by K. K. Allen
“Drain your energy so soon?” I ask innocently.
Did I know this would happen? I had a feeling. After spending so much time with the energy plant scientists in Pensacola, I learned that both dark and light energies can’t occupy the same space for long because one will eventually overpower the other. Kat is too strong for Erebus to control his energy within her body.
Erebus screams a strangled cry of frustration, and then he lunges for me, forcing me to lose my grip on the rim. We move through the air together, me pushing Kat away, Kat’s hands trying to grasp my neck. I land on my back, and it’s every bit as painful as I imagined and more. The impact to my head causes my sight to darken for too long. Small but strong hands find their grip around my throat, and they’re tightening.
“No!” Erebus screams, but the voice is more Kat-like than Erebus. Hope sears through me as the thought crosses my mind that she could be fighting this—and she could win.
Between her voice and my hope, my vision finds the strength to return and I am watching Kat now. It’s as if she’s struggling with her own actions. She’s not fighting me anymore.
“Kat!” I scream as loud as I can. She’s in there. She can hear me. “Fight this!” I cry out, ignoring the desperation in my voice. If there’s anyone I can be vulnerable with, it’s Kat. She has to hear me.
During her internal struggle, I almost forget about my mission. I reach in my back pocket and retrieve the pendant and slap it on her wrist, pressing it tightly to her skin.
Erebus screams from above me. I pull Kat closer so our faces are only inches from each other. My back is pressed against the grating metal walkway. “Fight this, Kat,” I say again, this time quieter. I don’t need to scream for her to hear me. She’s here with me. I find her gaze through her battle and hold it. “Come on, baby.”
A flicker of light passes her eyes, and she begins to relax from the struggle. More light. Blue. Silver. Silver. It’s her. Then her lids squeeze shut as if she’s in pain. I tighten my hold. She groans. She groans. Erebus has already lost the battle.
Paul and Alec surround us. Kaleb is hitching his leg over the center of the walkway, and I see him smile. Just then, Erebus is ejected from Kat’s body with a grunt, and his serpent form catches in the air and turns to us.
“This isn’t over!” Erebus yells as he’s driven from the plant. “When Miss Summer wakes up, you can tell her the deal is off. You will all die. Starting now.”
My eyes widen as I try to figure out what he means. How do I stop him? Before I know it, Erebus extracts his final blow of power in our direction, hitting Kaleb and pushing him forward over the side of the ledge. Alec and Paul make a move to catch him, but it’s too late. Alec practically jumps off the walkway to reach him, but he isn’t quick enough, just barely scraping the tips of Kaleb’s fingers. Paul has to grab Alec’s ankle to save him from the same fate.
“No!” A devastating scream punctures the air and I know it’s Khloe witnessing her brother’s fall.
And then he’s floating. Kaleb is literally floating through the air as if a cloud breezed through and lifted him to safety. He’s rising back up toward us. Eyes shut tight. Breathing heavily. Oh. My. God.
Circe stands to the other side of me, a look of concentration on her face as her eyes lift at the speed in which Kaleb is traveling. Her arms are motionless by her sides. Interesting. The energy she must be using to pull this off is incredible, and she’s not even leveraging her entire power.
As much as I want to ogle Circe and pick her magic apart, I’m not about to let Kat go.
No matter what.
Never again.
With her eyelids pressed together, long lashes stroking the top of her cheeks, she looks angelic. Peaceful.
Paul reaches us as Alec pulls Kaleb back onto the ledge. “Katrina, open your eyes, honey.” Paul’s voice says it all. Living sixteen years without his daughter was all he can stand. He’d be broken if he lost her again.
So would I.
I’ve always known why Paul trusts me with Kat. It’s because he knows I love her, just as he does.
“Thank you, Johnny. Thank you for saving my baby girl.”
I shake my head, holding back the lump in my throat. “You don’t need to thank me, sir. She wasn’t about to let Erebus win. You should have seen her fight.”
