by Kim Iverson
Chapter Twelve
She found him in the garden atrium. His wings were out and extended upward. He stood with his back to her. The moon fell on his wings with a silver glow, looking like an image out of a fantasy movie. “What are you doing?” she asked.
Finn spun around and the wings disappeared. He had his shirt off and her gaze fell downward before jerking up. “You always have to sneak up?”
“Pot, kettle?”
Finn’s lips quirked up. “Yeah, well. That’s my thing, not yours.”
“Oh what now, we’re five? You called it?”
“You know it.”
Lana chuckled. “I take back asking you to stay.”
“You enjoy it,” he said from behind her, causing Lana to flip around.
“Not cute.” She narrowed her eyes. “You have an unanswered question floating in the air.”
“I enjoy stretching my wings.”
“We both know that wasn’t what I referred to. Wait . . .” her eyebrows knotted in confusion, “so why take the shirt off? I know you don’t have to remove your shirt to produce the wings.”
Finn reached around and took his shirt from his back pocket where it hung. He stretched it out. A mass of bird poop had plopped onto the shoulder and trickled halfway down the front. Lana laughed and he scowled. “Your birds don’t enjoy the wings as much.”
Before he could put it away, she snatched the shirt. “I’ll wash it for you. Least I could do.”
Finn grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Marry me.”
Lana felt like she had been sucker punched. All the wind escaped her and her eyes widened. “What?”
Finn reached around and pulled another item out of his back pocket. A single ancient looking golden ring. “Be my wife. Give that boy a father.”
Lana snorted and left. “Mason would kill you. He’ll be back . . . eventually.”
She crossed the kitchen and a steel grip clamped around her arm. Lana twirled around to smack his arm. The serious look on his face made her pause.
“He won’t. I told him if he leaves you again, I’d ask you to marry me. We got in an argument and he told me he’s been working with some scientists that are supposed to send him into the future, or past. Hell, I don’t know. I tuned him out. The bottom line is that he left and he’s not coming back.”
Lana shook her head. “No. That’s crazy. He knows about Dean. He’s not going to just leave us.”
Lana remembered the way Mason told her he would help her and Dean settle in. A note of sadness existed within his tone when he said it. She thought she imagined that. That it was just him leaving again. Could he have known he may not come back for longer?
She shook the thought away, no. No, that isn’t possible. Take care of him. The last sentence Mason said to her hit her like a ton of bricks. Her eyes welled up. He hadn’t meant Dean.
With tears threatening, she asked Finn, “What was the last thing he said to you?”
Finn’s brow furrowed. “Take care of her. Why?”
Lana slumped to the floor. A few tears escaped her defenses. Her hands grew cold. “He isn’t coming back. You’re right.” She looked up at Finn from the floor. “He told me: take care of him. I thought he referred to Dean. That explains why he wanted that last day. And I told him to leave.”
She lowered her head into her hands and cried. Finn knelt down and his warm hand stroked her back. “Don’t you dare feel guilty, Lana. He left. He knew about Dean. Still, he chose to leave. He does love you. Nobody made him leave.”
“I still didn’t have to be such a bitch.”
Finn curled his fingers around her chin so she looked at him. “You’re a witch. What do you expect.”
Against her wishes, she laughed and shoved him off. “You’re such a brat.” He helped her stand and she wiped the tears away. “I meant what I said, Finn. I can’t love you. I don’t know how I fell for Mason. That isn’t like me. I’m a witch. Destined to remain alone. That’s all I know. All I’ve ever known.”
Finn followed her over to the window. He spoke from behind her. “Give that boy a father.” Lana turned to face him. “We’re not much different in that department. But that child needs a father. Let me be here for you both. That’s all I’m asking.”
“You’re asking for the world.” A tear slid down her cheek.
“I’m giving you the world. You just have to accept it.”
“Where did you come from?” she asked, shaking her head.
