by Jim Johnson
I high-fived him. “Take care, Malcolm. Give my best to your sister.”
He glanced up at the moon and chuckled hollowly. “God, my sister. I wonder how she is tonight.” He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and glanced at it. He waved it at me with a grin. “No battery—what a shock, huh?”
I snorted as I checked mine and flashed it at him. “Ditto.”
He pocketed his phone and headed toward his Mustang with a wave. “We’ll talk soon, aight?”
I nodded, but then called out, “Malcolm!”
He unlocked his door and turned to stare at me. “Yeah?”
I bit my lip, then asked, “That ten-dollar bill. Do you still have it?”
He glanced at Bonita, and then focused on me again. He patted his jeans pocket. “Yeah. Yeah, I got it.”
I sighed. “Okay. Be careful, all right? We barely know what we’re dealing with here.”
He crossed his heart with his keys, kissed his hand, and raised it to the sky. “I promise to leave it alone till I see you again.”
“All right. Be safe, Malcolm.”
He opened his car door. “You too.” He got in and started the engine. Bonita walked over to me as Malcolm waved at us and then drove out of the parking lot.
I smiled tiredly at her as she approached. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Chapter 57
BONITA WAS QUIET ON THE DRIVE from Branchwood, which was all right with me. I was still processing everything that had happened. I focused on her as she drove. “Are you all right?”
Bonita gave me a tired smile. “I was thinking I’d ask you the same question.”
I shrugged as I watched the residential streets roll past. “I really don’t know. So much happened tonight.” I glanced out the window at the darkness of the night, and then checked the digital clock set into her dashboard. It was almost midnight.
“I lost sense of time while I was in there...” I glanced at her. “In the nursing home, I mean.”
“You were in the basement with that guy, Malcolm, for a while.” She grinned. “I wondered what you two were up to.”
I shook my head. “You know I don’t play for that team. We…found the Spinner and fought him…and got everyone out.”
She glanced at me. “I’m sure there’s a heck of a story there.”
I leaned into the seat and nodded. “I’ll tell you all about it once I’ve gotten some rest.” An image of Abbie’s worried face crossed my mind. “Crap! I didn’t think to call Abbie after we got out.”
I pulled my phone out of my satchel, hoping to check for a message from Abbie. The battery had died again. “Ugh…I really need a new cell phone. This one just has no battery life at all.” I tossed it back into my satchel with disgust. Maybe someday I’d be able to afford a replacement.
And maybe someday money would grow on trees and I could harvest a bucketful.
Bonita said, “Well, no worries. We’re almost there. Knowing Abbie, she’s curled up in bed with some hot tea and a trashy romance.”
“I guess. She’s been reading erotic thrillers lately. Guns and sex are her new thing.”
Bonita pulled onto my street and then stopped in front of my house. She turned to look at me straight on. “Okay, kiddo. Door to door service. Home safe and sound.”
I smiled, feeling more tired than I had in a long time. “I’m not so sure about ‘sound’, but I’m grateful for the ‘safe’ part.”
She reached over and patted my hand. “Get some rest, chica. Take the next few days off. When you’re feeling up to it, give me a call and we’ll get together and talk. You’re going through an awful lot right now. I’d be happy to listen.”
Bonita met my eyes and held the look until I nodded, then she nudged her chin toward my crystal pendant. “I think that rock suits you. I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s been glowing ever since we left Branchwood. Whatever you and Malcolm got up to in there…I bet you have a really interesting story to tell.” She grinned. “And whenever you’re ready to tell it, the barbecue will be my treat.”
I patted her hand. “I can’t thank you enough, Bonita.”
“No thanks necessary, kiddo.” She glanced toward my house. “Go on, get out of here. I think Abbie’s light is still on.”
I glanced out the side window, toward Abbie’s room. There was a glow of light coming out from behind the pale curtains we had hung over the window. Bonnie was probably right—Abbie was probably either up worrying about me, or had her face in a novel.
