Forever (26 page)

She
blushed. “It’s apparently a family trait.”

“You
should keep it.”

“I think
I have to.”

He
laughed and squeezed her hand again.

Theo was
right. They soon met up with a large group of onlookers, who were really a
group of Fae. It was easy to spot the one in charge. He was
tall—impossibly tall—towering over seven feet, with a voice that
carried easily. His arms and hands were like giant mallets, and he flung them
around as he gave orders to his guild.

“It’s
Strong Arm,” Jared said in surprise. “I thought I destroyed his guild long ago,
but leave it to him to rebuild again. Think metallurgist—or, um, you
would call them blacksmiths—but Fae.”

To his
side, she saw Constance. Next to Constance, she saw a face that made her cry
out. “Charlie!” Mina ran forward, pushing through the crowd.

Charlie’s
eyes lit up. He flew off the podium and ran to jump into her arms.

“You’re
safe,” she cooed, struggling under his weight. “And you’ve grown!” She laughed
and put him down. Nan and Brody were on Charlie’s heels, and Nan was the second
to wrap her in a hug. “Oh, it was terrible. The Reapers grabbed us at the pier
but…” Nan stopped talking when she saw Jared. “You!”

Brody
leaped in front of her and grabbed Mina, pulling her behind him.

Jared’s
jaw ticked with anger, and he squared off in front of Brody. “Take your hands
off of her, before you lose them.”

“No,”
Brody growled, doing his best to be intimidating.

“Brody,
wait.” Mina looped her arm through his and met his eyes, pleading. When she
turned to look at Jared next, she swallowed. His gaze was locked on her arm
holding Brody’s. He was about to let someone have it. Mina quickly let go and
stepped in front of Jared. “He’s okay.”

Now it
was Jared’s turn to pull her behind his back and keep her out of Brody’s reach.

“I won’t
let you hurt her,” Brody threatened. He crossed his arms over his muscular
chest.

“I’m not
going to… ever.” Jared’s voice dropped low.

“If you
do, I’ll kill you. Whatever it takes.” Brody eyed Jared, and something passed
between the two boys. A silent conversation.

Jared
squinted.

Brody raised
his chin.

A minute
passed.

Mina
sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Agreed.”
Jared laughed. “I can live with that.”

Nan
pushed past Brody. “Are you the evil one?” She jabbed him in the chest, and he
stepped back with a look of chagrin. But it was clear he approved.

Mina
couldn’t help but smirk. “Evil never won.”

She
couldn’t say anything else, because Strong Arm pointed at the gate. More boats
and ships filled with warriors came through. A small dragon suddenly hovered
over her shoulder, nodding to her.

Anders.
Faithful through everything.

“I swear
those are not my men,” Jared answered.

“But how
is it staying open so long?” Ever seemed miffed. “We only had window of a few
seconds to get through.”

“I froze
the moment in which the gate opened.” Jared shrugged like it was no big deal.

“They
just keep coming,” Nan said, her voice full of panic.

Mina
looked at Jared and then back at the gate, her face filled with anger. “Then we
have to finish what you started. We have to destroy the gate—even if it
means we destroy the bridge. We can’t let any more come through.”

Jared
seemed surprised at her answer. “There’s that siren side of you!”

He ran up
to speak with Strong Arm who agreed. He divided his and what was left of
Constance’s Godmothers, and they headed out toward the bridge.

Ternan’s
ship was still trying to retreat, under constant fire from the helicopters. A
few of the Godmothers helped cloak it again, and it went invisible.

Kino rose
up from the shoreline, limping, and shook the water from his hair. A boat of
gnomes paddled furiously toward him.

“Godmothers!”
Strong Arm pointed, and a few broke off to rush down to the shoreline to meet
the oncoming hoard.

Kino crawled,
barely able to get away from the gnomes. Brody rushed down and put Kino’s arm
around his neck. He half-dragged-half-carried Kino up to them.

“Siren.”
Strong Arm’s voice only had one volume. “Are you still with us?”

Kino,
visibly shaken, was covered in cuts and bruises. Mina didn’t think he could
fight anymore.

“Can you
bring the bridge down?”

Kino
followed his gaze to the Golden Gate Bridge and paled. “Not on my own I can’t.
I may be good, but I’m not that good.”

