A Knight of the Sacred Blade (18 page)

Ally rolled her eyes. “And that’s going to be a pain.”

Simon waved a free finger. “Never turn down free food. Besides, your friend Bill the valedictorian…”

“Simon,” said Katrina.

“Your friend Bill will be there,” said Simon, not missing a beat. “After that, we can tell you about your big graduation present.”

That caught Ally’s attention. “My what?”

“So, I think you can help clean the old house this afternoon,” said Simon. “It’s not as if you have a job.”

Ally scowled. “That’s no reason. I applied at three dozen places. There’s simply no jobs available right now.”

Simon nodded. “So you’ll have plenty of time to help tidy up. Besides, we can order pizza after we finish, have a little picnic behind Grandma’s old house.”

“Simon!” said Katrina. “Pancakes and pizza in the same day?” 

“Cool!” said Lithon.

Simon spread his hands. “Rewards and punishments, dear, rewards and punishments.” 

“You’re a historian, not a psychologist,” said Katrina. She sighed. “All right. Fine. Pizza tonight.” Lithon grinned and finished off his apple. “Just don’t blame me when you have to get a stronger blood pressure medication the next time you see the doctor.”

“Just this once won’t hurt, dear,” said Simon. “All things in moderation, right?”

Katrina did not look convinced, but she nodded.

Mary stuck her head into the dining room. 

“Oh, don’t worry, you can interrupt,” said Katrina. “We’re not talking about anything important. Just my husband’s long-term health, that’s all.”

Mary bit her lip. “Um…okay. Are you going away tonight?”

“This afternoon,” said Simon. “We’re going to go clean up my mother’s old house for a potential buyer, but you don’t have to come if…”

“Oh, I’ll come!” Mary did a little hop. “It gets dark and lonely here when you all leave. And it’ll be nice to go outside for a bit. Oh! I almost forgot. Breakfast is ready.”

“Well!” Simon snapped his laptop shut. “Then by all means, let’s eat.”

They sat down around the kitchen table and began eating. Simon let out a little sigh of pleasure as he devoured a slice of bacon.

“Mary,” said Katrina. “This is very good.” Lithon wolfed down his stack of pancakes and started on another. 

Mary grinned, and Ally felt some relief. Maybe Mary would pull out of the depression after all.

###

Images shot through Ally’s mind, mingling with the growl of the car’s engine. She saw a castle burning, smoke billowing from the towers, dark things circling in the sky. She saw an old man with two swords on his belt. A door of dark stone carved with runes of binding appeared before her…

Someone elbowed her in the ribs. “Hey. Wake up. We’re here.”

Ally blinked, yawned, and came out of her doze. “I’m a teenager. I need my sleep.”

Katrina snorted. “Only for another year and a half. So use that excuse while you can.” The car’s tires squealed as she pulled into a driveway. “And we’re here.”

Ally glanced over her shoulder. “Before Dad, too.”

Katrina laughed and put the car into park.

The large white house stood in the midst of its overgrown lawn, its paint peeling, its windows curtained and dark. A driveway led past a spacious back porch to a garage. The backyard sloped away, leveling out before a patch of woods. Ally got out and stared at the small forest. 

“Weird, isn’t it?” said Katrina. She leaned against the hood. 

“Those woods?” said Ally. “Yeah. Here in the middle of the city. I’m surprised someone hasn’t cut them down and built a gas station or something.” 

“There might be a reason for that,” said Katrina, her voice quiet. 

Ally looked at her. “Are you okay?”

“What?” Katrina shook her head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just…a lot of memories here. A lot of memories. Simon and I came here a lot when we were still dating.” Her arm twitched. “And we met you and Lithon here for the first time.”

Ally blinked. “You did?” She had never heard this before. “When was this?”

“It was…” Katrina turned as Simon’s car pulled into the driveway. “We’ll tell you later. It’s something we both have to tell you.” 

Ally grimaced in frustration. “All right.”

Simon got out of the car, eyes fixed on the house as Mary and Lithon got out of his Focus’s back seat.

“You okay?” said Katrina.

“Yeah,” said Simon. “I guess so. Are you okay? You…came out of this rougher than I did.”

“I’m fine,” said Katrina. She smiled. “Not all the memories are bad. Remember the cold pizza? And the couch?”

Simon grinned. “Oh, yes. Definitely.” He gripped Katrina’s shoulders and kissed her. Lithon made a gagging noise and tucked a pair of mops under his arm. 

