Evermore (20 page)

"Emily, there's a woman here for you," she
said. "A Mrs. Stanley. She said you'd know what it's about."

Mrs. Stanley! Finally. "Adelaide, I must
apologize, but we have to leave."

"Does this have something to do with Lady
Montgomery's governess?"

"Yes."

"And George's—I mean, Mr.
Culvert's—absence?"

"Yes."

"Will you be all right? Will he?"

I laid a hand on her arm. She trembled.
"Everyone will be fine. Don't worry. Go and enjoy your ball. Dance
with all your admirers."

She wrinkled her nose. "I'm supposed to be
dancing with Bertie, but I feigned a sore foot. I had better not
dance with anyone or my falsehood will be undone." She kissed my
cheek. "Goodnight, Emily. Goodnight, Miss Chambers. Good luck and
be careful."

Celia and I collected our shawls from the
ladies' dressing room and met Mrs. Stanley down in the servants'
area out of the way of the busy maids and footmen.

"Bloody toffs," she muttered as she stormed
past us.

Celia and I looked at each other.

"They think I am not good enough to be seen
by them up there. I am no servant. I do not have to be shoved down
here with the scrapers." This last she said loudly as we climbed
the outside stairs to the street level.

The liveried footman standing at the bottom
of the main steps glared at her then bowed at Celia and I.

"Mrs. Stanley," I said, drawing her away
before she could rant at him, "how did you fare? You have the
counter curse?"

She grunted. "I got it. Come. It is time to
deliver it."

Celia instructed the footman to find George's
carriage in the line of coaches waiting to take their masters and
mistresses home. Drivers blew into their hands to warm them and
huddled in groups chatting with other drivers or footmen. We waited
until one of the carriages peeled off and circled Grosvenor Square
to come and collect us.

A few moments later, we were rubbing our
cold, gloved fingers together and traveling toward Mrs. Stanley's
house.

Celia peppered her with questions all the
way. Who would be there? What were Mrs. White's qualifications? Did
the counter curse have to be delivered in such a diabolical
method?

"Does
she
have to come?" Mrs. Stanley
asked, having not answered a single question.

"Of course!" Celia snapped.

"I want her with me," I said. I wanted George
and Louis too, but they hadn’t returned. If they'd found the
gypsies in time, they would have seen Mrs. Stanley fulfill her
promise as we'd hoped and would be on their way back to London. I
suddenly wished I'd told Adelaide where we were headed in case they
showed up at the ball. Never mind. It would probably all be over
before they arrived anyway.

We spent the entire journey going through the
words to the counter curse. I spoke them aloud over and over,
learning the subtle accents and nuances of the Romany language. It
had to be just right, Mrs. Stanley said. By the time we reached
Price's house, I had it committed to memory.

"Remember," she said as we
alighted, "Mrs. Seymour—Mrs. White—thinks you are delivering the
curse, although she thinks
you
are under the assumption that you will be
speaking the words of the counter curse, which of course you will
be doing." She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and lifted
her gaze to a window on the first floor where light edged the drawn
curtain. "It is best if you do not speak to her until after the
entire procedure is accomplished. You do not want to accidentally
mention that I am working against her. Not to her and not to Mr.
Price. It is best if he knows as little as possible. It is safer
for him that way. Understand?"

"I won't say a thing," I said.

"Nor will I," Celia said. "But I don't like
this."

"Then let's get it over with." I looped my
arm through Celia's and followed Mrs. Stanley up the staircase to
the small parlor. Leviticus Price sat in his usual seat by the
window. His glacial blue eyes met mine and he nodded a greeting.
"Nice to see you dressed for the occasion," he said. He did not get
up, as a gentleman should, although that could have been because he
was still too weak and not from poor manners. He did look
exceedingly pale, his skin almost the same color as his drooping
moustache and long beard. The only color in his face came from the
dark shadows beneath his eyes, like semi-circular bruises. The two
deaths he'd already suffered at the hands of Mrs. White had taken
their toll. From the look of him, another would certainly kill him
permanently.

