by Gloria Craw
“Are you trying to tell me I need to open up?” I asked with a watery smile.
“No, but when you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen. Telling me how you feel might make it easier for you to move past the grief.”
I let myself lean into him, drawing strength from his warm and steady body. I loved Ian, but I hated destiny.
The dewing felt the same emotions that humans did, but since they believed everything was part of a course charted long ago, they got over misfortunes and heartbreaks a whole lot faster than most humans would. I’d learned the human way of feeling, so I’d probably grieve over the McKyes for the rest of my life.
The wind gusted again, making my hair fly around. Laughing, Ian let go of me and pushed it away from his face.
“We should probably head back inside before you’re blinded,” I said.
He opened the door for me, but when he tried to close it after us, it stuck. I left him battling the door and joined Katherine again.
Spencer ended his call and headed toward us. I was struck again by how similar he and Ian looked. The color of their hair and eyes, the set of their jaw, and even the way they moved mirrored each other. Spencer was a bit bigger and broader, but Ian might grow to match him someday.
“Do you have money to take with you?” Spencer asked me. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled his wallet out and offered me some bills. “Take this in case of an emergency.”
“No thanks,” I replied, waving it off. “I have some cash taped under the dash of my car.”
“Come again?” Katherine asked in confusion.
“She keeps her life’s savings under the dashboard of her car,” Ian supplied, still working on the door.
“Well, you’ll need to get a bank account soon,” Spencer said, putting his money away. “The Laurel estate will be signed over to you in a couple of days.”
I nodded. Ian’s parents had been more than kind to me, but they hadn’t always been honest, and I didn’t like being reliant on them. Handling the Laurel estate was a step toward independence. It was also a big responsibility. The assets in it had belonged to my clan, and I felt a deep respect for that.
I wasn’t sure of all the details, but it was worth a lot of money. A guy named Maxwell Truss had kidnapped me a few months before, hoping to hold me for ransom. Maxwell was dead, but his even more evil cousin, Sebastian, wasn’t.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “Have you learned anything about Sebastian Truss?”
Spencer shook his head. “Nothing.”
“When Nikki wrote you that letter, she was drugged,” Katherine said gently. “She’d probably hallucinated seeing Sebastian.”
“I have to agree,” Spencer added. “If Sebastian survived the fire, he would have come forward to reclaim the Truss chiefdom. His ego was too big to let that go without a fight. I’m ninety-nine percent sure he’s dead.”
That still left one percent.
For the hundredth time, I cursed myself for not finishing what I’d started the night I faced Sebastian in that casino on the Strip. Ian, his cousin Brandy, and I had gone to confront him. We fought Sebastian as dewing do, with our mind energy. He was stronger than I imagined possible. Even three against one, it hadn’t taken long for him to kill Brandy. He’d almost killed Ian by the time I engaged him. The heat of our battle caused the room to catch on fire. When a chunk of burning ceiling crashed down on Sebastian, I thought he was finished. But I hadn’t checked to make sure.
Then a letter came from Nikki Dawning, who had disappeared that night. Maxwell had taken her and planned to hold her for ransom, the same as he’d later do to me. To keep her quiet, she was constantly drugged. In her letter, she warned me that she’d seen Sebastian. In my soul, I knew it wasn’t a hallucination.
Sebastian was evil incarnate. He was responsible for the death of my entire clan, not to mention many other dewing and humans. He’d been hunting me for years, and if he gained back enough strength, he would probably keep doing so until the last flicker of energy was snuffed out of him.
Sebastian had a thirst for power and wealth that didn’t come naturally to our kind. But then he wasn’t natural. He was a cross between dewing and human, a hybrid… something that thousands of years of research by dewing scientists said shouldn’t be possible.
It didn’t matter that he was missing a leg and likely burned to a crisp, he’d heal eventually. When he did, he’d start looking for me, and the first place he’d check was with the McKyes. They’d never truly be safe until he was dead. Which was another reason I had to leave them. After I was officially a clan chief, I was going hunting for Sebastian Truss. My mind energy was strong, too. Only one of us would walk away alive after I found him.
