“It’ll need to be enhanced again at some point,” I said.
Ozzy nodded, then gave it to Britta. “Find a good hiding spot for it.”
Livie rose. “I’ll help you.” The two girls quickly withdrew.
“So,” Ozzy began slowly. “You didn’t come here to free us from a demon, did you?”
I slowly shook my head. “No. But I’m happy I could.”
“It’s about Asher, isn’t it?”
I narrowed my eyes. “How’d you figure that out?”
He breathed in deep through his nose. “Emma told me a couple of days ago that Asher had a new girlfriend named Tara, which I’m guessing is you. You’re here with Emma’s cousin, Jack, as well as Asher’s brother, William, but no Asher. It was a pretty simple deduction.”
I gripped Ozzy’s wrist and felt for his source. It was stored but almost drained. He was a pure alv, but his source was so depleted, he wouldn’t be able to use his ability.
Ozzy jerked back, but his expression remained neutral. “I never knew changelings could drain alvs of their source.”
“It was something I figured out.” I pressed my lips together. “Your source is almost gone.”
“Yeah.”
I stared at him. Something was significant about this fact. I could feel it. “What is your gift?”
“Healing.” Ozzy struggled controlling his emotions. “I’m the reason Asher is alive.” He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and released it trembling. He swallowed, and tears started flowing down his cheek. “I’m also the reason he almost died.”
33. Osmund
My heart pounded at Ozzy’s declaration. Anger stirred in my chest. The only thing that kept it from bursting out of control was his abused appearance and obvious remorse, and I waited to hear more.
Nearby, Jack folded his arms.
Ozzy’s expression hardened.
“Osmund,” I began.
He looked at me with a funny expression, and I thought about how Asher said he didn’t like being called that.
“Look,” I said. “Asher has PTSD from the accident and carries a huge amount of guilt for putting Emma in a wheelchair, which only makes it worse. Today, his mother is pulling him out of school because someone passed around a paper that paints him as a suicidal murderer.” My throat tightened. “It’s not true.” I took a breath. “I learned today, with William’s help, that there was more than an hour gap of time between when Asher thought the accident happened and when it actually occurred. Time he’d fallen asleep during. William researched Asher’s phone records and found out that Emma had stopped on your street. She came here, didn’t she?”
Ozzy nodded. “Asher was asleep. Emma took it as her chance to come see me.” One of his legs started shaking nervously. “Asher had always encouraged Emma to follow the rules her parents had for her.” Ozzy gritted his teeth. “Asher was asleep,” he repeated. “Emma and I were secretly dating, because her parents wouldn’t let her date.” He rubbed his face, then shook his head.
This was hard for him to admit.
Finally, he looked at Jack. “Her parents were in the middle of a divorce.”
Jack’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “I didn’t know that.”
“She was depressed. I feared she was suicidal. She carried all this guilt from not being perfect. From believing she was the reason her parents were splitting. From not being a good enough basketball player, despite the fact she was the best on her team. Guilt from wanting to be intimate with me. Wanting to drink. Wanting to live like you did.” He was still talking to Jack.
Jack folded his arms. “I never drank.”
Ozzy cringed. “Asher fell asleep—her watchdog was not attentive. I was pretty wasted when Emma showed up. She admitted to me that she’d already had something at the party without Asher knowing. She thought if she’d slipped up once, why not binge.”
Anger stirred again in my chest but was quickly replaced by relief. Asher was completely innocent.
“After she assured me she’d wake Asher and get him to drive the rest of the way home, I gave her a sampler of what we had.” Ozzy shifted, putting his hands under his legs.
“She didn’t try too hard to wake Asher,” Jack mumbled.
“William’s call woke me in the morning,” Ozzy continued. “He told me Asher was in the hospital and asked if there was anything I could do to help him. Feeling responsible, I used all my source to heal him. Then didn’t say anything when people at the party said they saw Asher giving her drinks. I didn’t want people knowing about our relationship, about her drinking.”
