“Grandma?”
There was nothing.
I sighed deeply then rose and went to my bedroom. The place felt so foreign to me. Sitting on my bed, I ran my brush through my hair, pulling it back into a ponytail. I then rose and went into Frenchie’s room. I pulled out a duffle and stuffed it with clothes for the girls and some of their favorite stuffed animals. I turned and went back outside.
The mist was thicker than ever.
I locked the door, stuffing the key back into the planter. At the back of the property, I passed the barn, and headed toward the fence, but the mist grew heavy all around me and the fence never appeared.
I closed my eyes. Witch Wood, I thought then walked forward, my mind on Frenchie, Kira, Susan, Will, Tom, and the others. The image of Kellimore’s smiling face and light blue eyes came to mind. Witch Wood.
As I walked forward, the mists slowly began to clear. Once again, I heard the sound of a mourning dove. But this time, I found myself surrounded by tall hedges. I was back in the maze. I scanned the horizon, and just above the tall shrubbery, I saw the turrets of Witch Wood. I threaded through the maze, taking a couple of wrong turns, before I finally found myself back on the grassy lawn.
Cricket exited the house and made her way toward me.
“And here we thought you’d gone off to Oz,” she said with a grin. “They’re inside now arguing about where you are and what to do. Kellimore’s got about every gun loaded and is twisting Tristan’s arm to go back for you.”
“Sorry to worry everyone. I got kind of…lost,” I said then eyed her over, realizing that she already had her machete belted, her wrench in her hand, and a pistol in her back pocket. “Thank you,” I said, motioning to her armaments. Clearly, she was planning to come back for me as well. My heart swelled with gratitude.
“Like I told you, gotta save the living.”
I smiled at her. “Is Elle okay?”
“Nasty bite, but Amelia and Beatrice got her patched up. Mostly she’s just cranky. But they have antibiotics and pain killers, so she’ll be okay. Tristan said there was no sign of Jamie.”
I shook my head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,” I said then exhaled heavily. “Yeah. Better go in before Kellimore does something rash.”
Cricket laughed. “Him? Never.”
I smiled.
Grandma said it was almost time to come home. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she was right. I was done with this world. It was time to do something new, something different. It was time to find a new way to survive. And the last time Grandma had told me to come home, she’d saved my life.
CHAPTER 23: LAYLA
“OH, THANK GOD,” FRENCHIE SAID as soon as I entered.
Everyone was standing in the foyer.
“Layla? What happened?” Will, who was holding two shotguns, asked.
“I made a stop to go shopping,” I said then handed Frenchie the bag. At first, she looked confused. She stared at the bag then at me, her eyes wide.
“Layla?” she whispered, her voice filled with confusion.
“What is it?” Tom asked.
“This belongs to the girls. We left it in Hamletville.”
Everyone looked at me.
“When I went in through the doorway, it took me somewhere else,” I said then turned to Tristan and Madame Knightly. “Is it supposed to work like that?”
Tristan looked thoughtful. “Not usually.”
“The mist playing tricks. Especially if your mind was busy with something,” Madame Knightly said.
“So can we use these doors to leap anywhere?” Cricket asked.
“No,” Madame Knightly said. “Each doorway leads to another thin place on the human plane. It’s easy, however, to get lost in the in-between spaces.”
“Are you all right?” Kellimore asked.
I nodded.
“See, nothing to worry about for now,” Madame Knightly said. “Let’s put the weapons back into the gentlemen’s parlor, shall we?”
Tristan nodded, then waved to the others to follow him.
“Layla, thank you,” Frenchie said. “The girls will be so happy.”
I nodded. “Welcome. I need to see Beatrice.”
“Cricket, be a dear and take her, would you? I’ll go check on dinner,” Madame Knightly said then turned toward the kitchen.
Cricket and I went back to the old library. Inside, Beatrice, Logan, and Zoey were pouring over the notes we had recovered, papers and books spread out all over the place.
“Cricket, how is Elle?” Beatrice asked.
“Asleep.”
“Did we find what we needed?” I asked Beatrice.
“I think so. I’m just looking now. Logan, hand me that petri dish. Zoey, I need more light.”
“On it, Miss B,” Zoey said.
“Can I help?” I asked.
Beatrice shook her head as she flipped through the pages of the doctor’s notebook. “Um. No. Thank you. Logan and Zoey were two of my best students. I’ll manage.”
“Who knew paying attention in chemistry was going to come in so handy,” Zoey said as she adjusted the flashlight. “Well, except Logan,” she said then frowned at him.
“Sorry, Zoey. I wasn’t permitted to say anything. You know that.”
“I do, but I still don’t like it.”
“Okay you two, shut it,” Beatrice said, concentrating. “I have more work to do here, Layla. But I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I unravel anything.”
I nodded.
“If you need anything, let us know,” Cricket said then motioned for me to come with her. “I like those kids. And Beatrice seems all right,” Cricket told me when we were out of earshot.
I frowned. “I hardly trust myself to form an opinion about anyone anymore.”
“You mean Doctor Gustav.”
“Yes. And before that too.”
