Between (31 page)

Why is she even looking for my name?

“Charlie and I are doing more independent training,” he tells her. “Separate from the others.”

“Oh, because she’s a siren?”

I’m right here. She’s doing her best to pretend I’m not, but I’m
right here
.

“Yes,” Seth says.

“You must’ve been really worried after the lake attack,” she says. I look up, thinking that one was for me, but nope—still ignoring my presence.

Seth nods. “I was worried about everyone. It was a horrible thing.”

“I guess it’s lucky Charlie wasn’t at the lake when it happened. But then, she doesn’t really seem to spend much time near the water anyway, for a siren.” Clara finally focuses her lavender eyes on me with a scrutiny that makes me wish she’d go back to pretending I’m not here. “I find it so odd that Seth is your Aegis. It seems irresponsible to assign a male Aegis to a siren. Don’t you think it’s strange?”

Is she all over me just because she enjoys seeing me squirm, or is there something to this? Am I supposed to be doing something more siren-y? “You seem to be awfully aware of where I am and what I’m doing,” I tell her.

Clara places her hand to her chest and laughs. “Oh, goodness no! Is that what it sounds like?” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s quite the opposite. I have no idea what you’re doing here, actually. I’ve never seen an Apprentice get the kind of special treatment you enjoy.”

She’s definitely paying too much attention to me. What has she seen? Heat spreads across my chest, but I don’t acknowledge the rash of anxiety moving up my neck.

I’m never wearing this dress again.

Seth clears his throat and sharpens his tone. “Alexander specifically designed her training plan, Clara. If you have questions, I suggest you talk to him.”

The grin remains plastered to her face. “I may do that, just to satisfy my own curiosity, of course. I’m sure it’s not like anyone is keeping secrets from PC.” She shakes her hair and brightens, like she can shed one personality and don another. “Well, I’m off. You two enjoy your date!”

I could grab her by her stupidly perfect hair and throw her to the ground and still not feel satisfied.

“This isn’t a date, Clara,” Seth says, dropping his hands from Cortesia’s face. The unicorn whinnies in protest.

Her hand flies to her mouth. “Oh, of course it isn’t! What a slip! That would certainly be a problem, wouldn’t it?” Her words drip with exaggerated concern. She clearly knows what she’s doing. “We’d sure hate to split you two up!”

Clara swats Seth’s shoulder playfully, but the look she gives me is anything but friendly. I answer it with a sneer of my own. She lifts into the air without another word.

Split us up? I shiver. They can’t do that. Can they? Not in my situation. Nobody else knows what I am. Alexander would never let that happen. They can’t really split us up.

Right?

I widen my eyes at Seth. “They’d separate us?”

He stares after Clara before turning his face to me. “If it looks like we’re romantically involved, yes. I can’t be your Aegis if I can’t be objective about you. It puts you, me, and the rest of the Fellowship in danger.”

And the Fellowship is all that matters. Not what I want. Not what Seth wants. That all comes second. “I can’t have another Aegis, Seth.”

I don’t want another Aegis. I want him. In so many ways.

“Exactly,” he says. “You can’t. Which is why we can’t. Ever.”

Ever.

My stomach clenches.

Ever is too long to be a real thing.

S
EVENTEEN

“I
think we should go back to the Between,” I say, following Keiran through the tall white trees beyond the Clearing. We’re on our way to the pond below the Clearing, since he absolutely refuses to let me start anywhere near the Meadow of Music today.

“No.” Keiran shakes his head and keeps walking.

Just the one word. No explanation whatsoever. It’s like he doesn’t even know me.

I pout my lips and shrug my shoulders. “Yes.”

Keeping this big of a secret from Seth is killing me. My stomach is constantly in knots when he’s around, and every time he looks at me, I’m sure he knows. I’ve almost blurted it out at least ten times in the last two days. I want to tell him because I feel guilty. I want to tell him because I’d rather he find out from me than someone else. But mostly I want to tell him because I need to know if there’s been anything else. Why haven’t I heard a word about dead trees in the Between?

Keiran stops walking and puts on his serious face. His eyes are more gray than usual this morning. “We’re lucky we didn’t get caught the first time. If I’d had any idea what we’d find when we went, I never would’ve suggested it. Why should we risk it again?”

