"How are you holding up?"
"Managing, but it's tough." His profile was stern, and the new streak of white in his hair, showed stark against the raven black. "But we got him, Tat. At least there's one less monster to torment the living."
"I've been offering prayers for Nepta as well."
"She chose to help you, right?"
"And paid dearly."
"You're not responsible for those deaths. Do something about that guilt before it poisons everything you touch."
"That's easier to say than do." If the truth be known, she welcomed the guilt—it reminded her to use her gifts in atonement.
"Giving up your life for something higher than yourself is never forgotten by those who record our deeds. By the way, I'm moving out of my place."
She understood. Losing your soul mate was heartbreaking. Every inch of his house was saturated with memories of Leyla, and everywhere he looked would remind him of his loss.
"I'm moving in here." He gestured behind him at Changing Sky's cabin. "The elders have approved. They said I can stay here. And, if I want, I can add an extension."
Tatya smiled. The elders were wise. Forked Lightning was a young man. He would never forget Leyla, but in time, who knew what might come to pass. "This is where Changing Sky taught me. It'll be good to come here again. I miss him."
"The elders say I'll always miss Leyla, but I'll learn to live without her."
"You're truly following in Changing Sky's footsteps, aren't you? He would be real proud of you."
"Sometimes I sense his presence and hear his voice."
"Me too."
They sat in companionable silence.
"Thank you, for saving Vanse, and coming to get me." She didn't say it, but it was unfair she was getting to live with the one she loved, while Forked Lightning had lost those dearest to him.
"Oh, you'll be paying back those favors for a long time yet, you know that, don't you? And you’re invited to the house afterward. I want you to give you something of Leyla’s."
A line of cars inched along the track to the cemetery. The elders had granted permission for Forked Lightning's non-native pack members to attend the last day of the funeral and they were turning out in force.
"Thank you, I will. I see Corwin's arrived."
The sheriff's battered vehicle came at the end of the line.
Forked Lightning laughed. "Yeah, you should go rescue him."
"He's another good man fighting the baddies."
"I have had my differences with him, as you well know, but you’re right, we’re on the same side. C'mon, follow me. There's a shortcut around the side."
Half an hour later, Tatya stood next to Corwin, with Eva and Jimmy behind her. They hadn't known Leyla well, but they came to support Tatya.
During the funeral ceremony, she sensed Otakay's presence, looked up and saw the warrior, with his bow in his hand, and a full quiver on his back. He met her gaze and smiled. She understood his message: if she ever needed him, he would come. She caught a flash of Meoquanee's white feathered cloak, heard Qaletaqa's prayer chant, and met Forked Lightning's awed gaze. They exchanged the slightest of nods.
As the final prayers and blessings were chanted, Forked Lightning, Daniel, and two others lowered Leyla's coffin, draped in a new red and white striped blanket, into the earth.
Corwin tapped her on the shoulder, "I've got to go, Tatya. I'll see you tonight at seven?"
"You're sure Winona's fine with this?” She lowered her voice, “she does realize he's a vampire, doesn't she?"
"It was her idea. Said she's looking forward to meeting the man you'll be spending the rest of your life with, bloodsucker or not."
Tatya looked away as her cheeks pinked. "Well, we're not rushing things, especially that official consort thing he wants."
"Don't be late." He gave her a quick hug, nodded at Eva and Jimmy, and strode off, talking into his phone as he went.
When the ceremony was over, Tatya, Jimmy, and Eva followed those heading for Forked Lightning's bungalow. Daniel and several pack members were already inside.
Tatya exchanged nods with them.
"Here, I thought you might like to have this." Forked Lightning pushed through the crowd, and handed her a small kachina doll, wrapped in a piece of yellow cotton. "Leyla bought it for the baby after you'd showed her yours one day."
"I remember. She wanted to learn as much as possible about your culture and beliefs."
"How are you, Tatya?" Daniel held out a hand.
