The Beckoning of Broken Things (The Beckoning Series) (26 page)

Daniel and I shoot from the wall faster than a bullet. We encounter a bizarre scene. Armando has some kind of machine gun trained on Rafe. Rafe’s hands are in the air. Sober is holding a bloody paw aloft, whimpering. Crazy Betty is fanning herself furiously with a scarf. Tom has his arms around her. Two cats with sparkling, jewel-encrusted collars are trembling in a nearby tree.

Eyes trained on Armando, Rafe shouts, “Your dog saved my life.”

“He’s good that way,” I yell back.

Armando’s head whips around. “Where did you two come from?”

Rafe disappears like a wisp of smoke.

“Over there,” I call.

“How did you get out?” Armando yells to Daniel, stunned.

“I just did. You know, now that you mention it, it was easy. I didn’t even have to think about it. Must be my alliance with the Light Rebel. Or maybe it’s because you’re so weak. Or maybe…” He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s because I’m the one who claimed El Demonio’s powers, not you.”

The old man splutters. His jaw drops. His face turns a purplish red. I wonder if he’s going to have a heart attack.

“You!” he shouts. He trains his machine gun on Daniel. “You miserable cur. You’ve been down there testing out your powers, haven’t you?”

“So it seems, Father, and guess what? They work just fine.” He reaches a hand out to the side and plucks a warped oak tree out of the ground like it’s a weed. “Want to have a go?”

“You’re no match for an M4. And I’m sure you remember I’m a sharp shooter with deadly aim.”

“Go for it,” Daniel says, with eerie calm.

“You can’t stop a bullet can you?” I whisper.

“Not sure. We’ll see,” he whispers back. “You’d better step away just in case.”

“I’m not leaving your side,” I hiss.
“I can take him with the Naked Truth.”

“What?” Daniel asks bewildered.

“Not me, naked. My sword. I named it the Naked Truth.”

“My gun is aimed right at your heart, dear
boy of mine,” Armando yells.

“Marissa,
move!”

“No!”

“Then you might be dead in a few,” he hisses back. “Now,
go!
”

“
Son, do you think that’s a good idea?’ Tom calls.

He always calls Daniel son.

“I’m going to adopt you, Marissa, no matter what,” Crazy Betty yells. “We’ll get through this together.”

Adopt me? Where did that come from?

“We need to see if my father is nothing but a windbag,” Daniel states. “I suspect that’s the case.”

“Ha!” Armando says. He peers through the gun sight. Takes aim. “It’s been great knowing you,
boy.”

The cock of a
different weapon echoes through the warped forest, with an odd, reverberating click. “Put the goddamned gun down, Armando.”

He whirls around to see Gabriela, holding a 12
-gauge shotgun up to her shoulder. She’s pointing the gun right at him. “I knew you’d come to your senses, woman. Put the gun down, and no harm will come to anyone.”

“Like hell I will. You drop your weapon.”

Boy, gone is the soft woman I met in the rainforest and in the mental hospital sanctuary. This gal is a firehouse.

“Now dear…I never intended to hurt our son. I was only trying to flush you out of hiding.”

“And I was only buying time. Drop your weapon.” She positions her finger on the trigger.

Armando slowly places the machine gun on the
ground and holds his hands up. “Easy, dear. We can work things out.”

“No, Armando, I don’t think we can. I have something else in mind.”

Armando shrugs. “You can kill me. Go ahead. That won’t stop the soul binding. I’ll just catch you next time around.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.
Just what do you think I’ve been doing while I was away from you?”

“I don’t know. Hiding, I’d guess.”

“I’ve been doing research. I’ve poured through every book, every article, every story there is on the matter of soul binding. There’s one way for a soul binding to be broken.”

Armando’s eyes narrow to slits. “No
, there isn’t.”

“Yes, there is.” Gabriela calls to me. “Light Rebel, do you have that thing I gave you?”

“I do, I have it in my pack.”
The pack that I have no idea where it is.

