by Tara Brown
Her eyes narrow as she gets up and walks to me. “I want the long and detailed explanation.”
She links arms with me, an intimate act I never would have expected from her. We walk, the three of us, and I tell them both the long version of exactly what has transpired.
I finish the story and both are silent in contemplation. Finally, Dorian nods. “We knew Lydia was right about the kids being important in the final battle—only we never knew she meant for Lillith’s side.”
Lorri appears annoyed and ready to punch someone in the head. “I don't understand how we missed one of the kids being Lillith’s? I don't understand how this has been such a cock up. It was simple—make redeeming angels, kill Lillith. How has it gone so wrong?”
“I think she was prepared for you to do your thing. She most likely knew what you made all along.”
Lorri agrees, “Of course she did, she knows everything somehow. It’s odd the human angels are the only ones who are able to resist.” Her eyes gloss over as she paces. “I wonder why that is.”
Dorian brushes a hair from my face, staring too long and too hard. His eyes say everything his lips do not. He brushes his lips against mine softly and then I am on my bed. I hate leaving him there, but clutching the feather tightly in my hand lessens the bad feelings.
I still have no answers. I kissed him. I saw Lorri but didn't get a single answer.
Lorelei slowly creeps into my room, checking to see if I’m awake.
“I’m up.”
“Oh good. I was wondering when the spell would wear off. What did they say? Did you see Lorri this time?”
I nod and yawn, completely exhausted. I repeat every word we spoke in monotone along with a series of yawns and stretches.
“Oh my God, of course.”
I crack an eye open, not realizing I had closed them. “What?”
“The spell has to be outside of her. There is no way she was astral projecting herself into that house and doing hellfire and doing all the other chaotic acts she has been at if the spell is being managed by her. There is another witch, one as powerful as me for certain. There is no way it’s anyone else other than a witch with great power. Either that or a place with a tremendous amount of power.” She’s all excited and spastic, but I don't see the point of getting excited about a witch who is at least as powerful as she is.
She must be able to sense my confusion because she rolls her eyes. “I can track magic done by regular witches, quite well too.”
“Oh. Okay. I need sleep though, so can you wake me up when the tracking is complete?”
She slaps me on the butt, agreeing, “Will do,” and leaves the room. I close my eyes again and drift into a slumber where every moment spent with Dorian is relived.
Chapter 8
A sweet release
I wake to someone wrapped around me. I moan and snuggle into the warmth, muttering softly, “Dorian?”
He doesn't answer so I turn over to find Sam’s chest. I push on him but he doesn't budge. He’s wrapped completely around me. I wiggle up his body, tapping him on the face. After a moment, he wrinkles his nose. “Go back to sleep, Aimes.”
“Why are you sleeping in here?”
He moans and squirms into a more comfortable spot for himself, not so much for me. “Because there are way less beds here than at Lydia’s. It was you or Giselle, and I knew what would happen if I slept in a bed with Giselle.”
“So you’re safe from temptation here because of what? My scales or my horns?”
He cracks a dark eye and smiles wider. “Shane was in her bed. I figured he didn't want me there too.”
I shove him. “Ass.” He pulls me in tighter. “You know I’m kidding.” His voice grows serious. “Actually, I kept having terrible dreams on the couch so I came in here and they went away.”
I turn and stare up at the ceiling, enjoying the warmth of another person for a change.
“You think Hanna is ever going to love me again?”
“Yeah. I think when they all wake up from the Lillith haze, they’ll all be really embarrassed. Especially Aleks. He’s so honorable and kind. He’s going to be crushed he was doing the free love and ‘let’s share ladies’ thing.”
Sam snorts. “He has been acting insane. It’s so out of character for him. I think Ben will be the only one who doesn’t care. Lucas is going to want to die. Ari will cope, she always does. But Lucas is going to want to kill everyone who touched her. He’s a savage.”
“Yup, pretty much.”
“I’m so glad I never laid a finger on her.” He looks down at me. “You didn't do anything regrettably awful, did you?”
