“I’m not really hungry,” Colin replied.
She shot him a look that implied, I’m making something anyway and you’re going to eat it. He heard the clanking of pots and pans as she moved about the kitchen and then heard something sizzling.
An enticing smell wafted under his nose. He hadn’t felt hungry, but between the smell, and the sounds of sizzling food, his stomach growled intensely.
He waited, staring out a window across the abandoned beach and off into the distance, watching the waves crash ashore. He could see for miles, even as the night set in. Nothing but blue-hued waves with wakes of spongy white as far as his eyes could see.
The smell of food stole his attention. He darted into the kitchen. “Let me help.”
“Um, grab some plates,” she said, while flipping a pancake. “And I saw some maple syrup in the cupboard too. Fridge is empty, there’s no butter.”
“S’okay,” Colin replied, returning with plates and syrup. Catrina stacked a pile of steaming cakes onto the plates. Colin slathered his in syrup and took a bite. He felt the food land in his gut and expand, almost like it was filling in all the holes his fears had created inside of him.
“I guess you were hungry after all,” teased Catrina, watching him take bite after bite.
“I guess this is why my uncle always called pancakes comfort food. We didn’t have them often. And Meghan always made them,” he trailed off after speaking her name, but then added, “I don’t know if her pancakes ever tasted this good.”
“You’re welcome,” Catrina returned, accepting his praise and taking a bite of her own.
After finishing and feeling quite full and satisfied, Catrina decided to stretch out on a sofa near the entrance, meant as a place for guests to sit and wait for a table.
“Pancakes also make you very sleepy,” she noted, yawning.
“You should rest,” insisted Colin. He magicked a blanket and covered her with it.
“You should too,” she told him sleepily.
“I’ll try, in a few minutes,” he promised. He leaned against the arm of the sofa, once again peering out of the window, staring into the great nothing that was the ocean.
He felt movement and saw feet slide down beside him. Catrina had sat up and was listening to something. She lifted the blanket and went to the window, scrutinizing the beach.
“What is it?” asked Colin.
She motioned for him to be silent for a moment.
“The underwater creatures, they all just started singing. Just now. All at once.”
She closed her eyes, listening as Colin joined her by the window.
“That’s part of being a Song Spinner?” he asked. “You can even understand what underwater creatures are saying when they sing?”
“I guess so. It’s the first time. I think my gift is changing a little. I’m hearing music in things I never used to.”
“What do you mean?”
“How do I explain it? When we were out on the beach earlier and you were thinking the first snow might come. The wind was singing that very thought as well.”
“Wind, has thoughts?”
“It’s not like that, exactly. It’s just, I’m learning there’s music in so many things I never realized before. If I listen close enough.”
“That’s kind of neat. So what are the underwater creatures singing about?”
She continued listening, Colin content to watch her. But her features hardened. And his contentment faded.
“It’s a warning,” she whispered. “They are warning their kind to stay away. Something is frightening them. They are all leaving.”
“Something in the water?”
“Yes. Something is scaring them all. Even the largest of the whales is fleeing.”
“Maybe there’s a bad storm coming?”
“No. This terror is below the water, not above.”
Colin shuddered.
“Poor things. They’re so frightened.”
Colin didn’t want her to worry about things they could do nothing about. “C’mon. Nothing we can do about it,” he said kindly. “Water is not really our terrain.”
He tucked her back into the blanket, kissed her, and within minutes, she had fallen asleep. Colin was glad. She needed the rest. But try as he might, and even with a stomach full of carbohydrate heavy sleeping potion, he just wasn’t tired.
Instead, he was curious as to what was in the water scaring away even the largest of the sea creatures. He quietly went over to the front window, gazing out across the vast ocean. Fog rolled in, which seemed odd. Wasn’t it too cold for fog?
It was completely dark now, signs of the sun setting, long gone. Colin glanced upward; the sky was still overcast and there wasn’t a single star in sight. The water looked calm though, no massive waves, just the soft sway of the tides.
