Lemon Pies and Little White Lies (28 page)

At the mention of animals, Marin let out an inhuman wail. “If I could have chewed off my human hands, I would have! It’s against my nature to inflict pain on my fellow creatures. I’ve barely slept thinking of those poor cats and dogs.”

Verena touched Ella Mae on the shoulder. “She’s telling the truth.”

Aunt Sissy jabbed a finger centimeters from Marin’s chest. “Lucky for you. After what you did to my sister, I’d have gotten your sealskin back, flown you to South Africa, and fed you to the
biggest
white shark I could find.” She backed away. “You remain a threat to us because you’re still
her
creature. How does she communicate with you?”

“She has a blog. She posts assignments there,” Marin said. “It’s how she’s recruited people over the years too.”

“Is she headed for the island in the middle of Lake Havenwood?” Ella Mae asked.

Marin nodded. “Yes. She plans to flood the town using the lake water, starting with your house. That’s all I know.”

Chewie!
Ella Mae thought but pushed the panic down. Fiona had said that throughout history, the women who’d held the title of Lady of the Lake had used islands to increase their abilities. Keeping this in mind, Ella Mae and the people who’d joined her had planned a defense around Nimue following this tradition. During her visit with Aunt Dee, the plan had fully bloomed in Ella Mae’s mind and her people—those from Havenwood and from afar—had worked tirelessly to see her vision became a reality.

“If I can, I will get your skin back,” Ella Mae told Marin. “But until then, you must be restrained. You can’t control your actions and therefore are not to be trusted.”

A local man on the other side of the table cleared his throat. “I can create a safe and secure place for her to, um, wait.”

Fear flashed in Marin’s eyes. “A cage?”

Ella Mae ignored her and focused on the man. “Show me, please.”

The man walked to where a small copse of bamboo trees grew. He raised his hands and the trees creaked and groaned, bending over and intertwining until they’d formed a kind of cave. Ella Mae’s mother placed a plate of food and a cup of wine inside and then beckoned to Marin. “When Officer Hardy returns and finds out what you’ve done, you’ll be locked up for the rest of your life. You’ll never swim again. If I were you, I’d climb in here and try to rest. It’s quite comfortable. Nothing like the prison cell you’ll face without our help.”

Sobbing, Marin crawled into the cave and curled into a ball. Several bamboo stalks bent over and pushed themselves deep into the ground, blocking the entrance but still allowing for plenty of light and fresh air.

Ella Mae thanked the local man and then walked up the rise to the ash tree. She reached up into the branches and instantly came into contact with the cool metal of her crown. Placing the circlet on her head, she turned to find Alfonso waiting for her. After he’d touched her throat, she stood as tall and straight as she could and addressed her people.

“My friends, it’s time for Tyson Upton to light up the sky. He’s created a special greeting for those responsible for this and all the other terrible storms that have cause so much destruction over the past few weeks.” She paused. “I don’t want to declare war against those who decided to follow Nimue. I plan to invite them to join us instead. After we’ve done what
we can to stop this storm, I’ll go down the mountain to meet Nimue face-to-face. I will not return until I’ve dealt with her. And when I’m done and I’ve taken her sword, we’ll gather again and discuss how to restore the ruined groves.” Her voice sounded strange to her own ears. Where had she found this confidence? How could she be so certain of their success? But as she gazed at all the people standing shoulder to shoulder, she knew that she was borrowing courage from them.

In the stillness, the bonfire crackled, as if encouraging Ella Mae to continue. She spoke a little louder. “Are you ready to put aside your prejudices and stand with me, not as Gaynor and LeFaye, but as brother and sister?” She made a sweeping gesture with her arm. “Are we ready, at long last, to take our fate into our own hands?”

The crowd’s roar was so powerful that the ground shook. People embraced and clapped and screamed as Ella Mae descended the hill.

She walked up to Ty and pointed skyward. “Burn a hole through the clouds and ignite the stars! Fill the night with rainbows of color! Show this woman that real magic is not about fear, but about beauty, hope, and unity!”