"Recovered, more or less. You?" She shook his hand. Werewolves like him and Forked Lightning felt hot to the touch.
"Mourning Leyla's passing, but living in the present." Daniel glanced over to where Forked Lightning had moved away and was talking with his pack brothers.
"Thank you for the protection while we were gone."
"No thanks necessary between family."
"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
Forked Lightning joined them again, and as she reached out to him, he embraced her, pulling her close. She hugged him tight, breathing in the musky smell of him. “Take care. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“We'll be back in a few days," Eva said as they left Forked Lightning’s gathering. "We got the call this morning, our place is sold." She and Jimmy had put their house in Big Sur on the market after deciding to make the move to Orleton permanent. Jimmy was going to take over the shop and the online business, while Eva and Tatya ran the health center. “We have to arrange storage for our stuff, while we wait to hear if our offer on the house we want is accepted.”
“Who is going to make my early morning coffee,” Tatya joked. The three of them had grown close during the past year.
“We haven’t moved out yet. However, I’m sure Vanse will be eager to oblige.”
After she waved them off, Tatya rang Vanse. Within five minutes the vampmobile purred toward her, a small cloud of dust billowing behind the vehicle.
Vanse said nothing as she sank into the front seat and closed her eyes. "How do you do it?" she asked him.
"Do what?" He drove slowly back to the highway.
"Cope with the sadness death brings."
"You—"
"No philosophizing, please."
"Tatya, you're being unreasonable by asking me a question that needs a philosophical response, then demanding I don't give one."
She waved her hand, indicating he should proceed.
"You don't forget the past, and you grieve for those who are gone, but you must exist in the present."
"Daniel said the same. It’s that simple, eh?"
"Life is never simple, Tatya, but you take hold of each moment and experience it to the full because time only runs one way, and you never know when your allotted span will be over."
She studied his profile, her skin goose-bumping, as she remembered last night. Today was the first time they had separated since they woke back in Orleton. Every one of Fabio's desperate requests for Vanse to come to the lair and attend his family had been ignored.
He pulled the car over to the side of the road, shut off the engine, and turned toward her. "The family want to throw me a welcome home ball. They have seen little of me this past year, and Fabio is insistent. We could have it at your place if you prefer?"
Yes, this was the part of Vanse's existence she had to accept if she was to be with him, and that question was most definitely settled. The morning after their return, they had made love for the first time. Apart from the ecstasy in every cell in her body, which set her nerve endings atingle whenever she thought about it—which was often—it clarified and cemented what she had denied and run from since she met him: she was totally besotted with Vanse. She loved him with her body and soul and wanted to spend the rest of her days with him. She would never feel completely at home with his undead family, but you couldn't love half a person. Fabio and the twins had become close friends, and who knew how she would feel about the rest of his family a year from now?
"Where do you want to go? Your place or mine?" She did her best to sound submissive and studied her hands demurely clasped in her lap, before glancing at him from under her eyelashes.
Vanse met her cheeky gaze, and a lazy satisfied smile spread across his face. The engine growled as he pushed his foot down on the pedal, and the vampmobile roared off down the road.
THE END
FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you very much for reading The Kala Trilogy. If you enjoyed the book, please let your friends know, and I'd be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to leave a review (short or long makes no difference) because you'll be giving me something more valuable than gold.
Sign up for my mailing list to receive a FREE copy of Hekate’s Chalice, Book One in the Adept Solutions Series, and information about new releases, discounts, and advanced reading copies. Click the link to get started: http://tinyurl.com/hk39yun
Other books by Teagan Kearney:
The Kala Trilogy
Healer’s Magic
Vampire’s Bane
Demon’s Nemesis
One Summer in Montmartre
Adept Solutions Series (Novellas)
Hekate’s Chalice
Sorcerous Deeds
Join me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/@teagankearney
and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeaganKearneyWriter/
Drop by anytime.
The Kala Trilogy: An Urban Fantasy Box Set Page 68