And yet there was something eerie about it all.
He tried to shake it off. It was probably just that it was so desolate. And gray. Winter was never his favorite season.
He returned to the sofa and slid down to the floor, leaning his head near Catrina. He stroked her silver hair gently, so as not to wake her, hoping to surrender to sleep. All the while, this strange foreboding expanded in his chest, and he had no idea why.
CHAPTER 25
Jae Mochrie didn’t know whether to run back into the shack or run into the woods and never stop running. He opted for stepping into the woods, to get away from everyone. He knew running away was pointless.
“Jae,” called out Meghan softly.
He motioned for them to stay. He needed a minute alone to process what Isabella Crane had told him. Not only would Juliska Blackwell need to die, but die by his hand, for him to truly be free of the monster inside of him.
He had killed before. He had killed Darcy Scraggs. But that was in self-defense, he had told himself. To keep her from hurting or killing his friends.
It wasn’t thought out, it had just happened.
Could he commit premeditated murder?
Even if it was the woman responsible for so many evil things, only one of which was doing this terrible thing to him?
In his next breath, he was asking himself just who he was kidding. The monster inside was built to kill. To cause fear. To cause pain. To kill without mercy or care about the consequences. His heart stuttered, missing a few beats. Just talking about killing stirred the monster from its slumber. And that scared the crap out of him.
“Are you sure about this?” Ivan asked his mother. “There is no other way?”
“I wish there were, truly. But no. It is the only way to break magic as dark as what Juliska Blackwell has created. This curse is bonded to her. By blood. In order to break it, she must die. In order to be freed from it, Jae must be the one to break it. Unless you can talk her into releasing Jae from the bond and killing herself.” She added that point to prove just how unfortunate and desperate a situation it was.
“But why Jae? Why not someone else?”
“It’s the magic,” explained Isabella. “The one to take the life, ends the magic and breaks the bond.”
“So the other Scratchers?” asked Meghan.
“They’d be killable, and no longer tied to Juliska, but still Scratchers. Only the one who takes the life can free themselves from both the bond, and the magic. In this case, remove the beast inside. That’s the only way to undo what was done.”
Ivan twisted his head so he could catch Jae out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll help you do this. I won’t let you go through this alone.”
Jae wasn’t ready to face it yet, but he nodded just the same.
Ivan turned around and addressed the rest of the group.
“I think it’s time we move on. I’m actually thinking we should return to the banished camp and see if any progress has been made there. I know they’ll be making battle plans to steal back the Immortality Stone from Fazendiin.”
Isabella was worriedly pleased. “My son. Such a smart young man you are.”
/> Ivan’s attempts to hide his blushing face, failed. He didn’t feel smart and his motives were not entirely aimed at the battle to come. He felt a strange thing inside himself. Something he could not quite understand or describe. Something he didn’t want to understand. He needed to keep moving and keep busy so this thing stayed buried.
“Ivan’s probably right,” agreed Sebastien. “They won’t be able to sit back and let Fazendiin keep control of the Stone.”
Jae rejoined them, although not nearly as eager to move on.
“They could opt to challenge Juliska first,” added Ivan. “Instinct tells me their top concern will be the Stone, first, Juliska second. Mainly because we are not prepared to battle her yet; we don’t know what’s happening on the island right now. We’ll need time to prepare for that battle. The Stone however, cannot stay in the hands of the Grosvenor. So, back to the banished camp, everyone?” he asked, seeming to be in a hurry.
“I think this is a wise choice,” said Isabella.
Meghan, Sebastien, and Jae agreed as well.
Nona purred her agreement in Meghan’s mind.
“My parents will be furious that I disappeared without telling them again,” said Sebastien.
“I go where you guys go,” said Jae, with a complete lack of enthusiasm. Each step they took brought him a step closer to Juliska Blackwell, a woman he never wanted to see again. And now someone he’d have to kill if he ever wanted to be free of her.
“Nona, would you mind taking us all to the banished camp?” asked Meghan.
“Of course not,” purred the Catawitch in response.
“Not all of us,” said Isabella with slight trepidation.
“What do you mean?” asked Ivan and Meghan at once.
“I know neither of you want to hear this, but I cannot go with you. Not yet.”
“Why?” asked Meghan.
“What will you do? Stay here?” asked Ivan.
“Yes, I will stay here. My cave is my home, for now. It will not be forever,” she insisted. “As to the why, it isn’t time for me to go public yet. No, you don’t have to keep me a secret,” she added. “The timing just isn’t right for me to leave here yet. I’m afraid I cannot explain more.”
Meghan sighed. Still with all the cryptic. Was there ever going to be a day when it wasn’t like this? And the thought of leaving her so soon didn’t feel right. She glanced at Ivan and though he did not voice it, she sensed he felt the same. About the cryptic and the staying behind.
“I have something for you both,” Isabella told her children. “This way, we can stay in contact with each other as often as you need, or would like to.” She reached inside a pocket and took out a candle, made in her own image and handed it to Meghan.
“As a Firemancer, you know how this works, so I’ll give this to you. You can both feel free to contact me as often as you wish. I am here for you. At any time. Day or night. Whatever you need. You can even feel free to pop in and visit if the need or desire arises.”
“How about tomorrow?” said Meghan, half-joking, half-serious.
Ivan didn’t agree or disagree. He looked like he was just trying to keep it together. The overwhelm of it all was trying to bust out of him and he was pushing hard to keep it in.
Meghan took hold of the candle and secured it in her hand. She would treat this candle as if it were her most prized possession.
She hugged Isabella, saying goodbye. Isabella kissed Meghan on the forehead.
Ivan’s embrace was stiff, but she pretended not to notice and cupped her son’s chin in her hands, lovingly. Hopefully, in time, he would come to forgive her. She knew, deep down inside, he might not act like, or admit, that he was angry with her, but he was. How could he not be?
They exchanged no words. It was too hard to speak.
Jae and Sebastien called out goodbyes, readying themselves next to Nona.
Meghan took a brave step away from her mother, coaxing Ivan along with her. Both carried distress in their eyes as they backed away.
“Remember,” said Isabella, upon seeing their faces, “I have a link to Colby, so I’m safe. At least until he turns eighteen.” She tried to say it lightheartedly.
A thought struck Meghan. She understood the spell Isabella had cast on Colby, linking their lives together so that if she died of anything but natural causes before he turned eighteen, Colby would die as well.
So what did immortal really mean? Colby had killed Meghan. When he had taken her and they had traveled through their memories, he had killed her. At least she thought he did. She supposed it could have been a knocked out situation, or something. But if he did kill her, how did he do it? Could immortals kill each other?
If her mother died before Colby’s eighteenth birthday, Colby would die too. Would it be a real death? Could he come back to life after the spell wore off? Was there any true immortality? Maybe it was more like really, super hard to kill.
Meghan felt something rub against her leg. It was Nona. Meghan heard Nona’s thoughts clearly in her mind as if they were her own.
“Keep these things to yourself for now. We will talk about them later. It brings up many questions.”
“What doesn’t?” Meghan drilled back into her Catawitch’s mind.
Meghan snapped her fingers and a fire flashed into existence. Nona jumped into the flames with everyone grasping her. In a blink, they were standing just outside of the banished camp.
A guard threw his palm forward, prepared to strike after seeing them burst out of the flames of his fire. It was a bitterly cold day. He recognized Sebastien and stood down.
“Sorry, Mr. Jendaya,” he replied. “We are a little on edge right now.”
“No apology needed,” insisted Sebastien.
“Mr. Jendaya,” repeated Meghan, her eyebrows raised in amusement.