Finn’s lips quirked up in an adorable fashion. “Your fantasy, sweetheart.”
“Pathetic.”
“Truly,” he nodded. “Seemed good in my head. Didn’t enjoy the delivery.”
Lana burst out laughing. “Yes.”
“I’ll do better next time.”
“No, not what I meant.” Lana strolled over to him. “I don’t want to lose a friend who means so much to me. I don’t want Dean to know what it’s like to not have a father. I want him to have somewhat of a normal life. I want him to be happy. I want him to have the world. I’ll marry you.”
Finn nodded and a huge smile broke out. He leaned down to kiss her cheek and froze. Dean grumbled in his crib once more, and they both heard it. Finn pulled back and shook his head. “That little man is messing with my game.”
Lana shook her head and wandered past Finn. “Blame it on the innocent. Maybe you don’t have as much game as you think, Mister Finnegan.”
“I will have you know I am quite the ladies’ man. Take notes.”
“Don’t teach my son stuff like that or I’ll turn you into a toad.”
His gaze twinkled with mischievous intent. “Scared.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lana leaned against the doorway to the atrium, looking at the moon. A soft smile drifted over her lips. A dream. That’s what it was. What he ended up being. A dream she had never imagined would happen. A dream she hadn’t expected. A dream that was stolen away too soon.
Everything was quiet in the atrium. All the animals had moved on. Her fingers twirled the wedding band on her other finger in a circle. Remembering Finn’s smiling face. Replaying the jokes he always told. It had become a nightly ritual for her. A silent tear slid down. She didn’t hear anyone approach behind her. Didn’t acknowledge that anyone stood watching her while she stared at that moon. The moon she had once danced under so many times before with Finn.
The atrium became a place of refuge for Finn and her. Her heart broke all over again. She clenched her teeth together. It shouldn’t have ended up like this. Being immortal held so many disadvantages. Most of all . . . outliving those she loved.
Loved.
She didn’t think she would ever say that. Yet she did. She loved him. With her whole heart. It wasn’t the same as the way she felt about Mason. That ache in her heart that never went away. That hole that could never be filled. How many years had she wished that she could fill that void. That Finn’s love would take away that deep ache within, and warm the cold place that remained inside of her.
That never happened. They both knew the truth. Despite how fiercely she loved Finn, there was always that missing part . . . person. The years took their toll on her after all. Her powers faded into a place she refused to touch. Knowing that those same powers were what brought her to this place. The world forgot who she was. She forgot them. She became what they wanted. Powerless; gone. . . .
She died. Time and again. Her heart could take no more loss.
Not after losing Finn.
“Mom?”
Lana turned to face the deep green eyes and the black outline that reminded her of Finn, but who inherited them from his father. Eyes that regarded her with such compassion. A wisdom he shouldn’t possess. Brown hair like his real father, strength like him as well. A mature man at the age of twenty because of the loss he suffered from losing the only father he had known.
“What is it?” Lana asked.
Dean stared at her for a long time. “You’re thinking about him again,
aren’t you?”
“I miss him, sweetheart. You don’t get over losing your husband that easy.”
Dean nodded and walked over to her, giving his mom a hug the way Finn used to. Lana pushed away. “Sorry.”
“You remind me so much of him,” she wiped a tear away. “Don’t be sorry. It’s a good thing. It still hurts is all. You two were so much alike.” She cut herself off.
Dean cleared his throat. “Maybe we should leave this place for a while. Megan keeps having those nightmares. It’s been almost a year. Let the world mourn him, without us around.”
Lana glanced toward the stairs. Finn’s biological daughter took the loss of her father harder than everyone else. The nightmares came a month after Finn’s death.
Because she was there. Megan suffered with the belief that she could have prevented his death. She suffered from too much guilt for such a young girl.
Megan was with Finn when he saved a family from a building explosion gone wrong. Finn’s daughter watched in horror from the street. Finn went to leap out of the window, and the building exploded behind him. The fire caught hold of his wings and Finn couldn’t shake the flames loose. Nor the cable that broke loose and caught hold of him, dragging him back inside.