“I did. I killed people for no reason. The call of Lillith for me was all about freeing people and sending them to God. I never did anything with anyone though.”
“Of course you didn't.” He winces. “I did however, and killed a ton of people.” He stops and frowns. “But I still don't feel bad for it. It’s so weird.”
“Which kid do you think is Lillith’s?”
“I don't know.” He shakes his head. “I guess I always wondered about all of them. We are such an oddity and there is no way of knowing because the moms always die, the dads always split, and the traits aren’t recognizable until the kids are older.” He scowls. “I suppose the fact that they’ve shown their powers so early is odd too. It’s usually later.”
“Like Ari.”
He nods.
Lorelei opens the door, glancing in. “I think I know where she’s running that spell from.”
“When is this not going to be my life?” I sigh.
She folds her thin arms across her massive chest. “Y’all get up. I don't even want to discuss when this shit ain’t gonna be your life. You wanna talk about hard done by? I’ve just stopped repeating the same decades, over and over like that weird movie about the groundhog. Now get up!” She slams the door shut.
Sam beckons his head toward the door. “That's my regret. I wish I’d had a go at her when my morals were corrupted.”
I roll my eyes. “Boys are gross.”
“She’s hot and if she keeps Marcus in line. I hate to see what kind of disturbing twists we are talking about.”
“Extra gross.” I slip from his embrace and drag on some pants and a tank top. I don't do the whole shy thing anymore. I don't care that he saw me in my underwear and bra. I almost miss the girl I used to be. Shy wasn't ever a bad thing.
He’s up and dragging on a sweater when I turn around. He gives me a crooked grin. “You got a nice butt, Aimes.”
“Dude,” I moan and grab my boots, winking to the kitchen. Shane hands me a piece of toast as if on cue. Grasping it in my teeth, I drag my boot on. Blake strolls in holding his cell phone out with a worried look.
“What?”
“It’s dead. There’s no more cell service. I tried calling on the house phone and it’s gone too.”
“The day is not starting out awesome,” I groan and drag my other boot on. “I hope my parents are okay.”
“They’re fine. I was just there.”
I cock an eyebrow at Blake. “How’s Alise?”
He shrugs. “Sexy and horrid. You know, the same.”
I shake my head as Shane swats him. “You know the rules on humans.”
Blake grins, blushing and looking down. “We were only talking.”
Shane rolls his eyes. “Yeah, she’s always real talkative.”
Lorelei stomps into the kitchen like she’s Lorri and nods at me. I lift my head from my grumbling mood and lukewarm toast. She touches me and puts a vision in my mind. A place to wink to.
I hold a hand out and we flash from the kitchen to a rainforest. Lorelei narrows her gaze, scanning the area around us. She’s using her ‘spidey senses’ to track, but it looks more like she’s plotting something really evil. She gives me a look. “It’s a remote place in the Andes Mountains. Someone else has used it as a place to mark themselves. A witch. Lillith is using that imprint to work her spell.”
She might as well be speaking Greek. Actually, I might do okay with Greek. This, not so much. She sees the blank stare coming off us and moans. “The mark or imprint is like a stain. A witch can pick up the magic left behind by the witch who left her imprint here.” She shakes her head and stalks into the woods muttering, “It’s not important.”
She takes us to a tree, stopping and looking up at it. “Wow. Whatever this tree is, it’s powerful. It’s really powerful.” She turns. “Can y’all feel it?”
I feel nothing, and when I glance about the group of us, no one else seems to get what she’s feeling. She runs her hands in the air like a mime, a sexy mime. Marcus cocks an eyebrow. “Lorelei, love. There’s nothing there.”
“There is. It’s an ancient tree. It’s something special to the fae. She’s using her magic to taint the tree and steal from the fae.”
“Can you stop it?”
She nods. “It’s going to work. I need a blood sacrifice and Grandmamma Holt.”
