by Gloria Craw
She stepped into the light. Her hair was tangled and matted. Her clothes hung loose off her too-thin body. Her eyes were wild with hatred. She picked Maxwell’s knife off the floor, and with a burst of energy that sometimes comes just before death, she sprang at him.
He rolled off me and tried to push her away. She had a half second’s advantage though. That’s all she needed. She threw herself forward and ran the blade deep into his eye.
Maxwell had fought Phoebe, Jacob, and me. He was tired.
As happened with Jacob, his vibration slowed and then stopped. Nikki had used the last of herself to crush his mind. Their energy died at the exact same moment, and they rolled lifelessly away from each other.
Chapter Thirty
Hearing a noise behind me, I turned my head. Phoebe was looking at the carnage. She was on the verge of frantic, as anyone would be if they woke to such a bloodbath.
“What happened?” she asked, choking on tears.
I was holding back tears of my own and having a serious internal argument with myself about whether I should run away or stick around and do what needed to be done for the greater good.
The freaking greater good won out.
Hauling my sore and bleeding body to a stand, I limped over to her. I was still Deborah McKye’s daughter, and not wanting to get my blood on the sofa, I sat on the floor next to her. Laying my hands in my lap, I looked at my wrists. The skin over them was torn and they were oozing blood. My left hand looked like it had gone through a meat grinder.
The repercussions of that loss were devastating, but I couldn’t allow myself to dwell on them. I had to get the little boy in the next room away from the Truss. They couldn’t know Maxwell created him. They’d try to create more. And there was a very real danger that his halfling mind was as messed up as Sebastian’s had been.
“How much did you see?” I asked.
She blinked a few times, trying to get herself together. A lesser person wouldn’t have managed it, but I’d guessed there was steel inside Phoebe. She proved me right.
“I saw my uncle go after you with a knife,” she recounted. “I saw you get up and knock it away. Then I saw Nikki…kill him.”
I reached out with my good hand and laid it on her shoulder. “Jacob is dead, too,” I said softly. “Your uncle killed him.”
“Why?” she asked in a quiet, quivering voice.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure how much to say. In the end, my instinct was to trust her, so I told as much of the truth as I could without giving anything away about Maxwell’s research with halflings and what I knew about Linton.
I only told two bald-faced lies. The first was that Jacob died trying to protect Nikki, and the second was that he must have loved her very much.
“This will devastate my mom,” Phoebe said, wiping her eyes. “She’ll never recover. I didn’t like my brother, but he was family. When my mom goes, I’ll be alone.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, meaning it. “I came here as a spy, but I never wanted anyone to die. I just wanted to help the Dawnings find their daughter.”
Phoebe laid her head back on the pillows. “I believe that. What happened is just…”
“Don’t worry, I don’t know a word to describe it either.”
“Why does my head hurt so much?” she asked.
“Your uncle gave you a dose of whatever he’d been giving Nikki. Didn’t you suspect she was being drugged?”
“No. I thought she was just…weird. She’d have to be to have paired with Jacob.”
“Didn’t you notice her missing fingers?”
“What? No. I was only really around her twice. Now that I think about it, Jacob held her hand the entire time I was with them. I just didn’t see it.”
Her eyes went to the gore on the floor. “What are we going to do?”
“We have to figure some things out really fast. The history between our clans and yours knowing I’ve been spying on them, might get me killed if I’m found here. If they kill me, they won’t be able to hide it. The Thane chiefs will figure it out right away.
“You said you hoped your family’s company would merge with others,” I continued. “I assume that what you meant was you hoped your clan would rejoin the others. Murdering me will make that an even uglier process. I don’t think you want that.”
“You’re right,” she said. “Aside from the fact that I don’t want you to be killed. It’s best if I keep you out of whatever story I tell.”
That’s what I hoped she’d say, but there was another matter I had to deal with.
“There’s something else,” I said. “Maxwell brought a little boy here. A child he planned to ransom. I think I should take him with me. It will be less complicated. The Thanes will manage a way to get him back to his family.”
“Take him. I won’t say anything about him either.” She squinted at me. “You look pretty bad. Are you sure you’re going to make it out of here?”
“I have to, but I’ll clean up a little first.”
She teared up again. “How am I going to tell my mom Jacob is dead?”
I squeezed her arm gently with my one good hand. I had no advice to give her.
After going to one of the bedrooms, I pulled the blankets off the bed and took the sheet to where Jacob lay in his gore. I threw it over him so Phoebe wouldn’t see him that way. Then I picked up my phone off the counter where Maxwell left it.
Fortunately, someone had taken my parka off when I was brought to the cabin. It was relatively free of blood, so I pulled it on to cover the mess that had soaked my shirt. After finding a bathroom, I washed my hands and face. Even blood-free, I looked like one of the MMA fighters my brother liked to watch on TV.
I didn’t know what to do about my sliced hand and missing fingers. I ended up wrapping a small towel around it and tucking the ends into the sleeves of my parka.
Linton was watching Sesame Street in one of the back bedrooms.
He glanced at me with innocent brown eyes when I went in.