This girl has my heart. Call me selfish, but protecting her is as natural as breathing because she’ll always carry the part of me that gives me a pulse.
Paul slaps a hand on my back and squeezes Kat’s hand. “She might need some time to wake up. I’m going to check on the others.”
By others, I know he means Grace. I’ll never forget the look on Paul’s face when he laid eyes on his wife again. With a glance down, I notice Rose near the gate with a sleeping Grace in her lap, brushing the hair from her head, and regarding her with soft eyes. Paul is walking toward them when I hear a whispered voice below me.
“Johnny,” she says. “Did you see her? Did you see my mom?”
Kat’s eyes are the most beautiful sight. I stroke her cheek and angle her in my arms so I can kiss her forehead. I don’t want to overwhelm her, but thinking that I might never press my lips to her skin again makes it impossible not to feather light kisses from her forehead to her cheek to her nose, until I eventually reach her lips, where I plant one light peck.
“She’s with Rose,” I finally answer. “But Kat, I’m not sure what condition she’s in.”
When I look again, I see Erebus slithering slowly through the air just beyond the gate, as if he’s waiting for something, or someone. I think he’s talking to Rose.
“We need to get down there with the others. Do you have enough strength to hold onto my back?”
She shakes her head, telling me no. My eyes soften as I take in the bruises on her arms and legs. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” I wrap her arms around me and lift her back and legs, cradling her in my arms. By the time we reach the grounds, Kat’s energy has returned enough to stand with my help. I carry her anyway.
We reach the group at the gate.
“I need a body,” Erebus snarls. “Grace is mine. Give her back to me or you all die!” He’s obviously lost his cool.
“You’ve already used that one. I think you’re out of threats,” Rose sneers. Clearly Kat gets her feistiness from Rose.
“You’re not touching her again,” shouts Paul. He stands in front of Grace, just inches from the gate—unafraid.
Kat pulls herself from my arms and kneels beside Rose and above her mother. “Just leave, Erebus. She belongs with us. If you’re smart you’ll stay away from us, from this town … from every Enchanter. You should fear us all.”
If air could shake, it would shake right now.
The Serpent’s tongue darts in and out of his mouth as he slithers up the gate. “Only one of you can wear that pendant, my sweet. Remember that when you’re sleeping at night. Grace is mine, and I will get her back.”
Kat throws him a penetrating glare. It makes me wonder if she’s using magic. God. I hope she never looks at me that way. “I should thank you for providing me with such useful information during your visit. Now I know why you strip the memory from those you possess. I imagine if you’re this forthcoming with everyone, someone might just be smart enough to lock you away forever.”
Erebus hisses once but doesn’t speak. He knows Kat won this battle by overpowering him at his strongest. He slithers away in defeat … but I know it can’t last. The God of Darkness will be back, sooner rather than later.
Once he vanishes from sight, Kat’s entire body relaxes into my waiting arms, succumbing to the one thing she needs the most: sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
KATRINA
Head is pounding. So thirsty. It’s like someone took a vacuum and depleted me of everything I need for survival. I’m empty, yet so incredibly heavy. Sand bags could be weighing me down for all I know. My eyelids must be glued together because I can’t tear them apart—not th
at I try very hard because the light filtering through the thin layer of skin is already more than I can handle.
Soft fabric forms to my body as I move, and I wrap the thick comforter around my shoulders with a groan. My muscles feel stiff and overworked, and there’s a pressure across my chest—something heavy, pressing into me, constricting me to my bed.
What day is it? What time is it? Is it Monday? No. I am not ready to go back to school. My entire Christmas vacation has been ruined by—
Erebus.
I struggle to adjust to the light as I peel my eyes open. Panic sets in as I vaguely remember a recent encounter with him in Brent’s hospital room. No, that’s not it. Something more recent. I dig through the layers of muddy recollections without success, then groan again, looking toward the window of my bedroom.
It’s a cloudy day, allowing no more than a dim light to stream through my French doors. After another attempt at breathing, I realize the pressure is not subsiding. I fight it, attempting to sit, but the restraint holding me down is stronger. I look down.
