by Tara Brown
He rolls onto his side, transforming into a man again.
His body lifts from where he’s lying as steam shoots from him, like the magic in him is seeping back into the garden.
I try to get up but my arms flop. My skin and clothes are gone. My body is burnt to the point that it doesn't hurt anymore. I think I’m dying. I force my eyes open and try to wink but I can’t. The light from the sun hits my face, blinding me. When it clears, Lorelei is there giving me a smile. She looks normal again, only she’s a ghost. I see the garden through her. Lydia, Annabelle, Sarah, and Ophelia are with her. They all smile when they see me, but I can’t move or speak. Ophelia and Lorelei take each other’s hand and fade, waving at me.
Lydia drops to her knees. “My girl, my beautiful girl. You did it.” Her words linger in the air as I black out.
Chapter 12
This is the end
“Tell me where she is!” someone screams and something slams me in the face.
My eyes pop open as Marcus swings at me again. I wink to the field behind him. “Marcus, stop!” I gasp for air as pain registers everywhere. “I’ll take you to her, calm down.”
“She’s okay?” His jaw drops and as my eyes clear I see exactly what sort of rough shape he’s in. His eyes are swollen and red and he’s a mess. So much for our plan to lie to him. Everything happened so quickly, Lorelei and I forgot.
“She’s fine.” I don't mention she’s dead and when I clean him out, he’ll be in Heaven with her. I just don't know if I’m powerful enough to clean him out. I’m evidently still a death eater—Gwen’s mom saw me as that and Luke has shifted into a wolf. But I might not be strong enough to remove all the old curses from something like Marcus, although I can try. “We need to go see Ari first, make sure she’s okay. Then I’ll take you to her.”
He parts his lips but doesn't argue. I suspect he thinks Lorelei will be with the baby. He doesn’t know the half of it.
I wink to him, grab him, and wink to the castle. The screaming baby makes both of us jump as we land.
Marcus gives me a snarl. “Isn’t she here?”
“No.” I let go of him in the great room and wink to the cellar. Lucas is wearing a blanket as a skirt and holding his baby against his naked chest.
Ari is smiling and a little paler but alive, thank God.
“You’re okay!” I hurry to her, wrapping my arms around her. She feels squishier than before, but her baby belly is all healed.
“I’m fine. Did you feel it?”
“What?” I pull back, confused.
“The earthquake? Everything shook for a minute. Luna wasn't breathing. Gwen got her out of the placenta and she wasn't breathing. And then this earthquake happened, and she just started to scream. It was crazy. She’s been crying ever since.” Ari says it like it isn’t annoying her that her baby is screaming her face off.
“Good for the wee bean to clear her lungs,” Gwen’s mom says to me as if she’s reading my mind. Her words echo in my head, just the way Lorelei’s and Lydia’s would. You killed Lorelei?
I nod once, not answering aloud.
The magic is in the garden? she asks in my head again.
I nod once more.
Lydia said to tell ya that in order to free them all, ya must do the one thing she said never to do: hold hands with Ari. She says it’ll reset things. She winks at me and fades again.
I glance at Ari’s hand and wonder about that. It was the first thing Lydia ever said to Ari and me: not to hold hands, she didn’t know what something like her and something like me would do. I guess that was another lie. Another truth we weren’t ready for. Typical Roses Academy nonsense.
Lorri bursts into the room, giving me a questioning stare.
“It’s done.” I assume what she’s asking.
“Done, done?”
“Yeah.” I sigh, glancing at the baby. “Mostly.”
Her eyes follow mine to the sobbing infant. She knows what I mean. “Okay.”
“What’s that mean, Aimes?” Ari asks.
I glance back at Ari. “There’s something we have to do, something to fix things.”
“So, we’re doing this then?” Luke asks me, his eyes barely tearing from his baby. “It’s really over?”
“It’s over.” Lorri nods. “And now we go home. We’ll see each other in no time.” Her brow furrows with the lie she’s telling Lucas. She knows she won’t see him again. He and the baby are going somewhere else.