“Everyone’s a critic,” said Simon. “Okay. Let’s decide who’s doing what. I get to supervise, of course…”

“Dad,” said Ally.

Simon rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll do the upstairs bedrooms.”

“I can do the bathrooms,” said Mary. 

“Okay,” said Simon. “Katrina, you can,” Katrina gave him a look, “you…um, you can do as you think best.” He grinned. “Ally. You want to mow the lawn?”

Ally looked at the thick woods behind the house. “Sure.” 

Simon blinked. “I thought you hated mowing the lawn.”

“I do,” said Ally. She glanced at the woods. “I want to think about some stuff, though.”

Simon shrugged. “If it means I don’t have to do it, then suit yourself.” 

###

Ally shut off the mower and wiped sweat from her forehead. She wished she had worn shorts. She stepped away from the mower and tugged at her damp, sticking shirt. Good thing Bill wasn’t here. His eyes would have been riveted to her chest.

She pushed the lawnmower up the hill and into the garage, wincing at the heat. The musty air inside seemed to ripple. She saw the sunken woods behind the house through a dusty window. 

An odd itching tugged at Ally’s brain. 

She strode outside and stared at the woods. They looked green and shady and quiet, no different than any other woods in the Midwest. Yet why did they tug at her mind? 

Maybe she just needed exercise. Tonight she would go to the gym and run ten or twelve miles. Perhaps that would cure the odd moods she had been…

“Ally!” 

Mary stood on the broad back porch. “Hey! You done with the bathrooms already?”

Mary made a face. “Already? It’s been two hours. Oh my God, do you know how hard it is to clean up ten years worth of dust? And that toilet…man! I don’t think anyone’s flushed it since your grandma moved out.” She squinted. “You look sweaty.”

Ally laughed. “It got hot out. And that old lawnmower’s like a furnace. You could have cooked breakfast on it.” 

“Your mom told me to make some lemonade,” said Mary. “Want some?” 

Ally grinned. “Sure!” She jogged up the stairs. Mary had set up a pitcher and some glasses on a cardboard box. Ally dropped into a faded old lawn chair, poured herself a glass, and took a long drink. “I could use a shower.”

Mary wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. Your Dad totally stinks.” She leaned forward. “Don’t take this personally…but…he’s not in very good shape.”

Ally burst out laughing. “Oh, God! Don’t do that when my mouth is full!”

Mary giggled. “No wonder your mom rides him so hard about the food.”

Ally looked at her and smiled. “Yeah.”  Mary looked happier than Ally had seen her in a long time.

Mary sipped her lemonade. “What? What’s so funny?”

Ally shook her head. “Nothing. You’re just…it’s…” She sighed. “You just seem…better than I’ve seen you in weeks. Healthier. Happier. That’s all.”

Mary shrugged. “It seems like a bad dream lately. You know what I mean. The last few months. Nathan.” She shook her head. “Nathan. God. I can’t believe I was such a moron.” 

“Well,” said Ally. The woods kept drawing her eye. “You know better now.”

Mary half-smiled. “Yeah. A lot better. I wish I didn’t always have to learn things the hard way.” 

“Yeah. I’m doing a lot better. But I’m still worried about you,” said Mary.

Ally rolled her eyes. “Not this again. I told you, I’m fine.”

Mary shook her head. “I don’t think so.” Her hair came loose, and she grimaced and started tying it back in a ponytail. “You have those bad dreams a lot. I can hear them. Remember how Bill used to say that you’d go psychic sometimes?”

Ally rolled her eyes. “Yeah. That was so annoying.”

“You do that a lot now, too,” said Mary. She fingered a lock of her hair. “You sometimes just sit and stare for hours. It’s…kind of scary.”

Ally snorted. “Mary, I’m fine.”

“You’re stronger than I am,” said Mary. “That’s why I’m worried. It’s…it’s like you’ve blocked off part of yourself, locked it behind a door or something…”

Ally smiled. “For the last time, I’m…” 

Something buried deep in her mind lurched. 

“What did you say?”

Mary blinked. “It…I didn’t say anything.”

“No.” Ally shook her head. “You said something. What did you say?” 

“That…it’s like there’s something locked up in your head you won’t let out, like it’s behind a locked door or something,” said Mary. “I mean…you were adopted when you were ten, right? You don’t remember what happened before, you told me that. But what if it was something bad? Like something that happened to me, but only you don’t remember?”

Ally stood. “A door,” she whispered. “A door. I…remember. A door. There was a door.”

“Ally?” said Mary. She climbed to her feet. “You’re really scaring me.”

