I slide onto my chair and lean back. Only now do I feel the fatigue that has settled inside my muscles. A day with so much fighting and emotions tends to wear you out like that.
“Time to work out a plan?” Taylar asks.
I rub my eyes and try to concentrate. “I’m not sure how much help I will be, because I’m beat, but I guess it’s a good idea to make a plan now so we can start early tomorrow.”
“We should start by transferring Charlotte’s powers to Susan,” Maël says.
“I agree. But not now. We need a clear mind and a fit body for that.”
“I’m fit,” Mom says, sitting up straight to prove it.
With a grunt, I rest my head in my hands. “I know, but I’m not. And I’ll be the one doing the spell.”
“Okay, you’re right. We should wait.”
The disappointment in her voice makes me look up. “You really want this, don’t you?”
She places her hands on the table with force. “Yes, I do. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I’m tired of feeling helpless, of being helpless, Dante. And after my foolish behavior in the silver mine, I’m positive that this is the best choice.”
“It wasn’t that foolish,” several of the ghosts mumble at the same time.
Mom blushes. “Thanks, but I know it was. I should’ve known better, after all I’ve been through.”
Mona rubs her back before sitting down on D’Maeo’s lap. “It seems we agree on the plan to give Susan Charlotte’s powers. We’ll do that first thing tomorrow, and after some training, maybe she can even come with you to take out the marodium.”
“Absolutely not,” I say, lowering my hands again. “We give her those powers to help in the final battle. It’s best to keep them quiet, just like the power Maël got from the black tree in the Shadow World. Mom will stay here and train with you.”
Mona nods slowly. “I suppose you have a point there.”
Mom opens her mouth to object, but a stern look from me makes her swallow her words. She folds her hands in front of her. “Okay, whatever you say, Dante. You’re the boss.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“In this case,” she adds quickly.
I chuckle. “And here I thought the days of you shouting at me to tidy my room were over.”
She glares at me. “They are. You’re off the hook until you beat the Devil.”
Charlie slams his fist down onto the table. “Damn, your freedom is about to come to an end, mate.”
I rub my hands to get rid of the cold that seeps into them as images of the battle that’s drawing close flood my brain. “I can’t wait for Mom’s shouting and my grades to be my biggest concerns.”
“Hey!” Mom wags a finger at me. “I hardly ever shout at you.”
“I know, Mom.” I blow her a kiss. Then I plant my butt firmer into my chair. “So, what we need now, is a plan to take out the marodium. What do we know about them?”
Vicky shakes her head. “Only what the iele told us, I guess. That they live in Affection―a town we’ve never even heard of―and that they feed on nightmares and shape hatred.”
D’Maeo takes on a more comfortable position and moves Mona to his other leg. “We should find out how they feed on nightmares.”
“Maybe they scare people and then make them fall asleep,” Taylar suggests.
I shiver at the thought of monsters creating nightmares like that and then sucking them from your brain somehow. “That’s possible. Is there a way to find out for sure?” I poke my sleepy brain for a solution. “What about that place you guys always go to when you need to talk to other ghosts? What is that place called?”
Jeep clears his throat loudly. “We can’t tell you, Dante. Only ghosts can enter there, and we’ve all made a blood vow not to tell anyone else.”
Kessley is bouncing in her chair. “I’m a ghost! I’m a ghost! Can I come?”
Taylar reaches out to hold her down. “It’s fine with me if Dante has no other plans for us.”
“I don’t think you all need to go, right?” I ask. “It would be nice if some of you could stay behind to think out at least the start of a plan. And we also need to talk about how to let Vicky practice the creation of the nine circles safely.”
“I will stay here,” Maël offers.
D’Maeo nods. “Me too.”
Kessley pushes her chair back so fast that it topples over. “Great, I’m ready to go!”
Taylar shakes his head at her. “There’s nothing exciting about it, Kess. Just a bunch of ghosts exchanging information.”