“She’s still having them?”
“Yeah.” Dean nodded. “She didn’t want to worry you more. I don’t think they’re going to get better if we stay here. She needs a break, Mom. Away from all of this and the people who remind her of him. Away from all these people.” He gestured toward the window in a grandiose way that reminded her of Finn. Saying the term in the same way Finn used to.
“I know how she feels.” Lana grinned, feeling a small bit better. “Tell you what. You and her figure out where you’d like to go. I’ll take you both there.”
“Can you even do that?” he feigned shock.
Lana stared at him and he smirked. “I think I remember how to transport, but who knows. Might turn you into a frog.”
“How about a wolf?” He bobbed his eyebrows a few times.
Lana laughed and pointed to the stairs. “Go. See if that’s what your sister wants.”
“Being turned into a frog?” he asked with a fake gasp of horror. At her stare Dean took off past her, came back, and then kissed her cheek, mumbling, “Thanks.” He bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Lana shook her head.
* * *
Spinning around in a circle, Lana glanced around. “This isn’t right. Let me see your map.” She waved a hand at Dean.
“Maybe you are a little rusty,” Dean offered, which made Megan giggle.
Lana narrowed her eyes. “I brought us where your map is marked. We should be standing in a park in the forest, not in the middle of a . . . I have no clue where we are.”
Dean chuckled at her aggravation. The wall behind her caught Dean’s attention. Lana spun around. The wall shimmered and dissolved into a doorway. A quirky looking woman stood there. Shoulder length brown hair, hazel eyes. Her attention flicked about, and all over the place. The attitude of a human long been alone.
Sensing the same as his mom, Dean stepped closer to his seven year old sister. The woman’s gaze caught the action and gave them a huge smile. “Sorry. I mean, sorry. Oh. Gosh, you have no idea what you’re doing here, do you?” Her words rushed out all jumbled and Lana stepped closer to her children.
The fire within her sparked. It had been a long time, but no, she wasn’t rusty.
The woman’s hands shot up, having caught Lana stiffening.
“Who are you?” Lana ordered, the cobwebs of time faded from her system. Long had she been without use of her powers for her children’s sake. Her and Finn decided together that these children needed a mother, not a witch. For them, she gave up her powers. For them, she would bring them back.
“My name is Gwen.” Gwen pinned Lana with a stare. Her eyes only barely flicked toward Dean. “Someone Mason once knew.”
Chapter Fourteen
The entire world surrounding Lana disappeared. “Mason?” she breathed out. “I—I don’t understand. Who are you?”
Dean slid a hand over his mom’s upper arm. Lana flicked her attention to him and saw Mason for a moment. She shook her head. Now? After all this time? He had twenty years. Wait. Lana glanced back to Gwen. The woman had said once knew.
Gwen caught onto her line of thinking and gave her a slow nod. “I’ve been watching over you. Waiting.” She looked at the two children. “Perhaps we should speak of this alone. Your kids are welcome to look around. You’re on my ship. I’m sure they’d love to check things out. This is a retreat station. Astronauts come through here when they need a taste of home. There is an atrium here, rooms like you may find at home, gravity has been modified to match that of earth. It’s a safe place to wander. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. I know you were going on vacation. I’d hoped my calculations were right and it seemed they were.”
Lana reached her senses out as far as she could. She sensed no danger. With a glance at Dean, she said, “We did want a retreat.”
Dean looked at Megan. “Whadya think?”
Megan, the ever optimist like her father, glanced around. Her nervousness permeated the air. She took a deep breath and gave a strong assured little nod. She squared her tiny shoulders. “Okay.”
Dean held his hand out for her hand and she curled her little fingers around his. They dropped their bags, and began to leave the room.
“Watch for the gremlins,” Gwen said, causing both children to freeze.
