Down in Flames

by Jennifer Siddoway

  “Your husband?” she repeated for clarification. I could hear the confusion in her voice.

  Caleb looked up from where he’d kissed me on the stomach, smiling wickedly; he'd been slowly but steadily making his way down my body, encouraged by my hands as they now tangled in his hair.

  “Goodbye, Charley,” I responded with a laugh. “I’m glad that you and the baby are both okay. I'll see you when we get back.”

  I hung up the phone and set it on the table before rolling over to Caleb, smiling. “Now, where were we?”

  HJ

  Lacey squealed when she met us in the airport. She came running up to us in the baggage claim and threw her arms around me, almost tackling me to the ground. “You guys! I can’t believe you did this!”

  I laughed, hugging her back as tightly as I could. “Oh my gosh! What are you doing here? I thought you were back in Tuscaloosa.”

  She grinned. “I came down for the occasion. It’s not every day your brother runs off to Vegas and gets married.”

  “I’m glad the whole thing is over.”

  “Well, obviously, Mom and Dad are going to expect you to have some sort of gathering to celebrate.”

  “Uh, no. I don’t really feel like that’s appropriate.”

  “Please, Wynn! It would mean so much to them,” she pleaded shamelessly.

  “Ugh, no! The whole reason we ran off to Vegas was so we could avoid this whole fiasco. The only person left in my family is Nate, both our parents are dead. There is no one to walk me down the aisle, no one to go shopping for a wedding dress, all of that would have reminded me that I’m an orphan now and was doing this on my own. Going to Vegas was a painless way to make this happen without the heartache that came with it.”

  “Well, it’s not just about you!” Lacey argued. “It also about our families surrendering their children and sharing that moment with you as you start your life together. I know what you went through is hard, and you feel like you don’t have a family anymore, but Caleb does. Getting married means that I’m also part of your family now, that you’re a part of our family, and it hurts that you cut me and our parents out of this. And you know family isn’t who you were born to; we all have people that have become family to us, and they would consider you a sister and daughter. The least you can do is let them have a party to celebrate the happy things you do still have to look forward to.”

  I groaned, nudging Caleb with my elbow and said, “Caleb, talk to her.”

  He laughed as he put his arm around my shoulder. “Wynn, Lacey has a good point there. I’m completely fine with doing both. We had planned on a big church wedding anyways, so what’s the difference in one little reception?”

  My jaw fell open as I started at him in shock. It had only been a weekend and already my husband had betrayed me.

  “Besides,” he added with a wink. “Why would I deny myself the chance to see the most beautiful bride in the world?”

  I blushed, looking up at him and smiled. For a moment, we argued with each other silently, trying to stare the other down. It was hard when still blushing and mushy from our honeymoon, and I couldn’t maintain any kind of glare. I’d have to practice that wife look Mom had perfected. “Alright you win. We’ll have an actual reception, but I claim veto power on just about anything.”

  “Deal!”

  Lacey squealed with happiness and threw her arms around me once again. I’d lost my sister two years ago, but I’d also gained a new one – two in fact. Mercedes was still young and going through an emo phase, but in time I hoped we’d grow on one another too. “I’ll take care of everything, you won’t have to think about a thing. Let me know what you want, and Nate and I will make that happen.”

  Over the next five days, it was insane at the Dunaway house. All of them coming together to design an elegant garden party, which was the compromise that Lacey and I came up with. His family came from all across the county to help decorate the yard and hang lights from the branches of the trees. When Ryan’s parents found out what was happening, they lent the chairs and garden lanterns from the reception at their citrus grove. Mrs. Dunaway offered me the use of her old wedding dress, but I insisted that she save that right for Lacey on the day she finally met her special someone.

  Pirro wanted to be the ring bearer, which Caleb and I happily agreed to. He was the youngest Dunaway child who’d been born with Downs syndrome, but he became enamored with Caleb right away. Pirro was such a kind and gentle soul; his innocence saw through the temporal veil and knew what his adopted brother really was and loved him for it. I was honored to have him part of the wedding party. It became clear very soon that what Lacey said was right, it was about two families—and more—coming together as a new one began.

  It was a new life, a new family, with different cultures and traditions. I was a Dunaway now and it would take time for me to truly appreciate and understand what that meant. Still, I would always be a Hendricks too, that part of be would never die, but I was both.

  Now that we were married, it was time for Caleb and me to move in together. Nate helped pack up boxes and transfer all my things to Caleb’s house on the edge of the Murphy’s citrus grove.

  The evening of the reception, I changed into the yellow dress I had worn on our date in Tuscaloosa, leaving my hair free so it hung in wavy curls down my back. On my neck, I wore the pearl necklace and earrings Mom had worn on her wedding day. Nate and Maya found them in her dresser and thought that I would want them. It was good to feel like Mom was there with me, and not in a cursed-necklace way either.

  Everyone was gathered in the yard of my parents’ old house and having a wonderful time meeting, bonding, and discovering new and old connections. There were so many memories here, it made me sad to be moving on. The yard was still covered in greenery and shrubs that were in desperate need of pruning. I’d found Cleo as a tiny kitten on the porch we were standing on. It’s where I grew up and had always found sanctuary.

  It was home.

  At some point, someone—Lacey I was sure—shouted out for a speech. And of course, many others took up the call, echoing it through the crowd until Caleb was practically pushed out by the entreaty to find himself standing before a half-moon crowd. “I remember when Wynn and I were dating and I realized that I was going to marry her. I was pissed off, because it happened so suddenly and so powerfully, that I wished I’d been given a say in the matter. By the time I realized she was the one, my heart was so far gone I knew there could never be anyone else for me. She’s the love of my life.”

