demon’s Curse,” I told her.

  Concern flooded my mother’s features. She gripped my shoulders. “Do whatever you have to in order to break it. I’m so proud of you.” She sighed, and ran a hand over my hair the way she used to when I was just a girl. “I love you, Aria. Remember that, always, and I’ll see you again, but it better not be anytime soon. Understand?”

  “Yes, mom,” I said, more tears spilling down my cheeks. “I understand, and I love you, too. Always.”

  “Aria,” Thomas said, gently, “we should go.”

  I knew he was right, and that hours were passing in the other world while mere seconds and minutes passed by here. Sam and Matt were likely searching for me, and Gods only knew what had become of the powerless Grant City in the meantime. But I didn’t want to leave her. Gods help me, but I never wanted to leave her again. I’d missed her so very, very much.

  “Go save the city you’ve come to call home, my love,” my mother whispered. “Go break this curse and love this man.” Her slanted green eyes flashed over to Thomas on this last part, and a knowing smile pulled up her lips. “He’s a keeper, and has a rather useful talent, as well,” she told me in a voice too low for Thomas to hear.

  I nodded. Even in death, my mother was still very much my mother. Standing on my tiptoes, I placed a final kiss on her cheek.

  “Okay,” I agreed, and tried to ignore the sound of my heart breaking as Thomas took hold of my hand once more and sent us on our journey home.

  CHAPTER 23

  I blinked, and the world shimmered as though every surface it possessed was made of pure diamonds. The sensation that my stomach was rising into my throat—the kind one experiences during a sudden fall—had me sucking in air. When I blinked again, we were back on my apartment building rooftop, the sounds and smells of the city rushing in to fill the void.

  Looking over at Thomas, I could see that he was breathing rather harshly, and a fine sheen of sweat had worked its way across his forehead. Though his face was free of any indication of pain, his aura revealed otherwise. I stepped toward him, my brow furrowed with concern.

  “Thomas, are you okay?”

  He nodded. “I’m fine. I just need a moment. It takes a lot of energy to cross over.”

  Judging by his aura, I would wager this was an understatement. Thomas’s willingness to sacrifice for me never ceased to amaze me. Was it really any wonder I was falling in love with the man?

  That thought was too much in the moment, so I turned away from it. Glancing around, I saw that it was still evening, the difference in lighting only slight since we’d left.

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “It’s just after midnight,” Thomas answered, picking his watch up off the wooden crate, where he’d left it before we’d crossed over.

  “That’s only a couple hours time difference,” I said.

  Thomas shook his head. “It’s Saturday evening…or more like Monday morning, I guess. A little over a day has passed since we left.”

  My jaw hung open. We couldn’t have spent more than twenty, at most thirty minutes on the Other Side. I mumbled a curse, retrieving my cell phone from where I’d left it beside Thomas’s watch. Checking the date just to confirm what seemed the impossible, I saw that Thomas was right. An entire day had gone by while we’d been gone.

  “Sam called me like a hundred times,” I said, already dialing my voicemail to retrieve her multiple messages. “She’s probably worried I got eaten or something.”

  The messages started out with mild concern, and then gradually escalated until the twelfth message, where Sam’s recorded voice told me, You better not be dead, butthead. I swear to God I will kill you if you’re dead.

  Sighing, I hit the call back button, but it rang all the way to Sam’s voicemail. I left her a message saying I was fine, and telling her I would be headed to the lair shortly in case she wanted to meet me there. Then, I replaced the phone in my jeans pocket and faced Thomas, who’d been busy calling in a check-in to his own superiors, based on his end of the conversation.

  “Thank you,” I said, once we’d both hung up.

  Thomas shook his head. “It’s nothing, but you’re welcome.”

  I stepped up close to him and met his hazel gaze. “It is something. It’s something to me.”

  His hand came up and the back of his fingers gently brushed down my cheek. “Any time, beautiful girl,” he said, and claimed my lips in a kiss that drowned out the world.

  When we separated, I found I was smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. The clouds that had been shrouding my head were not gone, but they had parted, and I felt I could at least see the road ahead.

  Thomas’s mouth tilted up in a half smile as well. “Ah, there it is,” he said. “I’ve missed that particular smile.”

  I bit my lip, my grin stretching wider. “What do you mean that ‘particular smile’?”

  Thomas kissed my forehead. His lips wandered down, and against my neck, he said, “The one you get just before you’re about to saddle up and kick some ass.”

  My hand slipped behind his neck and held him close. “You know me too well, Thomas Reid,” I mumbled.


  “That’s the plan,” he agreed.

  ***

  I was nearly tackled to the ground before I got more than three steps into the lair. If not for my lightning fast reflexes, I may very well have been knocked down on my ass. As it was, I caught Sam in her bear-hug embrace and maintained my balance.

  “I thought you were dead!” Sam exclaimed, standing back from me and shaking me by the shoulders as one might a fool.

  I gave a sheepish smile. “Surprise. I’m alive. Yay!”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed. “I called you like a hundred times.”

  “Actually only twenty six.” I shrugged. “You must not care about me that much.”

  Sam placed a hand on her hip, studying me with her intelligent blue eyes. “Well, you look like you feel better. So that's good."

  “I am better. Now, what have I missed?”

  “Hey, you’re alive,” said Raven, who’d just entered the lair behind us. “I was sure you’d been dragged off by a Hellhound or something.”

  Matt held up a finger. “I, for one, had faith that you were fine,” he said.

  I gave Matt a fist bump. “I’m glad to hear I got a vote of confidence from one of the three of you.”

  Around us, the old warehouse that made up the lair was swimming in shadows, the only light provided by the flickering candles the others must have set about. The absence of the barely perceptible electrical hum that ran through all places of human concentration still held. Thomas had not come with me, as he’d needed to report to his superiors after having gone MIA for the past twenty-six hours.

  “What you’ve missed,” Raven said, “is the GCPD has finally come to its senses.”

  “How’s that?” Sam asked.

  “They’ve asked for our help. Well, the Maiden’s help, anyway.”

  Sam looked around, glancing at her laptop and cellphone. “How’d they do that? I didn’t get any message. Wait. They don’t have our phone number.”

  “Try to keep up, Nerdgirl,” Raven said, but there was no malice in the name-calling, as there always had been before. I wondered if my two friends were finally bonding.