Mortal Kiss

by Alice Moss

  “But how do I know?” Faye asked, wanting to cry. “How do I know whether that’s for me or Eve? She’s always there too, isn’t she?”

  Finn ran his hands through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut. “No. No. It started being Eve. In some ways, you are so alike. But in others, you’re not. You’re so strong, Faye. You face things head-on. You don’t flinch. You look after yourself. Eve was different. She was delicate—she needed me to protect her. And I didn’t. I couldn’t. She slipped out of my grasp like water, and I didn’t even see her go.”

  Finn stepped forward, clutching Faye’s arms and pulling her toward him until their foreheads touched. “You’re my second chance, Faye,” he whispered. “I loved Eve for one hundred and fifty years. One hundred and fifty years! But I love you ten times as much, and it’s going to last ten times as long. The thought of losing you … I have to keep you safe. I have to. If I lose you—if I fail again, I don’t think I’ll even want to live. Please come away with me. Just you and me, Faye. Please.”

  With a gasp, Faye wrenched herself out of his grasp and backed away, tears flooding down her face. “I can’t!” she said, agonized. “I can’t do this—I can’t deal with this. I don’t understand any of it.”

  “You don’t have to,” Finn pleaded. “Just accept it.”

  “How can you say that?” Faye shook her head. “I don’t even know you!”

  “You do,” he whispered. He stepped forward, cupping her face in his hands, so close that she could feel his heart beating hard against her chest. “You do, Faye. We’ve known each other forever, it’s just taken this long for us to find each other.” He took a deep, shaking breath. “Tell me you don’t feel what I feel, and I’ll leave you alone.”

  Faye stared at him, trying to force the lie through her lips, trying to tell him she didn’t feel anything, but she knew he could see the truth in her eyes. She reached up, pulling his hands from her face. Then she turned on her heel and fled back to the shop.

  #

  Finn walked to the end of the alley and stood in the empty street, watching Faye disappear into the bookstore.

  “You can come out now,” he said into the empty air as the door shut behind her.

  There was a moment’s silence before cautious footsteps echoed out of the shadows. Lucas walked toward Finn slowly, stopping where Finn could see him.

  “How did you know I was there?”

  Finn glared at the boy. “The wolf is pretty close to the surface right now,” he said. “So I’d really recommend not pissing me off.”

  Lucas nodded. “Right.” He looked down, digging his hands into his pockets.

  “So … I heard all that.”

  “So?”

  “Pretty heavy stuff. I guess I didn’t realize … what you and Faye were all about.”

  “Yeah, well,” said Finn, “it’s not really any of your business, is it?”

  “Why are you being such an idiot?” Lucas asked, his sudden anger surprising Finn. “You can’t protect her by running away. She’s safer here—with all of us.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes! It is! And if you didn’t have your head so far up your own—” Lucas cut himself off with a sigh. “Look, you’re not the only one who cares about her. But …” He looked away with an embarrassed shrug. “I’ve never had a brother, I guess. And now that I have one, I don’t want to fight with him, you know? So why don’t we start again? I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. It seems to be working out so far.”

  For the first time, Finn really looked at Lucas. They were alike, he could tell, despite the centuries and the father that separated them.

  “Come on,” Lucas urged. “I’m not going to chase after my brother’s girl. But I will help you keep her safe. OK?”

  Finn nodded slowly.

  “All right, then,” said Lucas with a tentative smile. “Let’s forget this getting-out-of-town stuff and get back inside. They’re working on a battle plan in there.”

  Chapter 48: The Choice

  Faye tried to concentrate on what Aunt Pam and Joe were saying, but her mind kept wandering to her confrontation with Finn. He seemed so convinced of what he was saying, so passionate. And that connection between them was there, in her chest, thrumming even now.

  “If you look here,” Aunt Pam was saying, “I think this refers to the Prince, not to the Immortal. I know the preposition is confusing, but …”

  The door opened and Lucas came in, followed by Finn. Faye felt her face betray her conflicted emotions and looked away, pretending to be focused on the notes Aunt Pam was pointing at.

