There was also the matter of getting Raiya to agree to this. I looked at her now, and I knew she was too important to me to just drag her into all of this. Besides all the pain from her past she would undoubtedly have to face, there was also the matter of her present concern over her power.
She had to keep her desire for retribution in check. I was supposed to be helping her with that. Not pushing her into a direct conflict which would force her to face that issue head on, largely without preparation.
But we were family. We loved each other, and, knowing her stubborn determination to keep me safe, she would likely follow me even if she objected.
So it was better to just tell her for practical reasons. I could’ve made a case for not telling her under emotional reasons, but theory is always harder to deal with in practice than in words.
I sighed. “I had a talk with Dante this evening,” I admitted.
She frowned instantly. “You really should stay away from him,” she told me. There was no love to be found for Mikey’s dad in the memories she’d regained, obviously.
“I know,” I said. “But he didn’t know what had happened to you. Mark didn’t tell him about your heart being healed. He thought you were dead.”
“He might not have known,” Raiya replied bitterly, “but he was still a party to it.”
“Rosemary’s the one who deserves your anger,” I said. “Or at least, more of it.”
“We agree with that,” Raiya said, “but just because I am angry at her, doesn’t mean I am willing to overlook all the pain Dante caused us before that.”
“I’m not overlooking it,” I said.
“Yes, you are. You’re being too pragmatic about it,” Raiya said. “It doesn’t matter to you what he’s done, but you’ll help him out here if it means something for you.”
“Yes, that’s right!” I snapped back. “Because this time, helping him means that I will be protecting you from your heinous grandmother, and Lucas and Lyra as well.”
Raiya stilled. I could feel the frustration hanging in the air all around her, entangling itself around me.
“He told me that thanks to your dark transformation, SWORD can track you again. And they know about Lyra and Lucas, too.” I began to pace around the room, unsettled. “I can’t risk you, or the kids. Principles are all well and good, but they mean nothing if they lead you to a passive front. We have to take a stand on this, and yes, if it means working with Dante to defeat SWORD and save you, and the universe, too, then I will.”
Raiya was silent for a long moment. “Alright,” she finally said. “But I don’t like this.”
“If there’s ever a written record of this moment, I will make sure that it’s included,” I retorted. The irritated look on her face told me quite clearly that she wanted to slap me.
I could understand that she wanted to remain philosophically pure, working against evil with the forces of good. But we didn’t have much of that at our immediate disposal, and Dante was right; we didn’t have much time. But I did still want her on my side. “Raiya ... ”
“It’s fine,” she replied curtly.
“Come on, you know you’ll do this because it means you’ll be protecting Lyra and Lucas.” I glanced up the stairs, where I knew the kids were sleeping soundly after their long day of learning.
“I know,” she snapped. “But I still don’t trust Dante. I don’t have to like him, and I don’t have to like working with him.”
“I don’t like working with him either,” I argued. “He just seems to know how to make himself indispensable.” I crossed my arms over my chest, frustrated.
We were silent for a few moments, before Raiya stepped up next to me. “We’re not going to think of a plan if we’re arguing,” she pointed out.
I nodded, glumly. I took her hand. “I love you,” I said, “and I promise you, this would be the last thing in the world we would be arguing about if I wasn’t so sure Dante was right about this.”
“I’m worried he’s right, too,” she admitted quietly.
“Alright then,” I said. “Let’s think of a plan.”
“What did he tell you?” Raiya asked, moving away from me. I followed her as she went into the kitchen and began making coffee.
“He told me that your power is connected to the black hole where your star used to be. Rosemary wants to use you to gain access to the River of Life.”
“Makes sense,” Raiya said. “The supernova ripped through the fabric of Time. It would be seen as a black hole here, instead of an entrance to the Immortal Realm.”
“Do you think her plan would work?”
“Easily,” she said, sadness in her voice. “It’s a good reminder not to indulge in my desire for vengeance. Evil is a choice we face, and with every choice, it feeds it. If I get too careless, it could easily tear open the black hole and devour the world.”
I’d forgotten what a talent Raiya had for painting, even if it was just using her words.
“How do we stop it then?” I asked as she handed me my mug. “And then, how do we stop her?”
“We’ll have to close it up,” she said. “That’s the easy part.”
“Easy? Taking on a black hole is easy?” I nearly spit out my coffee.
“The fabric of Time is very powerful,” she said. “Shouldn’t take more than a little blood to sew it up, even though it’ll still be a weaker spot in Alora’s—”
“So the fabric is a real thing, then?”
“Yes,” Raiya replied. “Don’t you remember Alora talking about it?”
No.
“When my star exploded, we passed through Time’s barrier of protection around the world,” Raiya explained. “Instead of just tearing through it, a small patch of it broke off. It was reborn with us in this realm.”
“So ... you have it?” I asked.
“Yes. I hid it,” Raiya said.
Despite the pressing situation we faced, I was intrigued. “Where did you find it?”
“When I was first coming into my powers,” she said, “I didn’t know what was happening. I was young, only seven when my parents died. Grandpa—sorry, Draco—taught me what I needed to know about my powers. But the first time I used my powers, successfully, I found the fabric of Time.”