“It’s been an honor then.” Lucas walks to her, holding the baby to the side and hugging Lorri. She squeezes harder than I thought she would.
“The honor was all mine, kid.” She takes a long draw off him. “Be good to her.” Her eyes dart to the baby who she kisses once.
I’ve seen it all; Lorri kissing babies and getting teary-eyed must be one of the signs from the Bible that the end of days is over.
“And I’ll see ya up there.” She grins at Ari.
“You will. We’ll all be there.” Ari clearly doesn't get what’s happening. She doesn't see that her baby won’t ever leave Earth.
Lorri hugs Gwen, whispering something to her. Gwen nods and grins. Lorri turns back to me and shrugs. “I guess I’ll go first, Aimes.” Lorri smiles, her eyes glistening. “The time of the angels is over. I sense it. There’s a song in the air, calling me home.” She steps forward. Her, I can kiss home, so I take her face gently in mine. “Tell everyone else I’ll see them up there.”
“Okay.” My heart is breaking again. There’s something she isn’t thinking about, something that maybe never crossed her mind. But I’m stuck playing it over and over in my head. “Say bye to him for me,” I whisper and kiss before she can speak. She falls to the floor for a second time, becoming nothing more than feathers.
A tear leaves my eye as I glance at Gwen. “You wanna go next?”
“If ya dinna mind.” She comes to me, letting me take her face in my hands. “I’m glad your baby is all right, Ari. Goodbye, Lucas.”
“She’s beautiful, thank you again, Gwen,” Ari beams.
I delicately place a kiss on her lips, sending Gwen off. The level of her curse is nothing. I take all the evil, all the misdeeds away, sending her home.
“Thank you, death eater,” her mother whispers in the air without reappearing.
I hold my hand out to Ari. “We got some things to do, something we owe Lorelei. I don't want to have to explain, but just trust me, when I say now, you grab my hand and force your old magic out, okay? Make a push portal.”
“All right. If we have to.” Ari nods. She knows her wings are gone and her old magic of pushing is back.
Lucas takes my other hand and we wink to the great room.
“I've been patient.” Marcus points at me. “You take me to her. Now!”
“Okay.” I reach for him, holding out my hand. As he comes to me, I shout, “NOW!”
Ari grabs my other hand and pushes through me, hard and fast. I suck from Marcus, the way I used to, using Ari’s energy to make it happen. My body goes rigid as a wave of energy shoots up my arm. His hand melds into mine and whatever is going out of Ari and me and into him, shoots out his mouth. It comes out as light as bright as the sun, joining his scream. It goes on long enough for me to notice the rainbow in the mist leaving him. When it ends, he drops to the floor, his hands wrinkling and his face sucking in. I grab him before he’s gone and kiss him away, sucking the human life from him. He collapses and falls back into ash.
“What the hell was that?” Ben asks softly. Everyone else is silent.
“Time to go. We’re done. I've sent Gwen and Lorri off. Lorelei, Lydia, Sarah, and Annabelle are all gone. The time of the angels is over. It’s time to be with our families again, in Heaven.”
“I thought we couldn't all go to Heaven?” Blake frowns.
“I found a loophole,” I lie and offer my hand to Blake and grab his face, touching his cheek. “Say hi to your mom and dad.” I kiss him before he can argue and send him off, reducin
g his body to nothing more than feathers. I wish I could have sent him to see my sister, but this isn’t my decision. I don't get to choose for people. That’s up to the fae, and they've already denied him.
I want to cry as he goes, but I don't. If I lose my nerve I won’t finish what I am intended to do. What I was made for all along.
I hold out my hand to Shane. He scowls. “Really? It’s over? Finally?”
“Everyone else is dead. There are no humans left. The time of the fae is upon us. We aren’t welcome here anymore.”
He glances at Giselle. “I guess I’ll see you guys in Heaven then.”
Giselle beams, “Is it like one of those dreams where you think what you’re wearing and then you have a different outfit on?”