“Hi,” I said softly. “I’m Alison.”
He went back to watching the television.
Not really sure how to proceed, I asked, “Do you like Sesame Street?”
He nodded.
“Me too. Elmo is my favorite.”
That got him to smile a little, and he wiggled his tiny feet.
I sat beside him. “I need you to come with me.”
I could see he was unsure. “We can go to my friend’s house,” I said. “He has a big TV, and he’ll let you watch as much Sesame Street as you want.”
He nodded and put his hand in mine. When our skin touched, I could feel a very light vibration and a hint of something else coming from him. After scooping him up with my good arm, I carried him out.
“We have to go through a scary room,” I said. “Close your eyes and don’t look until I tell you, okay?”
He nodded and squeezed his eyelids tightly closed. “That’s good,” I said, turning his face to my neck and pushing his head to rest gently on my shoulder. “Don’t look until I say so,” I reminded him.
Phoebe was still on the sofa when I went back out.
“Bye, Phoebe,” I said.
She sniffed. “None of the numbers you gave me are going to work after today, are they?”
“No,” I admitted. “It’s better for both of us that way.”
I let myself out and started back toward the lodge and the Land Rover. I was in horrible pain on every level, but I couldn’t put Linton down to walk. My stride was three times what his was, and I needed to get away from the Ledges as quickly as possible.
Somehow, I made it.
After buckling Linton into the backseat, I started the Land Rover and drove out of the parking lot for what I hoped was the last time. It felt like being freed from prison, but like Robert Frost’s poem said, I had miles to go.
Dialing Theron on my phone, I let it go through Bluetooth and the speakers. He answered in a rush.
“Where are you?�
� he asked.
“On my way back. I know you’re freaking out right now, but don’t ask me questions. Just get everyone on a conference call and dial me back. I can only tell this story once.”
When he called back, I pulled the car off the road so I wouldn’t drive into the ravine while I went through everything.
“What the hell is going on?” Spencer’s voice rang out.
“Maxwell is dead,” I replied. “So are Jacob and Nikki.”
No one said anything. They were likely a little bit shocked. By a little bit, I mean a whole freaking lot.
I told the story, but kept what I’d learned about Maxwell and creating halflings to myself. I didn’t mention that I had one of them in the backseat either. I didn’t trust Spencer or Katherine anymore. I wasn’t going to tell them until I’d considered the ramifications.
“I think it’s over,” I summed up. “When the Truss find out those three killed one another, the Elders will get away from the Ledges as soon as possible.”
“I don’t think so,” Spencer said. “I think they’ll try to clean it up and hide what happened. Yvonne arranged too perfect a situation. The Elders are in the same place at the same time. Someone is sure to step into the void Jacob left. I’m almost positive that person will be appointed clan chief tonight.”
If there was anything he could have said to make me feel worse, that was it.
“I know you’re hurt,” he said. “Maxwell’s disgusting pictures more than illustrate that. I don’t want to ask this of you. I wouldn’t if I could think of a better way. Please, will you try to get into the Truss meeting tonight? This isn’t over until the Elders go their separate ways.”
I knew Spencer cared about me. He truly didn’t want me to suffer anymore, but he was treating me like a weapon as I’d feared. The anger that had been building in me over the past few days started to flood over.
“I haven’t asked a lot of questions about my heritage,” I began. “That was wrong of me, and it’s going to change, but you’ve kept important things from me. I want to know…am I the Laurel clan chief?”
“What?” he asked.
“Am I a clan chief?” I repeated.
“You will be, but there’s a lot you need to learn.”
“Does my vote count as much as any other chief’s?”
“It will,” he confirmed.
“Then don’t try pressuring me into anything else, and if you want me to help you in the future, tell me everything up front. I’m on my way to Theron’s now. The Truss meeting starts at seven. I’ll be there.”
I hung up, not caring that I’d been short, impolite, and offensive.
The truth was, I had no idea how I was going to stop the Truss vote. I couldn’t thoughtmake with my hand cut to shreds. All my energy was redirected to heal it. Maybe I’d just light the Ledges on fire and be done with it.
One way or the other, I’d figure something out. Not because Spencer told me I had to, but because I wanted to finish what I started. I ended Sebastian to protect my family and establish peace among the clans. For the most part, I’d accomplished the first objective. The second wasn’t finished, so I’d see it to the end.
Chapter Thirty-One
Theron’s face was a study of disbelief as he watched me lift Linton out of the Land Rover.
“What the…? Who the..?” he stuttered.
“This is Linton,” I said, hugging the small boy to me as I climbed the steps. He’d fallen asleep. Taking a seat in the rocking chair by the fire, I held him tight. Maybe because he was an orphan like me, I felt a bond with him.
“Why is he here?” Theron asked.
“Because he’s a halfling,” I replied. “I couldn’t leave him with the Truss. They’d figure it out. I can’t give him to the Thanes, either. The only place he’s safe is with me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Maxwell created him,” I said. “Don’t bother asking me how he did it, because I have no idea. He’s half human like Sebastian was. I’m not going to tell the Thanes. Not until I’m sure it’s the right thing to do.”