  My eyes misted over as I smiled back at him while everyone else was clapping. I looked over to see Lacey in the crowd, and mouthed ‘thank you.’ She nodded and gave me a thumbs up. This really was the kind of closure and catharsis I never knew I needed. I felt like I may have eloped with Caleb at least partially to forget my old family, broken and torn apart as it may have been, and attempt to start over. But with everyone here, I saw that I had a bigger family than I ever realized, that would love and support me—us—and that I didn’t need to be afraid to open my heart and love them back.

  I took Caleb’s hand, and when he saw the tears and smile on my face, he gave that wry half-grin I always loved, and followed as I pulled him away from the crowd of guests. Back inside the house, I found Nate in the living room with Charley. They were enjoying the peace and quiet there, talking softly, and looking up together as we joined them. “Here comes the bride,” he managed to quip. I didn’t even have it in me to punch his arm for the lame joke. I pulled him in and gave him a long hug, drawing Charley and Caleb in after a moment.

  “I’m sorry if I was ever a bad sister, Nate. I love you, and I’m glad you’re here.”

  I wiped my eyes and looked up at the family portrait that hung on the wall. It always used to bother me, both the memory of having to dress up and sit unnaturally, and the later feelings of betrayal at seeing Mom there. Now, however, it was one of the few things that had us all together, and I could remember the good tim
es too, even if it sometimes felt like all of us against the world. I had been afraid that it would only be me and Nate now, and I was so close to running away from even him just so I wouldn’t have anything else to lose.

  The party continued its revelry outside, and I let go of Nate to listen to the happy noise again. “We have a good family,” I smiled, wiping my eyes.

  Nate was trying to keep strong too by this point, forcing a grin. “Yeah, we do.”

  We finally all walked back to the yard to rejoin the reception and forget our troubles for a night as we started a new future together.

  Epilogue

  ML

  Nadia sighed while walking up the steps, her keys clasped tightly in the palm of her hand.

  Her heart was heavy after the battle at North Beach, watching Michele and William die. It was more than she was prepared to deal with at her age.

  As the door creaked open at the top of her stairs, Hemingway meowed at her from beyond the threshold. The affectionate gray tabby cat purred and rubbed up against her leg, but that’s not what got her attention. All five of her living sisters were waiting in the living room. The eldest, Paige, stood up from the couch with her hands clasped gently in front of her. “Hello, Nadia.”

  “Paige! W-what are all of you doing here?”

  Her sister sighed. “I’m afraid we need to talk.”

  Nadia scoffed, stepping into the living room and letting the door fall shut behind her. “I just watched my best friend die. Lots of people died. Were you not aware of the battle taking place? Because I’m sure our father summoned each and every one of you, yet not one of you bothered to show up. Why is that exactly? Our world was under attack. When Ellyllon calls, you answer!”

  Paige’s expression fell. “I’m sorry to hear about Michele’s passing, but unfortunately this cannot wait.”

  Nadia huffed out angrily and one of the women stepped forward with a camera bag slung across her shoulder. She had long, rose gold hair that had been dyed pink for the occasion, but the brunette roots were still visible underneath. She set the bag down on the table and rifled through its contents until pulling out a picture from a secret compartment near the base. “Nadia, I loved Michele too. You know I did. I would have been there fighting alongside you, but this is important.”

  “What could possibly be so important that you ignored Lilith and our father’s plea?”

  “I didn’t ignore him,” the pink-haired girl insisted. “I followed his instructions to the letter. He’s the one who sent me to collect the others.”

  Nadia paused, staring at her sister in surprise. “You mean…?”

  “You’re just the last leg on our journey before we go to collect the seventh sister.”

  Nadia gasped. “You found her?”

  All five of the woman standing in her living room nodded.

  Rachel handed her the photograph and smiled. “She has a birthmark just like the rest of us. I found her living in an orphanage in St. Petersburg. The poor thing is all skin and bones, we have to get her out of there.”

  Nadia took the image and started at it for a moment silently. It was of a young girl with platinum blonde hair and stormy gray eyes. She couldn’t have been older than ten or eleven and her clothes were far too big for her. As she stared at the picture, Nadia felt a familial recognition that she’d seldom felt before.

  “She has father’s eyes,” Nadia murmured, still looking at the picture in her hand.

  Her sisters all nodded eagerly. “Yes! I saw her when Casper and I were travelling, it hit me like a ton of bricks. We had to stop walking so I could take a picture, because I knew no one would believe me.”

  “You’re sure about this?”

  “I am absolutely convinced that’s her,” Rachel insisted with a smile. “It’d hard to explain, but the air vibrates around her like a force field. I couldn’t get a picture of it, but there was a star shaped marking on her shoulder. We have to go rescue her.”

  Nadia looked down at the picture, then back at her sister in agreement. “You’re right, I’m sorry that I yelled at you. I can leave right away, just let me get my hat…”

  About the Author

  Jennifer is an author from Tallahassee, Florida who writes paranormal romance and fantasy novels for young adults. She is a member of both Gulf Coast Authors and the Florida Writers Association.

  After receiving a degree in theatre from BYU and working as a scenic artist for twelve years, she changed careers to do what she really loves—writing. Jennifer believes that part of her job as an artist and story teller is to create a narrative that explores a fresh perspective and leaves the audience thinking.

  When she’s not busy writing or burying her nose in a book, Jennifer enjoys doing medieval reenactment with her husband and two children.

  You can find out more about Jennifer Siddoway and her books at: http://www.jensiddoway.com

  YA titles by Jennifer Siddoway

  Dealing with the Devil (book 1, the Earthwalker Trilogy)

  The Devil’s Due (book 2, the Earthwalker Trilogy)

  Down in Flames (book 3, the Earthwalker Trilogy)

  Reviews are always appreciated!