Last Descendants (Vitarian Chronicles Volume 2)

by S. L. Watson

  Something worried me about how standoffish this Freya had been when I’d been in her shop. “Darion and I are coming with you.” My tone brooked no argument.

  “Agreed,” Darion added.

  A ray of sunlight shot through the kitchen window, appearing to slice through the air, and bathed the kitchen in a warm glow. After a moment, our mom took one each of our hands. “After we’re dressed for the ball, we’ll go see Freya on our way, together.”

  Before I knew it, we had pulled into the waterfront parking area for the café, located directly in front of the building my mother owned. It housed the café on the bottom floor and apartment units on the top floors, which she rented out to tenants.

  The parking spaces were all occupied save the one that mom kept reserved for one of our vehicles at all times, for unloading products. She stopped and waited for the group dressed as ghouls and ogres to cross the parking lot before she whipped into her reserved space in front of the café.

  Now that it was October, the thirty-one days of Halloween Town festivities that our town hosted to attract tourism were in full swing. Tourists flocked to the area during the entire month, visiting decorated shops, and riding on bus tours while listening to presentations on ghosts and aliens.

  Our town was known as a local hot spot for haunted historic buildings, and it didn’t hurt that we also had a UFO sighting on record, or that some of our historic buildings had been officially deemed haunted by teams of ghost-hunting “experts.” October definitely added a change of pace to our normally sleepy town, and the local business owners enjoyed a nice economic boom.

  I pushed the SUV door open and stood in the parking space, gazing out at the surrounding mountains and the Columbia River. A pang tightened in my chest every time I thought of leaving the town I called home for a planet I’d never known. There had to be an alternative to the deal I’d made with Oria. She wanted her bloodline back on the throne. If I hadn’t agreed, Darion would have been dead now, and Siobhan would have succeeded in destroying our mother. I had no other choice but to fulfill Oria’s prophecy and accept her offer.

  A gust of wind rippled past, and I felt a streak of envy at watching the sailboats tack back and forth along the estuary, taking advantage of this gorgeous fall morning and the calm breeze. The sun added a warm glow all around, while its rays sparkled over the river water, giving it a majestic appearance.

  The loud horn of a school bus splashed with fake blood and guts, and doubling as a temporary tour bus for the dead, wicked, and immortal, brought my attention back to the present. The bus cruised through the parking lot, blasting spooky tunes from the open windows. People dressed as aliens, witches, vampires, scary red-haired clowns with razor-sharp teeth, and princesses waved from the windows as they hooted and hollered along with the music.

  “Humans are so weird,” Darion complained as he lifted open the trunk of the 4Runner.

  I quirked an eyebrow at him as we piled our arms with boxes. “Vitarians don’t celebrate Halloween on our planet?”

  Darion barked out a laugh. “Halloween is a human holiday.” Darion looked out at the passersby. “Humans have lost touch with the true meaning of their traditions.” He pointed toward the crowds taking selfies with Halloween props. “Do you think any of these people even know or care about the history of Samhain or Dia de los Muertos or any other cultural tradition that celebrates their dead? What they do care about”—Darion’s mouth turned down like he’d eaten something sour—“is the number of likes and follows they get on their social media accounts.” His forehead creased with lines as he shook his head.

  I shifted the boxes, trying not to get irritated at the way Darion regarded humans. “Please don’t go into another one of your ‘Vitarians are far superior to humans’ rants again. I’ve had enough. And”—my brow arched—“I see you’ve been reading up on human history. Maybe there’s more to humans than you give them credit for.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, well, Vitarians like to know the history of their home.”

  Darion’s response surprised me. I steadied the wobbling stack on my hip. “So Earth’s home now, huh?” I couldn’t hide the hint of sarcasm lacing my words.

  He snatched a teetering box from the top of my stack. “Don’t read too much into it.” He closed the trunk door. “Now, remember, act surprised,” Darion prompted as he pulled open the café door and held it wide.

  As expected, a chorus of voices sang “Surprise!” when we entered. Someone came up and removed the toppling weight from my arms, and I looked around to find the space filled with smiling faces. A banner hung above the register and bakery case that read, HAPPY BIRTHDAY EV AND DARION.

