by Mac Flynn
"Stop yer whining. You asked for it," he snapped.
Quill rubbed his wounded arm. "Yeah, but just to wake me up, not to cut off my arm."
"Leila," Vincent whispered. I turned to him. He was back to his human self. "I'm. . .I'm sorry I-" I pressed a finger to his lips and smiled.
"No apologizing," I reminded him.
Vincent smiled and grasped my hand in both of his. He leaned down and pressed our lips together in a chaste kiss that warmed me against the cool night.
"Yuk!" Bram commented.
"You're telling me, Pipsqueak," Quill agreed.
I broke us apart and glared at them. "Don't you two have a lake to drowned in?"
"I think there's been enough death in there," Quill retorted. He turned his attention to Vincent. "I couldn't get a good look at you, but you looked different. How'd you do that skin-changing thing, anyway?"
"That's his half-werewolf self, you idiot," Bram explained.
"At least I'm not a pipsqueak, Pipsqueak."
Bram stretched his neck so his face was closer to Quill's. "Wanna say that during a full moon?"
"I don't have to wait for a new month to fight you, Pipsqueak."
A loud, deep groan interrupted their childish behavior. We spun around and glimpsed a change come over the cabin house. Over a century of rot fell over the logs and windows. The wood cracked and splintered, and the glass windows shattered. One of the deck uprights snapped and forced the entire structure to sag. Trees forced their way from beneath the deck and foundation, and invaded the rooms.
"It's all. . .rotted," Quill commented.
"With him goes the illusion," I whispered.
Quill raised an eyebrow. "So everything we saw was just a trick?"
I nodded. "Yeah. The deck, the rooms. Probably even the food."
The color drained from Bram's face. He simultaneously clutched his stomach and covered his mouth. "I'll be right back," he muttered. He turned and raced into the trees. A moment later we heard the sound of barfing.
Quill shook his head. "Kids."
I smiled and glanced at Vincent. He gazed out on the lake. I followed his eyes and saw the perfect reflection of the sky. The waning moon illuminated the entire lake shore.
"I remember something," he whispered.
My eyes widened. "You remember who you are?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, at least not quite. But I know where we need to go." He turned to me and studied my face. "Will you. . .will you go with me?"
I grinned. "I've got a promise to keep, too." He blinked at me. "I'm not leaving until I get all my answers. They're the same answers you're looking for."
He smiled and gave a nod. "Thank you."
I turned away and folded my arms across my chest. "Of course, I would like it if there wasn't so many ghosts. I can't shoot them with my gun."
He chuckled. "I'll try to make things easier for you next time."
"So where do we go from here?" Quill spoke up.
Vincent pointed at the woods behind the cabin. "That way."
And so we went on the last leg of our journey. We left behind destruction and death, but this time there was something different.
This time, we left behind love. And maybe a little hope.
For all books by Mac Flynn visit her author's page or visit Mac Flynn's website.
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