Down in Flames (The Earthwalker Trilogy Book 3)

by Jennifer Siddoway

  Nathan held me while I fell apart for a while and then leaned back to place an envelope in my hand. “I found this in his pocket,” he told me gently. “You should read it.”

  I took the paper from him and began to read.

  Dear Wynn,

  I’m so proud of you. I will ALWAYS be proud of you. Please don’t ever forget that. I let you down, I should have protected you. You’ve done so well protecting us from Aidan’s scheming up till now, but you shouldn’t have had to do that on your own. You’ve made me proud and I’m so glad that you’re my daughter. It has been my greatest joy in life to be a father to you kids and I constantly feel inadequate to the task.

  I don’t have any powers, like you or Nate, but it’s my duty to protect you. I know there’s a chance I may not survive, but I’m okay with that – then I can finally be reunited with Anna.

  All I can do is hope that you and Nathan both make it out alive.

  Love

  - Dad

  Tears crept down my cheek as I folded the paper back up and returned it to the envelope. “He knew he was going to die,” I muttered softly. “Why else would he have written this?”

  “Because he wanted you to know how much he cared.”

  I nodded sadly and then gasped as a jolt of pain rocketed through me.

  “Wynn?”

  I reached down to touch the bloody gash and my hand came back red. Caleb looked at me, concerned, and said, “I need to get you home, Wynn. You’re hurt and there’s nothing left to do here. Why don’t all of us go back to the house and get some rest? I can bandage you up when we get there.”

  I had no strength left to argue, so I reached out for Maya and Nate to touch me before we teleported. With one final strain of my body’s capability, I brought us all back to where we lived – our parents’ house. I hadn’t set foot inside since returning from the Demonic Realm, we’d all been hiding in the safe house. For the first time in a long time it felt like I was finally coming home. Once we were all safely inside, I closed my eyes and slept.

  I woke up in the middle of the night, crying from pain. Caleb did his best to calm me and changed the bandages when they started bleeding through, but despite his efforts magical healing would not close the gaping wound – only time would. He slept in bed beside me, holding me close and running his fingers through my hair.

  It was a long and sleepless night. Even though my body was exhausted I couldn’t find the rest I needed. My heart ached from losing both my parents, even though I had defeated Aidan, it had come at a terrible price.

  When I finally did succumb to slumber, it enveloped me completely. I slept deep and long, and without remorse.

  Chapter Nineteen

  All In

  ML

  Kevin’s eyes squinted as he carefully threaded the needle through my skin to finish stitching up my chest. I hissed from the sting at first, but managed to grit my teeth and bear with it while he wrapped up the necessary process.

  We’d sanitized the wound as best we could with the medical supplies at hand to prevent infection, but that didn’t make the process any less painful. Caleb held my hand to comfort me and I looked up at him in a grimace.

  “Are you almost done?” Caleb asked him nervously.

  Kevin pulled the wires closed and snipped them off with a pair of scissors before glancing up at him with a smile. “Yes, all finished. You should have called me sooner. I would have come over last night if I had known.”

  “I didn’t want to bother you,” I grumbled.

  His eyes went soft as he brushed the hair off my forehead and said, “I’m happy to. You came and rescued me when I really needed someone, this is the least that I could do to repay the favor. You’re practically my sister, it makes me feel like I’m contributing.”

  I smiled at him weakly as he tied off the ends, looking very professional while he did it. It was a world of difference since the last time I had seen him. He’s gotten a haircut and was clean-shaven, wearing a clean button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow.

  “So, how am I going to be treating this?” I asked him curiously.

  He sighed, sitting back for once and taking off his gloves. “It’s not in a good location,” Kevin muttered. “I’m worried you’ll rip them out as soon as I leave. You’ll have to be careful getting up for the bathroom, or anything like that, so take it easy for a couple days.”

  Caleb nodded. “I’ll take care of her. Thank you so much for coming over.”

