by E. E. Holmes
“I know what you mean,” Hannah said when I confided this to her. “I’m feeling sort of downhearted, too.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Of course,” she replied, with her own quiet wisdom apparent in her tone. “We did a lot of good, but there was sadness and injustice here that we couldn’t fix. Poor Jeremiah was really a victim, wasn’t he? He wasn’t knowingly doing anything wrong—and I really do think his intentions, at least at the start, were good. But now his dreams of helping people are over. And so many of the people here are going home just as sad and empty as when they arrived, which is a shame. But you were right, Jess. Crossing Irina would’ve been the kindest way to end this, all things considered. I’m sad about that. I mean, she did take advantage of these people, but she also gave them a kind of hope. It wasn’t even false hope either—not totally.”
The walk through the lobby did nothing to make me feel any better. Kyle’s parents were standing at the front desk, tearfully demanding resources about other mediums they could contact, while a bewildered-looking Maya explained that she simply didn’t have that kind of information.
Marigold sat on a window seat as she waited for her car. She was on her cell phone, talking to someone. “I’m not really sure, sugar. There’s nothing else I can do. I’ll just come home, I guess… Yes, honey, I know—maybe I should get myself a dog?” Her laugh ended in a barely concealed sob.
She looked up and we caught each other’s eye. Marigold smiled sadly at me; I smiled back.
Neither Marigold, nor the Owenses, nor any of the other guests was haunted any longer. Harold, relieved to see the Whispering Seraph scam destroyed, had been more than ready to Cross. Kyle, after a long, tough-love talk with Milo, had forgiven his parents before Crossing; I knew he had left the last of his anger behind in the Aether, where it couldn’t poison him anymore.
When we’d finally been able to open the Gateway, not a single spirit had refused to Cross. All the spirits lingering behind at Whispering Seraph were strong; I could be fairly certain that each had passed successfully through the Aether and into the world beyond. These spirits would be okay; I could only hope the same for the people they left behind.
“Did you forget something?” Hannah asked, as I stopped in my tracks at the bottom of the porch steps.
“No. I’ll meet you at the car in a minute,” I said. I had just spotted Talia, who was waving me down from beside her town car. “Tell Finn I’m coming.”
Hannah followed my gaze. When she saw Talia walking toward us, she nodded her head in understanding and trudged off toward the parking lot, with her suitcase bumping along behind her.
“I was hoping I’d catch you before you left,” Talia said. Her face was drawn, and there were bags under her eyes, but she was smiling. It was a different smile than the few I’d seen her plaster on her face previously; there was something peaceful in it now. So very sad, but peaceful.
“I’m glad you did,” I said. “How are you?”
She shrugged. “I’m okay. Or I will be.”
I smiled at her. “Yes, you will.”
“I honestly couldn’t have said that before and meant it,” she admitted. She reached up and tucked a rogue tendril of hair behind her ear, but it floated back out again on the sultry Louisiana breeze. I could see that the runes from yesterday had almost completely faded from her hand. “And I have you to thank for that. Deeply thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It takes time to heal, but now that you’ve had closure, you’ll get there,” I said. “Sorry if that sounds like a psychiatrist’s sound bite, but it’s true… I promise.”
Talia sighed as she shrugged in agreement. Then she nodded in the direction of Catriona’s car, where a Caomhnóir was sitting behind the wheel, ready to escort Campbell to the Lafayette Boarding House. Campbell was sitting in the backseat, looking like someone had clubbed him over the head. His expression was bewildered, like a child who’d looked up in a crowd and found his mother gone.
“What about Jeremiah? Will he be alright?” Talia asked.
“I think so,” I replied. I knew that he had many hours of Tracker interrogation to look forward to, followed by a long and messy cover-up—and I had no idea how the Durupinen were going to explain any of this to Campbell without divulging their secrets. But luckily, none of that was my problem; I’d leave the Trackers, and their blind adherence to the Council, to take care of all that. But speaking of cover-ups…
“Hey, so I realize that I didn’t have you sign a fancy non-disclosure agreement, but—”
Talia laughed—actually laughed a true laugh. “I’m not going to tell anyone. Besides, who in the world would believe me if I did?” Her smile faded. “I can never thank you enough for what you did for me. I know you weren’t supposed to connect Grayson and me like that, and I… well, the least I can do is keep your secret.”
“Good. Well, I guess I’ll see you around,” I said, and turned to go.
“One last thing, actually,” Talia replied hesitantly. “Can you tell me… I mean, I think I already know—I think I felt it, but I just wanted to be sure…”
Her emotion rose up and cut her off, but I didn’t need to hear the end of her question. I knew what Talia was asking, and I was relieved to be able to tell her the whole truth. “He’s gone, Talia. Last night. It was peaceful.”
She sniffed and nodded slowly. “Okay. Thank you.”
I leaned forward and hugged her, because really what else could I do in a moment like that? Sometimes even the most heartfelt of words are inadequate.