Across the room, Ian continued trying to unstick the door. “What’s wrong with this thing?” he grumbled.
“It’s probably off the track,” Spencer said, moving off to help him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Katherine watching me. She quickly glanced away but not before I caught a hint of guilt in her expression. Uneasy distrust rose in me. I’d hoped her days of keeping things from me were over, but I was sure she had a secret and was debating whether to tell me.
“Something’s bothering you,” I said, looking her straight in the eyes. “It’s probably best for both of us if you just tell me about it.”
She clasped her hands in her lap and gripped them so tight her knuckles turned white. “I’m not sure that’s true. I know we betrayed your trust, and you have every right to question me, but in this instance, it might be better if you didn’t know. It would only cause you pain.”
“Painful or not, Katherine, if you know something that involves me, you have to tell me what it is.”
She breathed a long breath and gave me a don’t say I didn’t warn you look. “I had lunch with your mother the other day,” she began, “and while we were talking, I had a vision.”
Katherine was a futureseer. When she connected to humans’ minds, she got glimpses of events that would happen later in their lives. I swallowed hard, hoping she hadn’t seen something terrible like my mother’s death. “Go on,” I said.
“I saw your family having dinner at Alfredo’s,” she began haltingly.
“There’s nothing unusual about that,” I responded. “They eat there all the time.”
“But it will be the anniversary of your death…one year from tomorrow. I saw the date on the screen of your father’s phone.”
My throat tightened as I imagined how difficult that day would be for them. “How were they?” I asked as steadily as I could. She hesitated to answer. “Don’t sugarcoat anything to spare my feelings,” I insisted. “I’d rather know the truth.”
“Your mother was too thin,” she responded. “Your father looked older, and your brother was very…quiet. At least, that’s how he started out. Then your father mentioned a game called Halo. He brightened and said he could always beat you at it. Your father’s face took on some animation, he smiled, and looked younger. You’ve got it wrong, Alex, he said. She usually beat you. I can still hear you whining about it in my dreams. It took a moment but your mom smiled and raised her glass. To Alison, she said. God willing, there are video games in heaven.”
I had to squeeze my eyes closed to keep from tearing up again.
Katherine reached over to hug me. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you,” she said. “I didn’t want to upset you.”
“It doesn’t upset me,” I assured her. “It gives me some comfort. I can rest a little easier knowing a year from now they’ll be together, and they’ll remember me with a toast.”
She looked relieved. “I’m glad I saw it then.”
Spencer and Ian finally managed to get the door back in the track and closed. Katherine checked her watch. “We should go,” she said to Spencer. “We’re supposed to meet with the Dawnings soon.”
She gave my knee another pat. “I’ll see you in a few days,” she said.
Spencer pulled me up and
enfolded me in bear hug. My lungs constricted as he squeezed the air from them. “We’ll get you through this,” he said, “and we’ll be here for your family afterward.”
I managed to suck in enough air to whisper, “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
Ian followed his parents toward the door. “I’ll get my keys,” he said over his shoulder. “I promised your mom I’d have you home in time for dinner.”
Left alone, I carefully folded the throw Ian had wrapped around my shoulders and laid it on the back of the sofa. When I stepped away, the air next to me swirled and took on a physical form. Then Brandy stood in front of me.
I wasn’t scared. I heard or saw the dead regularly. Only Theron knew about it. The same thing happened to him. I was fine with the weirdness of it, but he called it a curse. We’d decided not to tell anyone until we had a better understanding of why it kept happening.
Brandy had been a dear friend, and I missed her. Her ghost seemed to know it and gave me a smile. I thought I detected encouragement in her expression, but she faded away too quickly to be certain.
I took a breath, hoping she’d find me somewhere in my new life.
