Authors: Vivi Anna

Portal (Nina Decker) (18 page)

BOOK: Portal (Nina Decker)

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Suddenly my father stood up. “Nina,” he said. “Look at what you’ve done to the garden.”

“I know, Da,” I said.

“Wait till your mother sees this. She’ll be furious,” he said.

I choked back a sob. “Come on, Da.” I took him by the hand and led him to his room.

When I returned Severin said, “I’m sorry about your mother.”

I couldn’t talk about that yet. Not now at any rate. “Let’s get you stitched up,” I said.

I found my medical bag and had Severin lie on his side on my bed. Taking him to the ER was out of the question. I washed out the spot where the crossbow bolt had entered his body. On the opposite side of his abdomen I saw the silver tip about to break through.

“You’re lucky. It’s a good place for this wound,” I said.

“I don’t feel that lucky,” he muttered.

“You’re going to feel a lot worse,” I told him.

“Why?”

“The tip is barbed. I can’t pull out the shaft yet, it’ll tear you up.”

“Oh.” He was sweating and running a fever.

“What helps silver poisoning?” I asked.

“Getting the silver out.”

“Smart ass.”

Finally he said, “St. John’s Wort.”

“Seriously?” The insanely expensive and trendy supermarket nearby sold St. John’s Wort and a number of other herbal remedies in pill form. I still had a few in my medicine chest. I thought they might help my father with his condition.

I had him take a few pills then gave him a wooden spoon to bite down on. He took the pills but refused the spoon.

“Have it your way,” I said.

Then I pushed down on the crossbow bolt. I kept pushing until the silver head burst through on the other side. I was able to snap it off with garden shears. Then I pulled the wooden bolt minus the barbed head out of his body. Then it was matter of gauze, sutures, needle. After my time in the ER a gaping hole in a man’s side was no big deal.

After it was done we were both exhausted. I let him have the bed. His blood was all over it anyway. I found the couch and curled up on it. I wiped away the last few tears and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 23

I woke up surprised to be in my own house. I had to remind myself I was no longer in Nightfall. There were no guards waiting outside my room. I was back in Vancouver.

I checked myself in a nearby mirror. My wings were as incandescent as they were in Nightfall. My skin was still bone white but it didn’t glow. Still I couldn’t go to the grocery store looking like this. I found some of my pre-made glamor portion on the coffee table and choked it down. My wings folded up and vanished. My skin took on a normal flesh color.

The smell of bacon and pancakes wafted to my nose. I went into the kitchen and found my father cooking breakfast. He had a smile on his face.

“Good morning N’Lina,” he said using my fae name.

“Good morning, Da,” I sat down at the kitchen table. “What do you remember?”

“I remember you like waffles for breakfast,” he said. “But I couldn’t find the waffle iron so I made pancakes instead. And bacon. And coffee.”

He’d forgotten it all; Nightfall, the war, my mother. I envied him.

I heard a moan and Severin shuffled in. I had left him a pair of my father’s pants and one of his shirts and that was what Severin was wearing now even though it was a little too small for him.

“N’Lina,” he said. “You have a boy over? You didn’t tell me.”

Severin sat down beside me. “How is he?”

My father served him a short stack with two pieces of bacon. “Eat up young man,” he said. “I’m pleased to meet you. I don’t believe we’ve met. That’s a very nice shirt by the way.”

Severin cocked his head at me and said, “Ah, I see.”

“It’s like nothing happened as far as he’s concerned.”

But something had happened.

A few days later I went outside to check on the portal. It was still buried and crossed with iron. Severin joined me. He’d been staying at the house to heal.

“You did a good job,” Severin said. “Sorry I couldn’t help more.”

There were no more tears for my mother. I was cried out for now. Inside I listened to my father whistling while he made himself some tea.

“How do I tell him?” I asked. “Sooner or later he’ll ask about my mother.”

“He won’t remember anything you say to him for long,” Severin said. “And soon it won’t matter anyway.”

I knew what he meant. Soon my father would reach the end. He was in the final stages of being fae-struck.

Severin cupped my face in his hands. “Nina,” he said. “Don’t think about any of that now. Give yourself a break. Forget for a little bit.”

Then he kissed me. And I let him lead me up to my bedroom, undress me and make love to me. We lay in each other’s arms for hours without speaking. It was enough.

Afterwards, I found my dad sitting in the garden.

“Isn’t it lovely?” he asked.

It looked like a hurricane had been through there. But I didn’t point that out.

“Yes, Da. It’s beautiful.” I sat down beside him.

“It’s not your fault, Nina,” he told me.

“What isn’t?” I asked only half listening.

He said, “I knew what I was doing. So did your mother. We both knew what would happen to us but we went ahead. The really strange thing we did know why at first. Then you were born and it all made sense. And we were overjoyed.”

I couldn’t speak or move. His words cut to my very soul.

“You have to forgive yourself,” he told me. “You have to forgive yourself for being born. This isn’t your fault, it was our choice. And we would do it all over again.”

My heart leapt at the possibility that he was becoming lucid again. Maybe he could fight this after all.

Then his face looked blankly out to the garden.

“Isn’t this lovely,” he muttered. “It’s truly, truly wonderful. We must tell your mother.”

He was gone again and I led him back into the house to the study where he could paint which he loved to do.

“I can’t wait to show your mother,” he said.

“I know.”

“You think she’ll be here soon?”

“Everything will be all right, Da.” I kissed him on the top of his head. I said the words but didn’t feel them. Our portal was closed but I didn’t fool myself into thinking that the fae wouldn’t find another one to open.

And when they did, I knew they would bring the fight to me. And I had to be ready for it.

BIO

From an early age, Vivi loved to make stuff up. Just ask her mother. Now she gets paid to do just that. Author of more than 12 books, including the award winning Valorian Chronicles from Harlequin, Vivi has plenty of stories to tell. An avid reader, talker, walker, and movie watcher, Vivi’s always on the look out for the next big thing. A lover of teen horror films, Vivi also writes screenplays and hopes to one day be the next Wes Craven. And just to confuse issues, she also writes YA under the name Tawny Stokes. Speaking of books, she reads mostly YA, urban fantasy, horror, and some thril
lers. You can find her often procrastinating on twitter. If you find her there, she will help you procrastinate as well. Did she mention that procrastinating is also one of her hobbies?

@authorViviAnna

http://www.vivianna.net

MORE VIVI ANNA TITLES AVAILABLE

Nina Decker series
:

GLIMMER

DAWNING

PORTAL

Blackthorn Wolves series
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BAD TO THE BONE

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF

BAD MOON RISING

Valorian Chronicles
: