Tegan walked toward him like she was sneaking up on a velociraptor. “Babe? Talk to me, babe.”
Kessler followed her down to the riverbank. “Son? What’s wrong?”
Tenn spun around to face them. His face was pale, his eyes shell-shocked. “I’ve been here…” he whispered.
Kessler cocked his head to the side. “When?”
Tennessee scrambled out of the water then stopped just beside the river. He stared at the ground by their feet. “This is where I lost my mother.”
Kessler gasped and stood up straighter. “Here?”
I frowned. Something was happening in my mind. Thoughts and memories were whirling together. His mother died in this spot. Trey was looking for Ruth’s locket in this spot. There was something there, and it was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn’t see it.
“Son? Do you remember?”
Tenn nodded, then shook his head. “Not from…before. But…we were here. She sat me here. Then she…she…” He turned back to the river.
“Take a deep breath,” Tegan whispered. “Don’t force it. Go slow.”
He spun back around, then glanced down at the water by his feet. He pointed down-stream. “Hope is not lost… That’s…that’s what she said…but…I can’t…I can’t remember.”
Tenn dropped to his knees as the memories came flooding back. “I’ve been here. This is where I lost my mother. Hope isn’t lost… That’s what she said…but I can’t remember…”
I gasped. It clicked. “Wait a second. Did you say Hope?”
Tenn frowned and nodded.
My jaw dropped. My pulse quickened. Holy shit.
Kessler turned to me. “Holy shit what?”
“Hope…Haven.”
Everyone else frowned and shook their heads. Except Tegan.
Her eyes were wide and watering. She looked to me and nodded. I knew it. I KNEW IT, she whispered into my mind.
Kessler cleared his throat. “Ladies? Care to elaborate?”
Deacon nodded. “Yes, please. Say it for the whole class.”
I licked my lips. I felt Tennessee’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t look at him yet. “Timothy…Timothy told me about his sister Ruth and her kids, right? Well…well…he said his niece’s name was Hope…and his nephew’s name was Haven.”
If possible, their scowls deepened. No one was following me. No one understood. Tegan did but she wasn’t speaking up.
“Timothy said Julian came to their house, and that’s where he…he killed Micah. But Ruth fled with the kids.” At this, I turned to look at Tennessee. But his face was a mask. “Timothy said everyone assumed the three of them had died along with Julian, but no one ever found their bodies.”
“What are you saying?” Kessler asked softly. He glanced back and forth between me and Tenn.
Henley gasped. “Wait. Haven? That’s the word Tegan keeps saying when she goes all white witch on us.”
“Exactly.” I pushed my hair back, and my hands were trembling. “Except, the last two times Tegan slipped into that trance, she didn’t say Haven, not until Tennessee went up to her. Or until she heard Tenn’s voice through the phone. I think Tennessee is Haven. I mean, this is the last place he saw his mother? Guys, this is where Trey dug up that chest. What if Trey assumed Ruth hid the locket here. Hell, maybe Tegan was right. Maybe she did hide it here, but the chest was a decoy. I mean, we spoke to Tenn’s mother through the Ouija board, and she all but sent us here. She was the one who warned me about Joseph in the first place.”
Silence.
Everyone just stared at me with wide eyes and dropped jaws.
My heart was pounding. All this time the pieces of the puzzle were lying right in front of us, and we didn’t see them. I didn’t understand how no one saw this. I turned to Tenn, but he was frozen like a statue. His eyes were blank. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
Tegan walked over and held his hand. “Hope is not lost… Was your mother telling you your sister Hope wasn’t lost?”
Tenn paled to a sickly gray shade. He just stared at nothing.
“Why would she say that? What happened to Hope?” Tegan pressed her palm to his chest. “Tenn, babe, take me back to that night. The last memories you have. Tell me every detail.”
Tenn cringed and closed his eyes. “I’ve told you everything I remember.” He opened his eyes, and the brokenness in them killed me. He gestured around us. “This. This…is all I have left of her…right here.”
