“Who?” asked Gen.
“You know who,” Shae said. She held Gen's gaze, then went to the sofa and sat down.
“Shae,” said the Oracle, “has the ability to visit the dreams of humans. She can target a human close to you and send them a message.”
“That's not exactly how it works,” Shae said. “But we'll see what we can do.”
“You have to let my parents know I'm okay,” Gen said. “They'll be worried and scared, and I'm really afraid that they'll be really mad at Jim. It isn't his fault and I need to let them know that.”
“We'll talk closer to nighttime,” Shae said.
The Oracle said, “Genevieve, will you help us?”
Gen sighed. Ivy would volunteer to help in a heartbeat. Gen owed Ivy everything. “Yes,” Gen said. “I owe it to Ivy to do what I can. I need to bring back my – our – her home. The Meadows. If I can bring it back, I will,”
“If you bring it back,” the Oracle said, “then it will need a ruler.”
“We can find one, I'm sure.”
“You are the successor, and you will be its sovereign once it is restored to the Realms. I have seen this.”
“Yeah?” asked Gen. “Don't count on it. I have my whole future ahead of me.”
The Oracle gave Gen a look, but Gen couldn't figure out what it might mean. The Mer were very alien to her and this woman's mannerisms were hard to interpret.
“Enter The Void where the Realm was and go to the Chamber of the Heart. You can restore the essence of the Realm and bring back a new Heart.”
“How?” asked Gen.
“You simply do it,” the Oracle said.
“What do you mean? I just concentrate or cast a spell or something?”
“You simply do it,” the Oracle repeated. “Channel your energy into restoring the Realm. When you are in the Chamber, you will know what to do.”
“You seem awfully sure about that.”
“I am only sure because I have seen it.”
“It's real easy to be confident when you have the cheat sheet in front of you,” Gen smirked.
The Oracle tilted her head at Gen. “I do not understand.”
“Never mind,” Gen said. “Do I succeed?”
“All futures are possible,” said the Oracle. “The future with the most favorable outcome is the future in which you succeed in restoring all of the Realms that were destroyed.”
“Which one did you see?”
“I do not understand,” said the Oracle.
“Which of those futures did you see? Did you see the one where I can do it?”
“Genevieve, I see all of them. It is up to you to choose the path to the future that you wish to take place.”
“Oh, good,” said Gen. “So, no pressure, then.”
The Oracle cocked her head again.
“Never mind.”
-
Gen was in bed and Shae sat on the bed above her, Gen's head between her legs, back against the wall. Gen's feet hung a little bit off the edge of the bed.
Shae placed her hands over Gen's temples.
“Close your eyes,” Shae said. “Imagine the person you want to communicate with. Who is it?”
“My mother,” Gen said.
Shae's voice soothed Gen, almost hypnotic. “Imagine your mother. Imagine what she looks like, what she sounds like, what she smells like. Do you have her solidly in your mind?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Shae's fingers grew warm on Gen's skin. “Keep her focused in your mind. Watch her. See her. See what she's doing.”
“She's going to bed. She's holding a book but she's not actually reading it. She's staring off into space.”
“Good,” Shae said. Her voice was cool and smooth. Gen felt like she would fall asleep at any minute. “Now imagine that you are flying up to her. You approach her. You lean forward and touch your forehead to hers. You feel how warm—”
-
Gen was standing in a familiar place, but it was all wrong. She was standing on the ceiling in her living room. Her mother was standing next to her, peeling an apple with a long, curved knife, taking the peel off in one long spiral.
“Mom?”
Her mother looked at her. “Gen!” She let go of the apple and the knife, but instead of falling, they floated right where they were when she held them. She rushed to Gen and put her arms around her.
“Oh, mom,” Gen said. “It's been a bad day.”
“What happened? Are you okay?” Gen's mom was speaking slowly, like she was having difficulty realizing quite what was going on and she was trying to figure it out.
