“Where should I go?” Blane asked.
“It’s best to walk,” Sam said. “It’s more than 10,000 feet. Are you okay to walk?”
“I feel great,” Blane said.
“Let us know if you have any trouble,” Sam said. “There aren’t a lot of roads, but they do exist. I can come run back to the car and come to get you.”
“We should walk,” Delphie said. “How else will you meet all of the ghosts?”
Blane pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Is Levi here?” Sam asked.
“Levi is with his kind at the Denver Dump,” Delphie said with a sniff.
“How did that happen?” Blane asked.
“I put him in the trash,” Delphie said. “MJ took him out to the dumpster. In a bag. I didn’t even open it.”
“No, really — how did that happen?” Sam asked.
“Katy and Celia bullied me into it,” Delphie said. “But I did it. Myself. By my own free will.”
“What did you do about the gravestone?” Sam asked.
“What gravestone?” Blane asked.
“Levi had one made for himself,” Sam said. “When he was supposed to be dead but really was just being his evil self.”
“I forgot all about it,” Delphie said.
“Sounds like something we can take care of today,” Sam said.
“I don’t have my papers saying that I’m his heir,” Delphie said.
“I have them,” Sam said.
Blane and Sam got out of the car. Blane helped Delphie out of the back. When she turned around to retrieve the flowers she’d brought, Sam leaned into Blane.
“His grave is kind of a shrine,” Sam said.
“Really?” Blane asked, looking disgusted.
Nodding, Sam gave Blane an equally disgusted look.
“You know I can hear you,” Delphie said.
“I know,” Sam said.
They started walking down the road in the center of the cemetery.
“Gosh, there are a lot of houses built around this . . . place,” Delphie said. “Don’t they know?”
“Know what?” Blane said.
There was a blast of energy that felt both frigid cold and fire-hot at the same time. Blane felt the energy right down to his soul. He stopped walking.
“That,” Sam said. “We used to call it the fire of hell.”
“What is that?” Blane asked.
“Fire of Hell,” Delphie said with a shrug.
“No, really,” Blane said. “What is it? I don’t want to go even a step forward.”
“Oh, come on,” Delphie said. “It’s not the Sea of Amber.”
“Our Delphie is used to it and its effects,” Sam said.
Delphie stood two feet ahead of them. Blane’s entire body began to shake with fear. He looked at Sam, who was watching Delphie. Her face had gone completely blank. Sam’s face began to even out. He was falling into the same trance.
“No,” Blane said.
He grabbed Delphie by the shoulders. She collapsed into him.
“Sam!” Blane said. Not an easy task, he lifted Delphie into his arms. “Samuel Lipson!”
Sam’s trance broke. He shook his head. He looked surprised to find himself in the cemetery.
“Blane?” Sam asked.
“We are leaving,” Blane said. “Now.”
Sam nodded.
“I can’t carry her the whole way,” Blane said.
Sam nodded. Blane set Delphie on her feet. Sam took Delphie under her arm, and Blane took the other side. They dragged Delphie the short distance back to the car.
“Get in the back with her,” Blane said.
Sam ran around to the other side of the car and got in the back. Blane helped Delphie into her seat. Blane buckled her seatbelt, and Sam pulled her over so that her head was on his lap. Blane got in the driver’s seat and started for home.
Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-seven
NO!
Tuesday midday — 12:15 p.m.
“So I wanted to ask you . . .” Dale started.
Ava turned to look at him. They were sitting in her car behind a long line of cars at the intersection of 17th and Colorado Boulevard. Ava was taking Dale to meet a new PTSD therapist for movement therapy.
“What?” Dale asked.
“What do you mean, ‘What’?” Ava asked. “You just asked me if you could ask me something.”
“Oh, sorry,” Dale said. “I got distracted by that bumper sticker.”
They peered forward to look at a blue sticker showing a Tyrannosaurus Rex attempting a push-up.
“You know, they think now that they were covered with feathers,” Ava said.
