She smiled, but it wasn’t very convincing.
“I have one more thing for you.” I walked over to the little mini-fridge we had in our room and pulled out a clear plastic box I’d been hiding from her since I’d picked her up the afternoon before. She took it from my hands and stared at it for a moment. All she could see was white tissue paper used to conceal the gift within. “Go ahead and open it.”
She delicately pulled open the box and lifted out the tissue-covered package. When she unwrapped the paper, it revealed a large lily, its six giant white petals streaked down the center with bright fuchsia. She gasped when she saw it. “It’s beautiful!” She lifted it to her face and inhaled its strong, extravagant scent.
“It’s a stargazer lily,” I explained. “Not quite a Moonlily, but what is the moon without the companionship of stars?” I took the corsage from her and pinned it to her dress. “There,” I approved as soon as it was secure. “The second-most lovely thing in this room.” I leaned down and, mindful of her makeup, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Moonlily,” I whispered.
She grabbed my chin and turned my head to face her. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear that?” she asked quietly. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.
“I have an idea,” I answered.
“I love you, Grant.” She ran her hands around the back of my head and pulled me to her, her lips crushing themselves against mine.
As tempting as it was to forget everything we had planned and just stay in that cheap little hotel room for the rest of the day, I somehow managed to make reason prevail. “Later, Lily,” I promised. “When I can see you and not this false Lily we’ve created.”
“I’ll take that as an oath, Grant-Man,” she replied.
I straightened her corsage and grabbed her foundation to touch up the spots that had washed away with her tears— as well as what had rubbed off during our impromptu make-out session— and then let her check me over, as well. A little bit of makeup remover later, and we were out the door and on our way to my grandmother’s.
My father’s mother was just about the sweetest lady you could ever hope to meet. She was as intellectually oriented as the rest of the Harrisons were, but she had grown old enough to shed some of the cold logic that could make us so unapproachable and had settled instead into a more live-and-let-live style of existence. So— although she was a bit taken aback by Lily’s hair and her eyes— she welcomed her into her home with a warm embrace and an enchanting smile.
“I’m so glad to meet you,” she said into Lily’s ear as they hugged.
“The feeling is generously returned,” Lily replied, which only made my grandmother chuckle.
My parents were much more reserved when they showed up with Pierce an hour later. They weren’t unfriendly, but they approached Lily with caution and did not show the same enthusiasm my grandma had. Their reaction got Lily chewing on her bottom lip again, and it was that— more than anything— that let me know that their aloofness had hurt her. And it finally gave me a clear understanding of what I had done when I had rebuffed her first admission of her feelings for me. It was something I vowed right then never to do again.
We all piled into our cars and drove the short distance to my grandmother’s church, where we would attend the Easter service and activities together before coming back for dinner. I had always loved the little house of worship on Rose Street. It was a stereotypical white country church— complete with a steeple and a bell in the tower— surrounded by a vast green lawn that was as well cared for as the building was. Beyond the grass was a greenbelt of old maples and oaks. It was inviting and serene and beautiful— especially bedecked in hundreds of Easter lilies and glowing in the light of the warm spring sun.
Lily enjoyed the service, if the look on her face was any indication. It was the music that did it, I think. She didn’t know the words to any of the hymns, but she hummed along with the organ, her eyes closed and her body swaying slightly in time to the rhythm. She did draw a few curious looks from the congregants, but for the most part, everyone was friendly and joyful as they celebrated one of the holiest days in the Christian year.
After the service, everyone headed outside to partake in the huge buffet that had been prepared and to revel in the beauty of the outdoors. Lily said she wasn’t hungry, but I was. “Why don’t you look around while I grab something to eat really quick?” I suggested. “I’ll come and find you as soon as I’m finished.”
She gave me a quick squeeze and a kiss. “That sounds lovely,” she replied. “I’ve been wanting to explore out here since we first arrived.”
I watched her walk away from me. For someone who’d been taught from birth to distrust humans, she was doing much better in the crowd than I would have expected. She didn’t initiate any conversations on her own, but if someone walked up to her and said something, she’d smile and talk for a while. She did a lot of people-watching, though. The young children seemed to capture her attention the most— an interest left over from her days as a Guardian, I assumed. Eventually, I realized I’d been staring for too long and that I was still hungry. I hopped into the line for the food and lost sight of Lily as she walked around behind the church.
Pierce joined me at one of the tables a bit later with his own plate of food. “So far, so good, hmm?” he asked.
“It seems so.”
“Man, this is great,” he raved. “I can’t remember being this excited about something in a long time. There’s something intoxicating about knowing something no else around you does, you know?”
“There’s some truth to that.” I was just about finished with my lunch, so I started looking around for Lily.
“Do you think she’ll come home with you over the summer?”
“Maybe,” I answered. “I honestly hadn’t thought ahead to that yet. I hope so.” I stood, walked over to the trashcan and threw in my paper plate and napkin, and then came back over to Pierce. “Hey, have you seen Lily?”