Rafe appears next to me and hands it to me. “Thanks,” I whisper, smiling at him.

He glares at me and blurs into nothing without saying a word.

I sigh.
Always more shit to deal with.
I fish around in the backpack and find what I’m looking for. “I’ve got it!”

“Give it to Armando.”

I saunter up to him and hand him the gold ring.

He looks puzzled. “What is this? It’s your wedding ring, isn’t it? You can’t just break a soul binding by returning a piece of metal.”

Gabriela smiles. “I can if it’s returned by a Light Rebel, and then I say this phrase.” She lifts her chin and a stream of forcefully delivered Latin rolls from her mouth. “Revoco ex hac ligare eam ad futura! I revoke this binding from here to hereafter!” Several pops ring out and tendrils of light, like slender cords, pull from Armando’s body, snaking back to Gabriela. “That feels better. I feel more like myself again.” She raises the gun once more. “And just in case that doesn’t work,” she says. “Boom!” She pulls the trigger and shoots her ex-soul bound husband clean through the chest.

His body twists and he staggers backwards from the force of the shot
, slamming into a tree. His mouth flies open. “What have you done?”

“What I should have done a long time ago. I’ve undone the soul binding and left you quite wounded. I
hope I didn’t kill you though. I thought you should suffer a bit in this lifetime. If you don’t bleed out, that is.” She drops the gun to her side.

We’re all stunned. I stand alongside Daniel, staring at the writhing sorcerer. His body stills
and slumps to the ground, whether from death or from faint.

Crazy Betty fans herself. “Lord have mercy! This is a day to end all days. Where’s my little pea pod? Mama needs some comfort.”

Buddy the Ghost Dog trots up to her and leaps into her arms.

“Gabriela, it’s good to see you again,” Tom says, sauntering up to her.

“Will you take this, please? I never want to see it again.” She thrusts the shotgun into Tom’s hands, shuddering.

“Mother,” Daniel says, striding toward her. “I thought I’d never see you again.” He wraps her in his arms
, and I’m sure two distinct sobs erupt from each of them.

I wander over to my dog. “Are you okay, pup?”

Rafe shimmers next to me. “He’ll be okay. The bullet didn’t break the bone. It just nicked him. Your dog is great.”

“He sure is. He’s a brave, brave dog.”

“I heard this strange buzzing and saw two dragonflies whizzing over my head. They kept charging my head. They didn’t seem like drones so I let them live. They morphed into Betty and Tom yelling, ‘Gun! He’s got a gun!’ When I turned around, Sober leapt against me, shoving me out of the way of a bullet. That’s when you arrived.” He pauses, working his jaw side to side. “I got so distracted by you, I forgot to put my bullet proof vest on. That can never happen again. I can never afford to be so careless. Even if I am in love with someone whom I’ll never have again.”

We both look over to Gabriela and Daniel.

“So,” Rafe begins. “Are you two back together again?”

I gaze into his summer sky blue eyes. “We have some sorting to do. Just like you and I have to do. I see now that there’s a way to break the binding. All I have to do is find a Light Rebel,” I say sarcastically. “That shouldn’t be hard. That and learn a little Latin.” I sigh.

“Do you think you’ll break the binding?”

“I don’t know, Rafe.” I finger a wound on his shoulder. “You should get that looked at.”

He smiles. “Nah. It will heal right up. I’m still full of the effects of you. Those should last me for a while.”

I return the smile. “This doesn’t have to be over, you know.”

“Honestly, no, I don’t know that. The only thing I know is that I can’t afford to make stupid mistakes. Even if this one was worth it.” He gestures back and forth between us. “I’m going to leave you be for a while.”

I frown. “Where are you going?”

“I just picked up a job. It’s a short one. I should be back before you know it.”

“
How in the world could you just pick up a job?”

He shrugs. “I live within a different sense of time.”

“I guess. Does it involve death and maiming? I know where you can get a good Maimer.”

He frowns and
regards me, puzzled.

“Never mind.
When do you have to leave?”