  I turned to find my mom. She gave us a beaming smile and waved excitedly as she came over. “I can’t believe this is really happening.” She squeezed us both into a group hug. “I finally get to celebrate a birthday for both of my children together.” She wiped an escaped tear from the corner of her eye. “I hope you two don’t mind the big party.”

  “Of course not, Mom.” I snapped my mental guard into place to block the vibrations drawing nearer to me. A group this large took more conscious work to keep the tendrils of energy from latching onto me.

  Since I’d absorbed Siobhan’s powers last year, my own abilities had heightened, and lately, proved unpredictable. As my ability to siphon grew stronger, I unintentionally attracted energy everywhere I went, and if I wasn’t careful, I could leave a person feeling drained for days.

  Darion squeezed my shoulder. He knew the challenge I faced while being in large groups.

  “Thanks, Mom.” He wrapped his free arm around our mom. “I’ve never had a surprise party before. This is awesome!”

  Molly came bolting in our direction. Her hair was nearly all one shade of blond now, save for the bright pink strip she kept dyed on one side. “Happy birthday, you two,” she sang while hugging me and kissing my cheek.

  Darion synced up with Molly as she linked her arm through his, and the two huddled in whispered giggles as they separated themselves from me and my mom.

  Molly had been the first human Darion seemed to like. She’d won him over with her quirky and honest character, letting him know when his serious sarcasm wasn’t appreciated.

  I’d held my breath the first time she’d scolded him. He’d been more unpredictable than my magic when he’d first come into our lives. But his silver eyes had lit up at her bluntness, and he’d truly smiled for the first time since he’d been freed from Siobhan.

  “What do you think is going on between those two?” I quietly asked my mom while noticing brushed shoulders and meaningful glances between Molly and Darion.

  My mom also observed their interactions. “I don’t know exactly, but Molly has had a wonderful influence on Darion. It’s been months since he’s slipped into another melancholy episode. Who would have thought”—she waved at Molly and Darion as the two laughed while Molly shoved some kind of brie-stuffed hors d’oeuvre into Darion’s mouth—“that our little Molly would someday be the ray of hope to lift my son out of the dark pit Siobhan buried him in? I love that sweet girl.”

  I glanced back at Molly and Darion with the eyes of an Empath. Their auras bloomed bright pinks, purples, and greens, blending as one. Energy sizzled in their surrounding space. They were in love. How had I missed this until now? I blinked and pulled my magic back, not wanting to invade my friend’s privacy. A lump of saliva caught in my dry throat as I realized that I’d been so caught up in searching for answers to Creagan’s death, and burying my feelings toward Arden, that I’d been an absent friend.

  Well, that’s changing right now.

  I bristled as I remembered how upset Molly had been at the studio when Darion hadn’t rejected Bree’s flirting right away. I’d thought Darion was just being Darion at the time, but now that I sensed his true feelings toward Molly, it ticked me off even more that he hadn’t immediately put Bree in her place.

  Energy built at my fingertips as I considered sending Dario
n a jolt that would teach him a lesson for acting like a tool with Bree. But it faded when Darion interlaced his fingers with Molly’s, and the two shared a stare that I recognized.

  Indecision gnawed at me as I rubbed my hands together, and the magic eased. Molly was great for Darion—no argument there—but was he good for her? I’d learned many things about Darion over this past year. He feared rejection and masked his feelings by acting in ways to turn people off. I knew it was a protective mechanism he’d developed as a child, desperate for Siobhan’s affection. His moods could be volatile. Sure, he’d improved dramatically, but Molly had always been like a sister to me, and I couldn’t ignore Darion’s past and what he’d been capable of before, even though he’d been under Siobhan’s manipulations. Molly hadn’t known the Darion I’d first met, and I had to wonder how much of that Darion still existed. If he hurt Molly, even unintentionally, he’d have to answer to me, brother or not.

  Fabric tickled my shoulder as my mom bent toward my ear. “You made this possible for him. If you hadn’t saved his life and released him from Siobhan’s curse, he’d still be linked to her, or worse.” She squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry we haven’t found a way to free you both from that wretched curse, but we will.”