“All right.” I turned back to Bonnie and gave her one of those heartfelt but awkward hugs across the gearshift, and then got out of the car and waved as she drove off into the night.
I turned toward home and headed toward the front door in the dark. No one had left the porch light on for me, and the main level was dark. As I approached the steps, I heard a shuffle.
“I didn’t think you were ever gonna get out of that damn car.”
I practically jumped out of my skin. “Miss Chin?”
A low-light lantern clicked on, illuminating Miss Chin’s small form sitting on the steps of my house. She smiled at me in the feeble light, which cast strange shadows over her features.
I wanted to be mad at being so startled, but mostly I was just tired and wanted to go inside and crawl into bed with Abbie and sleep for a week. I told Miss Chin as much, though maybe I was a little less kind and a lot more profane.
“You had a hard night.”
I nodded. “You have no idea.”
She inclined her head. “I might have a sense.” She glanced at my crystal. “You’ve been to the Holding.”
I frowned. “How could you know that?”
“I am a Weaver, child.” She shrugged. “We get a feel for this sort of thing.” She stood up and took the few steps to stand in front of me. “And you’re here, which means you lived to tell of it. That’s a good start.” She reached out and patted my arm. “Plenty of hope for you. We talk soon, yes?”
I stared at her and just had to ask. “Miss Chin...the Holding, guiding souls there, fighting the Spinner. Is this really what I was meant to do?”
She stared into my eyes, which picked up the light from her little battery-powered lantern. “If you want it to be, then, yes.” She gently poked a finger into my chest. “Remember: you have a choice. You think about it.” She gave me a little wink as if to suggest she already knew the answer.
And, dammit, I think I knew it too.
She moved past me and headed toward the sidewalk. She paused at the end of it and looked back. “But if you ask me, being a Beacon may not be what you were meant to do, but I’m confident you can be a very good one.”
She gave me an odd little wink and walked off. I watched her until her small frame disappeared into the darkness. I turned to stare up toward the moon, shining behind an array of diffuse clouds. Was this the life I really wanted?
The moon offered no answers. The soft glow pouring out of my crystal warmed my heart, giving me all the answer I needed. I was hooked and eager for more. I nodded toward the moon and then headed for the front door.
Once in the house, I wasted little time going upstairs. Sure enough, Abbie had the covers pulled up around her. She had her tablet in hand and an empty mug on her bedside table. She looked up and gave me a worried smile as I walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind me.
I slowly walked toward the bed, shedding my satchel, sneakers, pants, shirt and undies as I walked. I wanted to crawl into that bed and crush myself against her warmth.
She watched as I pulled the flannel sheets and comforter up to my neck and snaked one arm over her belly and tucked the other one underneath her pillow.
I kissed the side of her arm, the closest part of her body next to me, and then smiled up at her. “Hi.”
The corner of her mouth quirked up, though the worry in her eyes remained. “Hi, baby.” A furrow appeared between her eyebrows. “Rough night?”
I closed my eyes and nodded a
gainst her flank. “You have no idea. Really tough stuff.”
She set her tablet on her bedside table and then tangled her arms around me and held me close. God, she was so warm and it felt so good to just be held.
She kissed me on the bridge of my nose. “Want to tell me about it?”
I stared into her glorious green eyes. “I do. But, first...”
I lifted my head to kiss her, a slow, lingering kiss filled with all the love and appreciation I felt for her. We lingered like that for a few moments, then I broke it off and said, “But first, I need you to know something.”
She gave me a curious but expectant look.
I rested my head on my pillow. “I am so sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I know I left a message, but I really wanted to talk to you live. I need you to know that being with you is one of the few high points of my life right about now, and I want you to know how happy I am that we’re together. I was reminded tonight of how alone I’ve felt, and wanted you to know that when I’m with you, when we’re together, I don’t feel quite so alone.”