I doubt he’ll have much sympathy for my need to be honest with Seth. “It’s been over a week and nobody’s mentioned a thing about dying plants in the Between,” I tell him. “I want to see if the trees are okay.”

“Maybe you haven’t heard anything about it, because it’s not a big deal!”

I raise an eyebrow. “You don’t think it’s a big deal that at the same time we’re having trouble with spells, the Between is also weakening?”

He opens his mouth like he’s going to argue, and then his face goes blank. “I guess I hadn’t really put that together.”

I hadn’t either until the words came out of my mouth. But it makes sense. The Between is home to the Source. If something’s not right there, it would explain why magic is falling apart here. “This is more important than me and you, Keiran.”

He chews on his lip, looking from side to side. “Okay. We get in, we look around, we get out. Quick and easy.”

“Of course,” I reply, already steering us toward the two tall trees that mark the gate Alexander led me through when he took me to the Source.

Keiran climbs the tree to reach the limb that activates the gate. He wraps his hands around it and hangs on, lowering himself to the ground as the dirt collapses into stairs. “Creepiest gate ever,” he says, gazing into the darkness. “I hate this one.”

Glad it’s not just me. I feel the same tightening in my chest that I felt the first time I saw this passage.

It’s not a crypt. It’s not a crypt. It’s not a crypt
.

I take a deep breath and descend the steps as quickly as I can to reach the other side.

I breathe a sigh of relief as soon as I’m in the Between, happy to see that it’s still here at all. Everything near this gate looks as perfect as ever—the leaves are green and strong, the trees thick with life. Keiran looks at me and smiles. He’s as relieved as I am.

I spot the Source in the distance and point to it. “Let’s just run and take a look real quick.”

“Charlie, we said—”

I take off jogging down the path. “Sorry, what? Can’t hear you!”

He groans behind me but I hear him running, too, each footstep falling against the dirt path in rhythm with mine. We make it about half a mile before we see the first dead limb, followed by another and another. I dodge them as I slow to a walk, weaving left and right on the path.

It’s more than the trees.

Brittle, empty stems rise from the ground where full hydrangea bushes once stood, the area beneath them covered in dry brown petals. The honeysuckle vines have withered away to nothing. All of the colors—the bright greens, clear blues, and every one of the flowers—look washed with gray. The few flowers that remain droop downward, as if they’d rather lie down and die than reach for the sunlight.

Glammit. We’ve waited too long.

Keiran and I say nothing, only exchanging glances here and there as we wander through the chaos.

The closer we get to the Source, the worse the damage becomes. Dead leaves cover the ground, strewn across yellowed grass and jagged limbs. The trees are bare and mostly broken, lying on their sides as if a tornado stormed through. I stop and take it all in.

The wide, thunderous flow of the waterfall has slowed to a trickle, and the river before me is a muddled gray. The actual pain doesn’t strike until I reach the Source’s deep pool. It’s lost most of its light. I only catch a slight glimmer in the waves here and there, nothing like its brilliance the first time I saw it.

I close my eyes. We should’ve told someone.

“Whoa,” Keiran breathes. “What could’ve done this?”

I have a pretty solid idea of what, or at least who, is behind this, and I can’t look at Keiran right now. I raise my head and gaze across the water to the treefolk. They’re still there, still alive, although their colors are muted.

“Joe!” I call, and take off running around the Source to reach the large, old tree.

His branches spread open when I get close, and his trunk shudders. In seconds, his face appears. When he speaks, there’s none of the jovial boom from before. His voice is quiet and pained. “Charlie,” he creaks, “we’re dying.”

“We have to get out of here,” Keiran says from behind me.

Tears burn behind my eyes. I wrap my fingers around one of Joe’s branches and squeeze. “What’s doing this to you?”

“Tell Alexander,” Joe wheezes, “Whalen knows. He knows.”

Keiran steps closer. “What does he know?” he asks.

Joe’s face starts to recede. “Tell him,” he says again.

“Joe, wait—” I put my hands on either side of his face, but he’s gone, too weak to stay with me. I let my hands fall to my sides.

“We have to get out of here,” Keiran repeats.