Chapter Two
Ian parked in the driveway of our Spanish villa–style home and followed me inside. He’d eaten with the McKyes often enough to know what to expect. Family dinners were important to my slightly controlling mom. We were expected to have the table set and be in our seats by seven. Each of us took turns cooking per a rotating schedule. How good the food tasted depended on whose turn it was to make it.
Tonight it was Alex’s turn to cook. My adopted brother only ever made two things, vegan mac and cheese and black-bean burgers. From the smell that wafted toward us, it was going to be burgers…overcooked ones.
My mom didn’t allow meat or dairy in the house anymore. She said giving it up would extend our lives by ten years and stop methane gas from destroying the ozone layer. She promised it would only take six weeks to adjust to the diet and then we wouldn’t miss meat or dairy at all. It has been over three months, and I missed them every day. I tried not to grumble, but going vegan didn’t have much to offer me in the way of health benefits. I was likely to live three centuries. Another ten years didn’t seem worth sacrificing taste.
Following me in to our blue-and-white kitchen, Ian said, “It smells good.”
“Something must be wrong with you,” I whispered. “It smells like charred bean paste.”
“I like my bean paste broiled,” he whispered back with a smile.
My mom, still in her yoga pants and sneakers, looked like she’d just come home from work. She was a yoga instructor, and with her blond hair in a high ponytail, she appeared about thirty-five. Really, she was almost fifty, but she could hold “one-handed tree pose” like a boss.
She checked over Alex’s shoulder and shook her head. “Those aren’t going to be good,” she said.
“What’s wrong with them?” Alex asked, pointing a spatula at the pan.
I put my backpack down. “I’m just guessing,” I injected, “but maybe you turned the heat up too high.”
He stuck his tongue out at me and mocked, Maybe you turned the heat up too high.
“Hi guys,” my mom said with a smile of welcome for Ian and me. “We’re almost ready. Will you set the table, Alison?”
I nodded and scooted around her to get cups and plates from the cabinet.
“You’re going to have to start a different batch, Alex,” Mom determined.
“So they’re a little burned,” he replied. “What difference does that make?”
“They’ll be as tough as rubber,” she explained. “Start new ones and don’t waste time trying to talk your way out of it.”
He stomped his way across to the refrigerator and muttered, “They’re going to be as tough as rubber no matter how I cook them. Maybe they taste better burned.”
Secretly wondering if he might be right, I handed a stack of plates to Ian, and we started setting them on the table. “I’m glad you could join us, Ian,” my mom said as she washed her hands. “I thought you might not be able to make it tonight.”
He gave her a bright smile. “I’d never miss an opportunity to eat with the McKyes,” he responded.
She beamed at him. I’d gone a long time without much social life. When Ian came along, it probably seemed like an answer to her payers. She approved of him.
“Are you sure, man?” Alex asked. “Because you can still run.”
Ian chuckled and put a fork next to a plate.
“I’ll start some asparagus,” my mom commented, pulling out a pan. “When you’re done with those new burgers, Alex, we’ll eat.”
“Asparagus, Mom?” he whined. “I purposely didn’t put anything green on the menu.”
“I’ll just steam some up,” she said. “They’ll be like french fries.”
Alex’s face was red with frustration. “Sometimes I hate my life,” he grumbled.
We both knew he didn’t, though. The two of us never talked much about our experiences in foster care, but I’d come to conclude they’d been similarly awful. It was the kind of thing kids like us could sense about each other. Bean burgers or no bean burgers, he was as grateful as I was to have been adopted by the McKyes.
Mom filled the steamer with water, put the lid on, and checked the clock on the wall. “Alison, send your dad a quick text,” she said. “He’s probably fallen asleep watching TV.”
Pulling my phone out, I typed, Report for dinner. Bean paste and asparagus tonight.
He texted back an emoji with its eyes squeezed shut and its tongue sticking out, and then, Twinkies in the trunk of my car. You can have one later. Careful your mom doesn’t see. I’m out of hiding places.
