Never Again (36 page)
“Bernard was enraged that I’d undone her death. I’d usurped his power with my own, and he couldn’t tolerate that. Two of his goons held me and he made me watch while he slit her throat. She bled out in minutes, and I couldn’t save her again. He made sure of it.”
Gray wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. If he could find a way to flatten Bernard again, he would. He felt approval from the dragon, too. It was an odd feeling to embrace the creature he’d spent so much time trying to ignore. “That’s when he cursed you, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “Only he didn’t know that I’d already set a plan into motion to escape. I was wearing pajamas and cashmere socks, but I managed to get us both out of there. I found her a place to stay—a nunnery built on neutral ground. Then I tracked down everyone I ever knew to ask for help.”
He squeezed her tighter, feeling the renewal of his own guilt. How could he have turned her away? He didn’t think he’d ever forgive himself for ignoring her pleas of help.
“You helped me,” she said softly, as though she could read his thoughts. “You came back for me. You’re an honorable man, Gray. And even honorable men can lose their way.” She lifted her head and stared at him. “The important thing is that you find your way back.”
“You gave me that,” he said. He kissed her, his heart full, and even his dragon snorted with approval. “You know, maybe we should keep the whole dragon thing quiet for a while. Until I figure out how it all works.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
Gray looked down into his wife’s face, to the acceptance and tenderness she so easily showed him. “And everything you are, Lucy, is safe with me.”
“You look like shit.”
Ant jerked up and met the pain-filled gaze of Happy. “You should talk, Sassy Mouth. Seen a mirror lately?”
She grinned, and his heart skipped a beat.
He leaned forward and pulled up the covers, tucking her in more securely.
“Where am I?”
“Guest room at the Guardian’s house. You ask that every time you wake up.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “You’re here every time I wake up?”
“Yep. There’s nothing good on TV.”
She snorted. “So you’d rather watch me?”
“Best show there is,” he said easily. “You’ve got that drooling-in-your-sleep thing down pat.”
Horror entered her eyes and her little pink tongue flicked out. Then she realized he was teasing. “So not cool.”
The rocking chair he sat on had ceased being comfortable, but he wouldn’t leave her side. So many people had abandoned her, and she needed to know that she was worth sticking around for. She looked too pale. Her life was literally draining away, and there was nothing he could do. Every day the shadows deepened under her eyes. She couldn’t eat, and the only fluids that stayed down were Ember’s crazy tea concoctions.
Happy was dying.
And his heart was breaking.
“It’s okay to let me go,” said Happy. “I’m all right with taking a dirt nap.”
“That makes one of us.” He leaned forward and brushed her hair back. “You’re not gonna die.”
“I have to. If I don’t, Lucy will stay cursed. And the world needs her.”
“The world needs you, too.”
“Uh-huh.” She rolled her eyes. Then she grinned at him again. “I was right about you bein’ a magical, huh?”
“Yep. I put a gold star on your chart an’ everything.”
“Yeah? How many stars I got on that chart of yours?”
“Just the one.”
She laughed, but the joyful noise turned into a vicious cough. Blood dribbled from her mouth, and Ant grabbed a towel from the nightstand and pressed it to her lips. After a moment, she ceased trying to hack up a lung, and fell back against the pillow. “Hard to breathe. My lungs feel squishy.”
He couldn’t bear that she was in so much pain. But he hid his worries behind a smile, digging into the pocket of his jeans. “Hey, Sassy Mouth. I got something for you.”
“Is it shiny and expensive?”
“Nope.”
“Well, give it to me anyway.”
He pulled the bracelet out. He’d been playing around with his new power and he’d created the jewelry from strands of grass and flower petals, binding it with the gossamer of a spider’s web. Green was the main color, and glittering between the thin strands were dots of pink, purple, white, and blue. He slipped it on Happy’s thin wrist. “This here’s a promise band.”
“You made that up.” She studied it. “It’s beautiful, Ant.”
“Just like you are.”
“I think you get a gold star deducted from your chart for being a liar, liar, pants on fire.”
“You are beautiful, Happy. Not just on the outside, but the inside. Your heart is the most beautiful thing about you.” He cleared his throat. “So. I promise to always be your friend. To be there when you need me. To give you a free hug any time you need it, and to always give you a shoulder to cry on.”
She stared at him, her eyes filled with longing. “All that for me?”
“All that and more.” He got on his knees next to the bed and gathered her frail, cold hands in his. “If you’re still interested, later, as in three, maybe four years, there’s a romance upgrade that’s part of the package.”
“You won’t wait for me,” said Happy. “It’s, like,
eons
away. And let’s not forget that I’m kinda probably not gonna be alive.” Her eyes narrowed. “Are you just doin’ this because I’m biting the big one?”
eons
away. And let’s not forget that I’m kinda probably not gonna be alive.” Her eyes narrowed. “Are you just doin’ this because I’m biting the big one?”
He groaned and pressed his face into the covers. Then he raised his head. “I wouldn’t lie to you, not even on your deathbed. Which you’re not. Have some faith.”
She looked at him, and he saw in that gaze the wisdom of a woman who understood things about life he never would. It rocked him, that look. She smiled so sadly, and said, “I believe that you believe.”
“I’ll take it.” He kissed her knuckles. “Now rest.”
Her eyes fluttered closed, and when he was sure she was asleep, he got to his feet and left the room.
Trent waited in the hallway for him.
“I think I know how to save her,” he said. “And if it works, Lucy’s curse will be gone, too.”
Hope leaped inside him. He grabbed Trent by the shoulder. “How?”
“Well, you’re probably not gonna like the first part,” said Trent warily.