I want to spin around and snap at him. I know we have to go. I know we have to tell PC about all of this. I know we should’ve told them the first time we saw it.

I know his father—who Keiran is so convinced can be saved—is behind it.

Whalen knows
.

I turn and start walking to the other side of the Source, back in the direction we came from. “We need to go to Alexander,” I say loudly.

I need to know what Whalen knows.

Keiran walks beside me, our feet dragging through piles of deep, dead leaves. I watch the Between, silently begging it for answers.

Something glints on the ground a few yards off the path. I trudge through the decay for a closer look. Keiran calls after me, but I ignore him.

A shiny guitar pick knotted on black string lies in the tall mix of dead grass and fragmented leaves.

And now, nothing else matters—not the Between, not Joe, not Whalen. Just this little charm lying on the ground.

Sam.

I bend to pick it up and let my fingers hover over it, afraid that if I touch the pick, it’ll disappear. I close my eyes and snatch the bracelet with my fist, then turn my hand over and open it.

Still there. My chest soars, and I slip the bracelet onto my wrist.

“Sam?” I yell, walking forward and stopping, yelling again, turning and walking another direction, yelling some more. I stumble in all directions, waiting for some kind of indication of what I should do next.

“Charlie?” Keiran calls.

“Over here!” I continue throwing my voice around. “Sam! Sam!”

He’s here. Somewhere.

“Sam! Sam!”

I turn by a large dead maple tree that’s been split directly down the middle, and freeze.

A dark-haired woman lies crumpled on the ground ahead. Her pale pink T-shirt is covered in streaks of mud and leaf bits, and her khaki shorts are nearly black. The muscles in my legs tighten, and it takes a moment to process the sight. “Mom!”

I sprint to her side and drop to my knees next to her. Why is she here? How long has she been here? Her cheeks and forehead are covered with bruises, some purple and others a faded blue. Wide, black-red scabs cover her arms. Her hair lays in matted tangles all over her head. I brush leaves from her body and lean across her. My chin is trembling so hard I can hardly speak. “Mom?”

Heavy footsteps crunch across dried leaves, and Keiran crouches on the other side of her. I can’t look at him. He says nothing. There’s no need.

Tears blur my vision. I run my hands over her arm, her shoulder, her cheek. Her skin is so cold and clammy. I pull her hand from her side and wrap my fingers around it, holding it to my chest. I lay my forehead against her fingers and let my tears drip down her hand.

Keiran bows his head, giving me space and comfort at the same time.

I need Sam. He’s the only person allowed to hug me when I’m about to fall apart. I don’t know how to do this without him.

If she’s out here, like this, is he—?

No.

I squeeze her hand tighter. “Don’t leave me,” I whisper against her fingers. “Please.” I murmur the last word over and over, rocking on my knees.

Keiran presses his hand against her forehead.

She releases a long, shaky breath, and a sob racks my body.

She’s alive
.

“Mom,” I whisper, swiping my tears with my free hand and leaning closer to her face.

“Charlie.” The frailty of her voice breaks me. It’s sickness and fear combined, and it’s enough to push me into action.

She’s alive, but she won’t make it out of here if I don’t get a grip.

I pull myself together. “Mom. I’m right here. This is Keiran. We’re gonna get you out of here.”

“No,” she wheezes. “Run.”

Keiran jumps to his feet, scanning our surroundings.

“I’m not leaving without you,” I tell her. I can’t possibly let go of her now that I have her in front of me. “Where’s Sam? Is he here?”

She closes her eyes, flinching at something I can’t see. “He’s with Whalen.”

I close my eyes and bite down on my lip to keep it from shaking. My brother is alone with the man who’s been ripping my world apart since before I was born.

“Where are they?” Keiran asks.

Her eyes flutter open and close again, and a wet rattle accompanies every breath she takes.

“Mom? Stay with me. We’re getting you home.” Breaths burst in and out of my lungs, but I keep the tears at bay. They’re not going to help her.

She says something so quiet I can’t hear it. I place my ear next to her lips.

“Wants to eradicate magic,” she whispers. “The Between—purest magic—everything is rooted in its design.”

She gasps for air and coughs.

Eradicate magic?

“Poisoning the Between,” Mom rasps. “Everything and everyone in the mystical realm will die.”