Charlie
rushed forward out of Nan’s grasp and stood by Kino. He pointed his thumb
toward his chest and back at the bridge.

“Charlie!”
A strange mixture of pride and fear coursed through Mina. She’d seen him use
the power of his siren gift—his heritage—before, but so much was at
stake here. She just couldn’t make herself believe he was safe. She ran to him
and fell on her knees in front of him. “I love you, Charlie. Please be
careful.”

Charlie’s
lip quivered, and his eyes turned glassy. He gave Mina a thumbs up and grabbed
Kino’s hand.

“You
protect him, Kino,” Mina stated loudly. “Or I’ll do more to you than make you
jump overboard.”

“Aye,
aye, Princess.” He swung Charlie’s hand in his own and looked down. “Hey,
little Prince, are you ready to see what a real siren call can do?”

Charlie
just grinned crookedly at him. They turned and saw that Strong Arm’s guild had
incapacitated the boat of gnomes. One of the Fae gestured for Charlie and Kino
to get in the boat. Taz rose out of the water and used a large wave to propel
them toward the bridge.

“We need
to clear the bridge.” Constance said. Anders spun around excitedly above her
head. “Warn any of our Fae to get away.”

Anders
darted through the air toward the bridge. Jared’s hand slid into Mina’s, and
they watched as her little brother and Kino were thrust into the main
battlefield, right into the stream of gnomes coming through. Her heart felt
like it would stop beating any second.

Kino
leaned down to whisper to Charlie. A few seconds later, a shriek ripped through
the air, causing their own little boat to move backward in the water. A portion
of the bridge crumbled.

Charlie
and Kino let forth blast after blast and began to knock down the Golden Gate
Bridge piece by piece. It crumbled and fell onto the gnome ships passing
through, sinking them.

Fighter
jets returned and started firing into the water at Charlie and Kino.

Mina
screamed, but then Kino turned and directed a blast at the jet, sending it into
a tailspin. The pilot ejected himself before the jet crashed into the water,
where it skimmed the surface and took out another of the gnome ships.

Another
fighter jet whizzed by, and Jared turned to Mina.

“Your
turn.” He flickered in and out.

“I can’t
see him. How can I control him?”

“You
can.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently lifted her hand up toward
the jet. “I never wanted to admit it, but you are one of the most powerful Fae
I’ve ever met. If you only believe.” Mina couldn’t pull her eyes away from
Jared’s. She searched for the lie but only saw truth. He believed in her.

Mina
swallowed and turned her thoughts toward the jet. She felt the Fae power gather
around her and channeled it to the approaching aircraft.

Jared
growled when she hesitated. “You have to protect them!”

Kino was
trying to fend off a helicopter, so Charlie focused on taking down the rest of
the bridge by himself. She had to do it and do it now. The fighter jet fired
it’s guns, and a line of bullet spray ripped into the water to take them out.

She
whispered to the pilot. “You can’t see! Pull up.” Immediately, the fighter jet
veered to the left and peeled off. She breathed a sigh of relief as he missed
her brother. That was easier than she’d expected. “Stay away,” she told him.

Within
minutes, the bridge was destroyed. Mina looked at the strangely empty skyline.
Her heart grieved that the landmark had been annihilated.

She
stared at the water, awed at all of the destruction that had happened because
of her cursed life.

The
Godmothers rushed to help any injured they found.

Even
Brody and Nan left to help, unwilling to stay idle.

Mina, on
the other hand, could barely stand without Jared’s support. He held her close,
as helicopters continued to zoom over them on their way to the bridge. Many
were news copters. She could only imagine the stories that were being played
out on screens across America. “It would take a miracle to erase the damage
we’ve done.”

“You’re
right,” he admitted. “This is beyond altering the memories of a girl and her
friends.”

“Or
school.”

“Or
school,” he repeated.

“Then
what can we do?”

“Who
knows where Annalora is at the moment—or how many she’s working with? For
now, here, we try and protect the innocent Fae. We police our own and try to
win the trust of the Fae that are here. Or we find another big enough gate and
force them all back into the Fae world.”

“That
seems a little harsh.”

“My reign
of terror, followed by my parents’ impaired judgment—that was harsh. I
made all these Fae leave. I could force them to come back.” He flickered again,
and this time, she felt him disappear and come back.