  “Welcome back, boys,” she heard Joe say dryly. “Finn? Are you here to stay?”

  There was a pause before Finn’s quiet voice cut through the silence of the shop. “For now. But we need to talk, Dad.”

  “We will, I promise,” Joe assured him. “But right now we have to apply ourselves to this.”

  “What have you found out?” Finn asked, apparently deciding that right now all he could do was join them. “Anything useful?”

  “Well,” said Faye, feeling Finn’s eyes rest on her as she spoke up. “Apparently this isn’t a spell. It’s an account.”

  Finn took a step toward her. “What do you mean, an account?” he asked. His voice was soft and full of concern. Faye tried to ignore what it was doing to her insides, and instead leaned over the scroll again.

  “Aunt Pam says it describes a ritual,” she told him.

  “A ritual for what?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” said Joe. “Finn, why don’t you take a look? We could do with another pair of eyes on this, I think.”

  Faye stepped out of the way as Finn moved nearer, but not quickly enough to stop his hand from brushing gently against hers. She felt his fingers curl around hers briefly before he let go and concentrated on the scroll. Faye swallowed hard.

  #

  Finn watched Faye, trying to catch her eye, but she deliberately avoided his gaze. He wondered if he’d done the right thing in telling her what he had—maybe he’d pushed her too hard. But if his dad was right, they were running out of time, and Finn was terrified to think that something might happen to her. After what had happened to Eve, all those years ago … He had to find a way to protect Faye from whatever was coming. Whatever it took.

  Finn stepped into the space Faye left at the desk beside her aunt. The scroll was held open by a couple of books, and he frowned as he leaned closer.

  “What have you learned so far?” he asked.

  “Well,” began Aunt Pam after a deep breath, “as far as we can tell, the text talks about a feudal prince who ruled a now-forgotten land in Eastern Europe, centuries ago, during the Dark Ages, when Immortals were pure creatures and still walked the earth. His land had been overrun by Mercy’s kin, his subjects held in her thrall.”

  Lucas shuddered. “This is so weird. That’s my mom you’re talking about.”

  “The Prince was desperate to find a way of helping his people,” Joe went on, taking up the story. “But Mercy’s powers were growing strong in his land, swarming over it like darkness itself. The Prince had fallen in love with one of the few Immortals who had not fled the region. The couple was happy—devoted, and so in love that anyone who saw them together was blessed.”

  Finn nodded, pointing at the scroll. “It says here they were planning marriage. A huge celebration of their love, to bring cheer to the whole land.”

  “Right,” Aunt Pam agreed, “and that’s about as far as we’ve gotten.”

  Finn studied the scroll, frowning. He couldn’t make out all of it, but there were a few words he recognized. “It’s talking about a bargain with Annwn,” he muttered, reading on.

  “One of Mercy’s?” Joe asked.

  “No, I don’t think so.” Finn frowned. “It was a bargain that the Immortal suggested. To the Prince.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” said Faye.

  Finn looked up at his father. “Listen to this
,” he said, translating the scroll aloud. “ ‘Though the Immortal was consumed by her love for her One, her soul was in torment. She could not look upon the suffering of his people and enjoy her own happiness.’ ”

  “So what does that mean?” Lucas asked. “Did she not marry the Prince after all?”

  Finn stared at the ancient writing, feeling something dark and cruel settle on his shoulders. He could feel Faye, standing just a few feet away, but suddenly he couldn’t look at her.

  “She did,” he told them quietly. “That’s where the bargain comes into it. The Immortal knew what Annwn craved. What would provide them with so much emotion that they would no longer need Mercy’s offerings.”

  “True love,” said Joe quietly, and Finn knew at once that his father understood.

  Finn nodded. “She told the Prince that they could offer up their love in exchange for the lives and souls of their people. They could set them free if they sacrificed their love to Annwn.”