§
I found Hannah, Milo, and Finn waiting for me by the car. “Are we all ready to go?” I asked.
Milo looked like he might start crying himself. “You’re by yourself. Does this mean Talia isn’t coming to live with us?”
I laughed. “No, you adorable stalker, I let her get back to her own life. But if she ever invites me anywhere with a red carpet, I promise you can be my date… and you can dress me.”
Milo went starry-eyed and turned to Hannah. “Sweetness, we’ve had a nice run, but Jess is my favorite twin now.”
Hannah laughed. “You can’t break up with me that easily. We’re Bound, remember?”
“Hey, wait. Are Iggy and the team still at the Boarding House?” I asked to no one in particular. “That will complicate things, won’t it?”
“Catriona sent them home when she arrived yesterday,” answered Finn. “They left on a flight late last night. Proper first class tickets, from what I was told. We’re meeting with them in Salem the day after tomorrow.”
“Good,” I replied. “And I’m dying to see Tia too. Poor thing, she probably thinks I abandoned her! But then again, maybe she hardly noticed—she might be in her happy place, under a pile of anatomy textbooks.”
Finn cleared his throat. “We should get moving. Catriona expects us back at the Lafayette Boarding House for debriefing,” he said, as he opened the car door for us. Hannah and Milo climbed into the backseat.
I shuddered. I was not looking forward to seeing Catriona and the Durupinen-Tracker protocols she stood for. I knew it would take every ounce of my civility not to start hissing in her face again. Whatever Catriona’s reasoning, her refusal to Cross Irina was the true crime here, as far as I was concerned. Okay, so Irina was—both literally and figuratively—no angel, but after decades of abuse, who wouldn’t lose her way?
“Hey Jess-Jess, would you care to join us?” Milo quipped from the car, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I looked up to see Finn still holding the car door open. “Ugh. Okay, but I am not sleeping in that nightmare factory again. After our meeting, I’m booking myself into the nearest hotel.”
“I might just join you,” Finn said under his breath, as I walked by him to get into the car.
“You’d better,” I replied just as softly.
It was nice to imagine, but we both knew it wouldn’t be that easy. We knew we’d made a decision that would undoubtedly have serious co
nsequences down the line. But we also knew we couldn’t go back on it. Not now. Not ever. And the Durupinen would have to deal with that.
Our car pulled away, leaving Whispering Seraph behind in a dust cloud that only an unpaved Southern country road could create.
“I’m not sorry to leave that place!” Milo said.
“Me neither,” I replied. “Although the food was great. And that bed, too.”
“We never even got to try the spa,” Hannah said a little wistfully.
“I can turn the car around, you know,” Finn said jokingly, although not without a touch of his usual impatience. His aggravatingly endearing impatience.
I pretended to think about it. “No, we’re good.”
The property may have been behind us, but much still weighed on me from Whispering Seraph. Most keenly, I felt the weight of my promise to Irina. Soon the day would come when I would have to make good on that promise. I had no idea how I would manage to keep my word, or what the fallout might be. My life as a Durupinen carried with it a long and complicated legacy, a legacy full of dedicated service to the spirits, but also a history riddled with mistakes, willful errors, and a multitude of egregious sins. Perhaps I’d never be able to reconcile the two. I knew I would never be a Council sycophant or a Tracker who could blindly follow orders, but there was one thing I was determined to be, for my own sake as much as for Irina’s: I would always be a Durupinen who kept her promises.
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Acknowledgments
I can’t begin acknowledgments without first expressing my boundless gratitude for my readers, who have taken this journey with me and embraced the World of the Gateway with the same enthusiasm that I put into writing it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for turning those pages.
To my husband Joseph, whose encouragement coaxed these books out of my head and onto the page, thank you so much for always believing in me, and for all of your hard work in getting these books out into the world. I can never thank you enough for helping me to realize this dream, which is now our dream. You are the very best partner I could hope for.
Many thanks to my cover designer James T. Egan at Bookfly Designs. Although we hope people will not judge a book solely by its cover, the fact remains that your amazing work tempts reader after reader to pick my books up and give them a closer look, and for this I am very grateful.
Ever writer needs a wonderful editor, and I have found one in Erika DeSimone. Erika, thank you for being that organized, detail-oriented left side of my brain I’ve always wanted. Your insight, commitment, and humor have been invaluable to me. Thank you for giving so much of your time, energy, and talent to this series.
Many thanks to my family and friends, for their constant support and encouragement, and especially to my two littlest loves, Lily and Myles, for interrupting my writing time in the best ways possible. I wouldn’t trade my days with you for anything in the world. Thank you for being my two most beautiful reasons to keep writing.
About the Author
E.E. Holmes is a writer, teacher, and actor living in central Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and a small, but surprisingly loud dog. When not writing, she enjoys performing, watching unhealthy amounts of British television, and reading with her children.
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