“Forever?”
“Forever.”
chapter 23
When the rain stopped, Jeegan and Sage hovered far to the side of it so their shadows wouldn't pass over where the fairies would be traveling. They looked down at the mouth of the cave. The lightning rods set into the top of the hill were so blackened and tarnished that they didn't glint in the sunlight. The storm had caused some damage to The Foothills. Trees had been ripped from the ground and several areas were flooded.
Jeegan held what was left the final weatherstone in his hand. It was fully depleted. All of its energy, along with the energy of the other weatherstones they'd brought, was spent conjuring the storm. He crushed the weatherstone and it crumbled to dust in his hand. He held his hand up but the wind had died down, so he blew the dust away.
“Sorry it didn't work, sir,” Sage said.
“It worked just fine. She knows it's here now. She'll be back.”
“That was your Bridge, in the cave, there?”
“Yes,” Jeegan nodded. “That's where I came through.”
“Three hundred years is a long time.”
“It's only been a little over two hundred.”
“My apologies,” Sage said. “How did you know it would still work? How did you know the lightning would make it work again?”
“Because I was the one who attached the lightning rods to it. When the fairies started closing the Bridges, I had to make sure I still had a way back.”
“But you never used it?”
“No. I stayed here,” Jeegan said. “And then the Black Plains were pulled into The Void. Then I stayed there. Come,” he instructed. “We need to make sure we get back to The Void before they do.”
-
“I'm relieved to hear it,” Wes told Laura over the phone. “You know I'll support you in whatever you want from your life, but...”
“But you hated the idea of us joining the Peace Corps,” Laura laughed. “I get it. We're talking about a bunch of different things. Right now, we're leaning towards moving back up there after George graduates. Dr. K says he has some contacts at Fermi and they may need a researcher. Not an assistant! A researcher!”
“That's great, honey. I'm very proud of you.”
“I know we were talking about you all getting together before the wedding. But with where they are right now, I don't think that's going to happen,” Laura said.
“She left him, huh? They say that a lot of marriages fail after the death of a child.”
“I don't know. George's dad said they had a huge fight and he brought up something he promised he'd never bring up. I don't know what it was. He wouldn't even tell George what it was, but he seemed pretty sure it was his own fault.”
“Admitting you're at fault is usually the thing that helps keep us all together,” Wes said. “How's George taking it?”
“Better than I thought. Amazingly, he hasn't cracked yet. He's still pushing through. I keep waiting for the day that I'm going to come home and he'll be naked, rocking himself in the corner, with jars of urine lined up along the walls.”
“That's not funny.”
“I know. It's not,” Laura said. “Well, maybe it was a little. But, no, he's doing as well as I could expect.”
“How are you?”
“Me? I'm fine, daddy. But I need sixty five hundred dollars and you can't ask why.
Wes paused for a minute, then laughed. “I love you, kiddo.”
“I love you, too, dad. When mom gets home, tell her I miss her, too.”
“You know I will.”
“Okay,” Laura said. “I'll talk to you soon. Bye.”
“Bye.” Wes hung up the phone.
-
Gabrielle almost kept driving when she saw Geoff's car in the driveway. No, she thought. You have to face him sometime. There's no difference between later tonight and right now. She pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. She left her bag in the back of the Saab and walked into the house.
The blankets and pillows were still on the sofa. A new crossword puzzle lay on the coffee table, half filled out. A yellow pencil sat on top of the folded newspaper. She went into the kitchen. Dirty dishes were stacked in the sink. She sighed and turned the water on. Geoff had left the sponge on the bottom of the sink and stacked dishes on top of it and Gabrielle hated that. Rather than dig for the sponge at the bottom of the sink, she opened the cabinet and got a new one. Then she started washing the dishes.
“Gabby?” Geoff stood in the doorway.
“Yes, Geoffrey. I'm home. Now let me wash your dishes.”
“No, don't. I was going to take care of those.”
“If you were going to take care of them,” she said, “then you would have actually taken care of them.”
“I'm sorry. Gabby, I'm really sorry.”
“I know. Now, please, just give me some space. I'll find you when I'm ready to talk.”
“Okay,” Geoff said. He turned to leave but he stopped when she spoke.
“Have you been sleeping on the sofa every night?” she asked.
“Yeah. I didn't feel right going up to our bed without you.”
Gabrielle resumed washing the dishes and Geoff left her to it, not knowing what else to do.
-
George sat in his car in the parking lot outside the apartment building. He blew his nose and wiped his eyes with one of the handkerchiefs his dad had given him. Like all of their handkerchiefs, it was monogrammed, “G.S.”
He adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see his face. He blinked a few times and wiped his eyes a little more, trying to hide the fact that he'd been crying. He needed to put on his cheerful, hanging in there face when he went inside and talked to Laura. He didn't want her to worry about him so much so he tried to seem like everything was all right. He hoped that soon he would actually feel all right and he wouldn't have to put on a brave face.
When he opened the door to the apartment, he expected to hear Laura call out to him from the kitchen like she did lately, but she wasn't there. There was a note stuck to the fridge with a magnet.