She
pulled from his embrace “Jared?” Mina grabbed for him, but her hands went right
through him. He tried to speak, but she couldn’t hear him, which meant Taz
couldn’t sustain him much longer.

One
minute he was there—Mina felt a warmth encompass her body, and her heart
burst with love in a final goodbye—and then he was gone.

Mina
stared at the empty beach and the spot where Jared had stood. She wanted to
scream her fury into the sky. She sat on the sand and looked back at the water.
She waited. For what, she didn’t know.

It was
almost sunset when Nan and Brody found her. Ever and Nix came up behind her
too. Both of them had been bandaged, and Nix complained about whoever had made
the poultice for his wound.
 
Mina
felt relief at seeing her friends still alive, safe and sound. The omen hadn’t
taken them. But she could tell by the way Nix walked and Ever limped that they
hadn’t completely escape its fury.

Others
gathered on the beach. It seemed that the worst of the war was over.

What was
left of Teague’s and Annalora’s armies had run and were hiding in the hills.
Apparently, with the destruction of the gate and without their leaders, they
didn’t know where to go. They would have to hunt them down another day.

Mina
watched as Charlie met his grandparents, and he immediately hugged them, not
letting them go. Ternan leaned down and lifted the boy up, holding him high in
the air.

It seemed
that everything would probably be alright for everyone. Except her.

Chapter 33

“We did
it! We won,” Ever cheered as she came and stood by Mina. She didn’t even
attempt to hide her wings.

“If you
call this winning,” Mina answered. She looked across the Bay at the flashing
lights and mob of rescue vehicles.

And
Annalora was still out there, plotting.

“Well, we
didn’t die, so yeah,” Ever glanced at Mina and her face turned solemn. “What’s
up?”

Taz Clara
rose out of the Bay. Water trailed over her skin, dripping off in rivulets. She
moved closer to the shore but didn’t step onto the land. “I’m sorry. I held
onto Jared for as long as I could, but he just slipped away from me.”

“Ohhh,”
Ever whispered.

Every
part of Mina wanted to scream and yell at her for not trying harder, but the
sea witch did not deserve her temper. Taz hadn’t plunged the knife into
Teague’s chest. Mina had. All Taz did was give her more time with him. She
should have tried to bind him to the Grimoire despite his argument. But he
would’ve ended up hating her in the end, because he’d once again be a prisoner.
She couldn’t bear to do that to him.

She felt
adrift without him. It ached to admit it.

How could
she ever smile again?

Until she
heard it.

Thump… Thump… Thump.

And she
remembered. Mina pressed her hand to her heart, and a tear slid down her cheek.
He would never truly be gone, because she loved him.

Their
small group on the beach started to grow in size as a meeting of the guilds and
sirens coalesced on the shore.

“We have
done all we can, for now.” Strong Arm’s voice rumbled deeply. “We must leave.
It is no longer safe for us. Constance, your guild is welcome to join mine
until yours is rebuilt.”

Constance
nodded her head in agreement. “Thank you for the offer, Strong Arm. I think we
will take you up on it until this boils over.”

She
turned to Nan and Brody. “I think it’s best if you two head home as soon as you
can. Don’t mention that you were anywhere near here. I’ll send someone up to
help smooth over your parents’ memories, so you can try and slip back into your
normal lives. I heard that with the school destroyed, you’ve been on a long
break, so at least that bit should be easy enough.”

Just
hearing the news about her school being on break filled Mina with relief. She
knew the Godmothers would take care of Nan and Brody. Their parents wouldn’t
even remember that Nan and Brody had disappeared. They had a chance at
regaining their normal lives, and she was happy for them. As happy as she could
feel with all these circumstances.

“Do we
have to leave now? What will happen to Mina and Charlie?” Nan ran over to Mina
and gave her best friend a hug. “I feel like I just got her back.”

“They
will be taken care of,” Constance assured her.

“Will we
see them again?” Nan asked.

“That
will be up to them, but it might be better if you forgot all about them for the
time being.”

“No!”
Brody and Nan answered together.

Mina was
pleasantly surprised at her friends’ determination.

“That
will never happen,” Brody looked over at Mina and smiled, his eyes crinkling
ever so softly. Mina tried to offer a half-smile back.