She doesn’t miss a bounce. “It’s in another world, right? That’s exciting!”
I grin. “She has a point. If I could, I would come too.”
Jeep stands up too. “Let’s go then. It will take longer, since Kessley will have to make the blood vow first.”
Kess finally stands still. “But how can I make a blood vow? I’m dead; I don’t have any blood left.”
Vicky walks around the table and takes her hand. “Don’t worry about that. We’ll guide you through it.”
“Be careful!” I call out a second before the four of them vanish into thin air.
“They’ll be fine,” D’Maeo says. “It’s not a dangerous place.”
“Good,” I answer with a sigh. “We could use more places like that.”
Mona gets up and starts to unload all kinds of cooking supplies from the cupboards. “Does anyone want dinner? I know we’ve had a late lunch, but…” She turns away when I scrutinize her.
What is she so restless about? D’Maeo said the others are safe, so… My thoughts come to a halt when Mom stands up and pulls Mona into a hug. The fairy godmother drops the pans she’s holding, and when the loud clattering subsides, I can hear her sobbing.
Mom pats her back. “It’s okay, let it all out. You can’t be strong all the time.”
“Sure… I can,” Mona hiccups. “I need… to be. I’m a… fairy godmother, for crying… out loud.”
“Yes, and you worry way too much about me and Dante.” She rocks her gently. “And about D’Maeo.”
Mona takes a deep, shaky breath. “I’m worried about all of you. I try to hold on to my natural optimism, but with everything that’s happened, it’s becoming a bit… too much.”
Mom lets go of her and wipes the tears from her cheeks. “We all have our limits, Mona. Even fairy godmothers.”
“No,” Mona says with a determined expression. “I admit I got overwhelmed there for a second. But I’m fine now.” She shakes her head, and the red around her eyes disappears. “Thank you for the hug, I needed that. I should go talk to my friends now.”
After a quick wave, she vanishes in a cloud of sparks that seem duller than usual. Mom stands frozen in place, with a baffled look on her face and her arms still at waist height.
D’Maeo shakes his head as if to say, ‘let it go’, and she does. She sits down, and soon, we’re neck-deep in a discussion about how to approach the town of Affection without being spotted.
An hour later, the front door opens.
“We’re back!” Charlie calls out.
When he, Gisella and Dylan walk into the kitchen, there’s no need to ask how it went.
“So, you found him?” I ask Dylan when he drops down into the chair next to Vicky’s empty one. “You look much better.”
His hand flies up to his see-through face. “Really?”
“Yes, you’ve got a bit more color,” Mona agrees, appearing next to D’Maeo. She slides a packet of crisps in Charlie’s direction and smiles as if nothing happened.
Charlie picks it up with a grateful nod and rips it open. “Welcome back. How did your meeting go?”
Mona sits down on D’Maeo’s lap. “I’ll tell you later. First tell me what happened with you.”
“We found Armando, but it didn’t go the way we expected at all.”
He stuffs five crisps into his mouth at once, and w
hen he doesn’t continue his story, Dylan picks up where he left off. “Yeah, it turned out I wasn’t his unfinished business at all.” When I frown, he scratches his head. "I mean, I was, once, but not anymore.”
“Then what is he still doing on Earth?” I ask. “And why are you still here too?”
He points his finger at me. “That’s exactly what we asked him. He said he went to a psychic, who showed him his past. He saw what happened.”
“And so much more,” Charlie adds cryptically.
Dylan nods vigorously and does a pretty good imitation of an excited Kessley. His chair nearly topples over. “Yes, it turns out my bad luck is actually good luck.”
I bring my head closer, thinking I must have misheard. “What?”
“All this time I wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time at all!”
I stare at him with what must be the most vacant expression ever. “You lost me.”
He tries to sit still, but his feet still tap the legs of his chair, and he can’t keep his hands in one place. “You remember I told you guys about my bad luck?”