“G - Needed groceries. Hope to be back before you are, in which case I'll take this note down and you won't see it anyway. But if you do, I love you and I hope you want spaghetti tonight because that's what I'm getting. Love, L”
George took the note with him and sat on the couch. He pulled the afghan around his shoulders and spread out on the sofa, resting his head on its arm and his feet on its other arm.
He was asleep when Laura came back. She held two paper grocery bags and was about to say something when she noticed that he was sleeping. She quietly closed the door with her foot and brought the groceries into the kitchen. She turned one of the burners on the electric range to high, took out the big stock pot as quietly as she could and filled it with water, then put it on the burner and waited for it to boil.
She watched George sleep. His eyes looked slightly puffy, like he'd been crying, and she wished there was something she could do to help.
-
“Molly tells me that you've started a relationship with her sister,” Dr. Ramsey said.
“Yeah,” Jim said. “Portia and I started going out last week, I guess.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“She's really cool. I like her a lot.”
“It's good to see some progress,” Dr. Ramsey said. Her tone was light but Jim still found it condescending. “You've made some great strides getting past the lack of closure you felt with Genevieve. It's good that you got some resolution.”
She took some notes on her pad, then asked, “Have you spent any more time with your father?”
“Not really.”
“Have you tried to?”
“Not really,” Jim repeated.
“That's something I'd like you to work on.”
“Okay,” Jim said. She said this to him every week.
“Did you have your computer club meeting at school?”
“Yeah. It w
ent okay. Even more people than before. Thank goodness not all of them asked where Gen was. A few did. But not many. I think word's gotten around that she transferred.”
“That must make things a little easier for you.”
“I guess.”
When their forty-five minutes were up, Jim went into the lobby where his father was waiting. Larry stood up when Jim came out.
“All ready?” Larry asked.
“Yeah.”
They got in the car and drove home without speaking another word to each other.
-
“But do you love him?” Molly asked.
“Shut up,” Portia said. “You don't know what love is. You're too little.”
“Nuh uh! I know what love is. And it's magical!”
Portia laughed. She threw back her head a little too far and bumped into the blanket that made the roof of the pillow fort the sisters were laying in.
“Are you going to marry him?” Molly asked. Now, her voice was more serious and less taunting.
“Marry him? That's ridiculous. We're only in high school, dummy.”
“That doesn't matter,” Molly said. “Mommy said they don't have schools for marrying. But she says they need them.”
“We're too young. Kids don't get married.”
“Well, I like when he comes over. And daddy hates him way less than he hated stupid Trevor.”
Portia laughed again, “That's true.”
“And Jim never makes fun of me. Trevor made fun of me all the time. He called me names.”
“He did? What did he call you?”
“He called me the p-word and the s-word.”
Portia looked surprised, then leaned close to Molly. “What words were those?”
“I'm not allowed to say them!”
“Go ahead, you're telling me what somebody else said. You're not using them yourself.”
“But if I say them,” Molly said, “I'll get on the bad list. And I don't want to be on the bad list.”
“I won't tell anyone.”
“You won't tell Santa that I said a bad word so he won't put me on the bad list?”
“Promise.”
“Cross your heart?” Molly asked.
“And hope to die.”
“Okay.” Molly lowered her voice, “He called me... He called me a punk and he called me stupid!” She covered her mouth and her face flushed bright red.
“Why, that bastard,” Portia laughed. “If we still lived in Washington, I'd go over to his house and kick him in his stupid shins.”
“You said the s-word, too! You can't say that!”
“Sorry, you're right. I'd kick him right in his silly shins.”
Molly narrowed her eyes and Portia, then, with a very serious face, she nodded. “That's right.”
“Nobody messes with my best sister,” Portia said.
“Yeah!” Molly adjusted one of the sofa cushions so the blanket was a little tighter. “But if you do marry him, can I be your flower girl?”
“You can be the maid of honor,” Portia said.
“What's that?”
“That's the girl who's most important to the bride and she stands in front with the bride and groom.”
“But she doesn't give out flowers?”
“The flower girl doesn't give out flowers, either,” Portia said. “The flower girl drops flower petals on the floor in front of the bride.”
“I don't want any of those jobs. I want to give out flowers to everyone. That's what a flower girl should do.”
“I guess if it's my wedding, I can do whatever I want, right?” Portia wiped the back of her hand across her brow. “I'm sweltering in here. I need to get out so I can breathe again.”
“Aw, five more minutes,” Molly pleaded.
“I don't think I can last five more minutes. I'm going to suffocate and die!”
Molly sighed, “Fine!” And she pulled the blanket off the cushions.
The sudden coolness of fresh air gave Portia goose bumps.
Molly's eyes fixated on a dark spot at the base of Portia's neck. “What's that?” Molly asked.
Portia was confused for a moment, then traced her fingers down her neck to where Molly was looking, touching the hickey Jim had left the day before. “Uh, nothing. You'll find out when you're older.”
“But I don't wanna be older,” Molly said.
“Believe me,” Portia gave her little sister a hug, “You really do. You know what?”
“What?”