Theron got down in front of me and put his hand on the boy’s back. “He looks about five or six,” he said. “His vibration should be detectable beyond touch by now.”
“Maxwell said his growth is stunted and that his intellect is, too. He doesn’t speak.”
“If you’re right about half dewing’s thoughts working like an infection corrupting the rest of us, the boy has to be…contained. We can’t have that spread.”
“You know what they’ll do to contain him, Theron. No matter that he’s a child, they’ll kill him. They were willing to send Ian, their own son, to his death for the greater good.”
He took a long breath. “But maybe that’s how it has to be,” he said.
I wanted to puke. I was willing to do a lot of things, but handing over a child to be murdered wasn’t one of them.
“I won’t give him to them,” I said firmly.
“Okay,” he replied. “We’ll try to figure something out.”
I nodded and took a breath, relieved that he was on my side.
Compartmentalizing things had gotten me back to the cabin safely, but I was losing control. My hand hurt, my face hurt…everything hurt…and I think it started to show.
Theron gently touched the bruising on my face and checked the cut on my lip. Then he noticed the towel wrapped around my hand. A bit of blood had soaked through.
“What’s this?” he asked.
I couldn’t say anything because if I did, I’d start to cry.
He began to unwrap the towel, but I cried out when some of the scabs pulled away.
Linton wiggled in my arms. “Take him,” I said, moving the boy forward with my good arm. “I don’t want him to wake up and see this.”
Theron nodded, picked him up, and carried him into his bedroom. I watched through the door as he laid Linton on the bed.
When he came back to me, he checked my hand again. I squeezed my eyes closed. Not only was I physically finished, I couldn’t hold it together emotionally any longer, either. It started like a hiccup, but quickly progressed to great cries that heaved up from my soul.
Theron held my good hand and stroked my hair.
“Maxwell cut my hand to keep me from thoughtmaking,” I managed to say through my tears. “He told me I couldn’t join a mind while my bones were regenerating. He was right. I’m useless. Even if by some miracle I can stop the Truss tonight, I can’t go home when it’s over. I can’t hide this kind of damage or how fast it will heal. It’s finished, Theron. My time with the McKyes is finished.”
He pushed my hair away from my face. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help somehow.”
The uncontrollable crying started again. It must have gone on for quite a while before my mother’s voice rang out louder than I’d ever heard it before. Open the portal, Jillian.
Theron and I glanced around, but of course no one was there.
You can do it, Jillian, the voice said sternly. Open the portal.
Completely freaked out, Theron muttered, “What is she talking about?”
“The portal is a kind of door. I don’t understand why, but I can open it. It’s like a pathway to the other side.”
“You mean a pathway to dead people? I forgot you’re batshit crazy.”
As weak as I felt, I managed to stumble to the center of the room. Closing my eyes, I let myself remember how it happened the first time. It had started with a burning in my stomach. I pulled the pitiful amount of energy I had left together and focused it there. It took a while, but then something inside me caught fire. The flame grew slowly at first and then suddenly burst into white-hot energy. More and more of it poured through me until I felt I was going to combust.
When I opened my eyes, there was a glowing bubble of white around me.
“What’s happening?” Theron whispered.
A shape appeared inside the bubble. It started to take the form of a woman. I’d s
een her before…in the sketches Theron had given me. I was looking at my mother.
“My brave girl,” she said, materializing in full. “Destiny has asked so much of you.”
Not caring if I was batshit crazy, I grabbed for her. The contact between us wasn’t flesh to flesh. It was energy to energy and searing. I couldn’t maintain the hug for long, but it didn’t matter. I’d felt my mother’s touch.
“The portal won’t stay open for long,” she said. “And I can only do this once. It’s going to hurt.”
She wrapped her hand of energy around my mangled one and held onto it tight. I thought my skin was boiling off my bones, but I forced myself to remain still until she let me go. When I held my hand up to look, it was whole again.
“The only gift I can give you,” my mother said, “is a little more time with your human family.”
I was too stunned to say or do anything more than stare at my regenerated fingers.
She turned to Theron. “We meet again,” she said to him.
His face had frozen like he’d turned to marble. “Right,” he muttered. “This is happening.”
“I’m sorry I have to yell at you sometimes. You’re just so hardheaded.”
“No worries,” he replied with minimal facial movement.
She smiled at him. “If you hurry, I can take the boy with me.”
“Take him with you?” I asked.
“He can come through the portal with me. That way he’ll never feel death. It will simply be a transition of state for him.”
Theron obviously understood, because he hustled out.
I understood, too, but wasn’t sure I wanted her to take Linton…to wherever she was going. “What will happen to him?” I asked.
“He will exist in another form.”
“Will he be accepted? He’s not really dewing.”
“There are all kinds on the other side. He will be fine…he will be happy.”
Theron came back carrying Linton. “How am I supposed to give him to you?” he asked. “I can’t come inside the heat you’re standing in. It’ll kill me.”
“It would kill most people,” my mother agreed, “but not you. You are part of a different portal.”