“I'm fine. Listen, you're dreaming. You have to make sure you remember this when you wake up. I told Jim to tell you I was okay, and I am. It's hard to explain, but something amazing happened. I'm doing something very important, and I won't be home for a while. But I'm okay. You don't need to worry. And definitely don't be mad at Jim.”
“Jim did talk to me,” Gen's mom said. “He showed me some of his toys. Why haven't you come home yet? It's very late and you have school tomorrow.”
“I can't come home yet. My way home is blocked and I have to do something here. I'll be okay. Don't worry about me.”
“Genny?”
“Yeah, mom?”
“I will always worry about you.”
Gen felt like she was going to cry. She ran to her mother and put her arms around her. She felt soft and fuzzy. Something wasn't quite right.
“Tell daddy that I'm okay, and I'll be home as soon as I can. Jim had nothing to do with this. I'm not hurt. Okay?”
“Okay, sweetie,” Gen's mom said. “I trust you. See you in the morning. Now go to bed, and we'll have turnip soup until the turtles come baking brownies in the camper.”
“What?” Gen tried to ask, but she couldn't make any sound come out of her mouth. The world swirled around her faded into blackness.
-
Gen woke abruptly and bolted upright in bed. It was dark in the room and she felt very disoriented. She thought for a moment that she was home in her own bedroom, but at the same time, she felt like she was lying in her comfy bed in her house, waking up before the sun came up to start working the farm.
She opened her eyes as wide as she could, trying to make out anything she could in the absolute darkness of the room. She heard the door click shut and felt someone sit on the edge of the bed.
“Hope?” Gen asked.
“Iv— Gen,” Hope whispered, “it's me. I'm sorry I woke you. Shae said I should leave you alone because if I woke you up it could mess up the dream, but I couldn't sleep.”
“I talked to my mom. I remember.”
“Your mom?”
“Oh, right,” Gen said, remembering that fairies didn't have parents or babies. They came into being as new arrivals in their Realms after their human counterparts laughed their first joyful laugh, mature and grown.
“I talked to the person I was trying to talk to. I just hope the message came across and that she remembers when she wakes up.”
“That's good,” Hope said quietly. “Can..” Hope sounded nervous, hesitant about asking whatever she was going to ask.
“What is it?” Gen asked.
“Do you mind if I lay down with you?”
“Oh,” Gen said, “Hope, I don't know. I mean, I can't...”
“No,” Hope said. “Nothing like that. I can't sleep and I'm feeling terribly alone. I just don't want to be alone.”
Gen pulled back the covers. “Okay.”
Hope crawled under the blankets, careful to give Gen space. Hope's skin was cold, like she'd been out of bed for a long time. Hope reached between them, felt around for Gen's hand, and held it. Gen didn't pull away.
“Is this too much? I know you're not her. I'm not trying to make you be her.”
“It's not that,” Gen said. “Because I kind of am a bit her. I remember all of our nights together.”
Hope shook slightly. Gen realized she was crying. Gen sl
ipped her hand from Hope's and put her arm around her. Hope turned toward Gen and snuggled closely against her.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Hope asked.
“Yes,” Gen said. Two or three times, Hope picked her head up, then quickly buried her face into Gen's side. “What is it?” Gen asked.
“You feel so much like her. You look the same. You sound the same. You smell the same. I miss her so much. I want to kiss you, but I know I shouldn't. My mind and my body are both confused. I'm sorry. I'll stay still. Please... Just... Just let me stay.”
Gen kissed Hope gently on the forehead. “Please stay. Don't make me sleep alone, either.”
“What about your boyfriend?” Hope asked.
“We're just sleeping, Hope. We can cuddle up and just... sleep.”
Hope nodded against Gen's chest. She took a deep breath and then sighed a long sigh. “Thank you.”
“Hope?” asked Gen.
“Yeah, Iv— Gen?”
“Will you come with me? Will you do this thing and come into The Void with me?”
“Of course I will,” Hope said. “If there's any part of you left, or... any part of her left... I would do anything for you. And besides, it's the right thing to do.”
They were quiet for a while.
“Hope?”
“Yeah, Gen?”
“Do you think Herron will be okay?”