  “It’s my pleasure,” Kevin mumbled. “I’m glad I got to meet the famous Caleb, Wynn was telling me about you a few weeks ago.”

  My smile widened as I looked up at my fiancé and whispered, “Yeah.”

  “You seem to have worked things out, I’m happy for you.”

  I laughed, pulling down my shirt to cover the stitches. “You’re doing so much better too! I can’t believe you’re the same guy I saw back then. What have you done?”

  He started cleaning up the supplies and said, “Well, I contacted my old boss and am back working as an EMT. It might take me a while to get accepted back into med school, but I’m optimistic that it will work out in the spring. My folks came over and helped get the apartment back in shape. I feel like my life is finally getting back on track.”

  “That’s wonderful, Kevin.”

  He forced a smile, but I could see in his eyes that he was still hurting. It was the kind of hurt that would never go away, but instead of consuming him, it had become a part of him instead. It made him stronger. With a painful grunt, I tried to sit up on the bed. “Don’t move or you’ll rip out all your stitches,” Caleb told me quietly.

  Kevin stepped out to remove his gloves, leaving Caleb and I alone for the first time since arriving after my parent’s death. He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead.

  At that moment, my thoughts caught up with me and I remembered what had happened to Charley on the beach. “Charlene! I have to call her,” I told him urgently. “I saw her get hit, we have to go make sure that she and Ryan are okay!”

  “Shhh, Charley is fine. I spoke with them an hour ago – Ryan got her to the hospital in time. The baby is fine and so is she. They both need a lot of rest though and so do you,” he responded, sitting next to me on the mattress.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed back onto the bed. Caleb lay down on the mattress beside me and brushed the hair out of my face. My thoughts flickered back to the moment when Aidan knew that he was dying. I remembered the skin crumbling on his face after inhaling the lethal dose of the sacred tree. Its blossom released the antidote to immortality. The memory of the expression on his face would be the crowning jewel of my success. I felt an involuntary thrill of pleasure at the memory of his pain.

  I secretly hoped it was endorphins causing me to feel that way and not some sadistic demon trait that let me relish it. His final words would haunt me, beckoning me to take on his mantle and become a Demon Lord. I didn’t want that for myself, and I certainly didn’t want that for my family. Whatever void his death had left in the demonic world, we would have to deal with it later.

  Still, I feared that what he saw in me was true – that there was evil in my nature I could not escape.

  Kevin came back, leaning against the doorframe and watched us curiously. “I’m glad you’re alright,” he told us. “But I should probably start heading back. You’ll want to change the bandage on those at least once a day to keep it clean, and remember what I said about taking it easy. I’ll come to check on you next week and see if those can come out yet. Honestly though, they might need a full two weeks. Call me if anything happens between now and then.”

  “Okay. Where’s Nate?”

  He turned his head to glance back down the hall and said, “Uh, I think he was making out with some dark-haired chick downstairs.”

  I snorted. “Of course he is. Well, that’s perfect.”

  Caleb chuckled. “Meh, let him have some fun.”

  Kevin smiled and ga
ve us both a wave before disappearing down the hall. There was a moment of silence as we sat there alone, with the magnitude of everything that had happened settling over us. There was no battle to be fought or obstacle to overcome – we could finally be together.

  “What should we do now?” I asked him quietly. “Aidan’s dead, no one’s coming after me. It’s weird.”

  Caleb raised an eyebrow suggestively with a little grin as I felt him run his finger across my engagement ring. “Actually, there is something else left for us to do ...”

  HJ

  Two weeks later I gazed out the window of our taxi at the bright city lights of Las Vegas, Nevada. I hated waiting the two weeks to make it here at last, but Kevin insisted there would be no travel until I’d made a full recovery. I’d never been to Vegas and the fantastic scene of the casino’s and billboard signs along the road were more than anything I’d ever experienced in Alabama. The night skyline was almost completely overwhelmed by the neon lights and street after street of ambient light from the Vegas strip.