Cheers erupted in a fresh wave. The people followed Ella Mae as she made her way to the bonfire. She placed a branch from the ash tree in the center of the flames until the end caught fire. She then offered it to Ty. “In Beltane’s of old, this fire had the power to mimic sunshine. People carried a burning stick into their homes to light their hearth fires. Now, take this flame, Tyson Upton, and light Havenwood’s hearth fire. We will offer Nimue’s people a place to call home.”

Ty took the burning branch and followed Ella Mae out into the night.

Chapter 15

Ty had built a dome out of waterproof tarps at the edge of the parking lot to protect his pyrotechnics, and by the time he and Ella Mae ran down the trail and ducked beneath it, they were completely drenched. The wind slapped at the plastic roof and the rain sounded like machine-gun fire, but the fireworks were safe and dry and Ty promised Ella Mae that nothing would stop the show.

“My gift is a bit like Aiden’s,” he explained, checking a length of black cable. “I use an electrical firing system for my displays.” He fiddled with a silver box housing a switchboard and wires. “That in itself isn’t unusual. Lots of technicians use electrical firing systems. The difference is that I add a little magic to the electric charge. This transfers into each shell. When that shell is in the sky, the timer goes off, the powder ignites, and the stars inside explode bigger, brighter, and longer than normal fireworks. Not only that, but I can manipulate the patterns the stars form, which means I can
make shapes other people can’t. That’s what will get the attention of the people by the lake. It’ll be impossible for them not to notice the masterpiece I’m about to paint in the sky.”

Ella Mae felt a thrill of excitement. If Ty could do what he claimed, she was on the cusp of witnessing something truly unforgettable.

At that moment, Aiden wriggled under one of the tarps and pushed the hood of his rain jacket off his face. Water dripped from the ends of his hair and ran down his cheeks. “Thought I’d lend you some extra juice,” he said, smiling at his cousin.

Ty grinned. “Okay, then. Let’s punch a few million holes in this storm.”

The two men made their final preparations and then Ty asked Ella Mae to kneel behind a protective wall of sandbags. He handed her a pair of headphones with the assurance that they’d block out the worst of the noise. When she had them on, he lifted up the left earpiece, pulled a hunting knife from the inside of his boot, and shouted, “The second I cut a single tie, the tarp will be ripped off by the wind and Aiden and I will ignite the first round of shells. There’ll be tons of smoke, but it should blow down the mountain. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

He signaled to Aiden and bent over a corner of the tarp. Suddenly, it folded like a bat wing and vanished, whisked away in a rush of wind. Ella Mae saw it melt into the dark clouds as the rain came pelting in on the three people and the fireworks.

Ella Mae didn’t have the chance to wonder if the water would ruin their plans, because a row of rockets shot upward in a mighty whoosh of air and a series of shrill whistles. She craned her neck and, despite being pummeled in the face by pellets of rain, waited for the first detonation.

One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three—

Millions of white stars burst into the sky high above her, so high that she was sure the whole planet could see them. More rockets launched. Row after row of rockets, missiles, and shells raced upward. There were so many that it didn’t seem possible.

What Ella Mae saw in the sky was too incredible to be anything but magic. The shells exploded and sparkling curlicues hung in the air as if they’d been spray-painted on a blank wall. Sparkling branches grew and forked, stretching and dividing, until the separate limbs and curling twigs united to form an enormous tree of dazzling white. It glittered in the sky, impeding the rain and burning the wind with unyielding light and heat.

“It’s beautiful!” Ella Mae cried.

She’d chosen the tree symbol because it was an ageless connection between her people and the world. The ash tree was a recognizable conduit of magic. It had renewed their power for centuries. By creating an enormous image of a tree for Nimue’s followers, Ella Mae was sending a clear message. She was offering them sanctuary.

“Show them the way, Ty!”

Ty gave her a thumbs-up and joined hands with Aiden. Another round of pyrotechnics spiraled and shrieked into the night. In what sounded like artillery fire, hundreds of shells blew open and a thousand leaves of blue, green, and gold appeared on the fading limbs of the white tree. They were so dazzling in their brightness that it was like witnessing the birth of a new galaxy. The entire tree glowed and throbbed like a living thing, and Ella Mae knew that no one who saw it could look away.

The wind and rain had completely ceased. Ty’s tree had seized the attention of Nimue’s people. Now Ella Mae knew
for certain that people, not nature, were responsible for the monstrous storm. She could only hope that some of the people who’d joined Nimue out of fear or because they believed she could change their lives for the better, would see the invitation in the sky and accept the sanctuary Ella Mae was offering.

“Here comes the finale!” Ty roared, and flashed his electric smile. He released the last round of rockets, which flew skyward in lackadaisical spirals.

Ella Mae waited for more theatrical booms and a kaleidoscope of blinding light, but these bombs were almost gentle. They opened like flowers over the fading leaves, appearing to merge with them. Crimson, orange, and fuchsia fused with the other colors, creating a rainbow of flickering shapes above Lake Havenwood.

The shapes morphed into winged insects. Butterflies. Hundreds upon hundreds of starlit butterflies.

Thrilled, Ella Mae made her way to Ty’s side. She reached for his hand while Aiden took hold of her other hand. The three of them stood there looking up as the cloud of butterflies drifted directly over the grove. The message couldn’t have been more obvious.

In glimmering light and color, the butterflies were giving Nimue’s people a chance. A chance to be forgiven. And to find peace.

And then they began to fall.

Their descent was slow and deliberate. They didn’t wink out like spent matches, but faded, one by one, forming a path in the sky above the boulder wall leading to the grove. Even when the last butterfly was gone, Ella Mae could still see them when she closed her eyes. The imprint of their light remained, and she was certain the message was echoing in the minds of Nimue’s people as well.

“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” she said to Ty in a voice choked with emotion. She then turned to Aiden. “This reprieve won’t last long. Nimue will be furious and is probably screaming orders as we speak. Time for phase two.”

Aiden grabbed Ty’s elbow and the two men sprinted to the base of the muddy trail, where they called to a group of people holding metal objects.

Ella Mae waited for them at the edge of the precipice. Puffs of gunpowder floated over the treetops like dragon’s breath and a veil of mist hid the surface of the lake from view, but Ella Mae knew that Nimue was down there. She suspected Loralyn and Hugh were as well.

As if in response, a wind swept up the mountain and shoved her with such force that Ella Mae reeled backward. She stumbled and was grateful to feel several hands reach out to steady her. Reba and Adelaide each slid an arm around her waist and stared out into the night.

“The wind’s returning,” Ella Mae’s mother said.

“Let’s see if our song lanterns can fly.”

Straightening, Sissy morphed into her headmistress persona and beckoned for a cluster of faculty members and students from the Havenwood School of the Arts and a dozen visitors from other states to move forward. Sissy had chosen each and every one of them for the fragile beauty of their singing voices. They’d completed their assignments hours ago and were now ready to help the rest of the team launch the second phase of Ella Mae’s initiative.

The next group of people were gifted in creating objects that could float or fly. For tonight’s event, they’d made several hundred winged lanterns that would ride the violent air currents. They’d travel in a wide arc and inevitably circle back to the source of storm. Once they were over the island,
the melody encapsulated in their mechanical hearts would be released and the haunting tune Ella Mae’s mother had brought with her from another time and place would reach the ears of all of Nimue’s followers.

The lanterns, which had been modeled after Dee and Kyran’s metal birds, looked as delicate as origami cranes. Their long, steel wings and streamlined bodies made them both durable and aerodynamic, and the LED tealight candles in their chests glowed like tiny stars. Ella Mae had gotten the idea to build the bird lanterns while visiting Dee in the hospital, and she was sorry that her aunt wasn’t there to see these exquisite music boxes fly.