Lemon Pies and Little White Lies (31 page)

“And limit myself to ruling a remote island populated by fishermen?” Nimue scoffed. “No thank you. I have far loftier goals. But we could still see my plan through together. It would be a richer victory with you by my side. You’re the only family I have left.”

Fiona looked away. “I can’t be a part of your plans, Nimue. If you’d been willing to mend some of the things you’ve broken, I’d join you in a heartbeat, but it’s clear that you’re determined to walk this dark path. I will not follow. Your way leads to unhappiness and ruin. For others. And for you.”

Nimue frowned. “Can’t teach an old dog, can you?” She gestured at Ella Mae. “After I’m done with her, you’ll have no purpose. What will you do?”

“I’ve spent half of my life wallowing in regret,” Fiona said. “I’m through with that. I’m ready to go home. I’m just sorry that you’ll never know what it means to call a place home. You always believed you were better than everyone else. It’s why the other children avoided you. It’s why you’ll never ease the loneliness that has taken over your heart.”

Fury washed across Nimue’s face. “I will wake the Merlin and then I’ll never be lonely again!” She raised the sword over her head and continued to yell at Fiona, but Ella Mae stopped listening. She sensed the butterflies hovering at the edge of the light, surrounding them.

Swarm!
Ella Mae commanded.

A massive shadow of shifting wings descended from the sky, blotting out the moon and stars. Streams of butterflies and moths poured out from between the trees. Ella Mae had never seen so many at once. Without a sound, they formed a cyclone around Nimue’s body, landing on her shoulders, her hair, her face. They crawled all over her, fluttering their wings to confuse her and massing around her eyes in an attempt to block her sight.

Nimue screamed in anger and thrust out a hand. Arcs of water vapor appeared, knocking the delicate creatures away from her face. Fuming, she lifted the sword over her head and spoke words in a language Ella Mae didn’t recognize. Immediately, hail began to fall. The icy pellets struck the butterflies and drove them to the ground. Nimue began to laugh, and the hail increased in size. The louder she laughed, the harder the hail fell, killing hundreds of butterflies at a time.

Without warning, Fiona lunged forward.

“
No!
” Ella Mae cried, but too late.

Nimue cupped her hand and a baseball-sized chunk of ice appeared in her palm. She hurled it at Fiona, striking her shoulder. The older woman grunted but didn’t stop.

“Don’t!” Ella Mae tried to grab Fiona’s arm, but she scooted to the side and kept reaching out for Nimue.

The hailstorm ceased as Nimue concentrated on attacking Fiona. She tossed big pieces of ice at Fiona, hammering her in the chest, the neck, and the head. She hit Fiona again and again, the ice making violent thuds upon impact. After
a direct shot to the chest, Fiona dropped to her knees. She’d clearly had the air knocked from her lungs, but Nimue showed her no mercy. Forming an especially jagged lump of ice, she shrieked with rage and hurled it at Fiona. It smacked against her forehead and Fiona fell sideways—slowly, like a capsizing boat.

Ella Mae screamed. Not out of fear, but out of anger and helplessness. After weeks of meticulous planning, she was going to fail. She had no way to fight this woman, and once Nimue had what she wanted, she would continue on her twisted crusade.

“Enough!” Nimue bellowed. “It’s time for me to get what I came for!”

The bodies of a thousand butterflies covered the clearing. Some had rent wings. Some had crushed abdomens. Others shuddered and tried to take flight but were too broken to fly.

The sight of them made Ella Mae’s anger burn so brightly that heat filled the center of her chest. It felt like a sun had replaced her heart and was pumping liquid fire through her veins. Hot rays bloomed across her torso and raced down her legs and arms. And then, the hand bearing the clover mark began to glow.

Heedless of Ella Mae’s transformation, Nimue resumed her stance over Hugh’s unconscious body and raised the sword, preparing to plunge the blade between his ribs.

“You will not hurt him!” Ella Mae shouted. Her voice boomed across the clearing, reverberating with strength and authority. She thrust out her glowing hand, aiming it at Nimue, and willed the heat surge forth. A beam of pure white light burst from the clover mark on her palm. Ella Mae gasped, reveling in both the feelings of release and the consuming sense of power.