“Of course. That’s how you died too, by stepping through the only hole in the fence around a military training camp. Armando shot you by accident.” I raise an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like good luck for either of you.”
“I know!” Dylan cries out. “But we both saved a lot of people because of it.”
Charlie swallows the last of the crisps and licks the salt from his lips. “It turns out our Dylan here is a lucky charm.”
Mom takes the cup of tea that Mona’s sparks hand her and wraps her hands around it. “How did your death save other people?”
“That hole in the fence was made by someone who was working for a terrorist organization. When the army combed the whole vicinity, they found some equipment. They were able to take fingerprints from a tool that wasn’t wiped. Traced it and followed the guy they found. He led them straight to a terrorist cell consisting of two hundred people. They brought them all in and found detailed plans to bomb the military base and several other targets.” His smile stretches from ear to ear. “They saved thousands of people.”
I sit back and rub my face. “Wow. That is something, Dylan.”
Charlie picks up his crumpled-up packet of crisps and starts to flatten it. “And that’s not all. We did some digging into other moments of extreme bad luck in Dylan’s life. Found out he saved a lot of people each time.”
Dylan spreads his hands. “Without even knowing it.”
“But what about the soldier who shot you?” Mom asks. “Armando… what was his name?”
“Armando Accardi.”
“How was this good for him? He killed himself, and now he’s roaming the earth? Why?”
Dylan’s smile doesn’t waver for a second. “Well, my story wasn’t the only thing he found. It turns out there is―”
“Wait!” Charlie holds up his hands.
Dylan gives him an irritated sideways glance. “What?”
“We need a drum roll for this.” My best friend throws his hair over his shoulder with a shake of his head and starts drumming his fingers on the table.
With a grunt, I roll my eyes and turn back to Dylan. “Okay, there is what?”
“There is a place between Earth and Heaven where soldiers with unfinished business go.”
Charlie’s drumroll ends with a bang when he slams his fists down.
Since I don’t understand what the big deal is, I ignore him.
Dylan continues, the excitement in his voice rising. “As you can imagine, this place, called Salvatorum, is filled with soldiers who died fighting for peace and to save the lives of others. They can have a peaceful afterlife there, but most of them chose to travel to Earth on a regular basis to save people in need.” He clears his throat. “You know, people who don’t have a fairy godmother to watch over them.”
He cringes when Mona turns around. But her reaction is a positive one. “I’ve never heard of that place, but it sounds like a beautiful thing.”
Dylan slowly lets out his breath. “It is. And Armando is one of the leaders now.”
“And…” Charlie says, a twinkle in his eye.
Dylan coughs loudly, and Charlie’s mouth slams shut.
“And what?” I ask.
Charlie shifts uncomfortably in his chair. “And…”
I raise my eyebrows at him.
“… the others are back,” he finishes quickly when the four ghosts drop into their seats out of thin air.
“We’ve got the info,” Kessley says cheerfully. Then she spots Dylan, Charlie and Gisella. “Oh hey, you’re back! How did it go?”
Dylan gives them a quick recap of his story.
“So you’re a good luck charm!” Kessley gives him a high five across the table.
He chuckles. “I guess I am. Although it doesn’t always work. I can’t turn it on or anything.”
“Well, some extra luck is always welcome,” I say. “Although our friend Ginda gave me a golden flower for luck already.” I search my pockets, not sure where I put it. When I find it, I hold it up, surprised that it’s not squashed.
Dylan gasps. “I’ve got one just like that! I don’t remember Ginda giving it to you.”
He reaches inside his pocket and shows me a copy of the peony I’m holding. As soon as we both lean closer to take a better look, the layers of petals of both roses slowly unfold, and the gold starts to shine.
Charlie’s hand, on its way to take another packet of crisps from Mona, freezes midair. “They react to each other.”
Warmth spreads from the peony into my fingers and up my arm to my neck while the flower keeps unfolding. It’s as if it has an endless amount of petals. More and more are unfolded until the warmth touches my toes.