“Which is . . . ”
“You know,” he said, wrenching free of Ant’s grasp and backing up a step. “The part where she has to die.”
Chapter 15
Harley Banton sat in his living room and cried. On the coffee table was an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s, photo albums filled with pictures of his family before Lara died, and a loaded Colt .45.
What he’d done twenty years ago haunted his every waking moment. Not even the whiskey helped no more.’Cause of his sins, he’d lost Lara. And now his boy was gone, too.
Weren’t nothing left living for.
Guess he could give the Moorelands some kind of peace. He supposed folks should know the truth of it all.
He took the pen and the notebook paper he’d scrounged from a kitchen drawer.
Dear Taylor,Twenty years ago, I killed your daddy. Him and Lara took up, you see. After Ren was born, she tol’ me what she done. She wanted a baby, and I couldn’t give her one. Your daddy liked her a lot. ’Bout the time he made Ant with your mama, he made Ren with my wife.
Harley’s hand trembled, and he stopped writing long enough to take a pull from the whiskey bottle. The burn took some of his edge off, and he started writing again.
I didn’t want your mama to suffer none, so I wrote the letter sayin’ he’d left with a Rackmore witch. Seemed like the thing to do. I can see now it was worse for y’all, and I’m real sorry.Lara found out what I done. All the light went out of her. She wouldn’t hold Ren no more, she stopped eatin’, and she cried all the time. She couldn’t live with my sin, so she took all them pills. I guess I killed her, too.’Bout five years ago, Ren found Lara’s suicide letter. I kept it from the sheriff ’cause she confessed my shame an’ her own. Then he kept goin’ on about bein’ a magical. I didn’t know Edward had Wolf blood, but somehow Ren found out about it. He turned into a man I didn’t know. Collecting magic objects, sneaking around, lying. He wanted more than the world could give him, than I could give him, just like his mama.It don’t matter to me that Ren came from your daddy’s seed. He was my boy, and I loved him best I could.Sincerely,
Harley Seymour Banton
Harley reread the letter, and figured it told the tale just fine. He picked up the pen, and added one last line:
P.S. I buried your daddy in my basement.
Harley finished off the Jack. Then he picked up the Colt and put the barrel to his temple. For the first time in his miserable life, he felt like he was finally doin’ something right. He cocked the hammer.
“Lara,” he whispered.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Chapter 16
Lucinda sat on the bed next to Happy and held her hand. Ringing the bedside were Gray, Ember, Ant, Taylor, and Trent. Rilton was downstairs with other folks, handling all the questions and worries and giving away a lot of tea and scones. “You sure about doing this, Happy?”
“I’m gonna die either way,” she said. “So, it’d be way cool if I died for a few minutes instead of forever.”
“Yeah,” said Lucinda. “I like that better, too.”
Happy glanced at Ant. “I . . . want Ant to hold my hand when I . . . go.” She looked at Lucinda anxiously. “Is that okay? What if I . . . don’t return? Will you be mad?”
“No,” said Lucinda. “I love you.”
“Love you back.”
Lucinda’s worry filled her up like cement, hardening with every damned breath. The idea was for Happy to drink poison. When she died, Trent would use his necromancy magic to grab hold of her soul and keep her long enough for Lucinda’s curse to break. Then Lucinda would use her thaumaturgy to heal Happy.
The risk, of course, was that Happy had to die long enough for the curse to break. Too short, and it could renew itself, too long and Happy couldn’t be brought back. And it all depended on whether Lucinda could use her power the right way.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I didn’t mean to break my promise—you know, about leaving the nuns. But the Goddess asked me to. She said you would understand. She said you would need me, and when I got here, I should tell you”—Happy frowned, obviously trying to remember the exact words—
“Give the heart to the dragon, so he can protect all that is all, in this world and the next, nevermore.”
She nodded. “You’re the heart, and he’s the dragon,” she added. “That was the important part.”
“Give the heart to the dragon, so he can protect all that is all, in this world and the next, nevermore.”
She nodded. “You’re the heart, and he’s the dragon,” she added. “That was the important part.”
Lucinda glanced at Gray. He looked slightly dazed, as though Happy’s revelation had unlocked another secret inside him. “Thank you, Happy. You’re a brave girl.”
“Actually, I’m terrified.”
“That’s my cue,” said Ant. He turned to Trent. “You don’t bring her back, and you’re headed to the underworld next.”
“Dude. I got this.” Trent sounded confident without any swagger. He looked at Lucinda. “Just because I kept it secret doesn’t mean I don’t take my gift seriously. I can do it.”
“Okay,” said Lucinda. She slid off the bed and joined Gray, who put his arm around her. She grasped his waist and held on tightly.
Please let this work,
she prayed.
Please.
Please let this work,
she prayed.
Please.
Ant took her place on the bed. He didn’t content himself with just holding Happy’s hand, though. He put his arm around her and tucked her in close.
“It works quickly, chil’,” said Ember as she handed Happy the teacup. “Drink it all. You’ll go right to sleep.”
Happy nodded. The cup trembled in her hand, but she managed to down the liquid in three big gulps. Ember took the cup and put it on the nightstand.
“How long do you think . . . ” Happy’s words slurred and faded. Her eyes drifted closed and she fell against Ant’s chest.
He held her close, his gaze latched on her face.
Her breathing slowed . . .Then Happy gave one long hush of sound . . . and died.
Trent stepped forward, his eyes focused on the space above Happy. Ant gripped the girl tightly, and Lucinda saw the tears in his eyes. Her own grief hovered inside like a trapped bird.
Trent lifted his hands and sparkling gray magic emitted from his palms like glittery smoke. It swirled and twisted together, creating a bubble. When the large globe was finished forming, Lucinda could see the pure white light contained within.
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