Nimue reacted immediately. She swept the sword in an
upward arc, shielding herself in green light and blocking Ella Mae’s attack just in time. She then angled the sword across her body and grimaced as the green and white lights collided in a starburst of color.

“As soon as you’re done playing around, I will kill him!” Nimue cried triumphantly. “Once he’s gone, I’ll finish off dear Fiona. Then Reba.” Her dark eyes glittered with pinpricks of green, and her skin and hair had taken on a green pall. Her mouth twisted into another animalistic snarl, making her look more like a goblin queen than the Lady of the Lake. “After Reba, it’ll be your aunts, your mother, your friends, and anyone else foolish enough to speak your name after this night.”

“Be quiet,” Ella Mae commanded loudly. “Do you see the mark of the clover, Nimue? Do you see the light pouring out of it?” She took a step closer. “
That’s
power. And do you know where it comes from? It comes from the love I feel for the people you would carelessly destroy.
Love
is power. You could never succeed because true leaders put their people first. Their happiness hinges on the happiness of others.” She took another step. Her light beam grew wider, pushing the green back into the sword.

Nimue’s brow was beaded with sweat and her arms trembled with exertion. She was losing her grip on the sword.

“No,” she moaned. “It’s not possible.”

Ella Mae continued moving forward. The heat flowing through her was so intense that it filled her eyes. Her vision blurred. All of her senses were being taken over by the power welling inside her. Once, she thought she heard Reba screaming at her to stop. She didn’t. She couldn’t. She had to end this, so she coaxed every last ounce of magical energy to travel through her. Even when the green light was gone, she pushed one more time, completely emptying herself.

Again, she thought she heard Reba calling. She heard the words “a trick!” and “she needs Hugh alive!” but Reba’s voice sounded so far away that Ella Mae couldn’t focus on it.

Ella Mae took a final step. She saw the sword clatter to the ground. Its blade was now the color of moonlight and the hilt had turned white. The moment it left her hands, Nimue flew backward off the rock as if a colossal fist had struck her in the belly.

Nimue’s fall was the last thing Ella Mae saw. The light filled her eyes and a buzzing noise roared in her head. The ground tilted, and her body, which felt as weightless as a dandelion seed, was unable to hold her upright.

Suddenly, her cheek was pressed against the cool earth and a woman was whispering her name. She sounded scared. Ella Mae wanted to tell her not to worry. She wanted to tell her that everything was all right and that she just needed to sleep for a little while. She wanted to tell her that she could hear the song her mother hummed when she was alone in her garden. The melody was very faint, but Ella Mae was certain that if she followed the butterflies floating just beyond her field of vision, they would lead her to a place where she could rest. A place of silky grass and sweet smells. A quiet, sun-dappled place. A sanctuary.

•   •   •

When Ella Mae opened her eyes, she knew that something about her had changed. Something significant.

She was in her own bed, dressed in a clean cotton nightgown, with Chewy fast asleep at her feet. Her curtains were drawn, but she could tell that it was daytime by the way the fabric glowed with a soft, yellow light.

Ella Mae’s mouth and throat were incredibly dry, and she was glad to find a glass of water on her nightstand. Trying
to sit up so she could drink, she let out a small groan. Chewy was awake in an instant. He rushed to the top of the bed and licked her cheek multiple times. Ella Mae buried her nose in his fur.

“I’m happy to see you too, boy,” she croaked, and reached for the water glass.

As she gulped the water, she scratched Chewy’s neck and watched dust motes dance in a shaft of sunlight. The light reminded her of the island in the center of Lake Havenwood. And of Nimue.

She looked at her hand, expecting to see her clover-shaped burn, but the skin of her palm was unblemished. Her mark was gone.

“You’re awake,” said her mother from the doorway.

Ella Mae held out her hand. “Have you seen this?”

Her mother nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. Chewy pranced back and forth between the two women, thrilled to have his favorite people sharing the same space. Ella Mae’s mother gave him a quick caress and then took her daughter’s hand in her own.

“What happened after I passed out?” Ella Mae asked.

“Reba brought you home. Others went back for Fiona, Nimue, and the three priestesses. Everyone is alive. Bumped and bruised, but alive. Nimue has taken Marin’s place in the bamboo cage, and Fiona has Marin’s sealskin.”