Tanned skin dressed with dark hair is strewn across the comforter and over my chest.
“What the—?”
I look to my left, and that’s when I see him. Like always, the effects are instantaneous. My heart melts along with my body as I sink back into my bed and face a sleeping Johnny. He’s above the covers with an arm nestled around me, locking me in place. Suddenly the pressure over my chest is more of a comfort than a constraint. It’s a breath of fresh air that kick starts my memory, chugging and sputtering my mind into gear before finally revving to life.
I gasp. I’m alive.
There was a struggle. Johnny was on top of me, and I was staring down at him, fighting, but I wasn’t fighting him. I was fighting the dark force inside of me, the evil that moved for me, spoke for me … but Erebus didn’t think for me. I still had control of my thoughts, and they were strong. Strong enough to use my light to push him out.
The speed of my thoughts escalates with excitement. I was climbing something. My aim was the sky. I remember looking down into a dark hole and then seeing a puff of fog. Erebus wanted me to jump. I wouldn’t jump. He said I could climb down, just as I’d climbed up, but I refused. I refused, not Erebus. We struggled for a while.
Until I was falling.
Falling through air with Johnny an arm’s length away. When we landed, that’s when I really started to gain control. I saw Johnny. I looked into his eyes, and I knew this was a war I could win.
Johnny stirs beside me and I smile, reaching out to stroke the stubble on his cheek. It’s usually trimmed to perfection near his skin, giving him a mature and rugged appearance. He obviously hasn’t had time to shave with all the activity. I like him like this. Relaxed. In my bed.
With a jerk of my head, I look around my room. How on earth was he allowed into my room? My dad must have resisted him. Unless— Panic sets in, and I begin to shake Johnny awake. It doesn’t take much. You would think someone threw cold water over his head the way his eyes fly open and his arms reach to cover me, protecting me from an imagined assailant.
“Kat!” He grabs my face in a panicked whisper and pulls himself closer, kissing me. I let him kiss me. I need him to kiss me. If anything can remind me of how it feels to be alive, it’s Johnny’s warm lips on mine. His fingers stroke my cheeks before sliding through my hair and gripping it with an intensity I feel in every inch of my being.
I struggle to pull away, remembering my panic. “Is my dad okay?”
His eyes lock with mine and he nods emphatically. “Paul is fine.”
Thank God.
“He’s downstairs. Do you want me to get him?”
Of course I want to see my dad, but he’s fine, and Johnny is right here. I’m not ready to face reality and relive my struggles with Erebus. “Not yet,” I answer softly.
“Okay.”
I pause, a thought coming to mind. “Wait a second.” I make a face. “How did you get my dad to agree to this? He let you sleep in my room?”
He turns his head and places it on my chest, but not before I see him smile. “Don’t worry, I was under strict rules to stay above the comforter at all times and keep the doors open.” He shifts his body slightly as if trying to find a comfortable position.
A giggle escapes as I realize what he’s doing. “Stop. I want to hear how you pulled this one off.”
He surprises me by giving me a curious look, as if there’s something I’m not registering. “Someone had to stay with you. Rose isn’t feeling too well, so Charlotte is with her, and Paul is with Grace.”
Mom.
My eyes fly open and I sit up, throwing the covers and Johnny off of me. At just the mention of her name, I remember the rest. My heart pounds erratically as I picture her standing there at the control of Erebus, so lost. So alone. And fragile. My mom was always a petite woman, but she was never fragile. I often referred to her as the woman made of stone with a heart made of gold.
“I need to see her.” I race around the bed and to the door. Johnny is right behind me. “Where is she?”
“Kat, let’s talk first.”
“What’s there to talk about?” I ask, barely comprehending my own words over my thumping heart. “My mom is alive, Johnny. I need to see her. Where is she?”
“Guest room, first floor.”