“Well, I knew Doctor Gustav for months, but I never thought she’d do something like that. I don’t know. This new world changes people. Some for better, some for worse. I’m sorry for what happened. Can I do anything for you?”
I shook my head.
“All right then,” she said. “I’m going to check on Elle again. That girl, Amelia, has a healer’s touch. She worked on that wound, not even touching it, but after that Elle felt better.”
“Worked on it how?”
“She said something about auras.”
I nodded.
“Glad you made it back in one piece. See you around,” Cricket said, and with a wave, she headed upstairs.
I stood in the foyer of the opulent estate. A massive chandelier hung overhead. There was a mosaic on the floor in the shape of a large tree. It was a beautiful place. Much like the Harpwind, under any other circumstances, I would have loved being there. But that was then and this was now. Now, I was visiting such a grand manor under the protection of the seelie. My friends were dead. My world was dead. And it was time to face the truth. Jamie was dead.
“Layla?” Kellimore called softly.
I looked away from the lovely old chandelier toward him. I hadn’t realized it, but tears were rolling down my cheeks.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” I said, dashing the hot tears away.
Kellimore frowned sympathetically. “Can I do anything for you?”
“No. It’s just so much loss,” I said, unable to hold back the tears anymore. I breathed hard, and the tears flowed in earnest.
Crossing the room, Kellimore gently wrapped his arms around me.
“I know,” he whispered. “I know. My family. My sister. My home. I know,” he said, holding me tightly as I wept.
It felt so good to have someone’s strong arms around me, to be weak, to let go of all the pretense and just feel the sadness that wanted to flood over me. I’d lost nearly everything. And it wasn’t over yet.
“Going on seems so pointless,” I whispered.
“We’re going to make it. We are survivors. All of us here.
We’ll find a way. Don’t give up now.”
I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. “Yeah.”
Kellimore laughed. “That wasn’t very convincing. Look at me,” he said, pulling back. “See this?” he said, motioning to the scar on his face. “We were locked down in a bar, me and a dozen people from Ulster. Zombies were busting through the door. I held them back, let the others escape. Everyone lived that day. But when the glass on the door broke, I got this. Damned near lost my eye,” he said then shook his head. “But I knew I couldn’t give up. Even if I died, it didn’t matter. I had to save the people around me. You and I are a lot alike. And people like us don’t give up.”
I looked at the rough and angry scar down the side of his face. All the scars I carried were on the inside. But I carried them. Kellimore was right.
“I did take out most of the kitsune with grenades before I made the jump,” I said with a half-smile, wiping the last of my tears off my cheeks.
“There you go,” he said then grinned. “You just need some rest. Tomorrow is another day, Layla...Layla what?”
“Petrovich.”
“Layla Petrovich,” he said then nodded. “Get some rest, Layla Petrovich. No doubt Swamp Thing and some mummies will be by tomorrow for a good ass kicking.”
I nodded. “See you later then,” I said, motioning to the stairs.
He nodded.
“And Kellimore, thank you.”
He grinned, as if he was cooking up something smart-assed to say, but then stopped himself. “You’re welcome,” he said with a soft smile then turned and headed back to the parlor.
Feeling confused and surprisingly happy, I went upstairs. I was pretty sure I’d spotted a small smoking room on the second floor, and if I remembered right, it had a bar. With any luck, there would be vodka. Because with a head swimming around in a mess of emotions like this, there was hardly anything better to do than drink.
CHAPTER 24: AMELIA
IT WAS SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT when I went downstairs. I’d tossed and turned all night, unable to shake my mother from my mind. She’d been at our house all this time. She was dead, that was clear, but if so, how had Layla heard her? I always knew the world was full of things just beyond human perception, but the truth was deeper than I ever expected.
I pulled my robe tight around me. It was weird to sleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I’d grown so used to bunking in the parlor that taking one of the rooms felt like I was over-reaching. Stupid, I knew. Nonetheless, sleep didn’t come easy to me there. I was about to take my spot on the chaise once more when I heard voices echo down the hallway. Curious, I followed the sound to discover that there was still a light on in the library.
“This one,” I heard Logan say.
Beatrice muttered something incomprehensible. Had they been working the whole time? I’d taken them some food at dinner time, but then spent the rest of the night sitting at Elle’s bedside while she slept. So far, so good. There was no infection, and what little darkness wanted to swell around her injury, I’d kept at bay. By the time I finally headed to bed, the area around the bite was glimmering with gold and brilliant white light. Her body was healing itself.
I entered the library to find Logan poring over some notes while Beatrice eyed the microscope.
“Still awake?” I asked groggily.
Logan smiled. “And I could really use a Starbucks.”
“So, Frappuccino? With or without a side of pixie dust?”
“Very funny,” he replied with a yawn.
“How’s it coming?”
“Well, took us about three hours to figure out some of the equations here, and make our way through this handwriting, but—“
“But what I’m seeing here is amazing. And horrifying,” Beatrice said, shaking her head.
She sat back in her seat. “The flu shot caused a reaction. It’s like someone set a bomb to detonate inside us. The minute it brushed up against a flame—”
“Boom,” Logan said quietly.
