by Kelly Hall
A collective intake of breath and then silence followed as he opened his eyes for just a second, but enough to see that they were just like mine. He blinked and groaned some more, his voice rough, probably from taking in the cold Water. And then he passed out again.
“Owen,” I whispered as a smile spread across my face. He had done it, he’d found his Light by saving Talon.
“You’ve lied to me all this time about your gifts. This can’t be,” Ray said, cutting Birdie a glare.
“Can and is. My sister Hyacinth once taught me to mend the flowers. She made me promise not to tell, so I never did. Not even you, dear husband. Even at a young age I knew the importance and consequence of Revival.”
Even though I focused on Owen, I overheard the conversation. Revival. Hyacinth, the girl from the dream, and Birdie’s sister who had taken her to the field to mend flowers, had also taught her how to mend and revive other things. Ray, while lying about Owen’s power, had been truthful about sharing gifts.
“My Light is now his, and now it’s time to take care of you.” Birdie raised her hand and drew forth a blazing orb. Ray scrambled and inched toward the hole, scanning the room like a rat trying to flee a sinking ship. As Birdie sent her Light towards him, he dove into the well. He disappeared in a flash of blue light and we stood frozen, realizing he might not be gone forever.
Birdie hovered above us like an angel. She scowled and stared at the hole. She didn’t seem pleased that Ray had escaped. Suddenly she turned around to face me and Owen, who was still out.
“The two of you must guard this Veil. I will be passing over soon. Use this source to stay strong. It is pure and blessed. That is why Reginald took such care to protect it all these years. The other well should be destroyed.” She stopped talking and looked to a dark corner of the room where something had grabbed her attention. “Come out now and I will give you a chance to speak.”
I followed her gaze to the darkened corner of the room and I tensed knowing someone else was with us.
Chapter Nineteen
For a moment I thought Ray would step from the shadows. Instead, a dark, inky figure slinked forward and manifested. Kevin looked just as he did the night he had died. He glowered at us with his dark eyes, the seeping wounds I had once seen on his face had disappeared, and he wore the same dingy clothes; a black t-shirt with faded, tattered jeans and boots. He glanced at Birdie and his expression turned to fear. He averted his eyes and cowered.
“Speak,” Birdie commanded. She flickered as he surged because she allowed Kevin to use her Light energy to manifest. “Tell them what he promised you.”
“He lied to me.” Kevin scanned the room and then stared directly at me. “He said that if I did as he said he would award me your Light and with it I’d be immortal.” He paused and looked to Talon who had tears in his eyes. “I know you didn’t kill me deliberately. He wanted me to make you feel guilty about that to make you suffer. He wanted you out of the way. We thought it had worked when you left, but then you came back.” He faced me again. “I met Birdie at the house when I was snooping around and she told me the truth. Ray has just been using me and he even appeared as me in your visions.”
I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes remembering.
“Little Flower,” I said. “I thought something was off about that. In my visions where I saw you, I thought you’d dropped the nickname, but it wasn’t you.”
“Yeah,” Kevin nodded, “he didn’t know that I called you that.” He looked back to Birdie and dropped to his knees. “Please, don’t send me over. Let me stay here where I can be of some use. I promise to help anyway I can. Just don’t make me leave the Veil.”
I didn’t think Birdie had a choice. Being a Light Keeper, our purpose was to banish spirits to the other side of the Veil where they could do no harm. “That is not up to me. It’s up to Lily and Owen. This is their Veil to protect now.”
My heart started to race. “Wait! You mean you are just going to leave? Stay—help us. We have so much to learn. I don’t even know how to be a Light Keeper.” I looked down to Owen, and took his hand. We were on our own?
“You’re not alone, child.” Birdie smiled. She’d heard my thoughts and knew my worry. “I will be but a vision away. I can tell you anything you need to know. I must be going. I am on borrowed time. The Angels have only granted me so much.”