“He'll be fine. We'll go see him in the morning.” Hope squeezed Gen to reassure her. Gen squeezed her back, and they both drifted off to sleep.
chapter 3
Several police cars, two fire engines, and an ambulance were idling and their strobing and flashing lit the dark parking lot. Larry Clark arrived at the Cooper Park Luxury Apartments complex. He parked and rushed to one of the police officers.
“I'm Larry Clark. I got a call about my son,” he said,
“ID?” the cop asked.
Larry fished his driver's license from his wallet and handed it over. The cop shone a flashlight on it, looked at it, then looked at Larry. He handed the card back.
“Come with me,” the cop instructed.
Larry followed the policeman under the yellow tape line and toward the buildings. The air was clear but it smelled smoky and sulphurous. The smell reminded Larry of fireworks. There was another ambulance parked on the grass near one of the apartment buildings, front facing him. A pair of paramedics was talking and one was filling out paperwork on a clipboard. There was a stretcher next to them. A white sheet was draped over a body.
“Jesus,” Larry said. “Is that person dead? Is Jim okay?”
“Your son is fine,” a man in a suit said. “I'm Detective Harrison.” He held his hand out and Larry shook it reflexively.
“Larry Clark. What's going on here, and where's my son?”
“Let me explain what's going on here and then I'll bring you right over. Okay? Okay. There was some sort of explosion here this evening, about six thirty, maybe seven. Your son was here when we arrived on the scene. He's shaken up pretty bad.”
“An explosion? Was he lighting off firecrackers or something?”
“We're not really sure,” Harrison said. “He hasn't really said very much. He seems fine, physically. He's not injured and he doesn't have any burns on him or anything. Like I said, he seems fine. Just shaken up. Do you know why he would come here?”
Larry looked around. “No idea. Does one of his friends live here?”
“He said no, but he said your girlfriend lived here.”
“My girlfriend? I don't have a...” He looked back the stretcher. “Holy shit, is that Andrea?” He looked back at Harrison. “Andrea Leeds, we work together. She's the only one I've ever... you know... been with... that Jim saw. We had a fight about it a few weeks ago.”
“You had a fight about it? About Andrea?” the detective asked.
“Yeah,” Larry started, then realized he was probably saying too much. “Yeah, well, not a fight, I mean, just an argument. I didn't have a real relationship with Andrea. We work together... worked together, I guess... And Jim was upset that I didn't tell him about her or introduce them. But she wasn't my girlfriend. We just got together a couple of times.”
“Will you confirm the identity of the victim, Larry?”
Larry nodded, numb, then followed Harrison to the stretcher. He pulled the sheet from her face and Larry nodded.
“That's Andrea. She's dead? She was killed in that explosion?”
“No,” Harrison said. “Oddly enough, she wasn't. She happened to die around the same time, but not from the blast. We need to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.”
Larry's face creased with concern, then darkened with worry. “I'd like to see my son now.”
“Absolutely.”
Harrison led Larry to the back of the ambulance. Jim sat on the rear bumper of the ambulance, huddled under a blanket. He stared at the ground and didn't react to anything happening around him.
Larry rushed over to him. “Jesus! Jim? Jim, are you okay?”
Jim blinked and slowly looked at his dad. “Dad?”
“Yeah, are you okay?”
“I guess,” said Jim.
“What happened?”
“I was on my bike, riding around. Then I heard this big explosion, so I rushed over here. Then the fire department and the police came and they kept asking me what happened. I don't know what happened, I was just riding around. I got some Burger King and I came over here to sit on the bench near the flowers and watch the sunset.”
Larry narrowed his eyes at his son. Something didn't feel quite right about this. He turned to Detective Harrison. “Can I take him home?”
Harrison nodded. “Let me get your phone number and address, in case we have any more questions or we figure anything out.” Larry gave him the information, then Harrison handed Larry a business card. “And here's my card. If he thinks of anything else, or you can figure out why he might have been here in the first place, just give me a call.”