“Wow!” Kessley breathes. “You guys are glowing!”
I look at Dylan and then down at my own body. Kess is right, a glowing line has appeared around us both. Their brightness almost blinds me, and I narrow my eyes. Dylan and I watch each other. His line starts to pulse, like a sound wave. A soft crackle rises from both of us, and then the light lines shoot into the flowers. They encompass both peonies before shooting into the air in an arched line, meeting each other halfway.
In the corner of my vision, I see Kessley leaning forward with her hand outstretched to touch the light. I want to tell her to stand back, but Jeep is faster. He pulls her back and shoves her into Taylar’s arms. “Be careful, leopard girl, we don’t know what it is yet.”
“But it’s beautiful…” she breathes.
I’m about to agree when everything explodes in a blinding flash. I shield my face with my free hand. An energy blast hits me in the chest, and I’m thrown backwards. My chair topples over, and the back of my head connects painfully with the floor. Grunts of surprise and pain echo through the kitchen.
When I hold my hand up to my face, the rose is gone. So are the light and the warmth.
I reach out to Vicky, lying next to me. “Are you okay?”
She nods. “I went through the floor.”
We both reach for the table and pull ourselves up. “Is everyone al…” The rest of my question dies on my lips. Vaguely, I can hear the others getting to their feet, but their mumbling and grumbling fades too. We’re all hypnotized by the thing that’s floating above the kitchen table.
CHAPTER 28
Everything inside me is pulled toward the hovering glowing ball, even though I’m not moving. I try to speak or take my eyes off it, but I can’t. The ball is the size of a marble, except… it isn’t. It keeps changing. It rotates lazily, and different colors shine through the white light, as if there’s a rainbow inside, trying to escape. A soft sound comes from within. Sort of a buzzing song, very high and clear. I’ve never heard anything like it, and I don’t want it to stop. Ever.
The marble―or is it a pearl?―comes to a sudden halt. A ring of yellow light pops up around it, making it look l
ike a tiny planet. The buzz-humming stops. It’s waiting…
But what is it waiting for?
“What is that… mesmerizing ball?” Dylan voices my thoughts.
Mona is only now pulling herself up. “Oh my goodness,” she says in a hushed tone when her gaze locks onto the white marble. She‘s completely out of balance, her hair a mess, her eyes big, the color drained from her face and her arms outstretched, searching for support.
I swallow and cough to find back my own voice. “Do you know what it is?” I manage to ask.
“Yes…” Mona’s head goes up and down in slow motion, and D’Maeo grabs her to prevent her from falling down again. “Yes… it’s… the Pearl of Arcadia.”
The ball glows brighter in response, as if it can hear her.
“What is it?” Taylar asks, pulling Kessley closer to him.
“It is the recording of a message…” she licks her lips, “… from God.”
Vicky leans closer to it. “What kind of message?”
“The original message he gave to the angels when he created them.” Mona lets D’Maeo pull her onto his lap. She’s still pale, and her hands are shaking. “The one that tells them why they were created. Only the angels know what it says exactly, although some seem to have forgotten.”
I stare at the pearl. Now I understand why it’s so mesmerizing. It was created by God himself.
It takes a couple of seconds for Mona’s last words to reach me. “Wait, is that why it found its way to us? Because more and more angels are betraying Heaven?”
She wipes a stray blonde lock from her forehead. “To you, Dante. You’re the one chosen to save Heaven.”
Maël squints at the ball of light. “We will save Heaven together, just like Earth. You will not stand alone in this, Dante.”
I smile at her. “I know, and I don’t think that’s what Mona meant to say.”
“I didn’t,” the fairy godmother quickly assures us. “What I meant to say was that Dante is probably the only one who can touch it. The rest of us could get hurt if we try.”
Dylan immediately steps back with his hands raised. “I wasn’t going to touch it.”
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