  Caleb held my hand in the back seat, allowing me to have the moment of awe while our driver took us to a wedding chapel. Our frantic packing had only allowed for the bare minimums for travel. All I had with me was a small carry-on with a change of clothes. It had been a whirlwind of excitement with the decision to elope and we spent the entire flight laughing and holding each other tight. I’d learned over the last few years that nothing in life was guaranteed, because it isn’t permanent – I didn’t want to spend another day not married to this man and knowing we were bound to one another in every way possible. We waited until my stitches had been removed and then hopped on the first flight we could find. I would have gone sooner, but Caleb convinced me it was more prudent to listen to medical advice and not stress my injury.

  The taxi driver smiled at us in the rearview mirror and pulled up to the wedding chapel. We looked at each other excitedly and climbed out of the cab. I changed into the simple dress we’d brought in the bathroom and caught sight of my expression in the mirror. The person I saw was a girl in love and about to marry the man of her dreams. We met in the lobby and Caleb offered me his hand so we could walk down the aisle together. My father was dead and couldn’t be there to give me away, but I felt his love and knew he was watching over us from the other side. Everything after that was a blur, it happened so fast I barely remembered a word the officiant asked us. The only thing I did remember, or cared about, was the moment he asked if I would take Caleb as my husband. I thought back to several moments in our past that had brought us to this point. I remembered seeing him in the hospital when we were visiting Mom in her coma, then having him show up in my bedroom and rescuing me from Aidan. I remembered feeling like my heart would burst at the sight of finding him again when he showed up in Tuscaloosa, all the ways he made me laugh, all the ways he made me feel safe, loved and wanted.

  I knew then that I would love him for the rest of my life, and even on into the next. I’d always known that – he was the one for me. Caleb was the love of my life and I was so honored and blessed to finally be standing with him right here, right now, and starting a life with him.

  He gazed back at me with his clear blue eyes and I felt my heart beat faster. I wasn’t scared, I had never been more sure of anything in my life. I smiled at the officiant’s question and said, “I do.”

  Caleb laughed out a happy sob as they turned to him and asked, “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” he stated clearly.

  There was a cheer from both the witnesses as the officiant announced us man and wife, then Caleb was kissing me passionately in front of the alter. It was the happiest moment of our lives and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I slid the wedding band across his finger and he smiled at me with tears in the corners of his eyes.

  It felt like an eternity filling out the paperwork, but eventually it was finished and we ran back outside to another car that would take us to the hotel. It felt weird going through all this red tape and bureaucracy to pledge ourselves to one another when we’d already done so. Every signature made it that much more official and brought us that much closer to the wedding night. Everything from the car ride, to checking in, and then making it up to our room was all superfluous. The giddy haze of finally being able to call Caleb my husband put everything else into a fog and sort of faded into the background.

  The only thing I could see was him.

  When my eyes fluttered open the next morning, I was shocked to find that I had someone wrapped in my arms. Instead of fabric softener and the smell of my shampoo — him. One arm wrapped around me held me close against his side and I smiled contentedly, realizing that it wasn’t a dream.

  My legs were still tangled in the sheets with my feet dangling out. I opened my eyes to find him already awake and smiling at me. “Good morning,” he greeted me breathily.

  “Good morning.”

  When I glanced down at our entwined bodies, I couldn't tell where he ended and I began, which made me elated beyond words. His hand traced invisible patterns on my skin, alighting my whole body to his touch. It was so gentle, so light, I almost didn’t realize he was doing it until I watched him for a while. Our fingers ghosted gently over each inch of skin we could discover, but neither of us seemed eager to let go of our hold on the other. As he brushed the fingers of his left hand against my arm, his wedding ring glinted in the sunlight. “Oh my gosh, we really did it!” I gasped with a giddy smile. “We’re married.”

  “Yes, we are,” he responded with a grin. “How does it feel, Mrs. Dunaway?”

  Biting into my smile, I told him, “Wonderful.”