“You wanted to protect her,” Jack said.
Ozzy was quiet.
“She was the one who drank and drove,” I said. “That’s not your fault.”
“I shouldn’t have—”
“Yeah, that was stupid,” Jack said. “You shouldn’t have been drinking either.”
“I knew her standards. I should have—”
“It was Emma’s choice,” Jack said. “She came to you when she wasn’t supposed to. She asked. She drank. She even kept Asher from meeting his curfew.” Then he added in a quieter voice. “It’s okay for everyone to know she wasn’t the golden girl she portrayed.”
Ozzy hid behind his hand. “When I realized Emma didn’t remember being at my house or the accident, I wanted to protect her from the guilt she would have experienced…” Ozzy trailed off, dropping his hand. “I didn’t think about how not speaking up would influence Asher, especially when the charges against him spiking her drink were never pressed.” He sighed heavily. “I argued I’d saved his life. He had no jail time or punishment to fear. He was walking again and free. Meanwhile, Emma can’t walk, and she’ll probably get convicted of a DUI causing bodily injury to a passenger, especially if I come forward. It doesn’t seem right that someone paralyzed, who can’t remember drinking, who wouldn’t drink now, would end up in prison. And will I get in trouble? I was underage drinking. I was the one who gave her the alcohol. I didn’t come forward when I should have.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, “and it does seem harsh. But though Asher may be walking again, he definitely isn’t free. The memory of that night haunts him every day. Affects his ability to create relationships with other people. Even live somewhere without fear of others finding out a false truth about him being a suicidal murderer that he isn’t.”
“Take it from someone who has been there,” Jack said, “it’s better to admit our guilt than to harbor it.”
Standing up, Ozzy rubbed his temple. “I’ll call and tell him.”
Jack held out his smartphone. “Do it now.”
Ozzy hesitated.
“We’re going to tell him if you don’t,” I said. “It should come from you.”
Still disgruntled, Ozzy took the phone from Jack and made the call. It rang several times before going to voicemail. Ozzy hung up without leaving a message. “He didn’t answer.”
Jack grabbed it and texted instead.
There still was no response.
An uneasy feeling stirred through me. Every time Jack had messaged Asher in the past, he’d been quick to answer. Jack called a couple of more times, leaving messages, while sending a text in between each. On the fourth time, it went straight to voicemail.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Jack said. “William!” He hurried toward the other room. Standing, I displaced the cats and followed him into the kitchen. A tall, thin woman with Dad’s exact same features, blonde hair and blue eyes, leaned against the counter, tears streaming down her cheeks.
This must be Isla, Dad’s sister.
She was talking with William and my uncle. As we entered, she briefly looked at me before her gaze fell to the ground.
Nearby, a door opened into a basement stairwell. There was a set of locks on it that were not normal. What exactly had we saved my cousins from?
“William, Asher’s not answering my calls,” Jack interrupted. “Can you call your mom and see where he
is?”
“Huh? Yeah.” William quickly pulled out his phone. “Looks like she tried calling me ten minutes ago.” He held up the device to his ear. “Hi, Mom.” Talking quietly, he walked deeper into the kitchen toward a door that led into the back yard. “Yeah, I’ll be home by seven.” William looked my way. “She says he left about an hour ago. Didn’t say where he was going.”
I bit my lip.
“I’ll find out where his phone is now.”
The silence was tangible as William searched. “Last known location shows him outside your house.” He looked at me.
“Last known location?” I asked.
“Yeah, looks like it’s either been turned off or lost power. Why don’t you two go on ahead and find out if he’s there. I need to figure out what to do here.”
Enroute home, Jack sped fifteen miles over the speed limit.
“Jack, slow down. I’m sure Asher is fine. His phone probably died.”
His expression hardened. “I’m not so sure.”
“Even if he’s moody over his mother pulling him out of school, I don’t see Asher hurting himself. Likely, he’s at my house, waiting to see me.”