Mrs. White entered from an adjoining room and
stopped short when she saw us. "You're here," she said simply.
"Good. We can start right away."

I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from
telling her what I thought of her. This was the woman who'd killed
Jacob, the woman who'd unleashed a demon and forced an evil spirit
to possess my friends. She was an obsessed madwoman wrapped up in a
homely package.

I hated her.

Celia's arm tightened around mine as if that
would stop me from speaking my mind. But she needn't have worried.
I would not jeopardize the task at hand. Not for all the anger
burning within me, not for the revenge I longed to get on Mrs.
White. Not for anything. Jacob's future came first. There would be
time for all of that later.

"All will be well, Miss Chambers," Mrs. White
said in the kind voice that I'd heard so many times. "Do not be
afraid."

"There's been a change of plan," Celia said,
letting go of me.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. White said.

"Celia?" I grabbed her by
the arms and shook her when she didn't answer me. "I
must
go through with
this."

"
You
don't have to do anything," she
said. "I'll do it. I'll speak the words of the counter
curse."

"No," I said. "This is my task."

"Your sister is right," Mrs. White said to
Celia, but she looked at Mr. Price as she spoke. "Tell her,
Leviticus."

"I've been up there," he said. His voice was
scratchy, raw. "Miss Chambers, it's a confusing place, dazzling.
The spirits speak to you, but you cannot yet understand them fully.
She can. She will be less confused and will complete the task much
faster than anyone else. I'm sure of it. The sooner she is done,
the sooner she can be brought back."

"I
want
to do it," I said to her. "I
need to see Jacob for myself. I need to...to say goodbye." That's
if he was still there.

Celia pulled me out to the landing. Mrs.
Stanley made to follow us but when she saw we weren't leaving, she
remained in the doorway where she could see us but not hear our
conversation.

"What if Mrs. White refuses to bring you
back?" Celia whispered. "How can we make her if she won't do
it?"

"She will. She wants to punish Jacob,
remember? How best to do that than keep he and I apart forever? I
in this realm and him...gone."

She shook her head. "I don't like it."

"Celia, I
want
to do
it."

Her nostrils flared and her mouth turned down
at the corners. She seemed to be battling to maintain composure. "I
know. Just come back to me, Em."

"Oh, Celia." I hugged her fiercely and she
held me for a long time. I felt her chest heaving as she fought to
control her emotions. I wasn't sure who was comforting whom.

"We should hurry," Mrs. Stanley said,
glancing back into the parlor. "She is growing restless. Do not
worry, Miss Chambers. Together we three will make sure she brings
your sister back."

I lay upon the sofa on Mrs. White's
instruction. I felt strangely calm. My heart beat steadily, if a
little fast, and my hands were clammy inside my long, white gloves,
but otherwise I felt relaxed and ready. I was going to see Jacob
and end his torment. That was the greatest incentive I knew to
chase away fears.

Mrs. White opened a medical bag on the floor
beside the sofa and removed a syringe. I closed my eyes. I didn't
want to see her fill it, nor did I want to see Celia's reaction.
She was terrified I wouldn't come back. I understood her terror,
but there was nothing I could do about it. This had to be done. I
didn't entirely trust a single person in that room except her, yet
I had no choice but to go ahead.

Besides, I wasn't afraid of dying. If I never
woke up after delivering the counter curse, I wouldn't regret going
through with it. My only regret would be leaving Celia, Cara, and
Louis behind because I knew they'd be sad.

Something cool touched my arm just below my
shoulder. "Now, this will only sting for a moment," came Mrs.
White's soothing voice. "Then you'll drift into sleep."

"No!" cried Celia. "I've changed my mind.
Stop!"

My eyes flew open and I saw Mrs. Stanley
holding my sister back. Tears streamed down Celia's face and
dripped off her chin. "It's all right," I said as the needle bit
into my skin. I gritted my teeth so as not to wince. If Celia
thought me in pain, she would do anything to stop it.

"You have to let her go," Mrs. Stanley said
to her. "This is so important to our future. You know it is."