  “Are you sure you’re not disappointed? Most girls dream about a big fairytale wedding since they were a child. I don’t want you to regret missing out on that because we ran off to Vegas.”

  I shook my head, the smile widening even broader. “Caleb, I never wanted any of that. I’m not interested in the wedding aspect, what I wanted was a marriage – a marriage to you.”

  “Good, because I plan on reminding myself every day of something your father told me before he died; that love is a constant decision that we make for ourselves. I will remind myself each and every day why I chose you.”

  “Is Mr. Murphy okay with you jetting off like this? You didn’t give him a whole lot of warning before we were on a plane.”

  Caleb sighed. “Well, it’s the weekend for one thing, so I’ve still got some time before letting him know I won’t be in on Monday. I’ll call him in the afternoon and let him know. Honestly though, I don’t think it will be a problem. George and I get along really well and I’m sure he’ll understand.”

  “Okay.”

  He leaned over the bed to kiss me and I fell back onto the mattress beneath him. Caleb let out a small groan as I opened my mouth and it only encouraged me to go further. It was brief, but passionate until he pulled away with a dreamy smile.

  “Why did you stop?” I asked him with a pout.

  “Because I figure you and I could both use some rest. It’s been a long week, emotionally and physically. Your body’s still healing from the battle,” he reminded me gently.

  “I don't want you to ever stop kissing me,” I said.

  “We're married now, you can kiss me any time you want.”

  I grinned, shifting my weight on the bed and leaned forward to brush my lips against his. “Good, because I want to kiss you now.”

  Caleb leaned into the embrace and wrapped his arms around me tightly so we were both clasped around each other. His hands threaded through my hair and slid down across my back. “Wynn,” he breathed out huskily, “are you sure?”

  I nodded, fisting my hands at the back of his hair when my phone on the bedside table started ringing.

  He hung his head and laughed at the inopportune timing and rolled off me. I was silently cursing to myself as I checked the caller ID.Charlene Murphy.

  “Oh
, crap! Caleb, I’m sorry, I have to take this.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s Charley,” I informed him. “I want to make sure everything’s okay with the baby. What if something happened since we left.”

  He sighed, “Okay, go ahead.”

  “Hello?”

  He sat back to let me answer it and stretched against the headboard, pulling his arm behind his head, clearly in no hurry to get up. I grinned, holding the phone against my ear and smiling back at him.

  “Hey! Sorry it took me so long to get in touch, it’s been pretty crazy around here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after everything that happened. I’m so sorry about your parents. I can’t imagine what you are going through.”

  I sighed. “Honestly, Nate and Caleb took care of all that. I was too weak and recovering from a stab wound to be much help with funeral arrangements.”

  “Still, I want you to know that we care and that I’m here for you.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

  “You’re all recovered now though?”

  “Pretty much. I had my stitches removed two days ago and am doing much better. How about you? Ryan called us a couple times and let us know you had been discharged from the hospital on bedrest, but that didn’t give me the entire scope of what was going on at your place.”

  “Yeah, the doctor said that me and the baby were fine but I need to take it easy for a while just in case.”

  “Good, I’m glad,” I exhaled in relief. “How’s Ryan handling it?”

  “He’s adorable, still sleeping in the chair beside me. It was a long night for him and I didn’t have the heart to wake him up yet. If you’re up for it we should get together soon and talk about party planning. There’s a lot to get ready for with the baby and your engagement. Do you want me to come over this afternoon?”

  I chuckled. “That sounds great and everything, but it will have to wait until we’re back in town.”

  “Back in town? Where are you?”

  Before I could respond, Caleb shifted closer on the mattress and wrapped his hands around my waist. He brushed my hair to the side and traced a line of kisses down my neck, guiding his fingers gently across my waist. I closed my eyes and bit my lip to keep the sigh of pleasure from escaping while she was talking to me. His loving caresses became more urgent and I turned my head towards him, grinning. “Look Charley, I’d really love to chat, but right now my husband is trying to get my attention and I intend to give it to him.”