“The fact that he drove over to your place is what has me concerned.”
“Why?”
“Because I think I know who’s behind posting the flyers. The person who hacked your account last year.”
“You do?” I asked, eyes widening.
“Asher and I started to suspect a day ago—”
“Who?” I interrupted.
Jack hesitated.
“Who?” I demanded, growing angry. “And why haven’t you said something sooner?”
“Ferdinand, and it’s because—”
“Ferdinand?” I repeated, then laughed. “That’s crazy. How would he be able to access my account? He definitely wasn’t close enough to get that picture of Jerrick and me.” I looked out the window at the passing neighborhood.
“Is he an alv?” Jack asked.
“Is who an alv?”
“Ferdinand?”
“Yes. But why are you asking about him?”
“Because I think he’s the one who hacked your accounts and posted the flyers today about Asher.”
An uneasy feeling stole over me. By the time Jack finished the sentence, I’d forgotten who he was talking about. “Who are you talking about?” I said slowly.
Jack slapped the steering wheel. “All of this is my fault!”
“Whoa, calm down. How is this your fault?”
“Because of my bad example. You heard Ozzy. Emma never would have been drinking if I’d hadn’t been living like I was.”
I wanted to say, “You don’t know that.” But I knew it wouldn’t help. He needed something else. After a few minutes, I quietly said, “Thank you.”
“For what?” he snapped.
“Based on your line of reasoning, I never would have met Asher if you hadn’t set a bad example. But, if you really want to return to the source. Your behavior, my behavior, it all goes back to an evil man betraying and murdering my father. Doesn’t it?”
Jack’s expression softened.
“You know, really what I’m grateful for is that day you made me study with you for the Gatsby test.”
He kind of smiled.
A warm feeling burned in me, thinking back to that afternoon. “It really helped me shift my attitude around. My life, too. So thank you. I really think Asher is going to be fine.”
Jack wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. “Let’s hope you’re right.”
“We can tell him he’s not guilty! He doesn’t have to live with that weight anymore.”
I couldn’t wait to see him.
34. Dragon and Sword
Asher’s Subaru was parked by the curb outside my house. He wasn’t in it, but his phone lay on the front seat, and the door was unlocked. Both super unusual.
I picked up his phone and pushed the button to turn it on. A red low battery message lit the screen confirming that it had lost power rather than turned off.
My nerves began to get the better of me. Maybe Jack was right and something was wrong. Negative source stirred in my gut, too familiar a friend today.
“Maybe he’s inside?” Jack suggested. “Gone around back? Visiting Samantha?” His gaze moved toward the cul-de sac. The troubled look in his eyes heightened my growing anxiety.
“I doubt that last one,” I said. “I’ll check my house and backyard, if you want to follow up on Sam.”
“I don’t, but I will. He might be at Jerrick’s, too,” Jack said. “So I’ll head there next.”
Taking Asher’s smartphone with me, I raced to my front door and unlocked it. Entering, I called out, “Hello, anyone home?”
No answer.
I stopped in Daniel’s office and found where he charged his phone at the desk, plugging Asher’s in with the cable. Afterward, I headed upstairs and looked in each room to be sure. Nathaniel’s room was clean, no sign of the imps.
Back downstairs, I walked through the music into the family room and finally the kitchen. No sign of Asher anywhere.
Stepping out onto the patio, I scanned the yard. “Asher?”
No response.
Returning to Daniel’s office, I picked up Asher’s phone, which had turned on again in my absence. His notifications showed Jack’s repeated calls and texts as well as calls from his mother and father.
Swiping it, I was surprised to find that Asher had no lock on it.
A document was opened with a note to me. “Tara, I went on a walk down to the park. Meet me there. Please, don’t tell anyone. I’d like to just see you.”
Relief filled me. This was why he’d left his phone unlocked, so I would be able to see his message. I set the phone down, leaving it to charge. I should let Jack know. He’d worry if I disappeared without a word.