Larry shoved the card in his pocket. “Thanks.” He pulled the blanket off of Jim's shoulders and said, “Come on, let's go.”
Jim followed his father, slowly and quietly, to the car. “My bike...” he said.
Larry spread his arms toward his car, a bright red Porsche sports car, and said, “It won't fit. Get in.”
Jim looked at his feet and got in the car. Larry drove away and didn't say anything for a long time.
Eventually, he shouted, “What the fuck were you doing there?”
“I said, I was just riding around. I got hungry so I got a Whopper and I just wanted to eat outside.”
“And it just happened to be where that woman, Andrea, who you saw me with, happened to live?”
“I guess,” Jim shrugged.
“Don't you fuck with me,” Larry growled.
“I'm not,” Jim said quietly.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yeah,” Jim said. “I do.”
Larry sighed heavily as he pulled into their driveway. “When the police call you at work to come and pick up your son because he was involved in an explosion, you know what that feels like?”
Jim shook his head.
“And then I find out it's an explosion where the woman you saw me with lives?”
Jim didn't say anything. He just looked at his knees.
Larry sighed again. His voice was softer now, “Look, Jim, if you did something... I know you were upset.”
“I didn't do anything!” Jim shouted. “You think I would stalk your girlfriend and kill her because I was so angry that you were boffing some woman, some stranger? That's ridiculous, dad!”
“And where's your little girlfriend?” Larry asked. “You two are inseparable. You're joined at the hips.”
“Uh, I don't know.”
Larry looked at him suspiciously again.
“Maybe I'd better go over there and see,” Jim suggested.
Larry narrowed his eyes at Jim, trying to figure ou
t what he was really up to. He turned off the car and opened his door. They both got out of the car. As they walked to the front door of the house, Jim heard Mrs. Summers calling him.
“Jimmy! Jim?” She ran across the street and up their driveway. “Jim! Where's Genny?”
“Uh, Mrs. Summers, I—”
“It's time for Jim to go inside, Gabrielle,” Larry said.
Gen's mom shot Larry a look, then looked back to Jim. “You know where she is?”
Jim didn't say anything.
“Look, Gab—”
“Enough, Larry. I need to speak to your son.” Larry stood there and looked at her. “Alone,” she said.
He frowned. Then he turned and unlocked the front door and went inside.
“Jimmy,” Mrs. Summers said. “I really need to know where Genny is. It's almost eleven o'clock and she hasn't come home.”
Tears filled Jim's eyes. He blinked hard to try to hide them, but that just made them spill out.
“Jimmy, tell me.”
“She's gone, Mrs. Summers.”
“Gone?” she yelled. “What does that mean? Is she okay? Did something happen to her?”
“She's okay,” Jim said, and Gabrielle interrupted him.
“Then what does gone mean?”
“This is going to sound weird, I know,” Jim said. “She said you'd understand that you'd have to trust her.”
“You're scaring me, Jimmy. Just tell me what's going on. Where is she?”
“She left. She—”
“She ran away? Where in the world would she go?”
“No, she didn't exactly run away. You'll never believe me.”
Gabrielle started talking over him, speaking very fast, “You just tell me what's going on and where my daughter is and if you did something to her, so help me, you're lucky my husband isn't here to—”
“She said the password is super strudel,” Jim said.
Gabrielle stopped talking instantly and looked Jim straight in the eye. “Then tell me. Tell me, and I'll believe you.”
“I hope so,” Jim said. “Because this is kind of out there...” He told her everything. He told her about meeting Gen's fairy, Ivy, and her companion, Herron, at the cemetery during Mrs. Gates' funeral. He told her about their mission to stop an evil fairy from killing his human to become immortal and destroy more of the Realms. He told her about the magical gold arrow that directed them to Andrea Leeds and how they had followed her and how Gen had tried to save Andrea, but got caught in the blast, and how Ivy had sacrificed her life to save Gen's. And finally, he told her that, since Herron was mortally wounded, Gen took him back to the fairy world to try to save him, that she couldn't let him die.
The Void Hunters (Realmwalker Book 2) Page 2
