Not Your Average Happy Ending

by Chantele Sedgwick

  There was one thing I couldn’t forget about though. I could tell by the way she walked and sometimes touched her side that she was in pain and getting weaker, but she never said a word about it. Kendall was like that though. She hid her emotions well and didn’t worry about herself. She only worried about people she loved.

  “So, Cameron talked to me the other day,” she said, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

  My fists clenched. I hated Cameron. The stupid jock who Kendall used to like. He was a moron and I wasn’t shy about telling Kendall that. “What did he have to say?” I wasn’t jealous, just annoyed. Didn’t he get the hint that she wasn’t interested? She blew him off at Prom and everything. And she had a boyfriend. Me. Maybe I’d have to show up at his house one day and remind him.

  She laughed. “Ash. Don’t worry about him. He knows how I feel. He actually asked me if Misty was available. A lot of guys have asked about her.”

  “Did you tell him to go to—”

  “I told him she wasn’t interested,” she said.

  I shut my mouth and stared out the window. I would have told him plenty of other things to go along with it. He drove me nuts. “Misty wouldn’t go for a guy like him, would she?”

  “No. She likes Sam.”

  I knew it.

  We stopped at a stop light and I drummed my fingers on the dashboard as we waited for it to turn green. “This is seriously the longest stop light ever.”

  “I know,” Kendall said. “No one’s even around and I’m sure we’ll be sitting here for another five minutes.”

  She was right. No cars were around and the streetlights flickered in the darkness. I stared at them, wondering why they were flickering at all. It was one thing for one light to be weird, but all of them at the same time?

  “Seriously? Why won’t the light change?” Kendall asked. “If they didn’t have cameras on them I’d totally just go.”

  The light changed then, and as Kendall pushed her foot on the gas, the car lurched forward and rolled to a stop in the middle of the intersection.

  “What the heck?” Kendall said, as she tried to start the car again. It didn’t make a sound. “Great. My car’s dead.” She looked around. “We’re gonna have to get out and push.”

  I smiled and shook my head. “Don’t worry. I’ll give her a jump.”

  “There aren’t any cars around and I don’t have jumper cables.”

  “Who says I need those?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You can jump a car with your hands?”

  “Of course.” I put my hand on the door handle and stopped when I noticed black tendrils of what looked like smoke, billowing up and around the car. A charge filled the air, full of magic. Dark magic. It seeped into my bones, bringing my mood down with it.

  “Ash?” Kendall asked. Her voice shook and she reached over and grabbed my hand. “Please tell me you’re doing that.” Her eyes were wide as she stared at the smoke creeping up the side of her window.

  “No,” I said, frowning. “It’s not me.” I knew who was responsible though. Linkin. I tried to open the door, but it was stuck. I even used my magic on it and all it did was backfire and send sparks all over us. How could Linkin and Shenelle stop me from using my magic all the time? I didn’t get it. I looked over at Kendall and her eyes were huge. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.” It wasn’t easy to pretend everything was going to be okay, since I had no idea what to do. Maybe if we sat it out, Linkin would leave us alone.

  The smoke crept up the side of the car until we couldn’t see out the windows anymore. A strange feeling came over me. I couldn’t think straight. My mind felt cloudy. Empty. Like someone had sucked all the happy memories from me and replaced them with a feeling of hopelessness.

  If you care about her you’ll lose everything.

  Linkin’s voice was low and quiet. I wasn’t sure if it was in my head or if Kendall could hear it too.

  She’ll make you weak. Your power will start to fade to nothing. It already has.

  “No,” I said.

  She’ll never love you. No one will ever love you. Your own mother didn’t love you enough to keep you. She left you, Ash. Left you alone in the forest to die. Come with me. Leave the human world behind and live up to your true potential.

  “Stop it,” I yelled. I tried to shut out the voice, tried to see past the hallucination, but it was too much. My mind couldn’t focus at all. All I could see were images floating around my head.

  Kendall dying on the ground, Logan sleeping in his bed and never waking up, Sam and Misty locked in a dark prison with no hope of getting out.

  “Get out of my head!”

  I don’t want to threaten you anymore. But since you’re so stubborn, I will. Bring me the necklace and I’ll spare your girlfriend’s life. Ignore my threat and lose her forever.

  “Ash!”

  Kendall’s frantic voice brought me back to reality.

  “Ash, look at me!”

  I blinked, surprised to find her sitting on my lap, her hands on either side of my face. “Kendall?” I shook my head, the fogginess fading.

  Kendall threw her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder. “I…didn’t…know what…to do!” she cried.

  “It’s okay,” I said, stroking her hair. “I’m okay.” At least I thought I was okay.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” she whispered. “You scared me to death.”

  I hugged her, but kept my eyes on our surroundings. The lights outside weren’t flickering anymore and the smoke was gone. We still sat in the middle of the intersection, but thankfully, no cars were around. “What did he do to me?”

  She sniffed and calmed herself before climbing back over to the driver’s seat. “I heard a voice and your eyes turned gold. I tried to snap you out of it but you wouldn’t respond to anything I said. You kept yelling things. I didn’t know what else to do, so…I slapped you.”