“Sure. She’s around back where the kids are getting ready to start the egg hunt.”
“Oh, shit.”
“What is it?”
I shot toward the back of the church without answering. Shit, shit, shit! How could I have forgotten about the egg hunt? I tried not to hit anybody in my headlong rush, but I definitely pushed a few out of my way. Faintly, I could hear Pierce coming up behind me.
I slid around the corner of the building and caught sight of Lily right away. She was standing frozen in the middle of the field, her posture stiff and unyielding. I sprinted up to her and could see her eyes darting crazily back and forth— taking in every egg, every child running freely and clumsily amongst them. Her whole body flinched when one of the toddlers tripped and every egg in her basket tumbled out across the ground. Lily’s breathing was coming in harsh, rapid gasps, and her purple glow— even through all of the makeup— grew dangerously bright.
“Lily,” I tried getting her attention. I was desperate to distract her. Because at the rate things were going, something terrible and irrevocable was about to happen. “Lily! Look at me. Please. At me. Ignore everything else.”
She finally turned her panicky gaze to me. “Grant-Man?” She sounded so lost and confused, but underneath it all was a streak of that Guardian fury I’d seen when we first met. I made me very, very worried.
“Close your eyes, Lily,” I begged. “We’ll say you’re not feeling well, and I’ll get you out of here. Just close your eyes.”
She was about to do as I asked when Pierce darted up behind me and caught her attention. And then something behind him drew her eyes even more quickly. Her breathing accelerated even faster, and her eyes opened so wide I could easily see the glints of pure rage flashing through them. In dread, I turned to see what could possibly have kindled her ire even more vehemently than the Easter eggs.
It was a giant chocolate egg laid out on the dessert table. It was elaborately carved and beautifully colored— accented here and there with ed
ible gold and candy gems. It was so perfectly overdone with its decorations that not only did it not look like it was made of chocolate, it looked frighteningly like it could be a dragon’s egg.
I watched in terror as one of the lovely ladies who was helping to serve the desserts picked up a candy hammer and turned toward the egg. I tried to cover Lily’s eyes, but she fought me, and by then, it was too late. Both of us got a clear, unobstructed view as that hammer came down and smashed the shell of the egg into a dozen pieces.
Lily screamed. But it wasn’t a scream of pure horror. It was more of a war cry— an urgent, wrathful call to battle. The sound of it was like nothing I’d ever heard. It was like the wail of a bereaved mother, the roar of a Tyrannosaurus rex, and the chill-inducing squeal of fingernails on a chalkboard all at once. That’s as close as I can get to describing it. And it was so, so loud. Pierce and I squeezed our hands over our ears as the entire congregation turned to look at Lily as one.
“Lily!”
She popped back into her true size, shook herself free of the clothes holding her down, and shot straight toward the trees surrounding the grassy field. I lost sight of her as dozens and dozens of fairies seemed to spring out of the ground itself. They came from everywhere. The grass, the flowers, the trees, even down from the sky. And they came on the attack. People shrieked and ran for cover as the angry sprites swarmed over them, biting and stabbing with their tiny spears.
And then a giant shadow blotted out the sun. Pierce and I looked up— and I’m not ashamed to admit that I felt the most gut-wrenching, knee-weakening fear of my life. Pierce grabbed my arm in a bone-crushing grip. He tried to say something, but either it was drowned out by the chaos or he was too terrified to get the words out.
“Pierce,” I shouted at him. “Run!” I gave him a shove to get him moving and then chased after him, pushing him whenever I needed in order to keep him going.
The dragon landed right in the middle of the space where the children had so recently been delighted over finding their Easter eggs. The beast was the largest living thing I had ever seen, and its scales were as black as death. The wind from its wings knocked several people flat to the ground around its feet. It reared up on its hind legs, drew in a massive inhalation, and then erupted in a geyser of liquid, white-hot fire. It flooded over the church in seconds, and the old building ignited like tinder.
I couldn’t stand to look any longer. I turned my face away as I continued to ram Pierce forward, although he did not need my encouragement any longer. We ran until we couldn’t take another step. Until the burning church was no longer in sight. Until the screams faded to nothing.
And then I sat down and cried. Cried from the letdown after terror, in the relief that Pierce and I were still alive, in the fear that many others might not have been so lucky. And I cried over Lily.
Lord Almighty, woman, what have you done?
9
Arson and Anguish
It didn’t take me and Pierce long to realize that we needed to head back to the church. We needed to find our parents and grandmother and assure ourselves that they were okay. Neither of us wanted to think about what would happen if they weren’t.
Emergency responders were already on the scene when we got back. Red and blue lights flashed everywhere. Firefighters worked on the building, and paramedics worked on the people. And in the outer ring of those in uniform were the police, already interviewing the witnesses who were capable of answering questions.
Pierce found our family before I did. Without a word, he took off running and practically tackled our dad. By the time I reached them, both of my parents, my grandma, and Pierce were in a huddle on the ground, sobbing. I got down next to them and wrapped my arms around my mother’s shoulders, but I was done crying. I was already well into the anger stage of grief.