Constance
sighed. “Very well, but there’s no time to waste. The sooner you leave, the
better.”

Nan
reluctantly pulled away from Mina’s side, and Brody came over to give her a
hug. His embrace offered a familiar warmth and comfort. Mina sighed sadly as
she struggled to keep her emotions at bay and her will from washing over him.
Just because she was afraid of being alone didn’t mean Brody was hers to keep.

He gave
her another squeeze before he pulled away and reached for Nan’s hand. Mina
realized in that moment that maybe she was never meant to
have
a happily ever after.

Maybe,
they didn’t even exist.

Mina
watched as Brody walked hand-in-hand with Nan up the shoreline and to the
sidewalk before they took off at a jog for the car. She prayed they’d have a
safe journey.

“Thank
you, sea witch, for your help,” Constance said.

Taz Clara
remained, standing regally in the water. She smiled and brushed her hand in
front of her in a mock bow. “I didn’t help to gain the favor of the Godmothers,
but of someone much more important.”

Constance’s
lips pinched together, and Mina picked up on the tension between the two women.
“I understand. I’m sure the effort will be repaid.”

“I hope
so,” Taz said as she slowly sank into the bay and disappeared.

The siren
ship Serenity pulled as close as they could, and Reef and Genni brought the
ship’s tender into the shore to pick them up and ferry them out. Nix, Ever, and
Mina quickly sat down as the sirens swam them out to the ship. As soon as they
were aboard, Ternan and Winona set sail.

Taz rose
out of the water, her eyes black as night as she called forth a deep rolling
fog to hide them. The sea witch raised her long green arm in a parting
farewell. The sirens sailed out into the deep ocean, needing time to tend to
their injured and find another way back to the Fae plane. The farther away they
sailed, the less the damage seemed, until Mina could barely see San Francisco.

It all
just felt like a horrible dream.

Charlie
had been unwilling to leave Kino’s side since the battle. Kino had already
dubbed him the Sea Prince. Winona and Ternan struggled to hold their emotions
in check as they stood before their grandson. Winona’s face was washed with
tears, and Mina swore she saw Ternan’s beard tremble with pride.

Charlie
stared wide-eyed at the scars along his grandfather’s arms. His mouth opened
but then firmly shut.

Ternan
kneeled down, his eyes shining bright. “There’s no need to fear, my boy. You
won’t hurt me with your gift. As the siren king, I—” His words were cut
off as Charlie tossed himself into his grandfather’s arms.

Ternan
held his hand out to the side, and her grandmother stepped into his arms and
joined in the family reunion happening on deck. Mina met Winona’s eyes and
simply nodded.

Maybe she
should have joined them, but something held her back. She couldn’t have
explained it, other than she felt too much was left undone.

She
turned to look at the ocean and asked Ever, “When can we get back?”

“We just
left. Why would you want to go back?”

“Not to
the pier—to the Fae plane.”

Ever bit
her lip as she tried to think. “I’m not sure. We may be stuck here for a
while.”

“That
can’t be. We have to get back,” Mina’s heart told her something was wrong.

“There’s
another natural gate, but it may take a while to sail there,” Kino answered as
he came to stand by them. His face was covered with soot, and his arm had
numerous cuts.

“Where?”
Mina demanded.

“Well,
the biggest one is the Bermuda Triangle.” He rubbed the back of his head and
winced when he brought his hand away with a bit of blood on it.

“We don’t
have that much time.”

Annalora
was out there somewhere, and Mina didn’t know what else she had planned. But
she would not let that stuck up gnome destroy everything.

“Well,
you could always go yourself and use the seam ripper, but what’s the hurry?”

“Annalora.
I feel like I’ve missed something obvious. I don’t like not knowing what’s
going on over there. There’s… there’s something big happening, and I can’t tell
what it is.”

Ever
faced Mina. “Let’s use the seam ripper. I’ll go with you. I trust your
instincts.”

Saying
goodbye was difficult, but Mina knew her grandparents and Kino would watch over
Charlie as they sailed toward the Bermuda Triangle.

None of
them belonged here. She didn’t even know if she belonged here, but they would
all find each other again on the other side.