He looks up into the strange sky. “Oh, about now, I reckon.
” He gazes at me wistfully. “I’m going to miss you.”

“It’s not over.”

“We’ll see.” He leans over and bestows a tender kiss on my lips, pressing his warm hand against my cheek.

It fills me with thoughts of summer sunshine, warped worlds
, and red-haired folly. Then, in perfect Stealth Numen form, he fades from view and leaves me, lips parted, staring at Daniel, who’s glaring at me with the most wounded expression I’ve ever seen.

Gabriela smiles at me. She smiles at her son. “You two have some decisions to make. As for me, I get to rebuild my life - as
mine.
” She glances at Armando. “He used to be a good person. Maybe he will be again.”

“Do you think he’s still alive?” I ask, slipping beside Daniel.

“I see his chest moving. It’s subtle. But I’m a skilled healer.”

“I’m pretty good, myself,” Crazy Betty says, lumbering over to where we all stand.

“She sure is. She brought me back from death just a short time ago.” Tom strides over and stands next to her. “Is that what you want to do, Gabriela? Heal him?”

Their voices fade from my attention as I gaze at Daniel. He’s still wearing the “I am
so
hurt by seeing you kissing Rafe” expression. “Sorry you saw that.”

“It’s better to face things,” he responds, his mouth set in a crisp line.

“What I
really
wanted you to see,” I begin, with my own version of a pout forming. “I really wanted to show you my sword. Rafe showed me where to put it so it’s always by my side.”

“Good for you. Good for Rafe,” Daniel says in a wooden voice.
“He’s been good for you, I can see.”

I huff and plant my hands on my hips. “Daniel! Is this how our interactions are going to be?”

“Maybe,” he says. “It all depends on what you decide.”

“I’m not going to make a snap decision. Give me time.”

“Take all the time you need,” he says, gazing down at me. “It will be good for me to practice patience with you. But now might not be the time to take that time,” he adds, gazing beyond me. “You might just get a chance to use that sword of yours.”

My head whips around to see what he’s looking at. “Oh
, my God, what are those?” Two freakish beasts slink towards us, stalking us. They look like nightmare panthers. “What are those?”

“Baby Maimers,” Daniel says. “They’re always getting into trouble. They probably slipped out when we did.”

“Will you be upset if we kill them?” I mouth my power phrase and slip the Naked Truth from my side.

“Not at all. Maimers do their job really well, babies or not. They maim.” He crouches slightly. His hands curve into human weapons. “Everyone! Stay very, very still. Marissa and I have got this.”

I glance at him sidelong and smile.
At least he’s not whining about my power.

“Roger that,” Tom calls. “We’re here for backup if you need us.”

“Why can’t your mom just shoot them?” I stand, sword poised in front of me, eyes pinned on one of the baby Maimers.

“They’re not of this world, dulzura.
The bullets would just slide through them. Killing them requires magic skills.” His eyes are focused on the other one. “Wait for them to make a move. They’re just kids and don’t know quite what to do. The one on the right - the one you’re staring at - he’s the leader.”

“Okay,” I whisper.
“What does that mean?”

“He’s going to make the first move. Watch yourself.”

“I’ve got this.”
I’ve never faced a Maimer, but how hard can it be? I’ve got the Naked Truth.

My Maimer takes a slow, careful step.
Its lip curls back to reveal rows and rows of fangs.

“This isn’t good,” Daniel whispers. “It looks like his mama bedded a Shredder. See those teeth?”

“Yeah. How can I not see those teeth?”

“Those are the teeth of a Shredder. They’re poison. Do
not
let yourself get bit, whatever you do.”

“Gotcha. You do the same, then.”

You know how time does all these weird things sometimes? Like, you’re on a picnic and it seems like it stretches for days? Or you want to get out of a situation and it seems like the damn clock won’t move? This is one of those times. I’m standing here, facing possible death and destruction, while time seems to have stopped. And my mind wanders through the last couple of weeks. Being stuck in Brookstone because my aunt and sister thought I was crazy. Having to tell Dr. Beasley what I
feel.
Dealing with Dr. Bellows. Meeting and falling in love with Rafe. A warm, happy feeling thrums in my chest, thinking of him.
We’re not done,
I tell him silently.