Abbie reached up a hand and stroked my hair, the furrow deeper in her face. She kissed me tenderly again, and then said, “Where is all this coming from, Rachel?”
I smiled to show her that it wasn’t coming from a bad place, and then I asked her to turn off her light. She reached out and did so, and then I shifted so that I was curled up in the crook of her arm. We were a tangle of arms and legs and wonderful body heat.
I held her close, took a deep, brave breath, and then told her everything from the beginning, feeling safe and secure doing so, knowing that I didn’t have to be alone any more.
Chapter 58
PAIN. RED BLOSSOMS OF PAIN BLOOMED in his mind, sprouting thick thorns that pierced every atom of his mind and soul.
The Spinner groaned into the darkness, every nerve ending seemingly on fire. That bitch and her allies had broken his avatar and had nearly destroyed his mind.
With his inner Eye temporarily blinded, he stared with his mundane eyes into the pitch darkness of his little private room. The infernal machines all around him, connected to him in necessary but unnatural ways, beeped and buzzed with their constant, droning racket.
He stared into the darkness, musing on how that little nobody could have possibly brought him so low. He had underestimated her—that much was clear. He would never do that again.
He balled up his good left hand into a fist. He had gotten lazy, over-confident, smug.
He wouldn’t do that again, either.
A groan of pain escaped his parched lips as he slowly shifted to a more comfortable position in his prison of a bed.
His conduit into that nursing home had collapsed, thanks to the sheer strength of etheric energies that girl had thrown around during the fight. It was unfortunate to lose such a lucrative location, but he had to look on the bright side—it had served his needs for a while, and he had gained some benefit from it.
He managed a smile around his trachea tube. He was too weak right now to reach out to the woven world, but he was confident that the reservoir of power he had built and started to fill was still there, waiting for his return.
And he would return, oh yes, and would regain his strength. For now, though, he was stuck in his broken mortal shell. He needed to rest, and to heal.
His healing time would give Rachel some time to explore and learn her abilities, but it would not be enough. Never enough. She couldn’t possibly know what she had done in defeating his avatar.
He managed a single hollow laugh. God, this tube hurt his throat. When that bitch had turned the power of the ley grid on him, she’d shown no control, no focus. She had basically set off the equivalent of an atomic bomb in a balloon.
Even with his connection to the woven world temporarily severed, he remembered the flash in his mind. In stopping him, Rachel had loosed enough energy to shred the Veil throughout the DC metro area, and perhaps even beyond.
Once he’d had a chance to heal, he’d evaluate the damage. But, it seemed clear, from even that little flash he’d seen before the darkness closed in, that the Veil was badly damaged. There were countless gaps of all shapes and sizes, gaps that he could manipulate and use to his own dark purposes.
He nodded to himself in the darkness. He was going to recover and get stronger. Once he was ready, he would find her and destroy her. No games, no selective torture. He wanted her blood, and he would settle for nothing less.
The Spinner had a blood-call to make, and no one was going to deny him.
Chapter 59
I WOKE UP IN THE SMALL hours. Moonlight lanced in through the window, softly illuminating Abbie’s sleeping form in the bed next to me. She had listened carefully to all I had told her, and while I was sure she had a lot of questions, she had wrapped me up in her arms and made love with me. We had fallen asleep together in the afterglow, tangled up together.
I didn’t think our challenges were over, not by a long shot, but her initial acceptance suggested there was hope for the future.
The tickle of a question roaming deep in my mind and soul had woken me up. I clasped the crystal pendant hanging from my neck, its internal warmth a comforting presence. The answer presented itself as I focused on my crystal. I had one more thing to do, one last piece of the puzzle to fit into place.
I glanced at Abbie’s sleeping face and rested my other hand against her cheek. I whispered, “I’m gonna take a shower and then go for a bit of a walk.” Somehow it felt right to get clean before what I wanted—what I needed—to do.