  There were a few minutes of silence as everyone in the room tried to take this in.

  “I don’t understand,” said Faye, sounding confused. Finn forced himself to look at her face, and his heart ached at the distress he saw there. “What does it mean, that they sacrificed their love? You can’t just give love away. You can’t just decide to stop loving someone. Can you?”

  “No,” said Joe. “Which is why it was such a great sacrifice. Am I right, Finn?”

  Finn nodded, scanning the scroll again. “The Immortal knew how to create a ritual that would cast their love into Annwn,” he explained. “It would drain every ounce of that emotion from them both, dragging it through a mirror that had been enchanted as a route to Annwn. That part of them would be gone forever, taken into the underworld to feed those spirits for a very long time. The Prince hated having to do it. But he knew it was the only way to free his people. The Immortal wrote the ritual into the marriage ceremony. The kiss that declared them husband and wife became the focus of her magic—a Mortal Kiss that sealed the ritual. And their fate.”

  A sad silence settled on the room again, as they all thought of the two who had loved so much but were destined never to be together. To Finn, it seemed the cruelest fate of all.

  “What was left?” Faye asked, her voice shaky and low. “When the ritual was complete?”

  “Nothing of their love,” Finn told her quietly. “They were shells, empty of what had made them so happy. They didn’t know each other. They became strangers from that day on, destined never to know each other again or what they had given away.”

  “That’s horrible,” Faye whispered, tears standing in her eyes.

  “Yes,” Finn agreed, “it is. It really, really is. But it worked. Mercy and her kin abandoned the land. The people were safe.”

  “Well,” said Joe, “I can see why Mercy was so keen to keep this scroll locked away.”

  “What do you mean?” Lucas asked. “To be honest, I know this is a terrible story, but I don’t really understand why you all think it’s so important.”

  Finn turned away from Faye, looking at his younger brother and wondering how they could be so alike and so different at the same time. “Because the scroll also includes the words and symbols needed to complete the ritual,” he explained. “And because that means it can be performed again.”

  “But how?” Lucas asked. “I mean, it’s not going to work with just anyone, is it?”

  “No,” Finn said, though the words stuck in his throat. “It’s not going to work with just anyone.”

  “What are you talking about?” Faye asked faintly, but when he turned to look at her, Finn saw from the expression in her eyes that really, she already knew. “Me?” she asked, shakily, into the silence. “You think this is about me?”

  “It explains so much, Faye. About why Mercy chose Winter Mill. You’re a danger to her. And you’re also a card to play against us, if need be. Mercy likes the high stakes.” He looked at Aunt Pam. “I’m guessing that your family originally came from somewhere in Eastern Europe, right?”

  “That’s right.” Aunt Pam nodded, standing up to pull another old leather-bound book from the shelves.

  Faye spoke up. “Yes,” she whispered. “Dad used to tell me about our family tree. But that was centuries ago. And it still doesn’t make sense. How would Mercy know about me? How would she know about my family’s past, and that I was here?” Finn was about to answer when Faye—horrified—put a hand to her mouth. “Oh no. Oh no.… Liz found Dad’s letter opener in the woods. And Sergeant Wilson had my locket.… And Dad’s been out of contact for weeks! What if … what if …”

  She looked so desolate that Finn reached out to her, gripping her arm. “We don’t know that anything’s happened to him, Faye. She could have met him somewhere, seen the locket and enchanted him for information, that’s all.”

  “I think it’s pretty clear,” Joe’s strong voice said. “Faye, your family is descended from the line of that prince.” He looked at Finn. “So was Eve. It’s why the two of you look so alike, Faye, and it’s why …”

  Faye shook her head, and before she shut her eyes, Finn saw them fill with tears. “I don’t want to hear this. I can’t hear this. You’re just making this up—it’s just a coincidence, that’s all!”