Sebastien shrugged it off, unable to hold back a grin. For a second, it felt like the old days, when he and Meghan would talk and laugh for hours. He wanted that back. Badly. If nothing more, just that. He let the moment go, deciding it was best not to push it further.
The guard opened the gate and they stepped inside, the gate closing with a weighty thud behind them.
“Wow, they’ve really cleaned it up,” noted Meghan.
“Magic does have its benefits,” said Sebastien.
Meghan saw Uncle Arnon and Kanda Macawi, and waved.
“I’m going to go find my parents,” said Sebastien. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“Later then,” Meghan replied.
Sebastien waved at everyone, his eyes glued on Meghan.
Ivan stepped up alongside her. “You’re letting him off the hook a little too easily, don’t you think?”
Her smile dropped and she gave him a deadly glare. “Are you pulling big brother rank on me? Already?”
“It’s my job now isn’t it?” he said, as if ready to repay some favor she didn’t want repaid. Her only response was a disgruntled groan.
Regardless of Ivan’s unasked for input, she wasn’t ready to completely forgive Sebastien just yet, although she would never admit that to Ivan.
Jae tagged along behind her and Ivan.
When Arnon was close enough, he tossed Meghan a disapproving look.
“I know. Sorry, Uncle Arnon. I said I wouldn’t go, but I had to. I’ll tell you all about it later though.”
Kanda greeted Meghan’s return to the camp with a long hug, giving her a good looking over, as if searching for a girl long lost.
“The camp is nearly back in order,” she explained. “And my brother, Nashua, is in talks with the temporary leader of the banished encampment as we speak. Someone named Curtis Bevins.”
“Curtis. Really?” spoke up Jae. “From Amelia’s prisoner, to the new leader. Impressive.”
Curtis had been Jae’s prison mate, when Amelia had first captured him, after he’d attempted to take his own life. Curtis was the one who had told him to keep searching for a way to break the curse Juliska had put on
him.
“Yes. Quite the change of pace, I’m sure,” said Kanda. “He seems to be a fair man. Best part I think, was reuniting with his poor frightened wife. But I think he’ll do right by these people.”
“Has anything been decided?” asked Ivan.
“Only that we need to be in agreement, and work together in whatever move we make next,” answered Arnon.
Kanda added, “The debate stands currently on whether it is more important to get the Immortality Stone back in our possession, versus confronting Juliska Blackwell. Getting the Stone out of the hands of the Grosvenor may prove the immediate concern; however, it might also take weeks, if not months, to track down where it is. If I had my bet, though, and I’ve already weighed in, the Stone will hold precedence. The Svoda under Juliska’s control are obviously in danger and in need of our help, but if she is working with Jurekai Fazendiin, and he has the Stone, well, it’s kind of a chicken and the egg situation.”
Ivan had a smug look on his face, fishing for a, Was I right or was I right?
Meghan, still irritated, ignored him, deciding not to give him the pleasure of remembering that he’d pretty much said this same thing not too long ago.
Unfortunately, Jae was not so keen on her feelings in the matter. “Ivan, you should have bet money, you were right on.”
Ivan shrugged it off as if it was no big thing.
Meghan just shook her head in annoyance. Maybe having Ivan for a big brother wasn’t such a good thing after all.
“Needless to say,” Kanda continued, “we will be staying on for a while. The people here have been gracious enough to open up their homes to us. We have more than enough room for anyone who would care to join us. I realize it’s late, but you all look like you could use a nice hot meal followed by a good night’s sleep.”
“Yes,” agreed Arnon eagerly, excited by the thought of having Meghan under his roof once again. “All of you are very welcome to stay with us.”
“Much appreciated,” said Ivan. “Rest would be good.” He looked down at Meghan as if to say, I mean you.
“Oh brother,” she whined. “So you’re going to start ordering me around now, too? I am sixteen tomorrow, you know! Not a child. I know when I’m tired, Ivan.”
The Spell, The Stones, and The Treasure (Fated Chronicles Book 3) Page 19