Traitor (18 page)

Plus, I don’t know if
I
could have handled talking about Dad. Even the thought that he was in Neamar suffering right this instant put my teeth on edge, and tears began to manifest. It was too painful to think about. No, we’d tell Mom when we knew how to deal with the situation. There was no use in getting her worked up if we couldn’t fix the problem.

When everything was settled at our place, we traipsed over to Reese’s house. While his dad had been pretty peeved about three guys staying for an indeterminate length of time, his mom seemed to be okay with it. Desmond and Issac had taken over the basement, which left Reese and Aiden to bunk together. If only Liam were here. The shot of longing that coursed through me felt like ice water being doused over my head. I couldn’t let Reese know.

Sitting on Reese’s worn out leather couch, I watched as he repositioned all of his furniture to accommodate more than one person in the room. My finger dug into a hole in the leather, and I absentmindedly pulled a little stuffing from the arm. I forced a smile as he put his pillow into the hammock he had used for most of the school year with Liam. “Everything’s changed, hasn’t it?”

He grunted as he plopped down into the hammock, stretched out, and looked at me with his goofy grin. “Would you mind not destroying my couch? It’s an amazing piece of art.” He knew how I felt about this couch and loved to try to make me think that it wasn’t a wasted effort by him and his friends to haul it into his room. I’d never understand the male species. Reese hopped in the hammock and put his arms behind his head as he returned to our conversation. “And as for your question, eh, not really. Crazy faeries are still chasing you around, you’re still a freak show, and you still won’t go out on a date with me.”

“You’re right. Everything is exactly the same.”

He winked at me. “I’m always right. You’d be better off to learn that now. By the way, props for bringing Aiden back.”

“I just let you think you’re right,” I said quickly, then tossed the fluff from the couch onto his chest where he lay. “It makes you so much more bearable if you’re not aware of how incorrect you usually are.”

Reese’s smile made it clear that he was having fun with our customary persiflage. It’d been a while since we’d really had fun. “You’ve got jokes, huh?”

“I’m here all week, along with Aiden, Desmond, and Issac. I’m willing to bet they’ll find and point out your few flaws.”

On cue, Aiden walked through the door, flanked by Desmond and Issac. “What’s this about me?” His eyes crinkled in the grin that mimicked Liam’s. It sent another pang of loss through me to see it.

Reese hopped out of his hammock and gestured around the room. “Just that you better not mess up any of my precious belongings. I’m pretty dangerous with a bow now. Wouldn’t want you to wake up a human shish kabob.”

The guys laughed. I made for the door, but instantly Reese was there with his hand on my shoulder. His quick, quiet nature would take some getting used to. He was the bull in a china shop before…before…I couldn’t bring myself to say what he was for some reason. It just didn’t feel right to think he was more than just Reese.

His smile was still the same. His smell, his clothes, his demeanor. The crooked way his lips curled up into the grin that made me feel better about everything. He was doing that exact thing at the moment. I sighed in frustration. He could always make me feel better, even when I didn’t want to. “Where do you think you’re going without your Protector, Miss McVean?”

Aiden plunked a suitcase down on his bed loudly. Reese dropped his hand from my shoulder and looked back to the guys, who stood in a huddle in the middle of the room. They looked everywhere but at me. It was a little awkward. Aiden coughed loudly and started unpacking his belongings. “We’re just gonna get used to the house, Reese. Thanks for putting us up.” The guys nodded in unison.

I took it as a hint for us to get lost if Reese wanted to continue the conversation. We took the stairs two at a time, not speaking. I was marveling at Reese’s ability to be as silent as a cat, even after he hurtled the banister and landed in the entryway six feet below. He looked up at me, all smiles. “I’m pretty awesome, just admit it.”

Just because of his display, I took the stairs one at a time and intentionally slower than I’d ever done before. He clucked his tongue impatiently, and I shook my head at him. Sometimes his testosterone got the better of him. “You’re a pretty big showoff, that’s for sure.”

He smiled at me and winked once more. His demeanor was so infectious, it was hard not to smile around him. He stood by the door and looked back at me for confirmation. “Your place, or the hill we always go to?”

“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere, mister.”

We both gazed into the eyes of a very mad Mrs. Williams. My mouth opened and closed, not sure what to say. Her hands were on her hips in that typical mad-mom manner and personally, I knew better than to say anything.

Reese didn’t.