Shane laughs. “I don't know. We’ll have to find out.”
“Oh my God, I hope so. I’m gonna be bummed if we have to wear white all the time.”
“You look great in white.” Shane hugs her and kisses the side of her head.
He hugs Ari, Luke, and Ben and kisses the baby. He says goodbye to the kids who are left and then comes back to me. I hug him tight, hoping my fingers don't tremble too much. I don't want them to reveal anything.
“See you up there, Aimes,” he beams.
“Yup.” I kiss him lightly, taking the small curse placed upon him by Marcus and the big one from Lorri. He falls to the ground, becoming the typical puddle of feathers.
Giselle jumps me, hugging hard. “As soon as we’re in Heaven, we have a coffee date and a spa day and we hang, like before.”
“Sounds like a plan. See ya there.”
“Okay.” She kisses me, almost sucking my life. I have to be fast and send her off.
There’s no way I want her to be the last one here, stuck with no one to send her back.
When it’s just me and the fae, I hold a hand out. “We need to make a quick stop by the garden.”
“What? Why?” Ari gives me a scowl.
“Henry, he wants to see us off,” I lie. Lucas flinches but he lets the lie sit.
We wink as a group to the gates. They’re open for me now, something I find strange. I wonder if I’ll be able to stay like everyone else here. At least I’ll have my sister and the baby and Ari and the boys. I won’t be alone.
Henry walks to me, now a spirit. His eyes twinkle and his energy is different, soft and warm. Aimee, you saved us. You did it. Thank you. He speaks to my mind. What can I do for you? In return.
“Henry, here is the mother and baby,” I say aloud. In my head I whisper, please let her stay. As the favor you owe me, let her stay with her baby and the wolves.
She is no longer angel? He furrows his heavy brow.
“No,” I speak aloud once again. “She’s Nephilim, like them.” I nod at the kids. “She’s special but no wings.”
Deal. But she does one more thing for me first. He nods, his eyes lighting up as he speaks loudly for everyone to hear, “Can she push? I felt someone push. I felt Marcus become pure.”
“I can,” Ari answers, appearing a bit lost on where this question came from. “Aimee and I saved Marcus.”
“You may stay in the garden with your child if you do this one thing.”
“What one thing?” Ari glances at me nervously.
“I don't know.” I shake my head, nervous too.
“Come.” He offers a hand. Ari follows him.
Lucas and Ben stay with her but I turn to the kids. “Go find my sister and the baby. She’ll take care of you. Tell her I said she has to.”
Anne leaps into my arms, she and Dawn. Danny slowly trudges over, wrapping himself around us all.
I kiss the tops of their heads. “Don't worry, you’ll be fine here. There is no one else to fear. The magic in this garden is pure. No more humans to mess it up.”
“Except your sister,” Danny mutters.
“Right, so you have to keep an eye on her.”
They wipe their eyes and wave as they head off into the meadow toward a road I never noticed before.
I wink and catch up to the group. Henry glances back. “Don't do that here. It’s not done.”
“Sorry.” I wince.
“Yeah, Aimee.” Ben nudges me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “You excited it’s over?” He grins.
“Yeah.” I nod. “I feel like I could sleep for the rest of my life. I’m beat.”
“Me too.” He yawns.
We walk through the magical garden, which really just looks like lush farmland, until we come upon a small lake. There’s a cabin on the far side and nothing else for miles. Just farmland.
“You two go to that cabin and fix him, you push him.” Henry points but doesn't move.
Ari glances at me nervously.
“Okay.” I nod and begin to walk. Lucas takes a step but Henry shakes his head. “No. Just them.”
Ari and I stroll across the field, along the lake to the run-down cabin. The skies change as we get closer. The blue becomes dark and the clouds are no longer fluffy and white. Lightning and thunder hit in the distance and the trees become more like something from Snow White’s enchanted forest.
“Well, this turned shitty quick,” Ari mutters, glancing back at Lucas. At her baby.