“Uh . . . gremlins?” Megan whispered, her little brow scrunching at her mom. Lana shook her head at Gwen.
“I’m only kidding.” Gwen broke off into a fit of wild laughter.
The kids both looked at Lana again. She waved them off. Dean shrugged and gave Lana a look that said it all: this woman is nuts.
Lana grinned. Once they were both gone, she redirected her attention to Gwen. Gwen motioned to the bags on the floor and helped Lana carry them. They made their way out of the room. “I’ll show you to your rooms. All connected. More beds than you’ll need, but I’m sure your little girl would rather not be separated from you.”
“I appreciate that. Have you been here alone long?”
“Because I’m crazy?”
Gwen caught her off-guard with her honesty. Lana smiled. They rounded a corner and proceeded down a long white corridor. “I wouldn’t call you crazy.”
“I would. Most do. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve been up here since the place was built. So a very long time. Twenty years.”
“That’s a long time.”
Gwen nodded. She waved her arm toward a part of the wall where only a black outline showed a door could exist. “It’ll open for you. Just go on in.”
Lana did as told and the door shimmered away on her approach. The air inside the doorway felt moist against her skin, yet left no trace of water once she crossed the threshold.
She entered a magnificent room. Homey and comfortable, much like their own home. An odd contrast from the white corridors outside the door. A large digital window opposite the door showed the vast blackness. The stars outside the ship went on and on, taking up the entire wall. A small electrical panel with a speaker sat on the ceiling.
“If you’d like, you’re welcome to change the view. A forest, beach, city, whatever you can imagine. Just speak the image. Otherwise speak window for the digital window. It’s built to be solid, but can turn clear to view the space outside. You can even ask it to show you anyone on the ship. If you ask to see your children by their names, I’ve got the window calibrated in here to show you where they are. In case you get concerned.”
Lana nodded and strolled over to the window. She dropped the bags she carried on the couch as she passed. Gwen did the same behind her. Glancing at the stars, Lana was taken aback by the incredible beauty. “You’ve gone all out. You knew we’d come. And stay.”
“I hoped. I assumed. I’m usually right. Mason stayed in this room on
ce. Stood in that same spot. He said he loved the beauty of the sky. Said it spoke of endless possibilities. Never changed the view. At least as far as I know.”
Lana turned to find Gwen watching her from a few feet away. I wonder if he could see us. “How did you know Mason?” She went back to watching the stars.
“We were friends. He talked about you a lot. About Dean.”
Lana spun around. “Dean? He spoke about Dean?”
Gwen nodded and sat on the arm of the couch. “Yes. It broke his heart having to leave. He wanted to stay with you. Told me something about you not being alone. I assumed he meant the kids. I didn’t understand why it saddened him. Not until I learned about Finn ten years ago. There was always a hint of anger.”
Lana looked off toward the past. “You have been watching over us. Why?”
“For him. He asked me to keep Dean safe. Make sure nobody knew about him. I erased all memory of their connection from the logs.”
“I get the impression you’re more than a retreat, Gwen. You, not this place. This place is a smokescreen, isn’t it?”
Gwen shook her head. “No. This really is a retreat. Nothing fake. You’re right about me, however. I don’t want to waste time. We have less than a week to get you caught up, and on your way. If, that is, you’ll agree.”
“Agree to what?”
“The truth that you need to know is that Mason is very much alive. Not here. Not now. He was sent ahead. I’ve watched over you for a long time. To make sure that nobody ever knew of Dean. I came back because of Mason. He asked me to. I took over and have been here since. Watching. Waiting. I knew once you lost Finn, you’d use your powers once more. I intercepted them. It was the only way to get you here.”
“How is that possible?”
“Mason helped. He set me up with a spell, and I used some science to blend. The same science that sent him into the future.”
“Wait—the future? You’re telling me that Mason. The Mason I knew . . . is in the future?”
“You keep saying that like you don’t believe it’s possible.”