“This is maybe the longest you've ever gone without talking about Shae.”
“Oh, her. She isn't saying much lately because she's on a big adventure.”
“Oh.” Portia wasn't sure what to say to that, or whether that was good news or bad news. “Well, that's okay, right?”
“Sure!” Molly said. “Can I put the roof back on now?”
Portia smiled at her. “Sure.”
chapter 24
The entrance to The Caverns was mostly the same as when Herron had left it three long months ago. The ledge overhanging the ravine was now covered with a fine, stony dust, and frost was visible on the walls of the tunnel.
“Here we are,” Herron said. “Last time I was here, I was mauled by a rat.”
Shae closed her eyes. “No rats in our path. But there is something. It's white, like a big white bug or something.”
Herron stroked his chin, thinking. “The only things that I know of living in here that are white and bug-like are the scorpions that live in the deeper tunnels, away from the city. At least, when the city was here. But now, who knows?”
“Yeah,” Shae opened her eyes. “It could be scorpions. Hard to tell. Everything is moving really fast then.”
“Well,” Gen said, “Let's get going.”
They stepped into the tunnel and it was cold enough that they could see their breath in the cold, blue light of their lightstones. The tunnel floor had a thin layer of ice on it, but the tunnel was too small to fly through, so they made their way as carefully as they could on foot. Gen slipped suddenly on a slick patch of stone and gashed her knee open on a sharp rock.
“God damn it!” She yelled, clutching her leg.
Hope, Shae, and Herron looked at her with sympathy and concern. Hope moved to help her, but Gen waved her away.
“I don't want you to fall, too. Just give me a minute. You know I'll be fine in just a second.”
“I just don't like to see you hurting,” Hope said.
Gen smiled weakly at her and sat for another minute, then stood up. Her leggings were torn but the flesh underneath was unmarked. “I'm okay. Let's go.”
“Any idea how much longer until we run into these albino scorpions, Shae?” Hope asked.
Shae shook her head. “I have no idea. Sorry.”
They crept along quietly for a while.
“Gen?” Shae asked.
“Yeah?”
“I'm really glad you stayed.”
“Me, too.”
“What do you miss the most from your old home?” Shae asked.
“Honestly? My music.”
“You made music?” Shae sounded very excited.
“No, I didn't play any instruments or anything. The music I liked to listen to.”
“Oh. Was it really different than our music here?”
“Very,” Gen nodded. “They have this digital technology where they can make instruments sound different and then record them. You can play back the music any time you want. I really love music. I had a big reco—” She stopped herself and thought for a second. “I had a big collection of different kinds of music that I could play whenever I wanted. We just don't really have that here.”
“But there are lots of musicians in every Realm! Maybe you could listen to their music.”
“Maybe,” Gen said. “But if I had a Walkman or a Discman, I could be listening to music right now.”
“That sounds amazing,” Shae sighed. “Music any time you want it.”
“Ssh.” Her
ron shushed them. “This doesn't look familiar. I think the tunnels may have been scrambled up a little by the shifting of the stone or the cracks in the ground.”
“That's it,” Shae said. “That's what I heard you say just before they come.”
Hope knelt and set out a handful of arrows on the ground in front of her. She crouched, nocked one, and waited. The others drew their swords and prepared to fight. Soon, a clattering, skittering sound echoed from the tunnel in front of them.
Two large, bone-white scorpions with bright red eyes scurried toward them. Their large tails hooked above their bodies, showing almost translucent and wickedly sharp stingers at their tips. They had large, sharp claws and they rushed at the fairies.
Hope shot her first arrow at one of the creatures approaching. It glanced off the scorpion's hard armor. Instantly, she had launched two more. One lodged in the large membranous joint of the one on the left's claw. The other sunk deep into one of its pale red eyes. Hope fired the other three arrows and scored two more solid hits into the leftmost scorpion, then she dropped her bow and picked up her sword. The scorpion on the left, with the arrows sticking out of it, skittered straight for Hope.
Herron dodged to the right to take on the uninjured beast. He ducked under the claw, which snapped at the air above his head and rolled straight into the side of its other claw. He pushed off hard from the ground and took a leap into the air behind him, but the tunnel was too narrow for him to get any lift. His wings scraped against the frozen moss on the ceiling and he fell. His feet hit the ice and slid out from underneath him. He crashed onto his back. The scorpion scurried closer to him and readied its tail to strike Herron.
Shae launched herself the above the scorpion. She ducked under the stinger and threw all of her weight against its curved tail. It spun in a circle, trying to orient itself on what was stopping its killing strike. Herron used her distraction to scramble to his feet. He stepped quickly but carefully toward it, finding his footing. The scorpion reached up with both claws, pinching at Shae. She swung around its tail, getting behind it. It arched its entire body, flipping her over. It spread its claws wide. Unable to catch her between its claws, it tried to pin her down, instead, and bent its entire body in a tight semicircle. It raised its stinger to strike at her. She kicked one of the claws away and buzzed her wings in its face while she leaped away, staying low and away from the ceiling.
The Void Hunters (Realmwalker Book 2) Page 17