She stirred creamer into her coffee as she got lost in her memories for the moment. “Or maybe it was more that it found me.”
I frowned. “Where is it?”
“In one of my paintings.” Raiya glanced over at me. “I hid it under several layers of my power and my paint. Once we get it out of there, it’ll be easy enough to call St. Brendan and see about returning it to Alora.”
“We’ll get to go up and see St. Brendan? And Aleia, and Alora?” When Raiya nodded, I grinned. While I had been desperate to forget my pain, I’d forgotten just how many pleasures I’d tried to throw away, too.
“I didn’t see the painting while we were at Rachel’s. I was wondering if you could take me over to see her,” Raiya said.
“You want to go see Rachel?”
“Sure. I’ve missed her.”
“She’ll be thrilled to see you.” I glanced over at the calendar. “She’ll be especially thrilled, most likely, because she’s the one who’s catering Mikey and Gwen’s wedding. She might need your help.”
Raiya’s eyes lit up. “Can we go and see her tomorrow?”
“Absolutely,” I said. “We’ll need to go shopping anyway. I didn’t get a gift for Mikey yet.”
“That would be wonderful,” Raiya said. “And I’ll find all my stuff, too. Once we have the fabric, we can call St. Brendan and find a way to protect it from SWORD until he gets here.”
“Well, that’s good,” I said. “See? Plan half-formulated, problem half-solved.”
“The other half is harder,” Raiya pointed out.
“There are reasons I’m not optimistic,” I said. “And you’re one of them.”
She smirked. “It is my job to keep you grounded.”
“Grounded, not ground up.”
Raiya shrugged. “Same thing, some days.” She took a sip of her coffee, her eyes never leaving mine while she stared at me over the rim.
I laughed. “This is going to get old one day.”
“We might enjoy it more when we’re older.”
It was too much. I plucked the cup out of her hands and then kissed her. “I can’t wait to find out.”
“In the meantime,” Raiya murmured delicately, “we still need to take care of SWORD so we can protect Lyra and Lucas.”
“And you, too.” I released her and went back to my own cup of coffee.
“I’m more worried about them. How is your mom’s search coming for their parents?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know. I guess they’ve grown on you?”
“Of course. They’re sweet kids.”
“When they’re not trying to kill each other.”
“Well, yeah.” She giggled. “But they do seem to like learning. They’re picking up their skills pretty quickly.”
“They’ve been hanging around me for a while now. I suppose it’s only natural.”
Raiya rolled her eyes.
“In all seriousness, though, I think we’re going to have to stop Rosemary, and we’ll likely have to do it before we can find their parents,” I said.
“I agree.”
Her answer came too quickly for comfort. I knew what she was thinking. “We have to be careful about her.”
“Make it look like an accident, right?” Raiya joked, but the emotions swimming to the surface told me a different story.
It was time for a different approach. “It’s not my preference, but if we can capture her anyway, and give her over to Dante, it will be enough to bring her to justice. He’s not happy with her so-called leadership, especially since it includes blackmail against his family and bribery with power.”
“She’s more powerful than Dante. She could overcome him.”
“Even though I am inclined to agree,” I said, “I am willing to stake my bets on Dante. He gave me a camera earlier, so I could take pictures of Gwen’s wedding.”
“What’s that got to do with power?”
“So I think he’s got his own reasons for wanting us to defeat her and asking us to help. The fact is, he promised to leave us alone—and the kids, too—if we helped.”
“Right. What if he doesn’t keep his promise?” Raiya asked.
“We’ll deal with him then, and we’ll teach the kids how to deal with him if he comes back when we’re not around,” I said. “Believe me, I enjoy punching him. It won’t be a problem, if he knows what’s good for him.”
“So if we capture Rosemary, we’ll be able to shut down SWORD?” Raiya asked, clearly trying to get my mind focused on other problems.
“I don’t think so, which is the other reason I think working with Dante isn’t a bad—okay, completely bad—idea. He told me that Rosemary is old. He suspects that she hated or harbored something against Draco, since they were married. She’s here, searching for you, and now Lyra and Lucas, too.”
“So?”
“So, even if we capture her, SWORD still has other branches and more agents at their disposal. Dante says there are plenty who want to break free from the Matriarch’s grip. Remember Martha—you know, Mrs. Smithe? She was one of the people they coerced into helping the company.”
“That means he’ll be their new leader?” Raiya frowned.
I shrugged. “If nothing else, he’ll be able to set us up in a new life that’s free from SWORD.”
“I don’t like this,” she said, staring off into the distance. “This is not going to permanently solve anything; this is just going with the lesser of two evils.”
“We are supposed to be the ones who hope,” I said. “And I have more hope that Dante will keep his word than Rosemary will repent of her power lust.”
Raiya sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We can’t keep running from Grandma Rosemary.”
A rush of adrenaline hit me. It was ever a relief and a challenge to win against Raiya.
She glanced over at me. “How are we going to capture her?”
“Let’s talk to Dante again before we have to worry about that,” I said. “In the meantime, we have something else we need to worry about.
“What’s that?”
“Making you look presentable for Rachel, and Mikey and Gwen’s wedding,” I said.