I wince but Marcus grabs my hand. “To the bayou, driver.” I roll my eyes and wink us both there. She’s standing at the entrance to her cottage, already holding a hand out. Her grandson, Ramón, grins at me. “She don’t leave the bayou so often, cher. She ain’t gonna like dis none.”
Marcus offers her his hand. “I will protect you with my life.”
She takes his hand, shocking Marcus and me. “I trust ya. Ya got bad juju but ya love with more heart den most peoples wit a heart.”
I have to assume it’s a compliment. Marcus acts like a proud peacock. Momma Holt gives me a devilish glare. “Ya sin eater, I no trust ya.”
Smug isn’t even the right word for Marcus. I grab their hands and wink us back to the rain forest.
Momma Holt gasps as we land. She runs her hands through the air like a mime too. Marcus guides her like she’s the queen, milking her approval of him for all it’s worth. I could kick him but she already thinks I’m the devil.
Shane’s eyes speak volumes as I walk to him, observing as Momma Holt and Lorelei go silent. They wave hands and call winds and drip their blood all around the tree. “This place feels spooky,” Shane comments.
“Yup.”
Finally, Lorelei speaks to me, “Y’all know an innocent we could carve up for the blood sacrifice?”
“No.” I press my lips together, desperately trying to think of someone I would offer up.
My mind draws a total blank but Marcus grins. He walks to me, taking my hand again. “Aimee, do you recall that lovely friend of Ben and Lucas’ who always wears the stunningly short shorts?”
“Janine. She’s a ho. She isn’t innocent. At all.” I scoff.
He licks his lips. “She isn’t the one I’m thinking of. Her sister has vowed celibacy.”
Lorelei tilts her head. “Marcus, that doesn't make her innocent.”
He nods. “I’m aware of that, love. But I have had her blood and she is pure. Especially pure.”
“She’s fae. She’s a werewolf.”
He nods again. “That doesn't work?”
Momma Holt scoffs at him, making me smile for a change. “No fae to offer dey blood to da tree. Need human blood.”
I wince, thinking about it but it makes perfect sense. I give Marcus a hopeful face. “You want to come with me?”
He takes my hand roughly, muttering about how he had been certain it was a good idea. I roll my eyes and wink us to the one place I can think of. The church back home. Marcus walks in acting like he’s burning up. He sounds more like the wicked witch than a vampire though, and his theatrics are a little over the top.
He laughs and nudges me. “Pull that stick from your arse, Aimee. Laugh a little. It was funny.”
Ignoring him, I walk to the small room at the back where I know the church workers are. The door to the room is open a sliver, revealing the lady I have in mind. I have known her my entire life. She’s sweet and kind and caring. I hate myself, but I open the door and gesture toward Marcus. “Convince my friend here that she wants to save the rest of us.”
Marcus walks past me, smiling at the elderly woman. Instantly, she’s dazzled, like all women. Marcus is perfection wrapped around a cynical and shitty interior. He takes her hand, kissing it and taking a small taste of her. He wrinkles his nose. “She has a gambling addiction and beats her kids.”
“Damn. If she’s a sinner, we are screwed.”
Something else dawns on me. Something I recall from a long time ago. I take his hand and wink. We are standing in the emergency ward of the hospital—the children’s hospital that I visited Giselle in. We get in and I press the same button I pressed when she was in the hospital.
“This place is a wreck.”
“It’s been damaged in the war.”
He shrugs. “Won’t be much left soon.”
The thought is defeating. When we get to the floor I turn to the right and walk the way I did before, turning into the first room that has a patient. A nurse frowns at us, mostly Marcus. But he has her subdued and nodding along with his evil plan within moments. “Ask her if this is the sickest patient here.”
He asks and she shakes her head, fully in a trance, staring at him. She leads us from the room, taking us three doors down to a sick kid who breathes with a machine and is unconscious.
The nurse turns and leaves, closing the door.
Marcus shakes his head disapprovingly. “I never imagined you were this shameless.”