She stirred, but didn’t wake up. I grabbed my bathrobe and took a long, hot shower, loving every moment of the opportunity to get clean, to wipe the grime and sweat and tears that I’d accumulated over the last twelve hours.
Once scrubbed, I padded back into the bedroom in my warm robe. I opened our closet and rummaged around for appropriate clothing.
Should I wear black for mourning, white for purity and rebirth, or some other color? Miss Chin had given no suggestion during our brief training sessions. I had a moment of doubt, but then decided to go with my gut feeling.
I pulled out a long white sun dress, subtly patterned with blue and green embroidered flowers. It’d be way too light to wear in the chill air, but adding off-white leggings underneath and my gray hoodie over it should do the job. A vague snippet from Bonita came to mind—it wasn’t so much the physical item as it was the intent. If I wasn’t quite wearing the proper attire when I went to do this, at least I would have the right frame of mind for it.
I finished dressing and sensed eyes on me. I glanced at Abbie, who was peering blearily at me from underneath the covers. “Do I even want to know where you’re going dressed like that in the middle of the night?”
I zipped up my hoodie and settled my crystal pendant on the outside of my clothes, so that it caught the moonlight.
I smiled, for the first time in a long time feeling truly clean of body and spirit. “I’m going to meet a lost soul and help them find the way home.”
Abbie’s eyes softened at that. “Be safe?”
“Of course.” I grabbed my satchel and then leaned down and kissed her tenderly. “I shouldn’t be gone long.”
She caught my hand as I turned away. She looked up at me and said, “I don’t understand what’s happening to you, but know that I love you, Rachel.”
I leaned down to kiss her again. “I love you too, Abbie.”
She returned the smile and rested her head on her pillow. I left our room and then the house, and walked toward that alley I’d remembered from a couple weeks ago.
The night air was crisp, with a density of moisture that suggested snow. No flakes fell as yet, but it was cool enough that I fully zipped up my hoodie over the dress. I offered my gratitude that I had thought to wear leggings underneath.
Several quiet blocks later, I found the alleyway where I’d first met Kareena Mathison.
I stared into the dark alley, noting the few pools of light inters
persed here and there. I wasn’t quite sure how to proceed, so I cupped my crystal pendant and took a few deep breaths to center myself.
I guess I was excited, or scared, because it took me a lot of breaths to feel like I was calm enough. I opened my eyes, feeling an inner peace lifting my spirit. The crystal on my chest glowed with an inner blue fire. I focused on the alley when I sensed a presence approaching.
Appearing out of the shadows was the same elderly black woman I had seen before, in the same threadbare flowerprint dress and the same devastation on her face and head.
I stared at her as she approached me with a mix of apprehension and curiosity evident in her demeanor. The awful wounds on her face didn’t disgust me—didn’t bother me. All I felt for her now was deep compassion, bordering on some weird sort of love. I’d felt the same thing for the souls we’d saved back at the nursing home.
She stopped moving toward me once she was about a dozen feet away, and stood there expectantly. I opened myself up to the moment, not really sure what exactly to do, but for once letting my instincts carry me forward.
I tightened my left hand on my crystal and reached out my right hand. “Kareena, my name is Rachel Farran. I’m here to guide you home.” I recalled what she had said to me the first time I’d met her.
“I’m here to bring you peace.”
Her one good eye widened, and while I never imagined such a thing was possible, I watched a ghost shed a tear. Her mouth moved soundlessly and she reached both hands out toward mine.
As she neared, I took hold of the ley threads I felt contained within the crystal matrix and reached deeper, following them to the etheric grid far below. I adjusted the weave in my hands, and once I felt the balance of energies, I let go of the glowing crystal and gestured with my fingers. I sliced into the Veil, leaving behind a jagged scar lined in blue arcs of energy laced with my own silvery accents. I used my will to open a conduit from the mortal realm to the Holding.
I turned toward her with a gentle smile, and took her hands in mind. “We’re going to cross over now, Kareena. Are you ready?”