Ella Mae was pleased to hear that Marin would never again be forced to do Nimue’s bidding.

“What about Loralyn?”

Her mother sighed. “When Reba carried you to the boat, Loralyn was gone. She decided that helping you was more important than tracking Loralyn down, so she didn’t look for her.”

“Poor Opal. She must be beside herself.”

“She’s using every resource at her disposal to search for Loralyn, and she’s grateful to you for trying to rescue her daughter.”

Ella Mae couldn’t imagine how Loralyn had managed to disappear, but she was still too groggy to think clearly. Resting her shoulders against the headboard, she closed her eyes. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but I have to know. Where’s the sword?”

Her mother’s silence was reply enough. “By the time our people reached the island, both the sword and Hugh were gone. No one’s seen Hugh since that night.”

Ella Mae opened her heavy lids and looked at her mother. “
That
night?”

“Sweetheart, you’ve been asleep for almost three days. After what you’ve been through, it’s no surprise.” Smiling, she reached out and tucked a strand of Ella Mae’s hair back behind her ear. “But the storm is over. The sun is shining and it feels like summer outside. When you’re up for it, Reba and I will settle you in a shady spot in the garden. You can watch Chewy and Miss Lulu play and see all the butterflies . . .”

Ella Mae touched her palm and then met her mother’s troubled gaze. “I can see them, but I’ll never call them again. My gifts are gone.”

A tear slipped down her mother’s cheek. “Reba tried to stop you. She knew that you were pouring out all you had.”

“I couldn’t stop,” Ella Mae said. “Faces were flashing through my mind against a backdrop of white light: friends, family, Hugh. The people who are precious to me. I couldn’t stop until I knew Nimue would be powerless to harm them or anyone else.” She wiped the tear from her mother’s cheek. “It’s okay, Mom. Magic has always made my life so complicated. Maybe it can be simpler now. Maybe I won’t miss it.”

There was a soft knock on the doorframe, and Reba entered the room carrying a crystal vase stuffed with iris, bachelor’s button, blue hydrangea, larkspur, periwinkle, and purple verbena. “It’s good to hear your voice,” Reba said, placing the vase on Ella Mae’s dresser. “You scared the tar out of me. I thought I’d lost you.”

“Just the Clover Queen part. The rest of me is fine.” Ella Mae gestured for Reba to sit on the other side of the bed. “Where’s Nimue?”

Reba managed a tight grin. “The Elders decided to frame her for the crimes she made Officer Wallace, er, Marin, commit. Officer Wallace and I planted evidence in a rental cottage near the lake, and then she led a bunch of cops to the site. Wallace brought Nimue to the station and arrested her on suspicion of murder. Officer Hardy, who returned to duty yesterday, was very eager to interrogate her. After she told him that she was the Lady of the Lake, he decided she needed a thorough psychiatric evaluation. She’s been transferred to a high-security psych ward in Atlanta so that the experts can determine if she’s fit to stand trial.”

“Do you think she’ll end up in prison?”

“A padded room is more likely.” Reba was clearly delighted by the idea. “She told Hardy he couldn’t keep her locked up because she needed to wake Merlin. She keeps telling him to find Hugh—that Hugh is supposed to become the Merlin and that he’ll make sure she’s released.”

Ella Mae grew quiet. “What if she spoke the truth the night of the storm?” she asked after a time. “What if I played right into her hands? She wanted me to sacrifice myself for others, and I did. I poured out my magic to stop her, just as she predicted. That sword is more powerful than ever, and whoever has it could be even more dangerous than Nimue.”

Reba patted Ella Mae’s hand. “No need to worry about
that. Hugh’s downstairs. He brought these flowers and begged me to tell you two things. First, his eyes aren’t gray anymore. And they’re not, I checked.” Reba plucked a cornflower from the bouquet and placed it in Ella Mae’s palm. “They look like this. Bright blue. Like they used to be.”

Ella Mae gazed at the wildflower. Once, her heart would have leapt at the very thought of Hugh, but it beat somnolently in her chest. She was too weary to feel much of anything.

“What’s the second thing?” she asked Reba.

“Hugh has the sword,” Reba said with a radiant smile. “He’s come to give it to you.”