Tegan nodded and rubbed her hand in a circle over his chest. Rainbow magic billowed out from under her skin. It was faint, but I saw it. “Okay, babe. It’s okay. I promised I’d help you figure this out, remember? So let’s try and do this together. Okay?”
He looked down at her, and a muscle in his jaw popped. He nodded.
Tegan took a deep breath. “All right. If Hope was your sister and your mother told you that Hope was not lost, then she told you that before your memories were gone. Maybe your memories were lost here too.”
I gasped. “OH.” I hadn’t thought of that.
“Why…why…” Kessler shook his head. His face was green like he was going to be sick. Which I understood. He’d just found out he’d been raising his friend’s kid this whole time.
“Why do you think his memories were lost here?” Cooper scratched his head.
“Because if they were already gone before they got here, then she wouldn’t have said Hope. She wouldn’t have said anything.” Tegan backed away from Tenn. “Which means she specifically told you that Hope was not lost before you lost your memories.”
I frowned. “That’s the part I don’t understand. What caused him to lose his memories? Do you think they were attacked? Like, by Julian?”
“No.” Tegan shook her head. She spun and eyed the ground. “I think his mother took his memories.”
Tenn groaned.
Cooper’s face paled. “Why would she do that? Why do you think such a thing?”
Tegan dropped down and pressed her palms on the dirt. Rainbow mist spilled out around her hands. “Because I feel magic here, old magic. Real old.”
She dug her nails into the dirt then scooped it up between her fingers. She closed her eyes. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t hear her words. She threw the dirt up in the air then clapped her hands. The dirt turned into silvery glitter, like stars twinkling right next to us. Her body lit up, glowing bright. Golden magic pooled in her hands, and the ground rumbled. She flicked her wrists out in front of her, and the silvery dust shot across the clearing.
Runes danced over the ground.
Electric energy slammed into my feet and raced up my legs. I gasped as warm and cold shot up my spine. My magic billowed out of me in a pink cloud. I glanced around, but no one else’s had done it. Those angelic runes in my magic poured down to the ground and mixed with the others.
“Seek the spells placed here before, Show me how they came to bore,” Tegan chanted. “From the start then some more, To the end of magic’s store.”
The glittery silver dirt and runes joined together in front of her then shot across the clearing to the edge of the line of trees. There was a flash of light, and then a large object came rushing from behind the trees.
Tennessee choked on a gasp and stumbled back.
“Oh my Goddess.” Kessler’s eyes widened. He put his hands on the top of his head.
Devon, Hunter, and Constance stared with dropped jaws.
“What is it?” I turned back to the object and gasped.
It wasn’t an object. It was a person. Three persons, actually. They weren’t real, just holographic images, but they looked so real it was scary. My pulse quickened as the holograms sprinted toward us. As they got closer, the holograms grew clearer, and I saw that it was a woman carrying a small child and holding the hand of a little boy as he ran beside—
I gasped.
That’s TENNESSEE!
The real Tennessee let out a strangled groan behind me.
Holy shit. It IS him. It looke
d exactly like him. Just smaller. Little toddler Tenn had the same long, wavy black hair that fell down to his shoulders and the same mismatched eyes. His skin was as tan as he was now. But on his little face was an expression I’d never seen on the real Tennessee.
Fear.
Pure, genuine fear.
He ran beside his mother, squeezing her hand tight. His little legs moved faster than a little kid should’ve been capable of. He kept looking up at her then glancing over his shoulder like he was expecting someone else to be there. My heart broke for him, because I already knew how this ended.
The hologram ran by us, then the woman stopped at the edge of the water—right in front of where the real Tennessee stood. He dropped to his knees and stared at the image of his mother with broken eyes. His soulmate glyph turned dark purple. Tegan appeared beside him then wrapped her arms around him. But he didn’t seem to even notice her. He just stared.
The woman, Ruth, sank to her knees in front of her now grown-up son and let go of Little-Tenn’s hand. She had long blonde hair and wore a white cotton dress that grazed the dirt as she knelt there.