  I appreciated my mom’s optimism, but if my deceased ancestor in the spirit realm, who was one of the greatest spell casters on our planet, didn’t know of a way to completely break the curse, then chances were Darion and I would be linked forever. There was only one way that we knew of to dissolve this curse, and that was for one of us to completely absorb the life force of the other, and that wasn’t an option.

  Voices boomed around us as guests mingled. More people than I’d ever seen at once filled the café. My mom must have invited half the town. Bodies flowed in and out, filling plates with food from the buffet or accepting treats from the trays circling the room. I leaned my head gently against my mom’s. “Let’s forget about Siobhan and her curse for now, and let’s enjoy all of the planning and hard work you put into this party.”

  She nodded and reined in her emotions, then went and fetched herself a glass of champagne and brought me a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling cider. I’d learned that alcohol made it harder for me to control my powers, so I chose to refrain from it entirely. Occasionally I enjoyed a sip of the ever flower elixir at Neil’s club, but even that had to be consumed in limited doses.

  “Oh, here comes Lucas and Jasper.” I sensed their energy and waved them over. My eyes went wide when I saw what the two wore. A glittering skintight and neon-green alien suit that would most definitely glow in the dark covered Jasper. Shiny green makeup disguised his face, and he’d sprayed his hair to match.

  Jasper had obviously convinced Lucas to join him in dressing up for the Halloween masquerade ball tonight. And by the look of it, they’d used Lucas’s Australian heritage as inspiration. He was the spitting image of Mick “Crocodile” Dundee, from head to toe. Wavy wisps of his sandy-blond hair stuck out of the cowboy hat atop his head. A sleeveless dark green leather vest accentuated his toned torso and offered the full scope of the corded muscles tattooed in dark ink from shoulders to hands.

  My eyes traveled the length of his tight leather pants that left nothing to the imagination. Oh, boy. A sting prickled in my cheeks as I dragged my eyes back up his body and gulped down my chilled cider.

  A soft voice to my left broke my lingering appraisal of Lucas as he moved through the room, making his way in my direction. “Happy birthday, Everly.”

  I turned to see Piper and her dad, Sheriff Baze, walking up. “I made you some homemade soap.” Piper held out a small wrapped package topped with a pink bow, matching the one she had tied around her dark, glossy hair.

  “Pip, you’re not supposed to tell what the gift is before the recipient opens it.” The sheriff smiled lovingly down at his daughter.

  “Thank you, Piper. I can smell the lovely scent through the paper, and it smells incredible. I can’t wait to use it.”

  Her eyes twinkled at my delight in her gift. Her blue eye followed her brown eye as she looked nervously to the side, down at her feet, and then back at me. “Um, now that I’ve learned to make my own soap, I was wondering if you’d teach me to make your oatmeal butterscotch cookies.”

  “Piper,” said the sheriff, patiently. “I’m sure Everly is very busy.”

  “It’s okay, Sheriff. I would be honored to teach Piper how to make her favorite cookies.” I winked at her, and she jumped up and down, sending the ruffles of her dress into a frenzy.

  “Well, if you’re sure it won’t interfere with your plans, and please, it’s just Sam today,” the sheriff—Sam—said, smiling, his gaze drifting to my mom as she neared. “Cacsha, this is a well-structured party.” His cheeks burned. “I just mean, you’ve done a good job managing the flow of traffic coming in and out.”

  Was the sheriff trying to flirt with my mom? Albeit in an awkward sort of way, but his energy had that nervous, “I like you, but I don’t know how to tell you” sort of vibe.

  “Thank you, Sam,” my mom returned, casually tucking her hair behind one ear. “I suppose, being sheriff, it’d be hard not to notice that type of thing.” Now her cheeks had brightened.

  Okay. What’s going on here?

  Before I had a chance to put any more thought into my mom and the sheriff, Molly came catapulting toward me. “Ev!” she squealed as she threw her arms around me. We both stumbled back with her enthusiasm.