I don't look at him when I answer. My eyes do not leave the small yellowish face of the gaunt child. “You haven’t been sick like this before. You haven’t been on your deathbed, begging for an angel to come and end your misery.” I gaze around at the room. “This place is falling apart from the damage the city has suffered. The nurses will soon stop coming to work when the power is out. This child could starve to death after days of being alone if that happens. Trust me, Marcus, this is the kinder fate.”
He lifts the small girl, holding her tighter than I imagined he might. I wink us back, earning instant looks of disgust and disapproval. Apart from Giselle. She smiles at me, knowing full well I have made the right choice. She comes to us, holding her hands out. “Let me take her.”
Marcus delicately places her in Giselle’s thin arms. Giselle turns, pressing the small girl into her chest, and walks to Lorelei. Lorelei draws a line on the girl’s battered wrist, taking blood. When she has enough she nods. Ever so softly, Giselle places a sweet kiss on the girl, releasing her to Heaven.
A tear runs down her beautiful cheek as she lowers the girl to the grass.
Suddenly everything feels different. Lorelei motions her head at us. “Go to Shane’s, we will get back on our own.”
I don't know what that means. They can’t wink.
But we listen because she knows best. She is technically our fearless leader, since Lorri died.
We wink as a group back to Shane’s and wait.
Chapter 9
Disaster and dishonor
I am asleep at the table when I feel the air change. I lift my head to see Lorelei step out of the air. She appears out of nowhere.
“What was that?”
She shrugs. “A trick I learned once from Whit and his evil family. Best way to travel when you’re a witch.”
“Neato. How did it go?”
She nods. “Grandmamma Holt is still there, and she’s taking down the last of it. She sent me to get the angels from the black water before we completely destroy the spell.” She holds a hand out. I take it and wink us to the bayou. She hurries to the water, calling the winds and weather again. She says her mumbo jumbo and instantly they start to rise to the surface of the dark and murky waters, like a horror movie. I shudder, imagining being in there.
They float to the beach, each one. Ari opens her eyes first, peering around before sitting up. She coughs as black water slips down her lips and chin like a slug. I retch.
Even Lorelei makes a face. Aleks comes next. His beautiful blue eyes meet mine but he doesn
't move. He pauses, I imagine taking it all in. He’s going to be reeling from the horrors of his acts.
Lucas and Ben open their eyes together. They flinch and shudder exactly the same. It’s weird.
And finally, Hanna makes her way back to us, opening her eyes and sitting up immediately. She appears scared or lost, maybe worried. Her cheeks flush when she sees Aleks. I can’t even imagine how horrid they feel.
But they do the thing I can’t imagine. They crawl to each other. She sobs into his chest as he wraps himself around her.
Ari and Lucas kiss and hug. Ben gives me a slight wave. He seems confused but completely calm.
Ari gives me a look before completely breaking down. She climbs from the muck and runs to me. She smells like stinky old swamp, but her thin arms around me feel amazing. I forgot how much I’ve missed her.
Ari sobs into my shoulder, shaking us both. Her words are mumbled and blended.
Lucas scratches his head, giving me a weird look. “Hey, Aimes.”
I nod. “Hey.”
Ben comes and joins the embrace. “Aimes, you smell so pretty.”
It brings a laugh, an awkward one, from my lips. “You guys stink like swamp.”
Lorelei thanks her ancients and turns back to me. “The spell is lifted. Y’all should be tickety-boo.”
Ben chuckles into the embrace of Ari and me. Lucas joins in, still shuddering.
We are a mess of mud and stink when we wink back to Shane’s. Everyone is visibly sickened and awkward.
I don't see Sam, even though he’s the first face I look for. Shane and Blake give me expectant faces. I lift my thumb discreetly.
Aleks and Hanna kiss, mud and all. I want to gag and maybe murder her. It’s wrong to wish her harm for falling in love when she already was in love, considering my track record. But Sam is like my soul mate. After Dorian. I don't know how to tell Sam that Hanna and Aleks are in love, obviously real love. I don't know how to break his heart that way.