Little-Tenn reached out, gripped the sleeve of her dress, and clung to her. Like he was afraid she’d get too far away from him. He frowned and glanced around, then in his little voice, said “Momma, can we stop running now?”
“I’m sorry, baby, no. We don’t have much time.” Ruth held her palm out, closed her eyes, and began humming. Her blonde hair flew all around her and brushed over Little-Tenn’s face.
A light flashed under her palms, and a small wooden boat sat in the dirt at her bare feet.
My stomach flipped. Why is she barefoot? I didn’t want to know the answer to that question, mostly because I already knew. Julian.
Ruth lifted the other, smaller child off of her shoulder and raised their face up to hers. It was a little girl. I knew by the delicate features of her face and the pink nail polish on her tiny fingers. Her little pink dress rustled in the breeze. Like Tenn, the little girl had long black hair, but I couldn’t see the color of her eyes because she was fast asleep.
Ruth kissed the girl’s forehead then gasped. She pulled her daughter against her and squeezed her real tight. Tears poured out of her closed eyes and down her cheeks. Her whole body shook, and I felt myself shaking with her. Oh, Ruth. Little-Tenn held on to her like he was trying to hold her together.
Ruth hugged the little girl close and whispered against her cheek, “I love you more than a thousand stars, Hope. Please forgive me. May the Goddess bless you.”
Tennessee’s eyes watered, or maybe that was mine because suddenly things got a little blurry. This was too much. This was too awful. I didn’t want to watch this.
Little-Tenn stepped close and put his hand on his mother’s shoulder, blinking through the tears on his little face. “Momma?” he said, and his voice cracked.
Kessler groaned and moved next to Tenn. He gripped his shoulder tight enough to make his knuckles crack and turn white. Not that Tenn seemed to notice. His face was paler than moonlight on snow.
Ruth carefully placed Hope down into the little wooden boat she’d conjured. A second later, a blanket that hadn’t been there before was tucked around Hope, snuggling her in. Ruth mumbled under her breath, but no matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn’t understand them. They weren’t in English or our ancient language. Ruth reached into a leather satchel hanging near her hip, pulled out flower petals and small crystals, and placed them into the boat, covering Hope’s body.
Tennessee gasped. Tegan hugged him harder. Kessler dropped to one knee beside him.
Little-Tenn gripped Ruth’s dress tighter. His eyes were wide with fear and confusion. “Momma, where is Hope going? Are we going too?”
She didn’t answer him. Her eyes were full of tears and her lips trembled. She reached up behind her neck and pulled off a locket. The one Kessler said she never, ever took off.
My heart pounded in my chest even harder. My throat was tight, like there was something stuck in it. This was breaking my heart, and it wasn’t even me. I couldn’t imagine how Tennessee was feeling.
Ruth leaned forward and wrapped the necklace around Hope’s neck. Her fingers shook as she tucked the locket under the blankets.
Ruth turned to Little-Tenn and cupped his face. “Stay here, love.” Then she got up and carried the raft into the river, passing through Tennessee’s body.
OH MY GOD. The river?? Ruth, what are you DOING?
Tennessee spun around to watch as the holographic image of his mother carried his little sister in her raft…into the river.
“Momma?” Little-Tenn shouted. “Momma!”
With one hand on the raft and the other raised up to the moon, Ruth called out to the Goddess and prayed. Again, in that language I didn’t know. After a few seconds, she pushed the raft into the water…and let go.
My heart skipped. My stomach sank.
“NO! Hope!” Little-Tenn screamed and ran into the river.
The water splashed all the way up to his little knees. Ruth caught him and wrapped her arms around his body, holding him in place while he screamed. My nose burned, and tears filled my eyes so much I couldn’t see. I opened my mouth and strained to breathe. This was heartbreaking.
Little-Tenn cried and wiggled, trying to get free. “Momma! Hope! Get her, get her! Hurry!”