“Excuse me?” Raiya put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean, ‘presentable?’”
“I love you, and I think you’re beautiful,” I passionately declared. “But after seeing you waltz around here in my mother’s old clothes, I almost miss your Rosemont uniform.”
“Hey!”
“Hey nothing,” I said firmly. “We’re going shopping tomorrow, and that’s the end of it.”
☼17☼
Reunion
“The end of it” actually ended with me getting a headache. It was well worth it. Raiya cooperated with me, eventually, and I got to guilt her for a few hours as I complained about the bump to the head I sustained while wrestling with her.
And for what it’s worth, I had been telling her the truth. I loved Raiya and she was beautiful. But there was something even more magical about her once her hair was trimmed and I forced her into clothes that fit her properly, both in body and in personality. She seemed more confident, and I could tell she was more comfortable.
Which came in handy, since Lyra and Lucas had decided to tag along with us, and they were a handful.
“Ooh, I like that,” Lyra said, tugging on the new sweater Raiya had on.
“Careful, then,” I snapped. “You don’t want to ruin it by pulling on it.”
“I’m being careful,” she insisted. She stuck her tongue out at me.
“We can get you one just like it,” Raiya told her, which got Lyra excited again.
“I want a game,” Lucas whined. “Can I get one of those games so Adam and I can play together?”
“No,” I said. “We’re trying to get you home to your parents. You don’t know when Cheryl will find them.”
“She said she’s waiting on them,” Lucas huffed.
“It’s not our fault you can’t seem to get to them,” Lyra added.
“We’re doing the best we can,” I shot back. “In the meantime, you can get along just fine with Adam’s stash of games. I know he’s got a lot of mine in there, too, so there’s plenty to go around.”
“Some of them are pretty violent as it is,” Raiya added.
I nearly laughed at that, but wisely said nothing.
“I’m hungry,” Lucas said. “I want to go eat.”
So easily distracted ... it’s a good thing I didn’t give and buy the video game. I shook my head, though whether it was at Lucas’ inattention or at my frugality, I wasn’t sure.
“Are you ready for lunch?” Raiya asked the kids, and instantly they began hopping up and down with different suggestions.
I stepped in and stopped the argument. “Let’s just get there first, shall we?”
“I’m looking forward to seeing Rachel again,” Raiya told me as we made our way toward Rachel’s new café.
Recalling the awkward parting Rachel and I had reluctantly shared, I could only nod. I hoped Rachel was in a forgiving mood. I wouldn’t blame her if she wasn’t happy to see me. I knew I’d left her as much as I’d given up on Raiya.
Rachel’s new restaurant came into sight as we headed down the street. I was impressed; I had seen the pictures on the Internet, but I hadn’t really expected it to make my heart clench the way it did.
I still missed the old familiarity of her previous location. Rachel’s café—now titled simply, “Rachel’s,”—was a masterpiece of modern construction. It was nearly the opposite of the old house. The new place had simple, bold lines, with patterned glass windows that let in all the winter sunshine.
It might’ve looked different on the outside, but walking inside was the same.
As soon as I walked
inside, the winter air disappeared and the feeling of finding home came rushing at me. The welcoming sensation warmed me all the way through, inside and out. I let it surround me for a long moment, as Lyra and Lucas immediately headed for the confectionary display.
“Dinger!”
I grinned as I saw Mikey approaching. Even the catcalls are the same.
I could feel Raiya’s hand tighten around mine anxiously; I supposed it had to be hard, reintroducing yourself after you had been declared missing and/or dead after so many years. I squeezed her hand back reassuringly.
“Hey, man,” Mikey said. “I was wondering if you would come around.”
“You know I couldn’t resist Rachel’s,” I said. “Especially when there are so many good things to celebrate.” I glanced over at Raiya.
It was then that Mikey noticed her. His eyes went wide, and then he glanced at me, looking for a confirmation.
I nodded.
“I guess my dad got a hold of you,” he said slowly.
“Yep. Several times, actually.”
“It’s nice to see you again ... Starry Knight,” Mikey said with a shy smile, which Raiya returned. “I hope Dante didn’t cause you any undue trouble.”
“He’s more of the messenger,” Raiya assured him kindly. “It’s nice to see you again, too. But please stick to ‘Raiya’ while we’re here.”
Mikey seemed to relax. “I’ll try to keep it as normal as possible,” he said. “Gwen and Tim are coming. Rachel’s giving us cake samples today, to see what kind of cake we’d like.”
“Tim?” I asked.
Mikey broke out into waves of laughter. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “Tim Ryder, your favorite. I forgot all about that. This is going to be hilarious!”
“Who’s Tim Ryder?” Raiya asked. I could tell from her expression she was trying to think of the exact memory when I gave her a hand.
“Tim liked Gwen when they were doing Romeo and Juliet,” I said. “He dropped out of school and went into the army, like, what, ten years ago or something?”
“About,” Mikey said. “He finished his tours overseas with the army and got the government to pay for his college degree. He’s got a double major in business and theatre from the city college. That’s why he’s a good business partner for Gwen.”
Everlasting Page 15