“Everyone who was immunized became ticking time bombs.”
“Did that doctor find a cure?”
Beatrice picked up a syringe. “Here,” she said, gazing at the golden-colored liquid in the vial. “But I don’t know if it works. I heard what she did to Layla’s fiancé. It was wrong, but she was trying to get a human trial to test this. That was the only way to be sure. Her notes show that the animal trials were successful.”
“We can’t test it,” Logan said, shaking his head.
“What about…” I said then paused, not wanting to say it, but at the same time, daring to hope. “What about on one of the undead? Could we test it on one of them?”
Beatrice shook her head. “They’re so rotted. Their organs are no longer intact.”
“No, not all of them,” I said, casting a glance at Logan.
“Oh, Amelia,” Logan said, catching my drift. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “If there is a chance this might restore her, I’ll try anything.”
“We’ll need Layla to come with us to…communicate,” Logan said.
I nodded.
“I’m sorry, who?” Beatrice asked.
“My mother. She was infected. You’ll see, she’s not like the others. She’s something different now. We can try it on her.”
Beatrice let out a deep breath.
“We need to get more supplies, things from the medical center, if we want to make more antidote,” Logan said.
“Back into town,” Beatrice said. “That place we went today. Those creatures. We can’t let them find us here. If they do…”
“We’ll be safe. Brighton isn’t even on their radar,” Logan reassured her.
“I hope you’re right,” Beatrice said.
She was right to hope, because when I looked at the energy surrounding Logan, I knew he was lying. But it hardly mattered. I had a chance to save my mother. Nothing filled me with greater joy.
Goddess Mother, please let it work. Please give me my mother back.
CHAPTER 25: AMELIA
THE NEXT MORNING, MADAME KNIGHTLY LISTENED PATIENTLY as Beatrice, Logan, and I explained our plan. The others looked skeptical. Cricket’s brows furrowed so hard that I was afraid she was going to get a headache. I eyed Layla who said nothing, simply listened. When we were done, Madame Knightly adjusted her dress, then rose.
“This is your world. All you can do is try,” she said. “Tristan will assist you,” she added, nodding to him, then she left.
“Right then,” Tristan said. “We’ll head into town in two small groups. Logan will lead one group to the medical center to get supplies. Cricket and Chase, can you help him?”
“Anything for you, darlin’,” Cricket said with a grin.
Chase nodded.
“Zoey, you mind going with them too? You know the town.”
“Sure.”
“Beatrice, I’ll take you, Amelia, and Layla.”
“And me,” Kellimore said.
“Me too,” Will added.
Layla frowned.
“Darius and Tom will be here,” Will told her, “and these ladies are no slouches. You’re going to need more muscle, just in case.”
“Vella? What do you think?” Tristan asked.
She shrugged. “Everything we do now poses risk.”
“That’s comforting,” Chase said.
Vella smiled in apology, opening her hands wide.
“All right,” Layla relented.
“Let’s ammo up,” Kellimore said.
Everyone headed to the gentlemen’s parlor to grab some guns.
Zoey came over to me. “You going to be okay?”
I shook my head. “No, but we have to try.”
“What if it works?” Zoey said.
“What if it doesn’t?” I replied, but then Zoey took me by the arms and looked me in the eyes.
“What if it works?” she asked again, this time in a low voice. “You have no idea how she’ll be. It might be bad, Amelia. It migh
t be really bad. You need to prepare yourself.”
“I…” I began, but then I felt my eyes welling with tears. “I know. I’ll…I’ll just handle it.”
“Love you, girl,” she said, pulling me close.
“Love you, too.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now, let me go see where Chase went,” Zoey said with a wink.
“Chase, huh?”
Zoey smiled.
“There’s something we can get our hopes up about.”
“A girl can dream,” Zoey replied with a wink then followed the others.
I went outside. I cast a glance toward the greenhouse. I needed to water the seedlings when I got back. Just because our routine had gotten turned upside down didn’t mean we shouldn’t keep after our work here. After all, with this many people in the house, food would eventually run short. From now on, we needed to start rationing just in case.
I felt a warm little body rub against my shin. Bastet.
“I know,” I said. “I’ll be careful.”
The cat meowed at me.
“And when I get back, I’d like to talk to you about what Obryn said.”
Once again, the cat meowed. I reached down and scratched her ears.
“Ready?” I heard Chase call as the others came outside. Beatrice, I noticed, looked decidedly pale.
I looked at Bastet. “Be back soon,” I said then joined the others. And with a lot of luck, maybe, just maybe, I’d have my mother with me.
CHAPTER 26: CRICKET
“TURN HERE,” ZOEY SAID, pointing down a side street. The ride into Brighton had been a quiet one. The fact that Amelia had offered her mother up as a test subject moved us all. What could we do but hope that, in the end, we’d find an answer. What the doc had done was wrong, but I understood why she’d done it. We all did, including Layla. But that didn’t make it right.
“There,” Zoey said, directing me toward the Brighton Car Cabana. Row after row of used cars sat untouched. A colorful rainbow banner lay on the ground. All the cars were covered in dust.
The Torn World: The Harvesting Series Book 5 Page 10