There’s no time to assess his tone. I race through the hallway, down the stairs, and past the great room until I’ve entered another hallway. I reach the second set of stairs and fly down them. The guest room door is shut. Johnny is close behind the entire way, but he doesn’t try to stop me. He understands me well enough by now to know there’s nothing he can do to stop me when I want something.
The door to the guest room is closed, so I press my cheek against the door, the cold wood kissing my ear. I press harder, straining to hear something, anything. I hear …
Breathing.
Hearts beating. Two hearts. I can’t disturb them now.
My dad and mom’s heart, beating in the same room while mine flutters rapidly in my chest. The possibility of this moment never even crossed my mind, but now that it’s arrived, I’m releasing everything I’ve held back since my mother’s death. The strength I found after losing her, the courage I found to start a new life, and the sadness that slowly faded but never left completely fall away. For the first time in two years I let myself feel everything.
This is me. Armor tossed away, finally allowing myself to accept every ounce of pain I somehow skimmed through on my way to the present.
Johnny’s ready as I fall, sinking to the floor with arms wrapped tightly around me. We stay in this position for a while, tears splattering his skin but he never moves to dry them. He just holds me and lets me feel everything.
When the door to the guest room opens, Johnny and I both look up. My dad steps out and closes the door. Our eyes meet, and his entire face lights up with overwhelming relief.
I scramble out of Johnny’s grasp and run to him, throwing myself in his arms. “Katrina.” He barely chokes out my name through his tears. “Oh, Katrina.” He strokes my hair and kisses my head over and over again. “I am so sorry for this life. You are a brave young woman.”
I look up and shake my head through my tears. “Don’t say that, Dad. It’s not your fault. I let him take me. I just couldn’t bear anyone else getting hurt. But what now? He’s still out there.”
Paul nods. “I know. We’ll find another way.”
My eyes float to the door and then back to Paul. He visibly tenses, understanding why I’m here. “I want to see her.”
“Sweetie, she’s still sleeping. Let her get some rest. She’s been through a lot already, and so have you. You’ll both need your energy.”
“For what?” I search around the room and notice it’s empty. Johnny must have stepped out to give my father and me time alone.
Paul sighs. By the darkness under his eyes, his wrinkled clothes, and his unkempt appearance, I realize he prob
ably hasn’t slept at all. “We don’t know what will happen when she wakes up. I don’t want you to get your hopes up. She chose Erebus. For all we know, the mother you knew is gone forever.”
His words shoot flaming darts into my chest. “How can you say that? She would never choose him.” I push away and reach for the door handle to the guest room, turning and shoving the door open. I step inside and freeze.
This is all so surreal. She’s there, lying in bed, breathing. No matter what happens, at least I know she’s safe. Memory loss or not, she’s still my mother. She’s still the woman who raised me for most of my life. The one who taught me how to ride a bike and tread water. The one who dedicated her life to my education. Not even Erebus can take that away from her.
“Mom,” I whisper as I sink down into the chair at her bedside. A pale arm hangs loosely off the edge of the mattress, so I reach for it, applying gentle pressure. She looks the same. Soft, pale skin. Large, round eyes that are now closed, pressed peacefully together. Petite frame.
She’s been living a nightmare for two years, and more according to Erebus. What did he say? Two decades? I feel guilty for living my life the past two years while she’s been imprisoned by Erebus. It’s a devastation.
My dad sits at the edge of the bed, watching us as I continue to squeeze my mom’s hand, sending whatever energy I can summon from my palm to hers. Maybe all it will take to trigger her memory is to see a familiar face. Almost as soon as my dad sits down, my mom stirs beneath the sheets. I feel pressure on my own hand as she moves. I gasp.
“What is it, Kat?”
“She squeezed my hand,” I whisper.
Paul stands as my mother slowly opens her eyes. Her expression is immediately filled with confusion as she takes in her surroundings. My pulse quickens. I anxiously await her reaction to us.
Her eyes lock on Paul first, and she narrows them, then her eyes jerk to me. Her confusion turns to recognition and my heart feels as if it’s about to explode in my chest.