  “You slapped me?” I felt my cheek and sure enough, the right side was hot to the touch. I glanced in the mirror and saw the outline of Kendall’s hand on my face.

  “You wouldn’t answer me. Or focus. You sort of went limp in your seat and I panicked. I’m sorry.”

  I thought of Linkin’s voice again. He was trying to bring me down. To break me so I’d go find him. To threaten me by taking Kendall away.

  That wasn’t going to happen.

  I glanced out the windows again and rubbed my temples. “Let’s get back to your house.”

  “The car won’t start, remember?”

  “I’m sure it will start now. He’s gone.”

  She turned the key and sure enough, the engine roared to life. I looked over at her, wondering why she hadn’t moved the car yet.

  “Can you drive?” She asked. “I mean, do you know how? I’m still shaking and pretty sure I’ll drive us off the road.”

  “Of course I’ll drive.” I grabbed her hand and kissed it. “And yes, I took a driver’s ed. class in school. We had to learn how to fit in with humans, remember?”

  “Makes sense,” she said. She still looked upset.

  “Don’t worry. We’re fine now.” If only I could promise her that.

  ***

  Sam, Misty and Glade sat on Kendall’s couch, all staring at me after I told them what had happened.

  “You’re sure it was your...I mean, Linkin?” Sam asked.

  “Positive.”

  “Seriously, Ash. What does he want with you?”

  “I think he wants to use my power somehow. Shenelle hinted at how powerful I could be when I was at the Academy. I don’t know how he could take my power away though.”

  “Well, obviously he knows a way or he’d leave you alone,” Kendall said. She held one of my hands and the other played with her necklace.

  “I still haven’t figured out why they all want the necklace either.” I glanced at Kendall, wondering if I should tell them about the voice. She met my eyes and shook her head slightly. She always seemed to know what I was thin
king.

  The door opened then and Kendall’s mom walked in. She looked exhausted, carrying her huge purse in one hand and a mug of I’m guessing Pepsi in the other. “Hi, Hun.” She spotted me and smiled. “Ash. You’re back from your vacation already? Did you have fun?”

  “Yep. It was great.” I got attacked by a banshee and almost eaten by a dragon. It was awesome.

  “Good.” Her eyes swept the room and landed on Sam and Glade. “Are you going to introduce me to your friends?” She glanced at Kendall.

  “You know Misty, and this is Sam and Glade.”

  Glade forced a smile and Sam stood and shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Corrigan.”

  I swear she blushed.

  “Well, have fun you guys. I’m going to get a few hours of rest before I start my early shift.” She gave Kendall a hug. “You look tired. Don’t be up too late.”

  “Okay,” Kendall said.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.” She went around the corner and upstairs to her room.

  “Your mom’s nice. You don’t look like her at all though,” Sam said.

  “I know. I look like my dad.” She gave me a sad smile before leaning her head on my shoulder. I gave her a squeeze and kissed her forehead. She always acted so strong when it came to her dad, but I knew she still missed him.

  “Anyway, back to the subject,” Sam said. “Are you going after Dax again?”

  I shook my head. “Maybe I should stay here. If I don’t go looking for him, maybe he’ll come looking for me.”

  “That’s the best thing I’ve heard all night,” Kendall said. “I don’t want you to leave again and put yourself in more danger.”

  “Maybe he’s not trying to find you at all,” Sam said. “He didn’t seem too eager to fight you in the forest. He just stood there. That’s not really like him, is it? And didn’t Shenelle tell him to go back to his assignment after she kicked our butts? What assignment do you think she was talking about?”

  I cringed at the memory. I still wasn’t happy about that whole situation with the dragons. “I have no idea. I think you might be right though. If Dax was looking for me, he would have found me by now.”

  Kendall relaxed against my shoulder. I could tell she was tired. Or just worn out from the curse.

  I nudged her and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Why don’t we go to my place and chat for a while. Kendall needs some sleep.”

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “No. You need your sleep. Go to bed and I’ll see you bright and early.” I stood and gave her a quick kiss. “I love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Chapter 20

  Kendall

  To say I was exhausted was really putting it lightly. I hurt everywhere. The second I set my feet on the ground the next morning, my balance was thrown off. I almost fell over when I tried to stand up, and hung onto my dresser for support.

  Stupid Dax. Stupid knife. Stupid curse. And stupid me for going running by myself that night.

  I wasn’t about to admit to Ash how awful I felt. My body was starting to ache all the time and I was so tired. I could probably sleep all day if I wanted to, but I told myself I wouldn’t get to that point. Even if it meant dragging myself out of bed every day. Which was starting to happen more often.

  I sent Ash a text and he said he’d be over after work. I chuckled. He hadn’t been to work forever. He could talk his way out of anything and his boss loved him. I swear he could take all the time off he wanted without using any magic on him. Or maybe he had used some magic on him. I’d have to ask him about that.

  My stomach growled. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. I made it to the door, my legs weak and shaky. I stopped by the bathroom and splashed some water on my face to wake myself up. It didn’t help. I was still beat. When I looked in the mirror, I was surprised at how different I looked. My features were sharper than I remembered. More boney. I had lost a little weight, but I didn’t think it was that much. I decided not to step on the scale to find out. I took one last look at myself and went to get some breakfast.