“Why not? We’re just going to the hill. No big deal. We’ll be back in an hour, tops.”

Mrs. Williams put a hand on the door to block Reese as he tried to walk past. “No, you’re explaining what all this craziness is,” she pointed at me sternly, then looked back at Reese. “I know she has something to do with it, so don’t even try to deny that. No offense, Ashlyn, but there’s no way Reese would have managed all this on his own.”

It was true. Reese wasn’t much of an organizer or one to invite a load of people over for extended visits. This was definitely not par for the course for him. Reese looked at me for guidance. I smiled at him. “Think she’s strong enough to know the truth?”

Mrs. Williams’ hands went to her mouth. “Oh dear God, please don’t tell me you’re pregnant. Neither of you are ready for that kind of responsibility, and – “

Reese waved his hands in front of her. “Woah, Mom, cool your role! God, no, Ashlyn’s not pregnant. Right, Ash?”

I shook my head emphatically. “No bun in the oven, here.”

She heaved a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall for support. “Okay, good.” She turned to me and smiled apologetically. “Not to say you wouldn’t be a wonderful mother…”

“Uh, no,” I said, trying hard not to laugh, “I’m pretty sure I’m not interested in that kind of thing any time soon. What Reese wanted to tell you was – “

Suddenly she turned back to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not gay, are you? Not that it’s a bad thing; you know I’m fine with it and I’ll love you no matter what.”

Reese blushed scarlet. “No, mom, I’m still batting for the other team. You’ll have grandchildren someday.”

Mrs. Williams looked between us. “Well, then what could it be?”

Reese and I looked at each other, and I knew exactly what he was going to do before he even said anything. “I’m a faery, Mom. I protect Ashlyn from other crazy faeries and what not. Congratulations.”

“But you just said – “

“No, not that kind,
this
kind,” he demonstrated by filling his hand with blue light.

Mrs. Williams fainted right there in the entryway.

“Well, that went as well as could be expected, I guess,” Reese said lightly as he lifted his mom’s shoulders off the floor. “Come here and help me get her to a couch.”

I laughed as I took Mrs. Williams’s feet and eased her onto the nearby couch with Reese. “You know you owe her a better explanation than that.”

“Yeah, I know I do,” Reese assented, before a devilish grin overtook his face. “But it was way too much fun this way.”

“You’re going to be the death of her, you know.”

“Nah, I doubt it. Plenty of other, cooler ways to die.” He smiled as we walked back to the door. He swung it wide and turned to me. “We’ll give her a better introduction when we get back. Maybe Memaw and Roslin can come explain things better. I still don’t have everything down pat, and I’m sure Mom’s going to have a lot of questions. To the hill, then?”

I was unable to speak. Looking beyond him, I simply pointed out the door. He followed my line of sight and gasped.

There was a black whirlwind surrounding my house. I could hear everyone screaming inside, but the whirlwind was so thick and so fast, it was impossible to see anything else. All that was visible was the tip of the rooftop. Shingles from the roof were being ripped off and increased the whirlwind’s size. It was becoming a bona-fide tornado focused solely on my house.

Suddenly there was a loud crack, and the roof collapsed down into the black mass. Sounds of boards and walls crumbling in on themselves pervaded the howling winds. Cracks and groans of the frame of the house sounded as it tried to withstand the gale forces at work.

Large beams of wood flew menacingly past Reese and I, and we leapt back just in time to avoid being beheaded by a toilet lid. It connected with the frame of Reese’s front door and splintered into two halves. Another giant crack of the house buckling ripped through the air. The screaming from within stopped.

“MOM! MEMAW! TESS! ROSLIN!” I screamed as I sprinted across Reese’s lawn.

Reese was right behind me, yelling at me. I didn’t stop to listen. More debris flew through the air, and I dodged it as best as possible. I came to a halt in the middle of the road, unable to get any closer because of the strong winds that threatened to push me backward. A beam of wood shot past me, and I felt the force it carried as it zinged not an inch away from the left side of my face.

I was tackled from behind and felt Reese’s breath on my neck. Something whizzed above our heads and made an almighty clang three feet away. I turned my head to see what it was. Water sprayed from a now severed pipe and the faucet was bent unnaturally. The sink had come unhinged from somewhere in the house.

“Ash, don’t move. I’m gonna see if I can get in there.” Reese grunted as he prepared to get up. I felt his muscles tense in his arms and thighs as he went to push off of me.

