by Sarra Cannon
“Put this in his drink about an hour before you want him to fall asleep,” she said. “He’s resistant to a lot of these kinds of potions, but it’s the best I can do on short notice. It should knock him out for a few hours, though, at least.”
“That’s all I need,” I said. I stood and put the vial in my pocket. “Thank you for this.”
“I would say you’re welcome, but I’m not happy about this, Franki. Not like you think,” she said. “This will destroy him.”
I swallowed back tears, refusing to let more fall.
“He’s strong, and he’s lived a very long life,” I said. “His sister’s death destroyed him, too, but time heals all wounds, right? In time, he’ll get over me, too.”
She shook her head. “He won’t,” she said. “This is different, Franki, and you know that just as well as I do.”
“I have to go,” I said. “Take care of him for me, okay?”
“I will,” she said.
There were tears in her eyes as I walked away, though I couldn’t understand why. This should have been a dream come true for Azure, but maybe I’d been wrong about her. Maybe she did care about me.
Or maybe she just knew that my death would hurt Rend.
It didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was that she would be there for him when he needed her, and that would have to be enough.
While Our Hearts Were Breaking
Rend
When we’d gone over the plan several times, we decided to go downstairs and get some breakfast. We would all need our strength for the night ahead.
Franki was already down there in the kitchen, a pot of freshly brewed coffee and a plate of fresh scrambled eggs steaming on the counter.
She smiled at me, though I could tell she’d been crying.
I wanted to tell her that it was all going to be okay, but that wasn't exactly true. It would be hard for her for a long time, but in time, she would learn to move on.
That was simply how life worked.
I pulled her into my arms, enjoying the feel of her body pressed against mine. Wanting it to last just a little bit longer.
When the crow witches and Katy joined us all downstairs, we sat down together at the table and presented a false plan to Franki and the others.
We told them we’d decided to force the Mother Crow’s hand with an army.
Mary Kathryn protested again, saying that kind of tactic wouldn’t work, but since she couldn’t come up with a better idea, we moved forward, explaining that Franki would come with me to the village later tonight while an army of wolves, vampires, and crows waited just outside the entrance.
I wished I could leave her here altogether, but in order for the plan to work, she needed to be there.
Silas had peeked over Franki’s shoulder at the text written in the journal she’d stolen, and the way the release spell was written, it seemed that the Mother Crow would need to physically remove the stone from Franki’s chest.
There seemed to be no real way around it.
I hated the thought of watching her face as she realized what I truly planned to do, but it couldn’t be helped.
As we went through our false plan, she didn’t argue or offer any ideas. She simply listened, nodding and agreeing that it was probably the best plan of action.
Which wasn't like Franki at all.
I studied her, wondering what had changed. Or if she’d so resigned herself to death that she no longer feared it.
Either way, I was grateful she was in agreement. That would make everything a lot easier when the time came.
After breakfast, I pulled Connery aside and handed him a leather pouch filled with vials.
“For your mystery woman and her sister,” I said. “That should hold her over for years until she learns to control her powers.”
“I don’t know how to thank you for this,” he said. “For everything.”
“Just being there tonight is thanks enough,” I said. “If we can keep the Council from interfering with our plans, it will be the difference between life and death for Franki.”
“I wish I could do more,” he said, throwing an arm around me. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me, and I promise to help look out for Franki if you don’t come home.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Now go. And tell the pack they have my thanks, as well.”
“I will,” he said, disappearing up the stairs.
Silas worked with the two crow witches in the lab for a while after that, building devices that would act almost like fireworks. Spells on a time-delay to distract the Council and make them believe they were being attacked in their own homes.
Franki and I curled up on the couch together for a long time, not saying much, but just enjoying the feel of being together for as long as we could.
I felt the passing of each hour in the pit of my stomach, but I worked hard to act calm and positive.
There was really no other way I would rather spend my last day in this world. Just to be near her was enough for me.
I asked her if she could feel the Mother Crow now that she was farther away, and she said that it was distant. Hardly noticeable at all.
I wondered if she was lying to me, though, because the more time passed throughout the day, the darker she seemed to become. More withdrawn.
I couldn’t blame her. The outcome of tonight’s events was completely uncertain, and it was hard to hold onto any kind of hope that things would turn in our favor. I wished we could recapture the pure joy of connection we’d had last night, but as the hour drew closer, so did the threat of death.
“I want to make a special dinner for us,” she said. “Just the two of us. I know everyone’s going to gather here in the early morning to go to the crow village, but I was hoping we could still have a little time alone. Like last night.”
I smiled. “I’d like nothing more,” I said. “I can send the others to Venom so we can have some time to ourselves.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m just going to go talk to my mom for a few minutes, and then I’ll start cooking. See you down here in about an hour?”