“Bumper stickers?” Dale asked.
“Dinosaurs,” Ava said.
“Not in the movies,” Dale said with a grin.
“I have something to tell you, Dale,” Ava said. They moved up a few car lengths and stopped.
“Yes?” Dale asked.
“Movies are not real life,” Ava said.
Dale gasped as if he were horrified. His eyes welled with tears and he looked away. Ava hit his arm and he laughed.
“What did you want to ask?” Ava asked.
“So, Seth’s dad . . .” Dale said.
“Bernie?” Ava asked with a shrug. “What about him?”
“He and Maresol . . .” Dale said. He paused to choose his words. “ . . . you think . . .?”
Ava laughed.
“No, really,” Dale said. “What does O’Malley say?”
“It’s none of my business,” Ava said.
“Oh, come on, Ava,” Dale said. “If I don’t ask you what O’Malley thinks, how will I ever know?”
“No, that’s what he says,” Ava said.
“Oh,” Dale said. “So he thinks they’re . . .”
“Maresol tells me that they have a lovely time together,” Ava said with a smile. “She hasn’t had anyone to accompany her in a long time. Since Delphie is with Sam, she’s had to go alone to events with her friends and their husbands. In the last few months, Bernie has gone with her to parties. He’s funny and charming. Their husbands really like him. She says that he’s a perfect fit for them.”
Dale looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She nodded.
“He’s never been to most of the museums, so Maresol’s had a great time showing him around,” Ava said. “They spent a day with Mike Roper and came back laughing. We went to dinner with them, and he was pleasant, asked intelligent questions, and had interesting things to talk about.”
Ava glanced at him.
“Why?” Ava asked.
“I’m just going to tell you,” Dale said.
“Okay.”
“I saw Maresol coming out of his room this morning,” Dale said. “You know — doing the post-coital walk.”
Ava gave him a horrified look, and Dale laughed. They said nothing more as they finally crossed the intersection and continued toward the treatment center.
“You think he can still get it up at ninety?” Dale asked.
Ava looked somewhere between shocked and disgusted.
“Maybe it’s all about the manual . . .” Dale said. “But then again, I guess there’s Viagra. Do you think he’d be offended if I asked him?”
Ava looked disturbed. Dale grinned merrily in response.
“You know what?” Ava’s voice and posture became firm. “It really is none of our business.”
“What if Maresol gets pregnant with Seth’s brother?” Dale asked.
Ava laughed. Dale smirked at her.
“I’ll tell you one thing — you and I are never going to speak of this again,” Ava said.
“Yeah, right — just until you have a chance to ask Seth,” Dale said.
Nodding, Ava made something like a grunting laugh, which made Dale laugh.
“Hey!” Ava said. “Everyone at every age has a right to be happy.”
Dale started laughing so hard that he struggled to catch his breath. The harder he
laughed, the more prim Ava became. Pulling into the gym where Dale was going to take his workout treatment, they both stopped laughing. They stared at the door for a moment in silence.
“I hope when I’m ninety that I’ll be half as brave as Bernie,” Dale said.
Nodding, Ava got out of the car, and they walked into the facility.
~~~~~~~~
Tuesday afternoon — 1:12 p.m.
“No,” Blane said.
They were driving down the mountain toward home.
“We need to go back the cemetery,” Sam repeated. “We need to figure this out. Fix it.”
“No,” Blane said again. “We do not.”
Delphie was awake, but still lying across the seat with her head in Sam’s lap. Every time she sat up, she felt light headed.
“But, Blane,” Delphie started, but she was too weak to continue.
“No ‘buts,’” Blane said. “This is clearly a natural phenomenon that’s been going on for a long, long time. It’s not up to us to fix it.”
“But Blane!” Delphie said.
“No buts,” Blane said. “We fixed the stupid serpents, and look where that got us. We busted our asses for the stupid Isle of Man fairies, and where get us? Let me answer that — with Abi and Fin hiding out from the evil queen, who we put back on the throne. And don’t even get me started on all of the time and energy wasted in the Sea of fucking Amber and how it almost killed Jacob.”