Ever and
Nix stood directly behind Mina as she pulled out the seam ripper and opened the
gate between worlds. But something
was
wrong. The gate didn’t glow like it had before. It opened into a dark swirling
vortex of wind, and sparks of lighting shot in and out of the gate.

“What’s
happening?” Ever yelled as she held up her hands to deflect the flying debris
stirred up by the gate.

“This is
what I’ve been feeling,” Mina answered. “I think the gates are closing.” She
stared at the gate with mixed emotions. For a few years, this had been all she
wanted, to close the gates between the worlds and to stop the Fae from coming over.
Now, if it closed behind them, it would trap the sirens and her brother in the
human plane forever. And it would also mean she’d never see her friends again.

“But why
are they closing?” Nix yelled as he held onto Ever’s shoulders to try and
steady her.

Mina,
unafraid of the wind and the vortex of darkness, walked toward it and listened.
She let herself hear and feel what was coming through the gate. “There’s not
enough magic to keep them open anymore.”

Mina took
a step back before running toward the gate and jumping through. Coldness rushed
through her body, followed by prickly pain. When she landed, she rolled through
rough grass that scratched at her arms. Mina sat up and watched the gate close
slowly.
Come on, guys.

Ever and
Nix came flying out at the last second.

The gate
closed, and the wind stopped. They were left in utter silence.

Ever was
the first one on her feet. Her mouth dropped open, and her hands flew to her
mouth in horror. “Holy snickerdoodles on toast.”

Mina got
up and looked at the Fae plane. The trees were brown and withered, the grass
had dried up to a crusty brown, the river beds were dried, and fish lay dead in
the mud.

Nix
turned away and covered his eyes. As far as they could see, the magic and life
in their world was fading away.

“What’s
going on?” Ever cried out in despair.

Mina
knew. She could feel it deep in her soul, and she answered. “The Fae plane is
dying.”

“How can
that be?” Ever whispered. “We only just left.”

“We have
to get to the Fates and fast,” Mina answered. “They were last in the swamps.”

Nix
looked around at their surroundings and ran up a small hill. He placed his
hands on his hips and turned around to look at them. “I hate to tell you this,
but I think we’re
in
the swamps. Or
what’s left of them.”

Mina
turned full circle and then ran up to where Nix stood. Sure enough, he was
right. The valley lay in the distance, and she recognized the mountains, so
that meant the Fates should be here. She turned and spotted the large willow
tree. And she took off running.

It was
easier to cover the distance when the swamp was dry as a bone. She kicked up
dust as she leaped over dried shrubs. She slowed when she came to the withered
and dead willow tree. She should have been stopped. A guard or Reaper or
someone
should have tried to stop her,
but there was no one. She reached forward and gently pushed the withered
hanging branches to the side. She stepped under the boughs.

Her
breath caught. Captain Plaith kneeled in front of the bodies of the Fates, who
were laid out along the ground. Dried flower petals had been scattered across
their formal outfits. The Captain of the Guard turned to look at Mina, his eyes
red-rimmed and his face pale and covered in a fine coat of dust.

“Captain
Plaith, what happened?” Mina asked, staying as far away as she could from the
grieving man.

“How dare
you enter here!” He spun on his knee and pulled a weapon out of his robes to
attack.

Mina held
up her hand in panic, and his blow froze mid-air. All she wanted him to do was
stop, and he had.

His eyes
looked about wildly, his teeth gnashed, and spit came flew out of his mouth. “I
know you! I remember you from the maze, but you look different. How are you
doing this? With the death of the Fates, there shouldn’t be any magic left in
our world.”

“Well, maybe
it’s because I don’t come from your world,” she said coldly. “Now, I’m going to
ask you again. What happened?”

“Poison,”
he said. “An offering came from the gnomes, and it was poisoned.”

Mina
closed her eyes and felt a pang of deep sorrow. It seemed that the all-powerful
Fates were not immune after all. The whole family fell to poison. “What can we
do?”

“There’s
nothing to do but prepare for the end,” Captain Plaith answered. “The reason
the Fates are so strong is because they are the conduits of all power that
flows through our plane. That link has been broken. If Prince Teague were here,
he could save us, but I fear he doesn’t care about his people anymore.”

“He’s
dead,” Mina answered solemnly. She released Captain Plaith from her hold.