"She'll be all right," Mrs. White said in her
calm, even voice as she concentrated on injecting me with the
lethal substance. "I will see to it she's brought back again."

"How can I believe you?"
Celia said between her sobs. "Emily!
Emily
!"

I tried to smile, but I felt too tired to do
even that. My limbs grew heavy and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I
welcomed sleep as it folded me into its embrace.

"
Murderer
!" It was the last thing I
heard Celia say. The last thing I heard anyone say.

I was drifting through a tunnel like a boat
on a tide. It was dark, but a light shone up ahead. It grew
brighter and brighter. I heard voices but couldn't make out any
words. I think someone called my name but I might have been
mistaken. The voices grew louder. They were shouting. My name rose
above them all. I recognized the speaker.

"Jacob!"

"Emily, go back," he said. "Go back! You
don't belong here. It's not your time. Go back!"

"I can't. Not yet." The counter curse. I
began to chant the words I'd learned in the carriage. The light
swirled above my head now, a huge whirlpool of brightness. A hand
reached through and I knew it was Jacob's.

I faltered on one of the more difficult words
and suddenly lost my place in the sequence. I had to start over.
There was no time to berate myself. I began the chant again just as
Jacob pulled me through the pool of light. His strong arms dragged
me to my feet and held me against him.

"Hell, Emily! What are you doing here?"

I didn't answer him. I kept chanting.

He cupped my face and peered into my eyes.
"Counter curse?"

I nodded.

He kissed the top of my forehead and shouted
to one of the other spirits to get ready in case the lost ones
returned. I glanced around, trying to take it all in yet not break
the memorized sequence of strange words. We appeared to be in an
enormous room. It had walls and rows upon rows of seats like a
lecture hall. Well, what did I expect? It wasn't called the Waiting
Area because it was a bath house.

But it was virtually empty. Aside from Jacob,
there were only a handful of other spirits. Some were more
transparent than Jacob, others mere outlines. They all looked
terribly weak and weary.

Jacob held me as I spoke the final word. I'd
done it! I'd said it perfectly, right down to the accent. I smiled
up at him, relief flooding every part of me.

"It's over," I said. "We've caught Mrs. White
and now you can cross. The Otherworld is safe."

Jacob pressed the heel of his hand to his
forehead and stepped away. He doubled over as if in pain. One of
the other spirits cried out and the faintest one disappeared
altogether.

"Emily." Jacob shook his head but the action
made him stumble. "Emily, you must go back."

"No. Not yet. I need to say goodbye to you
properly."

"Emily...that wasn't the counter curse. They
tricked you." He fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"Jacob!" I crouched beside him, my own head
spinning, my stomach roiling. I wanted to be sick. "What have I
done?"

He reached for me and held me close. "It's
not your fault. Emily...go. How...?"

I shook my head, but that triggered a sharp
pain slicing above my right eye. I buried my face in his shoulder
and tried to regain a sense of myself, tried to think. It was so
hard. Shards of ice ripped through my mind, tearing my thoughts out
by their roots. All except one: Mrs. Stanley had double-crossed me.
That meant she and Price were in on it too. There was no one except
Celia to force Mrs. White to bring me back to life, and she could
not to do it alone.

I was going to die.

A sudden blast of wind whipped around us,
raking my hair loose from its elegant arrangement, whipping at my
skirt with violent howls. It was so strong and I suddenly felt so
weak. I would be blown away. More spirits disappeared, their cries
lost in the tempest.

Jacob held my face in his hands and I knew
how much effort that simple action took. I could hardly move. My
head was a riot of pain and my body exhausted as I battled to
stay.

"No, Emily, please not you." A single tear
tracked down his cheek. "I don't want this for you."

"There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry. I'm so
sorry."

"It's not...your fault." He kissed me. His
lips were light as air but for the first time, I could actually
taste him. I had never tasted anything so delicious, like honey and
chocolate, but better. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead
against mine. "You are my soul mate, Emily Chambers. I love
you."