Going back outside, I saw Jack and Jerrick headed over to Ferdinand’s grandparent’s together. Kind of a weird place to look for Asher. I had no desire to see Ferdinand, if he was there. I’d leave Jack a note instead.
Back inside, I quickly wrote a note, “Found out where Asher is. Be back in an hour.” Enroute to get my bike from the garage, I passed the purse Mom had given me on Sunday. It would still have Oops’s smartwatch in it. Thinking to send Daniel a message with it, I pulled out the watch and texted him a quick note, then stuck the watch in my front pocket in case I needed to contact someone. Asher wouldn’t have his phone. I got my bike from the garage, left the note under Jack’s windshield wiper, and headed off down the road.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Jack and Jerrick talking to Ferdinand’s grandmother.
A few minutes later, I rode up into the parking lot of the playground. It was a chilly, windy day, with clouds covering the sky, and no one played on the equipment.
Ferdinand’s Toyota Tacoma was the only vehicle parked in the lot. The sight of it sent a feeling of apprehension through me, especially since Asher wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Such a strange coincidence that Ferdinand would also be here. Something felt off about that.
Someone grabbed my neck from behind. A piercing pain shot through me, and I arched my back, reaching to grab the hand assaulting me.
The assailant pushed me forward and slammed me into the truck. Stars sparked in my head, and I collapsed to the ground.
Someone knelt beside me, took hold of my face, and forced me to look at him.
“Ferdinand?” I gasped.
The wildness in his eyes reminded me of the crazed glint of a tiger’s trapped in a cage that I’d once seen in a video.
“What are you doing?” Reaching for his wrist to try to push him off, I felt the unnaturally high amount of negative source stored in him, reminiscent of a changeling’s. But he was pure.
He laughed. “Want to see your boyfriend fight a dragon?”
Chills raced through me. “Dragon? They aren’t real. Where’s Asher? ”
He grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet. “I
’ve had a bit of fun humiliating him already. Get in the truck, or you’ll never see him again.”
“It’s been you—you’re the one who—”
“Stole your journal? Persuaded Jerrick to take on a seducing fiend to lure you? Gave Samantha a bracelet that was charmed to make her jealous of you? Set loose a hoard of flock imps on your brother? Yes, it was me. Now, get in the truck.” He pushed me toward the passenger door.
“Why?” I stumbled backward.
“You led me on to think you loved me.”
Memories of last year flashed through my mind, including our date together. They were confused and disjointed. “I needed a friend last year,” I said. “You promised me our date was between friends, then you used your source to get me to kiss you.” As the shattered memory stirred, grinding against my brain, shudders of disgust ran through me.
I waved his arm off me. “I wasn’t in love with you.”
“No. Your look of disgust was enough to tell me that,” he snarled. “You were like everyone else—no, worse than everyone else. You used me, then discarded me.”
My mouth dropped open. The years of watching other people bully him, even laughing occasionally with them, and my dismal efforts to prevent them stole through my mind. “Ferdinand—no—”
He slapped me hard enough that I reeled backward. After opening the door of his truck, he grabbed me, then tossed me inside. “Enough.”
Faster than was humanly possible, he sat in the driver’s seat and backed up.
I gasped in alarm. “How’d you—"
He looked sideways at me, then pushed on the gas, speeding out onto the road.
My heart pounded. He’d led me to believe in the past that his alv ability was talking to animals. Cam had said—“You’re a king alv,” I whispered.
“Yes,” Ferdinand sneered.
I took a deep breath and gripped the door handle. So not good. The eve of Halloween had turned into a horror movie.
He pulled into the gravel parking lot of the old ski hill. As he drove to the end of it and parked, he vanished.
Stunned, I searched everywhere for him, then my door opened, and unseen hands dragged me out and jerked me onto the overgrown hill, leading me along a trail around the back of the hill where woodland covered the back descent of the hill.
The Changeling's Source (Evedon Legacy Book 1) Page 38