I nodded and watched as she disappeared up the stairs to her mother’s room and knocked on the door.
I decided to head down to the lab. There were so many people who relied on my potions, but I didn’t have time to stockpile some of everything.
I would do what I could with the time I had left.
I lost myself in the creation for the next half-hour, allowing myself the time to daydream about how things might have been if we’d been allowed to marry. I’d never really considered the idea of children until Franki had come into my life, but when I’d proposed, there was a part of me that had started to entertain the thought of building a family together.
I smiled as I thought of a tiny little girl with Franki’s dark hair and my sister’s smile. Or of a boy who would work at my side in the lab.
It would have been a good life, and I indulged in the dream of it. I fell so deeply into my own thoughts that I hardly noticed when footsteps sounded behind me.
They hadn’t used the elevator, which meant it could only be one person. The only one who knew all my secret entrances to this lab and how to navigate them.
“Have a seat,” I said, smiling as they sat on the bench at my side, like so many nights before.
A little while later, I joined Franki in the kitchen to help her finish cooking.
We set the tables with candles and leaned close, sharing our dinner with a glass of wine as we talked about the life we would have when this was over.
The same way I’d indulged in the fantasy of it when I was by myself in the lab, we daydreamed together now. Living it out in words and smiling at the thought, even while our hearts were breaking.
After dinner, we made love again, but it was different than it had been the night before.
It was slow and beautiful, but I think we both knew that it was goodbye. There was sorrow in our joining, our bodies speaking no
w for all the years we should have had.
We savored it for as long as we could, wrapping our bodies around each other as if to say we’d always belonged here and nowhere else.
And later, when I could resist sleep no more, I kissed her deeply and whispered one last time, “I love you.”
Death Was Watching Me
Franki
When Rend was asleep, I reluctantly untangled my body from his and dressed in the dark. I slipped Solomon’s stone over my head and clutched it in my hand. I would need his strength tonight.
One last chance to get this right.
Growing up, we all learn there’s only one thing that’s completely unavoidable in this life.
Death.
No matter who you are or what you do, death is always waiting for you at the end of the road.
At least, that’s what I always believed. Back before I knew I was different. Back before I walked down that alley and stepped through Venom’s doors.
I used to believe a person was lucky just to get seventy or eighty years to figure shit out and try to make the most of it. Now I knew there were some who got more than just a handful of decades.
They got centuries.
What would you do with hundreds of years on this earth? What would a decision or a single moment mean in a lifetime like that?
They say time heals all wounds, but what if that wasn't true?
What if time was the one thing that made it impossible to move on and forget the mistakes we’d made? The pain we’d caused?
Or was it all relative? Did a year with someone you love mean it would only take a year to forget them?
Nothing more. Nothing less.
I’d been asking myself these questions a lot lately. Time was something that had been on my mind more than ever, because I was running out of it faster than I ever dreamed.
I stood there for as long as I could, watching him toss and turn, knowing that once I was gone, he’d have centuries to mourn me. He’d have lifetimes to curse me for my decisions.
And for his own.
The pain would be unbearable at first, but over the months and years, it would fade until it was nothing more than an occasional sting at the edge of his consciousness.
How long before he forgot me entirely?
When I asked him that earlier as we sat together on the couch, he’d said there wasn’t time enough in the world for that to ever happen, but I couldn’t imagine a hundred years from now he’d still be whispering my name from the rooftops of Paris or standing on these Alpine cliffs shedding tears over losing a girl like me.
No, my name would be a dusty word locked away in the attic of his memory.
He might pull it out from time to time and think about the months we spent together, but I didn’t fool myself enough to believe that less than a year in his arms equated to an eternity of mourning my death when I was gone.
It wasn’t fair, but unlike death, fairness has never been promised to any of us.
I could feel the darkness closing in, and I knew that death was watching me.
It wouldn’t be long now, and no matter how much I wanted to spend my final days curled up in my love’s arms, I refused to let it end this way.
When the time came, he wouldn’t be able to do what needs to be done, and then we’d both be lost. I couldn’t do that to him.
I wouldn’t leave him with that choice.
I lifted my eyes and stared out at the early morning fog that curled around the mountains like a soft blanket. I would miss this place and its magical beauty. Its solitude and safety.
I would miss the clean smell of freshly fallen snow and the warm crackle of the fire after we’d come in from a long day of hiking to rest our feet on the hearth.
I would miss the sweeping staircase and the way he looked at me as I walked down the steps to meet him.
I would miss the basement laboratory with its rows of glass bottles and potions and powders. The way he sometimes held his breath as he mixed the ingredients together, waiting to see if he was right.