“Please,” Kevin begged, “don’t make me go, Lily. I can help you too. You have no idea what is lingering here with me. I can tell you things you need to know.” Kevin’s usual cruelty was replaced with begging and cowardice. My heart started to pity him.
“Do it, Lily. Let him stay, for me,” Talon said. He begged for Kevin’s afterlife, because he still felt responsible for his death. I stared at him but did not respond. “Please, I know you hate me right now. I know you don’t owe me a thing. Just do this last thing for me.”
“I don’t hate you.” I sighed. “I will do it, but if you step out of line in any way, Kevin, you do anything, whether it’s talking to Ray again or calling me “Little Flower,” and I will take the Light to you so fast you’ll bust hell wide open.”
“Thank you.” He faded away as Birdie took her full power back. Kevin turned into an inky shadow and then disappeared completely.
“Thank you, Lily,” Talon said.
I could only hope that I had made the right decision.
“I must be going.” Birdie started to fade out. She hovered closer to Owen. Her hand brushed his cheek and the rest of the Light grew bright between them. “Find me in your visions, Lily. And bring him with you. You have much to learn.” She smiled down at Owen in a motherly way as the Light left her, and then she disappeared.
***
Hunter took Owen home and Holly drove his four-wheeler, taking me in tow. Talon followed silently. Once home, we had to settle Owen in his bed. He hadn’t yet awakened, but his breathing had strengthened. “I’ll call Granny and see how far out they are. Surely they are on their way back.”
“You’re not going to tell her about Owen?” Holly asked. “Not on the phone.”
“Nah, I don’t think she needs to know Owen died and the rest, well—this she’ll have to see to believe. I’m a little worried about Cate and Tom, though.”
Hunter shrugged. “We’ve got to get him some contacts or something.”
“We’ll just say he’s gotten contacts.” I shrugged.
“Contacts to match yours?” Holly made a face. “Yeah, that’s not obsessive.”
“Then it totally makes sense.” Hunter tried not to laugh.
“Everyone will notice.” I sat on the bed where Owen slept. I couldn’t wait for him to open his eyes again to see what they looked like. “He may not be too happy about it. You know how much he thrives on his looks. He may not like them any more than I like mine.”
“Your eyes are beautiful, Lily.” Talon stared at the floor. He hadn’t spoken up since leaving the house. Without saying more, he turned and left. Holly followed behind him.
Hunter started out too, but paused at the door. “Stay with him, Lily. I don’t want him to be alone when he wakes up. I’m gonna go call Granny but I’ll be right back. You’ve gotta get home before Cate does.”
I nodded. Hunter left us alone, pulling the door nearly closed as he left. I kicked off my shoes and curled up beside Owen and watched him sleep, careful not to touch him or disturb his deep rest. He didn’t snore, but breathed easy and peacefully. I must have fallen asleep myself, because the next thing I knew I woke up.
“I thought I was dreaming for about the first five minutes.” Owen stroked my cheek. “Then after pinching myself about ten times, I realized you were real.” I stared into his eyes. I couldn’t help but be mesmerized, since the color matched mine.
“Has Hunter been in?” I had no idea how long I’d been out. Surely my parents had gotten back with Granny. Owen shook his head, not taking his eyes off of me.
“What happened?” He asked. “I remember the house ble
w up and I tackled Talon down to the ground. Everything went black.” He started to shake. “I could hear you, though.”
I rubbed his arms. His shaking had gotten worse. It made me think of the night he’d run out in the freezing rain. “Owen, you’ve been through a lot. Hold on.” I went across the hall to Granny’s bedroom and grabbed the silver mirror from her dresser and brought it back to him. He sat up in his bed with his back resting against the wall and drew the covers up to his chin.
Owen took the mirror and held it up in front of his face and then gasped at his reflection. I rubbed his arm to reassure him when he spoke. “Wow! I wondered what I’d look like. I really did it? I found favor and got my Light back?”
“You saved Talon,” I said, nodding.
“Ah, makes sense. I bet even the Angels didn’t expect that one.” He laughed softly.