  “Hey, Molls. What’s up?” I laughed as I hugged her back and breathed in the familiar smells of warm spicy cinnamon, sweet sugar, and earthy honey that drifted from her hair, a dead giveaway that she’d been in the kitchen helping prepare for today’s party. The smell reminded me of not so long ago, when Molly, Ty, and I would bake together here at the café. I smiled at the memory of the three of us covering the kitchen in flour during one of our many flour wars, which had inevitably brought my mom scowling into the kitchen before she’d shoved her hand in the flour and annihilated the three of us. My stomach ached at the memory. I missed how things used to be between the three of us, before I’d lied to Ty and ruined our friendship.

  “I can’t wait for tonight! We’re going to have so much fun,” Molly blurted, drawing me back to the present moment. “Did Darion tell you?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  “Tell me what?”

  “He’s going to be my Gomez. He didn’t say anything?” Her tone lost some of its enthusiasm.

  Now I understood why Darion had been so concerned about being late to the ball tonight. He’d made plans with Molly. “Oh, he hasn’t mentioned his costume, but I do know that he’s been looking forward to tonight.” I searched the crowd for Darion. “We’ll be a little late, since we have to help my mom with something first.” I didn’t want to give specifics. If I told Molly where we were going, she’d want to come, and ask questions I couldn’t answer.

  “Yeah, Darion mentioned that to me. He was going to pick me up, but now we’re just going to meet there.” She shrugged. “It’s okay.”

  A pang pinched at my chest as Molly twisted a strand of her hair, trying hard not to show how bummed she felt. I’d tell Darion to go ahead and pick Molly up like they’d planned and let me go to see Freya with Mom alone, but I knew he’d never agree. He could be worse than Jasper at times when it came to being protective.

  Molly’s face lit up. “Ty’s here.”

  “He is?” I turned, scanning the area Molly faced, and spotted my friend. My lips pressed together. I hadn’t seen Ty since he’d taken a second job and scaled back his hours at the café several weeks ago. I chewed my bottom lip as I took in his new appearance. He’d cut his hair in a new, shorter style and wasn’t wearing his usual bandanna and tie-dyed shirt. I wanted to ask Molly what’d inspired his drastic change in style, but there was no time.

  “Hey, Ev.” Ty’s lips curved up, showing off his dimpled cheeks.

  I returned Ty’s smile, still in awe of his new attire. I glanced at Molly, and she
shrugged like she didn’t have a clue either.

  “Hi, Ty. How are you?”

  The guilt still stung as I met Ty’s milk-chocolate eyes. This was the most we’d spoken to each other since I could remember. Had he changed his mind about the ultimatum he’d given me when I hadn’t told him the truth after he’d loaned me his dad’s boat? I’d wanted to tell him the truth, and I still did, but knowing the truth about me could be dangerous. Sometimes I wished I could go back to not knowing. Life had been so much simpler then. I hated keeping secrets from the people I cared about.

  Ty shifted and pulled at the top button of his collared shirt like he was a little uncomfortable in his new clothes. He glanced around the room as though he was searching for someone, before responding to my question. “I’ve been good.” He stopped fiddling with the stiff fold of his collar and lifted his other hand. “Happy birthday.” He held out his trademark gift bag made of old comics.

  My cheeks lifted as I scanned the cartoon characters, remembering all the fun times Ty and I had once had reading comics together. He’d used our favorite comic to construct the bag. “Thank you, Ty.” I accepted the gift, hoping the gesture meant what I thought it did.

  “Well, let’s find out what’s inside.” Molly edged closer.

  Ty and Molly both watched eagerly as I pulled the tissue paper off the top, then carefully lifted out a beautiful dream catcher. My eyes went wide as I traced the intricately woven web to the E that decorated the center. My chest tightened at Ty’s generosity and thoughtfulness. I forced back the tear that burned at the corner of my eye.

  “Ty, it’s absolutely lovely. Thank you so much.”

  The tension Ty carried eased, and his eyes beamed. “Yeah, you’re welcome. This weaving technique”—his finger traced a delicate area of web—“has been a skill passed down through my family, originating among the first tribes in this area.”