Blane stopped talking to catch his breath.
“I for one am done trying to heal the world’s wounds,” Blane said. “It’s someone else’s turn to risk life and limb to make the world a better place.”
“But . . .” Delphie said.
“No soul-sucking ‘Fire of Hell’ for us,” Blane said. “We’ve done enough. The world should build a monument to what we’ve done so far. And . . .”
Blane shook his head.
“All we do is fall into one hole after another,” Blane said. “I, for one, am going to live my life for a while. I’m going to raise my kids, help Mack learn what he needs for what’s next, love the hell out of Wyn, worship my beloved Heather. That’s how I’m spending my time from here on out. I am done fixing another freaky fucking issue in some random-ass place on the planet.”
“But, Blane!” Delphie started again.
“Did I stutter?” Blane asked. “No. I am not turning around. I’m not going back there. I’m driving us to Denver and calling it all good.”
They drove in silence as Blane passed exit after exit.
“Can we at least stop to go to the bathroom?” Delphie asked.
“Oh,” Blane said. “Sorry. I thought you wanted to go back and . . .”
“Not today,” Delphie said.
“Not any day,” Blane said. “No.”
“You can’t decide for all of us,” Delphie said.
“Yes, in fact, I can decide for all of us,” Blane said. “I am the destroyer of the Sea of Amber. Me. Well, with the help of some cartoon dwarves, but it was my idea. I helped kill two serpents and their children. I’ve been on the Isle of Man and every other fucking adventure. This one, we’re skipping.”
“We’ll talk to Jake,” Sam said.
“Jake is going to say ‘No,’” Blane said. “I know this because he told me that if we came up here and had some weird crap happen, I should tell you, ‘No.’ Trust me. Jake and I are in absolute agreement on this issue. We need time to live our lives!”
Delphie gave an indignant snort.
“How long has the Fire of Hell been there?” Blane asked.
His look in the rearview mirror burned a hole in the side of Delphie’s face.
“A long time,” Delphie said finally. “But . . .”
“Then, the world will survive without us fixing it,” Blane said.
“It’s worse now,” Delphie said. “Levi must have . . .”
“No, stop talking,” Blane said. “I don’t want to know.”
“But . . .” Delphie started.
“No,” Blane said.
He pulled off at the next exit. They went to a fast-food restaurant. While Delphie used the facilities, Blane bought drinks and French fries. Delphie came out of the bathroom her old cheerful self. They ate their French fries and got back in the car. Blane drove them back to Denver without incident or argument. He dropped Delphie and Sam back at the Castle and headed back home.
At the door, he held Heather tight.
“You smell like the Fires of Hell,” Heather said. “Were you able to save Delphie?”
Blane nodded.
“And?” Heather asked.
Blane swore, jumped up and down, and marched around while Heather nodded.
“Are you glad I warned you?” Heather asked.
Blane nodded.
“How long do I have?” Blane asked.
“Until Delphie starts having nightmares?” Heather asked. Blane nodded. “Seven hours?”
Blane fell on his back on the floor. Heather laughed.
“God gives you only what you can handle,” Heather said in an annoying voice.
“Which god is that?” Blane asked.
Laughing, Heather went into the kitchen. She returned with a cup of coffee and a piece of Jeraine’s cake. She sat on the floor next to his head. She gave him the cake and coffee.
“You think we’ll ever be able to stop fixing the world?” Blane asked.
“Not likely,” Heather said. “Didn’t you tell me that Mack is going to be dragon rider?”
Blane nodded.
“Then it’s the family business,” Heather said.
“Mack’s not . . .” Blane said. “Oh, never mind. He’s my son. My precious baby boy.”
Heather grinned at him, and Blane sighed.
“We’ll get through this,” Heather said.
“And then what? Another monster to slay?” Blane asked.
“Imagine how bored you’d be if we didn’t have one?” Heather asked.