I grabbed his hand before he could stand. “Are you completely mental? Do you want to test out the immortality thing?”

“No, shut up, I just think I can get to them if —”

No chance to hear the ’if’ clause of the statement. I heard something connect with Reese’s body and the wind was knocked out of him. Suddenly I was lighter again. I looked over to find out what it was.

The body of my brother lay spread eagle on top of Reese, who looked like he was knocked out cold.

I
WOKE UP
to everyone making a big stink about a frigging bump on my head. Big deal. I’m immortal, right? I’m thinking I can manage a minor headache for an hour or so. What I wanted to know was what in the heck had hit me so hard. All I could remember was the horrible sounds erupting from Ashlyn’s house, Ashlyn freaking out, and then the wind being knocked out of me when I tried to get closer to the house.

To my shock and pleasure, Ashlyn was lying on the bed beside me, her arm wrapped protectively around my body. Her breathing was deep and rhythmic as I watched her chest rise and fall with each breath she took. I was completely okay with this sleeping situation, so I lay quietly and listened to her breathe.

That filled my ears like music, and then everyone else began to make a fuss about this Reuben guy who had apparently shown up.

“Thank you for healing him, Reuben. I don’t know how he ended up here, but if it weren’t for you, we’d have lost him.”

It sounded like Mrs. McVean, but I wasn’t sure. A deep, gravelly voice responded who must have been Reuben. It sounded like he hadn’t spoken in ages by the way his voice cracked in odd places and the amount of times he cleared his throat. “No worries, Sarah. I’m just glad that Roslin was able to notify me in time. I’m sorry about your home. Do you have somewhere to go?”

There was a pause. When she responded, Mrs. McVean was tried really hard to sound uplifting. She was about as good at faking as her daughter. “We’ll figure something out. Won’t you stay for a while? We’re going to have to go find something for these boys to eat sooner or later.”

This time Reuben’s voice was stronger. I wondered how big the guy was, because from the sound of him, he was huge. Not to say that you could always judge someone by their voice, but his just had such a commanding, deep tone that I could picture him standing tall and broad and very capable of taking care of himself. “No, but thank you. I need to be going. Emily and Roslin are already convening with the committee to discuss the attack. I need to be there.”

Mrs. McVean sighed audibly. “I hope you can find the culprit. These Changelings need stopped.”

“We’ll do our best. Emily will be an asset for us, no doubt.”

There were no more words exchanged, which made me assume Reuben had disappeared for Adaire.

I opened my eyes and looked around once I knew there would be no conversation to eavesdrop on. We were in my room. How’d we get here? I craned my neck a little to look out the open door. Mrs. McVean stood there, looking over the banister with Mom rubbing her back. Mrs. McVean looked exhausted. The worry lines in her forehead were etched prominently into her skin and her eyes were downcast. Mom spoke in hushed tone, but I caught the gist of what she was saying. “It’ll be all right, Sarah. That Reuben gentleman sounded confident in the committee he spoke of and to be honest, if your motherin-law is as deadly as he made it sound, we’re in good hands.”

“I don’t want her to have to be involved in anything.” Mrs. McVean said sadly. “I don’t want any of them to be involved in this. Ashlyn, Reese, Liam…it’s all too much for them.”

Mom seemed to chew on her lip for a minute as she deliberated what to say. “Now I know I’m not completely on the up and up with what’s going on, Sarah, but I do know my son and I know Liam and Ashlyn. Reese will do everything in his power to keep Ashlyn safe. Ashlyn’s a handful at times,” Mrs. McVean laughed at that and Mom smiled before continuing on, “but my son is bullheaded and passionate. He won’t let her get hurt. As for Liam, he loves Ashlyn just as much as Reese does, which is saying something. Your daughter is lucky.”

Mom’s tone sounded a little hard at the mention of Liam, and I figured it was because she knew how much I cared for Ashlyn. She’d told my dad many times when she didn’t know I was listening that she wished I’d find someone who cared for me as much as I cared for Ashlyn. Mom wouldn’t say that to Mrs. McVean though, and at that moment I was glad that Mom was always the one everyone went to for comfort. Mom continued on with a smile on her face and a light laugh playing out on her lips. “Reese and Ashlyn are magnets for trouble. We’ve known that since they were five and they managed to cause the emergency sprinklers to go off in the sporting goods store together. If anyone was going to figure out that there were other realms and that magic was real, it had to be our kids.”