“So what do you think?” I poked toward the mirror.
“What? You mean how I look? Seriously, Lily, if anyone can do this green thing, it’s me.”
I laughed out loud. “Leave it to you, Mr. Ego.”
“What? You don’t agree?” He nudged my arm. “I told you, I heard you.”
“Heard what?” My eyes narrowed.
He cupped my face in his hand and stroked my lips with his thumb. “In the darkness, I could hear you crying. You said you loved me. That you really do love me.” Our green eyes met. “Tell me that it's true.”
“Owen.” I swallowed and tried to catch my breath. I had to choose my next words carefully. I did love him, but I couldn’t be with him. I still loved Talon, too, but now after everything, I just needed time to myself. But before I could say anything, Hunter burst in.
“Hey, Lily, better get home. They just turned down Bragg, and Tom’s suspicious. He had Granny ask what you and Talon were up to.”
He seemed to notice Owen. “Hey, little bro!” He came in and knelt by the bed.
“We’ll talk later, okay?” I went to stand up, but Owen caught my arm and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Later, Lily,” he said, letting go of my arm.
I hurried out as fast as I could, my heart racing.
I ran into the house and found Holly in the kitchen doing the chores Mom left for me. “Sorry.” I grabbed a dishtowel and scrubbed at the pan she had soaking in the sink.
“No problem, I got the dishwasher loaded and the laundry sorted. But we’re way behind. Talon dusted the furniture, but still hasn’t taken out the garbage.” Holly dragged the kitchen can to the back door and headed to the bathrooms. I finished rinsing the pan, dried my hands and ran to get Talon to help with the trash.
I found him in his room packing. Most of his things lay piled on his bed. “You forgot about the garbage?” My heart sank and a thick lump of pain rose up in my throat.
“Sorry.” He ducked out to the bathroom to get the can. I ran to help, not wanting to break the pace, and luckily by the time Mom and Tom returned we had made a lot of progress. Mom checked everything we’d done, satisfied that we had behaved ourselves. I wondered what she would’ve thought if she’d known that Owen had died and came back since she’d headed out just hours ago.
Talon returned to his room and picked up where he left off. I started for my room, but couldn’t stand his silent treatment any longer.
“You’re really leaving?” I ask, running my hand along the back of his computer chair.
“There’s nothing for me here. I want to be in Houston by tomorrow evening and spend Christmas with my mom.”
I wondered if he’d spend Christmas with the girl. Part of me wanted to ask her name, but I couldn’t stomach the details.
“I just want you to know, for whatever it’s worth. I want you to stay and I—I’ll miss you.” My voice started to break in his silence, so I left for my room.
Chapter Twenty
It’s funny how the world stops for Christmas. Things that weigh on your heart and mind usually take a backseat to gift-giving and family tradition. Since our young family had no routines for the holidays, Mom called us all out into the living room for Christmas cookies and milk around ten o’clock.
“I thought since it’s Christmas Eve, I’d let you all open one gift,” she said. “May as well start some new traditions.”
“Oh and we should exchange our gifts,” I said to Holly.
“Yeah, we can wear them tomorrow.” Her eyes brightened. “Talon?”
Talon made a face. “Whatever.”
Holly and I ran to the closet to get our stash and brought them out to the living room. We sat on the floor like little kids and Mom handed us each a gift. Talon sat in the chair looking grim and forced a smile only when Mom gave him his gift. This had been going on for hours.
The paper started ripping and flying after that. Mom got Holly and me each a new bag and Talon a new wallet. Talon opened the gift Holly gave him and then the boots I’d picked out for him. He’d wanted them for a while, but his face fell and he set them aside. I realized why when I opened the small box he gave me and found the perfume he’d picked out for his mom.
“Thanks,” I said. Holly narrowed her eyes at Talon. He got up and went to his room, leaving his boots on the floor with the paper. I started gathering the scraps as Holly went after him. Silence fell across the room and my cheeks warmed with embarrassment when mom glanced my way. I knew that she and Tom both realized what had happened.