But most of all, I would miss the man I have come to love more than life itself.
I walked over to the bed and let my fingertips rest gently on his shoulder as he slept. I wanted to kiss him one last time, but I was afraid I’d wake him.
He’d kill me himself if he knew what I was planning to do.
He wouldn’t understand it, and for a while, he’d hate me for it.
But over time, I hoped he’d come to see that this was the only way. The best choice for everyone.
When I was ready, I grabbed the dagger and sheath, strapping it to my side. I tiptoed from the room and made my way down to the lab. I found the small ritual dagger in its place inside the apothecary cabinet and took it to the work bench, along with three large, glass vials.
I would leave him a gift as a parting thank you.
One final I love you.
I would give him the only thing I had left that was fully mine to give, and I would pray that he understood the reason for my sacrifice.
Eventually, death came for us all.
But I’d be damned if I was going to let it take me without a fight.
Long After I’m Gone
Rend
I woke with a start to find Azure hovering over me, a small vial in her hand and the taste of peppermint on my tongue.
“She’s gone,” she said.
I pulled her close, owing her so much.
It couldn’t have been easy for her to tell me Franki’s plan, but Azure knew me well enough to know that I would never have forgiven myself if I’d slept while Franki died alone.
“Thank you for this,” I said.
“Get dressed,” she said, standing and wiping tears from her eyes. “Everyone is downstairs, waiting for you.”
She left the room, and I dressed quickly, joining the group downstairs to say goodbye.
The entire staff from Venom had gathered in my living room, and their eyes looked to me as I stepped into the room.
“I don’t know how to put all that I’m feeling into words.” I looked at each of them, so grateful for the time I’d known them. For all we’d given to each other and shared over the years. “All I can say is thank you. You’ve made my life mean something, and I love you all. I know Azure’s explained to you what’s happening tonight. I have signed the club over to her and Marco. They’ll take care of you and keep you safe, I promise you that.”
No one said a word, but I could feel their sadness like a cloud over my head.
“Loyalty is not an easy thing to come by in this world, but I’ve been able to trust each of you for so long,” I said. “I lost my family a very long time ago, but since I opened Venom, you guys have become my family. I can’t tell you how much that has meant to me over the years. This might be goodbye for me, but never forget what you have with each other. Never break that trust. Be good to each other, and promise me that you’ll never stop fighting to save those who need your help. Venom is my legacy, and through you, it will stand long after I’m gone as a place of refuge.”
The clock was ticking, and I needed to go, but I hated to say goodbye. I wanted to find the perfect words to let them all know just how much they had meant to me, but I would have to simply trust that they understood.
“Marco, are you ready?” I asked.
He nodded and stepped to my side.
“Thank you all for coming tonight,” I said. “I will carry your memories with me to the Afterworld, forever grateful for each one of you.”
I said goodbye, wishing I had more time to spend with them, but knowing that Franki’s time was ticking down with each moment that passed.
Azure walked with us to the Hall of Doorways, and when we reached the door engraved with the image of a crow, she turned to me with tears in her eyes.
“I have loved you for as long as I have known you,” she said. “And I will miss you for as long as I live.”
She threw her arms around me, and I held her for as long a
s I could.
“You’re the best friend I ever had,” I said. “You saved my life, Azure, in more ways than one. I wish for you all the happiness I could never give you.”
She pulled away and kissed my cheek just as Dagon appeared, carrying his sword.
He had come, after all, and I grabbed his hand in thanks.
“Go,” Azure said, turning away and leaving us by the door.
I nodded to Marco, a man I had helped raise from a young age when Sabine had dropped him off at my doorstep.
The only baby boy to ever survive the Mother Crow’s sacrifices.
I’d kept his secret for a very long time in order to keep him safe, and now he would insure my safety in that village until the deal was made.
He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the door.
It clicked open, and we stepped through, prepared to face our fate.
What Had To Be Done
Franki
I stood in the middle of the crow village, Rend’s dagger—my father’s dagger—pressed to my throat.
The Mother Crow stood in front of me, her eyes blazing with red fury as my real mother and Mary Krista guarded me.
I’d asked them to meet me at the crow door, and they had reluctantly agreed. I couldn’t leave Rend with a way to get here, so I needed them to come with me.
My mother understood the kind of love I had for Rend, and I think she wished she had been able to do more to save Solomon when she’d had the chance.
Despite the late hour here, everyone in the village, including the children, had left their beds to watch. No one dared to intervene, though, for fear of pushing me over the edge.
I struggled to keep my thoughts focused on the light, because being close to the Mother Crow again kept pulling me back toward the darkness. The comfort and safety I’d felt while I was away from her had been a lie. The distance had not slowed the transfer at all.