We sat that way for a long time. And then a couple of police officers approached our group. They hovered a few feet away, trying to remain respectful, but also needing to do their jobs.
I stood up. “May I help you?” It didn’t come out as neutrally as I’d intended.
One of the officers squinted suspiciously at my tone. “Are you Grant Harrison?”
“Yes, sir.”
By this time, the rest of my family was on their feet. The other policeman looked over at my brother. “And you are Pierce Harrison?”
“Yes.” Poor Pierce was so nervous it came out as a squeak.
“May we speak with the two of you, please?”
My father put a hand on Pierce’s shoulder and held him back. “I would like to stay with them, if you don’t mind.”
“I understand, sir,” the first officer responded. “You may stay with your younger son. But Grant is a legal adult. We will speak with him alone.”
Shivers of apprehension raced down my back. I did not like the sound of that, at all. My mother and grandmother cast worried looks in my direction as one of the police officers stepped aside to talk with Pierce and my dad and the other led me across the field to the parking lot. Right where all the police cruisers were located.
“So,” the cop began. “Can you begin by telling me your full name?”
“Don’t you know it already?”
“Just trying to be official.” He smiled.
I did not smile back. “Grant Henry Harrison.”
“And were you in attendance during the church service this morning?”
“Yes.”
“And for lunch after?”
“Yes.”
He scribbled something in his notebook. “Did you see what happened during the incident earlier?”
Incident. It was the most idiotically understated description I had ever heard. May as well call a bombing a mishap. “Yes, I saw it.”
“Can you describe what you saw?”
Yes. Yes, I could. Would he believe it, though? Not a snowball’s chance in Hell. Still, I knew better than to lie. There was no telling what everyone else had already told him. “I saw fairies and a dragon.”
More scribbling. “Mmm-hmm. And how did the church catch on fire?”
“The dragon was very angry.”
He looked over me with a scrutinizing— and intimidating— gaze. After a moment, he asked, “Did you come to church with a young woman with purple hair?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where she is now?”
“No.” And that was all he was going to get out of me about Lily. I didn’t care how angry I was at her, I would not send the wolves after her.
“Many of the other witnesses described hearing this girl scream right before the incident. They also said that you and your brother were with her when she did it. Is there anything further you can add?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I realized in that moment that I wasn’t just being questioned as a witness. The police had already pegged me as a suspect. I just knew it for certain. There had been something in the way he had asked that last question. I had no idea what exactly they thought I had done, but something about what the other witnesses had said sent them after me and Pierce.
I hadn’t been extremely cooperative before that revelation, and I was tempted to clam up completely after. At the same time, I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I didn’t want to act like someone with something to hide. But you do, don’t you, Grant?
“Why did you run away?” the officer asked.
“What would you do if you saw a dragon coming?” Too much snark, Grant. Watch it. “It was fight or flight. I was not going to fight a dragon.”
“I see.” He looked across the property to where my family was. The other officer seemed to have finished talking with Pierce and was on his way over. My parents were right behind him. “Well,” my policeman stated, “it looks like my partner is finished. I think it’s time we wrap things up here and continue down at the station. What do you think?”
My parents heard that last remark. “Are you arresting him?” my
father asked in disbelief.
“Only if he forces us to. Really, we just want to talk. It’ll be easier on all of us at the station.”
I didn’t believe that at all. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Do I need to insist?”
You already are, asshole. It was tempting to say it to his face, but I followed my better judgement and stayed quiet. I also climbed into the back of the cruiser when he opened it for me.
“We’ll be right behind you, Grant,” my mother called after me as I sat down and the officer closed the door. “Don’t worry!”
Advice much easier given than followed, unfortunately.
They kept me for a full twenty-four hours. I did not see my parents in that time, despite what my mother had said and despite knowing they would not just abandon me to the authorities. The police weren’t always questioning me. In fact, they were pretty good about making sure my needs were met— I didn’t go hungry or thirsty, and there was a bathroom right across the hall from the interrogation room. The only thing I didn’t get was sleep. I stayed in that claustrophobic room and in that uncomfortable chair for as long as I was there.
Bit by bit, I was able to piece together what they thought had happened. It all began to come together when they started asking me about my grades.
“You do pretty well in school, don’t you, Grant?”
“Better than most.”
“How about in chemistry?”
“I’m more of a history buff.”
“But you’re decent in chemistry, right? You know how chemicals work, how to mix things to get new things. Say, like how to make something that could cause hallucinations if ingested?”
I knew better than to say anything in response to that one. Still, it was obvious that the police believed that someone had slipped something into the food or drinks at the church gathering, and that that had caused everyone to claim they had seen fairies and dragons. It didn’t explain everyone’s very real injuries, however, or how the church had burned to the ground.
A Paranormal Easter: 14 Paranormal & Fantasy Romance Novellas Page 50