Chuckling, I put my phone back in my pocket.
A few minutes later, I sat next to Ian at the table and passed him a bowl of asparagus. He put a couple on his plate and whispered, “I’m having a hard time thinking of these as french fries.”
My slightly overweight, balding father wandered in with eyes bleary from sleep. He clapped Ian a couple of times on the back. “How’s packing for the big move going?” he asked, taking his seat.
“It’s steady,” Ian replied. “I think we’re on schedule.”
After Ian, Brandy, and I fought Sebastian, Ian’s parents kindly volunteered to stay in Vegas to help me learn more about being dewing. Since my time here was over, the Thanes were moving. The cover story was that they were relocating to California so Spencer could be closer to where his business was headquartered. Really, they were headed back to their home in Australia.
“How are things at your practice, Mr. McKye?” Ian asked conversationally.
My dad put a slice of tomato on a hamburger bun and added a burger. “Really good,” he replied. “Victor has settled in, and patients love him. It’s taken a lot of pressure off me.”
Victor was also dewing and a plastic surgeon like my dad. He’d bought into the practice so it would be easier for him to keep an eye on my family. Even though Spencer was 99 percent sure Sebastian was dead, I’d pleaded with him to keep security on my family for a while longer. If anything seemed off, Victor would report it to Donavan, the guy in charge of watching over the McKyes.
My mom winked at my dad. “Having a partner gives him more time to golf,” she said.
Dad smiled without shame.
“As long as I don’t have to go, that’s great,” Alex commented.
“I don’t know what you have against golf,” Dad remarked. “It’s good exercise.”
Alex choked a bit. “Not when you ride around in the cart the whole time.”
I took a drink of water to hide a smile and caught Alex looking at me with an expression I knew well. It was his wordless plea to divert Mom’s attention so he could feed his unwanted vegetables to our dog, who was waiting for handouts under the table. Hoping it wouldn’t poison the poor animal, I put my glass down and asked, “Did you work a full day, Mom?”
She n
odded. “It was a hectic. Most of our classes are filled. We’re going to open a few more, but we need to hire new yoga instructors first. I was thinking you’d be a good teacher. It wouldn’t take long to complete your certification, and working at the wellness center would be a nice part-time job. I’m in charge of hiring so I think you’d get the position if you applied.”
“That’s nepotism, Mom,” I said.
“I know, but I’m half owner of the business now. I’m allowed. Anyway, you’re leaving for college in the fall. I’ll hire someone I’m not related to then.”
I felt a squeeze around my heart. My acceptance letter to NYU had come the previous week, and my parents were overjoyed. I pretended to be excited about it, too, but of course I wouldn’t be going. Mom and Dad would have to cancel my enrollment before the start of the fall semester. My eyes pricked with tears as I imagined how difficult that phone call would be for them.
“Maybe,” I said, keeping my eyes on my plate.
“Seriously consider it,” she urged. “It would give us more time together before you leave.”
“I will,” I capitulated.
“Great!” she exclaimed. “I’ll bring an application home tomorrow.”
I hadn’t said no, which my mom took to mean yes. When she had her mind set on something, it was like trying to control a force of nature.
“You haven’t eaten much,” Dad said, pointing to my untouched food. “You can’t fill up on Twink…TV.”
“That’s a strange thing to say, Bob,” Mom remarked, eyes squinted in suspicion.
“I mean, she can’t watch TV later if she doesn’t eat dinner,” he improvised.
My mom continued to eye him as she chewed. She considered refined sugar worse than meat and was always throwing my dad’s snacks away.
I pushed pieces of asparagus around my plate with a fork. Guilt and nervous energy combined with the protein bar I’d eaten made me feel sick to my stomach. I worried bean burgers and asparagus would make me throw up, but if I said I was sick, my mom would dose me with homeopathic remedies all night. I didn’t want to spend what remained of my time with the McKyes lying in my bed chewing charcoal drops.