  I passed Ellie on my way downstairs. She looked as horrible as I did.

  “Morning,” I said.

  She walked by me, not looking in my direction. “Hi,” she mumbled.

  I grabbed her arm, nearly falling down the stairs as I did so. She didn’t seem to notice. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” She pulled away from me and I watched her walk in her bedroom and close the door.

  I stood there, staring at her door for the longest time. She never acted like this. So sullen and distant. She was my best friend. We told each other everything. I couldn’t figure it out. She was clearly not herself. The old Ellie was always looking in the mirror to make sure her hair was in place and her makeup perfect. This Ellie didn’t care. She barely glanced in the mirror anymore. The dark circles under her eyes proved she wasn’t sleeping well, but why? What would keep her up all night like that?

  I sucked in a breath.

  I thought back to before Ash and I had gotten together, to the night when Dax entered my dreams and gave me nightmares from my own memories. It made perfect sense.

  Her not sleeping well and the way she wanted to see my necklace a few days earlier and got defensive and mad when I told her no.

  It was Dax. It had to be. Dax was the reason she was acting strange. He was using her to get to me. To the necklace. That meant he wasn’t looking for Ash at all. It also meant he had been in my house.

  He had been in my house.

  I bolted up the stairs and stumbled into Ellie’s room, not bothering to knock. The door slammed into the wall and I cringed as a picture frame fell and hit the ground with a crack. I reached over and picked it up, making sure it wasn’t broken.

  “Kendall, what are you doing in here?” She sat on her bed, and shoved something under her pillow when I came in. I didn’t ask her what it was. Not yet.

  “I need to talk to you.” I hung the picture back on the wall and turned toward her.

  She sighed. “Can’t it wait until later? I’m kind of tired.”

  “No. It can’t.”

  “Kendall, just give me an hour. I need a nap.”

  I took a few steps toward her, staring her right in the eyes. “It’s about Dax.”

  Her whole body went rigid and then she let out a breath and relaxed. “Who?” She avoided my eyes and became really interested in her cell phone.

  “Dax. Don’t pretend like you don’t know who he is. I know what’s going on. Why you’re not sleeping. He’s a sandman, Ellie. He’s using you to get to me. I’m guessing through your dreams. Or nightmares.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stood and turned away from me, throwing her cell on the bed. She walked to the window and looked out, completely ignoring me.

  “Yes, you do. I know for a fact you do.” I grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face me, throwing myself off balance in the process. After my head stopped spinning, I focused on her again. “Stay away from him, El. I mean it.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she ripped her arm out of my grasp. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

  “He’s dangerous.”

  She took a step back. “Stop it.”

  I reached for her again. “El—”

  “I said, stop it, Kendall!” She was breathing hard, her eyes wide. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, I do!”

  “How? How could you possibly know anything about him?”

  “I know he tried to kill me!”

  Her mouth dropped open and her face paled. “No. You’re lying. He wouldn’t do something like that.” She folded her arms and shrank back against the wall.

  “He would.”

  “Stop making him sound like a bad guy. He’s not.”

  “He stabbed me, Ellie. He is the bad guy.” I lifted the side of my shirt and pointed to my ugly scar. More black spiderlike veins branched out from it, almost
reaching my belly button. It looked horrible. When I looked back up at her, she stared at me with a horrified expression. I reached out to comfort her, to take some of the pain away.

  “He cares about me. He…” She looked around, tears filling her eyes.

  “Ellie. It’s okay. Please, we can talk about this. Ash can help.”

  Her eyes narrowed when I said his name and she slapped my hand away. “Don’t.”

  I was so shocked by her reaction, I wasn’t sure what to say. All I could do was stand there and watch as she slipped further away from me. Into the dark.

  “Get out.”

  “Ellie,” I said, trying to think of something else to say to make her pain go away.

  “Get out of my room.” Her voice was calm, but had an edge to it. I couldn’t describe the look on her face, but it scared me. I turned and left her alone, shutting the door behind me.

  I went downstairs, trying to think of something. Anything I could do to help her. There was no way I’d lose another family member. Especially to some stupid psycho guy. What could I do though? I was a human. I couldn’t fight off a crazy djinn.

  “Rough night?”

  I jumped at my mom’s voice when I reached the kitchen, but managed a nod. “Yes.”

  She sat at the table with a cup of orange juice and the newspaper spread out in front of her. “What was all that yelling about?”

  I shrugged. “Ellie wanted to borrow my shirt and I wouldn’t let her.” I hated lying to my mom. She had no idea about magic or fairies or djinns. It was best to keep her in the dark. She’d been through too much to need anything else in her life.

  “Not something you guys usually fight about. I thought you shared your clothes?”

  “She ripped a hole in my last skirt, so I told her no.”

  “I see.” She looked back at her newspaper as I walked past her. “I’m going out with Jason again.”

  Jason. Jason. Who was Jason? I couldn’t keep track of the men my mom dated. There hadn’t been very many, I just didn’t want to know about them. I missed my dad. I couldn’t imagine her being with anyone else.