Heather laughed, and Blane ate his cake in sullen silence.
“What do you know about the Fires of Hell?” Blane asked.
“Funny you should ask,” Heather said.
“And?” Blane asked.
“Nothing,” Heather said. “There no information here or in Olympia. You’re going to have to talk to Delphie.”
Blane grunted.
“Can you make more of the cake float over here?” Blane asked.
“No, but I’ll get you some,” Heather said.
Before he could respond, she jumped up and got him the cake. When she returned, he was sitting in the living room on Tink’s couch-bed reading about the Evergreen Cemetery in Leadville, Colorado, on his laptop. She set the cake down and sat down next to him.
“So?” Heather asked.
“I’m not going to like this,” Blane said.
“What?” Tanesha asked as she came into the room. “Did you eat all the cake?”
“I saved a piece for you,” Heather said. “I can get it.”
“That’s okay,” Tanesha said. “What stupid-ass thing are we about to get involved with?”
“Fires of Hell,” Heather said.
“That does not sound good,” Tanesha said. “I assume this is some quest for Delphie.”
“Exactly,” Blane said.
“Since we all owe her our entire lives, I suppose we could possibly inconvenience ourselves to deal with this,” Tanesha said in a mild tone.
Blane threw a pillow at her.
“If you think you can brutalize me for my cake . . .,” Tanesha started before laughing. She looked at Blane’s face and then at Heather’s. “Is it that bad?”
“Sort of,” Blane said.
“Good thing I’ll be here to clean up your mess, then,” Tanesha said with a sniff.
She looked from Blane to Heather, and they all laughed.
~~~~~~~~
Tuesday evening — 5:11 p.m. EDT (3:11 p.m. MDT)
New York City, NY
Sissy turned the corner
from the hallway and slipped into the loft’s dance studio. Ivan was at the Russian Spa, and Nadia was working. Ivan and Nadia would return around seven, and the loft would fill with their laughter and conversation. Sissy had the loft all to herself from five to seven.
Sissy had a secret. When Charlie and Dale were there, they would help her with her secret. Now that they had returned to Denver, Sissy was relying on another friend for help. Sissy turned on the laptop like Charlie had told her to do. She pressed all of the buttons until her Internet videophone rang.
Anjelika answered. Sissy beamed her joy at seeing the woman. They chatted for a moment before Anjelika held up a hand.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to tell him?” Anjelika asked.
“No. I mean, yes, I’m sure,” Sissy said. “I want to surprise him.”
“Very well. We have only a tiny bit of time,” Anjelika said. “If we are going to surprise Ivan, we need to use our time well.”
“I can’t be sweaty or anything when he gets home,” Sissy said with a nod. “That will ruin the surprise.”
“Did you talk to the doorman?” Anjelika asked.
“He’ll call when Ivan arrives at the door,” Sissy said with a smile.
Anjelika gave Sissy a fond look. These last months of near death, pain, and love had pushed the girl into young womanhood. Sissy blushed.
“What?” Sissy asked.
“You’ve blossomed into a woman,” Anjelika said. “Very beautiful.”
Sissy looked embarrassed.
“Thank you, Mrs. Anjelika,” Anjelika said.
“Thank you, my dear,” Sissy said in an imitation of Anjelika’s accent.
Anjelika laughed.
“I’d forgotten how much fun we have,” Anjelika said. Sissy grinned at her. “Now, let’s get to work.”
Sissy moved away from the computer to the center of the room.
“Let’s see how you do with our drills,” Anjelika said.
“That’s what Charlie and I did,” Sissy said.
“I know this because your brother is worrying over my shoulder,” Anjelika said.
She moved the camera so that Charlie’s face came into view. He waved.
“Hi, Sissy!” Tink yelled from behind Anjelika.
“Charlie told them how well you’re doing,” Anjelika said. “They wanted to see.”
Anjelika moved the camera to show Tink, Wanda, and Ivy sitting on pillows near the back of the room.
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