If you say so.

The thought response pops into my head, making me smile. All the things I’ve felt and experienced. Being different. Being misunderstood. Being feared. Being desired. And you know what? I love being me. I love being different. I love being able to manifest whatever I need to out of my imagination. I
love
being a Light Rebel.

“Sweetness?”

Daniel interrupts my little reverie. “Yeah?”

“Just wanted to make sure you’re with me.
You seem preoccupied.”

“Still here.
Sorry, I was just appreciating being me.”

“I’d like you to be around to appreciate.
Stay focused.”

My Maimer takes another calculated step. Like
being flung from a Trebuchet, it leaps at me. There’s no more time to think and congratulate myself for growing. My arm shoots out, trying to connect with his heart. I miss, he swerves. I swirl around, keeping eye contact. The Maimer lunges again, all fangs bared. I focus, aim, and plunge my saber into the beast’s shoulder.

An unearthly snarl erupts from his throat.

“I think I made him mad, Daniel.”

“I think you’d better do something about that,” Daniel responds. He’s grunting from the exertion of hand to hand combat with his Maimer.

My Maimer leaps at me in a blur. This time, my sword connects with his abdomen. In one swift move, I wrench it up his ribcage, tearing his chest in two. The Maimer slumps to the ground and disappears with a silvery puff.

I glance over at Daniel. He’s holding his Maimer by the throat,
squeezing its windpipe, shaking it back and forth. Its claws are raking Daniel’s arms as it struggles to get free. Finally, it gives up the ghost and hangs like a rag doll in Daniel’s hands. Daniel flings the creature away from him and it disappears like the other, in a cloud of silver dust.

“At least there’s no mess to clean up,” I say, wiping my forehead with my free hand. I slip the Naked Truth back into its hiding place.
“Pretty cool how magical creatures decompose.”

“At least there’s that.”
Daniel eyes the blood oozing down his arms.

“Are the claws poisonous?”

“Sure hope not.” He looks around. “Where’d the others go?”

I look around, too. “I guess they all took off to deal with Armando or something.” I gaze at his arms, dripping with blood. “Those will need some tending. Don’t want you to bleed out before we’ve sorted things.”

“No,” he agrees. “Think you can have a go?”

“I can sure try. I got some practice undoing rat heads and goose heads.”

He frowns.

“I’ll tell you later.” I smile. “I’ve had all kinds of experiences while you were away.”

His mouth presses into a firm line.

“Not just those kind. Now hold out your arms.” When he does
, I imagine painting away the blood, restoring the ragged skin back to new and let his DNA finish the job. “There,” I say, once his skin is healed. I stroke his arms with my lightning-infused palms. “All healed.”

“This one’s not going to be so easy,” he says, drawing a heart on my chest.
“I haven’t exactly given you good reason to trust me.”

“Nor this one,” I say, making the same outline on his chest.

“I’m game if you’re game.”

“I am.
At this point, there’s no clear outcome, got it?”

“Understood, Light Rebel.”

Our eyes lock. The passion between us bursts into flame. “Before we take this to the next level, think we can get out of Warplanida?”

“Is that what you call the Shadow Lands?”

“I do now.”

“Care to call a cab?”

“I’ve got a better ride.” I whistle for my winged escort.

Her wings blow the warped world into even more strangeness as she lands.

“Can you carry Sober? I’ll need to tend to him, too. I can do it mid-flight.”

“Sure,” he says, hefting Sober like he’s a cotton puff. Sober licks his face gratefully.

“Off we go to better things.”

“Or merely different things.”

“True. Always different in our world. You’re different. I’m different. My dog is definitely different. And we all make a difference in one another’s lives. To the skies, Chiara!”

She spreads her shimmering wings and takes off above this strange world I now call Warplandia.