“It was in the woods,” said Ally. “We came through the woods.” She jumped the railing and walked across the yard. 

“Ally!” Mary hurried down the porch steps and ran after her. “Where are you going?” 

Ally reached the edge of the trees. She saw a half-overgrown path that led into the woods. “I remember this path. I was with Lithon. He was only a toddler. Mom and Dad were there…but they weren’t Mom and Dad yet.” She started down the path, Mary at her heels. It was cool and shady beneath the trees. 

“Where are we going?” said Mary.

The path ended in a small clearing. Ally sniffed at the air, her mind swirling. There was something here. She could not have said what. Something crackled just beneath the level of her senses. “Here. It was here.”

Mary grabbed Ally’s arm. “What was here?” 

“The door,” said Ally, staring into the air. “I remember. It was…stone, and carved. A symbol…an eye and a claw.” She shuddered. “I ran through the door. The light…the light was so bright. I was carrying Lithon. It slammed shut behind me. I couldn’t go back. I had to go back. But I couldn’t.” She blinked. “Mom and Dad were here. They were waiting. How did they know? Someone…someone had to tell…tell them…” 

“Ally?” said Mary.

A wave of dizziness surged through her. Ally blinked, reeled, and fell to one knee.

“Ally!” shrieked Mary. 

Ally licked her lips. A sheet of sweat poured down her face and soaked into her T-shirt. The world spun in a thousand circles around her. She closed her eyes, her breath panting. Her mind bulged and heaved, like something trying to claw its way free from a deep grave. 

“Ally.” Mary knelt besides her and hugged her. “Don’t scare me like this, okay? Just don’t. Please come back.”

Ally blinked her eyes open. “What am I doing here?” Confusion washed over her in a great wave. “Jeez. What the hell am I doing here?”

“I don’t know,” said Mary. She sounded downright terrified. “You…you started acting all weird, and then you wandered down here…”

“Yeah,” said Ally. She shook herself free from Mary’s arms and climbed to her feet. “I feel fine. Just…a little confused, that’s all.” She remembered the events of the last few minutes in perfect detail. She could not remember, though, just why she had walked into the woods. “Weird.”

“I’ll say,” said Mary. 

Ally sighed. “It was like a senior moment, but I’m a little young for that.”

“Not a senior moment,” said Mary, folding her arms. She still looked rattled. “An honest to God glassy-eyed psychic moment, like Bill always used to say.” 

Ally scowled. “Don’t say that.”

“Then what was it?” said Mary. “Was it a seizure? Do…do you have a brain tumor, or something?”

Ally shook her head. “No. No. I don’t think that’s it.” She stared at the center of the clearing, frowning.

“Then what?” said Mary.

“It’s…” Ally licked her lips. Her eyes remained riveted on the clearing’s center. “It’s…as if…I’m looking right at something, but I’m not seeing it. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I probably just dehydrated or something.”

“Yeah,” said Mary. “Right. We should take you to see a doctor.”

Ally shook her head and turned away from the clearing. She didn’t want to look at it anymore. It gave her a headache, for some reason. “I don’t need to see a doctor.”

“Whatever,” said Mary. “You do something like this again, wander off into the woods babbling about invisible doors or whatever, I’ll…I’ll knock you out and take you to the doctor myself.”

Ally burst out laughing. “That would be a sight.” They started out of the woods. 

“I’d do it,” said Mary. “I mean, you just stood there staring. I could sneak up behind you and conk you over the head.”

Ally laughed again. “You’re a true friend, Mary.” They climbed up the slope and into the backyard. The smell of fresh-cut grass hung in the air. Katrina stood on the back step, staring at them.

“Hey,” said Ally. “The yard’s done.”

Katrina frowned. “Where did you go?”

“Just out into the woods for a bit,” said Ally. Katrina’s frown deepened. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Katrina folded her arms. “Nothing.”

Ally sat down and poured herself a glass of lemonade. “You don’t look as if nothing’s wrong.” Mary opened her mouth. Ally glanced at her, and she remained silent.

“Did you see anything?” said Katrina. 

Ally took a drink. “No. Just some trees, a path, and an empty clearing. Do you want some lemonade?”

“Sure.” Katrina stared out into the woods, her lips compressed into a thin line. 

“Mom.” Ally leaned forward. “What’s wrong?” 

Katrina swirled her glass of lemonade. “You heard me and Simon talking about the memories, right?” Ally nodded. “Not all the memories are good. Not by a long shot.”