Ruth picked him up and carried him back to the dirt.
This time when Tennessee turned to follow her, I didn’t look at him. I didn’t want to watch his heartbreak. Tegan and Kessler held on to him tight, and I was glad he had someone who loved him. Because this was awful.
Ruth dropped to her knees so his feet touched ground and their eyes were at the same level. Hers were full of tears that kept spilling onto her cheeks like rivers. She squeezed his fingers. “Baby, look at me.”
“Momma, I don’t understand.”
“I know, baby.” She smiled but it looked a little wobbly since her lips were shaking. “You are so strong, so brave. Hope is not lost. You will find her again one day.”
Tennessee groaned.
Ruth reached up and pulled off her other necklace, an old key on a leather cord—one I recognized instantly. It was the one Tennessee always wore. It was always hanging around his neck. Ruth looped it over Little-Tenn’s head. He gasped and stepped back to look at it. I couldn’t help myself this time—I looked to real Tenn. He gripped the key still hanging from his neck twelve years later.
Ruth cleared her throat. “One day you will find her, and this key will help. Until then, the Goddess will keep her safe. Where they can’t find her.”
“Who? Who’s gonna find her, Momma? Where’s Daddy?”
Thunder rumbled over our heads, and the sky lit up the brightest white I’d ever seen. The ground shook under our feet. Which was weird, since this wasn’t really happening. This was just a holograph.
Little-Tenn cried out and grabbed onto Ruth’s dress. She pulled him up and squeezed him so tight her fingers dug into his skin.
Tears filled his eyes. “Momma? I’m scared.”
“Oh, baby.” She set him back down and cupped his face in her hands. “Don’t be. You are so strong. The Goddess will protect you. It’s time we say goodbye now.”
He gasped. “Goodbye? No! I don’t want to leave you.”
“But you must. My time here is done. Before sunrise, I will be with your father.” Her eyebrows scrunched down and her face twisted. She turned away and cried.
Tears poured down his face. His lips were shaking too. “But then I’ll be alone.”
She wiped her wet face on her sleeve before turning to look at him. “No, baby. You will never be alone. You must run now and not look back. The Tennessee wilds will protect you. Run through there until you get to Eden. The Goddess will send you guidance.”
“No, Momma, please. Stay with me,” he whispered.
Her face twisted. “It’s time now, my love.” She pulled him to her chest and squeezed. “Just know, my love
, I will always love you.”
“Momma…”
But then she stepped away, and placed her right hand over his heart. “If you ever need me, this is where I’ll be. Right here, real close. I will be in your heart forever. All you have to do is look.”
He nodded and gripped her hand with both of his, tears pouring.
She held her left hand up, and purple smoke swirled around her fingers. Then she pressed it to his cheek. I gasped and took a step forward, to do what, I had no idea. The purple smoke circled around his face a few times before disappearing. When he looked back to her, her green eyes were red and puffy and full of tears.
“Now, my love. Do you remember your name?”
“My name?” He opened his mouth then shut it. His eyes grew wide with panic. “No, I don’t. Momma?”
“Then you’re going to be just fine. I will always be proud of you. Now run, and remember, Hope is not lost.” Her voice cracked. “I love you to the moon…”
“And back,” he whispered.
“Now run.”
Little-Tenn spun around and ran in the direction she pointed without a beat of hesitation. Ruth sobbed. She covered her mouth then wiped her eyes. This woman had already lost her husband—I knew that from the story I’d been told but also by the glyph of her soulmate mark. It was stone gray, the color of death. Now she’d just said goodbye to her children, sending one down a river and the other running through the Smoky Mountains by himself in the dark. I knew they were young. Timothy had told me Haven was five, and Hope was four. They were so young.
Ruth cried out and held her palms together. Light flashed between them, and then a little wooden chest appeared in her hands. I gasped. It was the same exact chest Trey had dug up. The one I’d stolen. Ruth dug into the dirt quickly, then buried the chest deep under the ground.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 114