“Yeah. I have to tell you something.” I cringe up at the sky and wonder if my news is the reason for the storm.
“What?”
“Whatever happens, agree to Henry’s terms.” I give her a side look. “Your baby will be the fae queen one day. She won’t leave the garden. She’ll rule these people.”
“What!” She stops walking and turns back. I grab her arm and drag her along.
“You can’t control it. The fact he’s going to let you, a regular Nephilim, stay in the garden is a miracle. You can stay with your baby. Otherwise, you have to go to Heaven and Luke stays here with the baby and Ben.”
“How long have you known this?” Her dark eyes burn me.
“A while,” I confess, hating that this will be the last time I see her and I have to confess a betrayal.
“Dude.” She sounds hurt.
“I know.” I stop short, grabbing her and hugging her. “I didn't want to stress you out. I didn't even know how to tell you. The reason the baby didn't come for years and the fae froze you was that they couldn't risk her being born yet. They needed the magic back in the garden first. I think they paused everything to make sure that happened. They love her and will protect her. She is the new queen. You’ll be safe. And when she’s old enough to speak for you, she will protect you.”
Ari pulls back as her eyes begin to water. “The queen?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
“I know.” I hug her again.
“Well, she’ll keep you safe too,” Ari mutters and wipes her eyes as we begin to walk.
I don't say anything. My nerve is at the end and I am losing it. I’m not ready for the fact I’ll be out there in the ash, alone. I traded my last chance in order to protect her, a fact Ari would disapprove of.
When we get to the tiny cabin it’s fully raining and storming and the small lake is choppy like an ocean. I knock, scared of what will answer.
Ari glances at me as no one comes to the door or stirs inside.
I knock again. My knuckles burn from rapping in the cold wind and rain.
I hug myself as I get soaked in the freezing downpour.
A shadow passes by the window and then a figure appears, staring at us through the pane. It’s an old man. He scowls and opens the door. “What?”
“Who are you?” Ari asks. She doesn't love to push regular people, and she usually likes to know something before she does it.
“Go away!” He starts to close the door. I reach in, grabbing his hand and then hers. She seizes his other arm and pushes.
The rain freezes. Droplets hover in the air around me.
The wind is stuck, mid blow, drifting my hair across my face.
Her portal opens, sending sparkles into the air around us. All
my arm hair stands on end, even though it’s wet.
The light becomes a picture.
A handsome young man—naked young man—is in a forest. He’s talking to a young woman. She twirls her dark hair and leans in to kiss him. His eyes widen as their lips touch. He grabs her arms, holding her tight in the kiss. She pushes him away but he’s bigger than she is. He’s stronger. As he takes her to the ground. As she screams I recognize her. It’s Lillith.
My insides tighten as the picture changes. The young man pushes her back as her lips reach his. He shakes his head and extends a hand, taking hers in his and kissing the back of it. He smiles and leads her down the path to show her a tree he thinks is special.
She returns the smile, innocent still.
He vanishes and the rain that’s frozen around us becomes hard like diamonds. They hover in the air until Ari touches one and they all drop at our feet, sparkling.
“Holy shit.” I gasp as my breath comes back. “You just pushed Adam.”
Chapter 13
Goodbye is the worst part
An earthquake hits as the wave of darkness and evil is lifted. In the garden, we see the veil rise.
“This is just like the other earthquake,” Ari shouts as we grip each other and stagger back to the group.
“What was that?” Ben asks, looking startled. Lucas does too but Luna is sleeping like a lamb, finally.
“I don’t know.” I glance at Henry who is here and human again.
“Reset, more important to my people than fae time. Thank you, death eater. You save world. Again,” Henry beams.
“So, we just reset everything and now it’s like none of that happened, but the world still happened and people still happened, and now everything is the way God intended?”
Henry nods. “Fae here, hidden and happy. Humans out there, no angels or demons. Just balance.”
The diamond in my pocket, my souvenir is still there. It didn't change, even though, technically, Adam never lived in that little cabin. The little cabin is gone.