  “I’m sorry, Faye, but it isn’t.” Aunt Pam looked up from the book she’d been searching through. “This is our family tree. Eve’s listed here. Joe and Finn are right.”

  “So it’s me?” Faye sobbed. “This is about me, and I’m the one who has to stop Mercy?”

  “Yes,” Joe told her quietly. “You, and—”

  “Don’t.” Faye cut him off brokenly. “Don’t say it.”

  “Are you actually serious?” Lucas asked in disbelief. “Have I been following this right? You’re telling Faye she has to perform this ritual?”

  Joe nodded gravely. “Yes.”

  “Who with?” Lucas asked.

  “That’s up to Faye,” said Joe. “The blood of the Immortals is in both Lucas and Finn.”

  Lucas glanced at Finn, then said, “Well, I’ll volunteer. Faye? I’ll do it.”

  “Lucas, it doesn’t work like that,” Joe said. “Faye has to choose. And it has to be the person she loves—truly, truly loves. The ritual won’t work otherwise. The emotions released won’t be powerful enough.” He looked at Faye. “Faye? Do you understand?”

  Faye shook her head. “I can’t do this!”

  “You have to,” Joe said. “I’m sorry. If there was any other way, we’d take it, but we’re running out of time and this is how it must be. You have to choose.”

  “But I don’t know!” Faye cried, looking from Finn to Lucas and back again. “I don’t even know myself!”

  “You do,” Joe told her. “It’s there, Faye. Just look inside yourself and be honest. Choose.”

  Chapter 49: Consequences

  Faye pulled away from Finn and turned her back, covering her face with her hands. She just couldn’t deal with any of this—it was too much. As Joe said, deep down, she knew the name of the person she truly loved. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it, to condemn their love to an underworld that would so cruelly tear it apart.

  She felt gentle hands on her shoulders, pushing her forward. It was Finn, guiding her toward the store’s little back room. He shut the door behind them, but she kept her hands over her face. Finn pulled them away, holding her wrists gently.

  “Hey,” he said with a faint smile.

  “Hey,” she whispered. She looked up at his face, trying to make sure the sight of it was so deep in her memory that nothing, not even magic, could erase it from her mind.

  “Is it me?” Finn asked quietly.

  Tears filled Faye’s eyes again. “Oh, Finn …”

  “If it’s not,” he said, suddenly unsure, “that’s fine too. You have to be honest. What I said out there—I probably said too much. Maybe all of that—maybe that’s just me. So if it’s actually Lucas …”

  Faye shook her
head, once, the tears spilling down her cheeks. “It’s you, Finn. Of course it’s you.”

  A flicker of delight sparked deep in his eyes, followed quickly by a burst of pain. Finn pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly, as if just being close to her could stop what was coming. Faye rested her head against his chest and cried for everything they would both be forced to lose.

  “Shhhh,” Finn soothed, stroking her back. “It’s OK.”

  “It’s not!” she told him. “It’s not OK! Everything you said—all of it was true, all of it. And we’ve just found each other, Finn. We’ve only just found each other, out of all the people in the world, through all the years that you’ve been alive. And now we have to let go? It’s not … it’s just not fair.”

  “No,” Finn agreed. “It’s not.” He pulled back enough to cup her face in his hands, smiling gently. “But just listen to me, Faye. All I ever wanted to do was keep you safe. I just never realized that it was me putting you in danger—my Immortal self, combined with your heritage. This is the way I can keep you safe. For good, Faye. We wipe that slate clean, once and for all.” He traced a finger over her heart. “We sever that tie, and you’ll be free. You’ll be safe. Forever.”

  Faye shook her head, her eyes filling with tears again. “But afterward … we won’t know each other, ever again. I’m not sure I can bear that.”

  Finn smiled, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “But we have known each other,” he said softly. “There are so many people in this world, Faye, who never know what it’s like to really love. We have that, even if it’s only right now.”

  Faye shut her eyes again. “We could just run away. There must be a way out of town somehow.”