“I love my bag, Mom,” I said, hoping to distract them from the muffled conversation on the other side of the wall. Holly was letting him have it good, and he took it, from what I could hear. “It’s perfect and will go with everything.”
“I’m glad you like it. I thought Holly would like that one? It matches her favorite shoes.” Mom made small talk until Holly came out and gathered her things and I bailed for my room.
I threw my things on the bed and then on a whim, picked up the perfume and walked it across the hall. I found Talon sitting on his bed holding a small box in his hand. He tucked it away when I walked in, making me think it was probably my real gift.
“I don’t want your mother’s gift.” I tossed it on the bed next to his bag. “You’ve spent a lot of time lately trying to make me hate you. Congratulations.” I went to my room and buried deep down in my covers, refusing to let the tears come, till I fell asleep.
I woke up in the night when my bed moved. I opened my eyes to see Talon sitting in the dim light from the hummingbird. It startled me at first, but I was glad I had not reacted. He sat quiet and I didn’t let him know I was awake. I closed my eyes and kept them narrowed, only peeking at him. He stared at the wall a long time, and then he looked over at me. He touched my leg and covered my feet that had found their way out of the blankets. He reached to the ground and sat the boots at the foot of my bed so I’d find them the next morning. Then he stepped around Holly and went back to his room.
***
The next morning Mom woke us up to finish our gift exchange. Then we had a huge breakfast with my favorite pancake Santa faces that Mom had made me every year since I was a little girl. Even Talon smiled when she told the story of how my Grammy used to let me make the whipped cream beards.
Owen showed up at the back door while I helped Mom and Holly with the clean-up. He had a gift bag in his hand, a red one with a candy cane striped bow. Mom let him in, surprised that he’d shown up so early considering we’d been invited to his house for dinner at noon.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas; Holly; Talon.” Everyone returned the sentiment, including Talon who kept a straight face, staring at the bag. Tom stared at Owen too, but most likely for a different reason. “Could I borrow Lily for a moment?” Owen asked Mom. I gave her a glance and she smiled, nodding and shooing us off to my room. I guess she felt so sorry for me after Talon’s stunt that she didn’t want to wreck my Christmas spirit.
I led Owen back and shut my door almost closed, leaving the bathroom one opened, which was in part because of the rule Tom had made. “I thought we were exchan
ging gifts after dinner,” I reminded. Then I noticed his eyes weren’t as green as mine anymore.
“Ah, this is special,” he defended.
“Owen, what happened to your eyes?” I touched his cheekbone. Had something happened to him? Had it all been a dream or side-effect from dying? I studied them closer. They were a muddy, mossy green that still looked really good on him, but really dull compared to what they had been. Of course, it’s not easy to mess up his pretty.
“Oh, yeah, Granny sent Hunter on a mission last night. He found these at a convenience store in Beaumont. Talk about convenience, those people must have everything. ” He laughed. “She didn’t want Cate and Tom to see me with my new Lily greens.”
“Lily greens?” I laughed.
“Yeah, because there’s no other name for that shade.” He held up the bag. “Do you want this or not?”
“Yes!” I smiled and pulled him over to my bed and we plopped down, Owen’s hip touching mine.
“It’s really no biggie, just something we’ll need.”
“We?” I raised a brow.
“For Christ’s sake, just open it!”
“It’s not polite to be blasphemous on Christ’s birthday, you know?” I shook a finger at him. “You might lose those new Lily greens.” I opened the bag and for a moment my heart sank.
Inside was a bottle of what looked like perfume. I remembered the same sick feeling of Talon’s gift, but then remembered that Owen said this was something we’d both need. I realized then what he’d bought.
The clear glass bottle was smooth and round and really pretty, and reminded me of one you’d see with fancy bath oil. It contained pure, cold, icy blue Water.
“It’s from the well at Birdie’s house. Hunter and I went back late last night. He told me about the tainted well and how Ray has been using it to manipulate us and lure us into his plans.”
