Two Halves Series (56 page)

I remained still, promising myself that this time, she would end up dead, in both realms.

Rocks scraped, one against another, as the wall behind us slid to the side. I whirled, but it felt like it took hours before I faced Aseret’s expressionless eyes. A scar on the right side of his neck, just beneath the cloak’s hood, matched the one on the left. He stood, hands tucked into the opposite sleeves of his cloak, and regarded me for a moment. Then he smirked. “I thought I’d felt your prresence, up above, but I didn’t think you werre dead. Hmm, to whom should I pay my ressspects?” Before I could respond, he added, “Neverr mind. We could have worked together, but your soul will give me more than you ever could.”

“Is that why she’s a ghost? So you can use her?” I pointed to the witch, who continued to circle around us, watching us with cunning eyes. “Clever of you. Hide her body so she’s trapped to serve you,” I taunted.

“Stupid girl!” Miranda hissed. “There is no body! Why do you think I had to steal Xela’s?”

My mother cautiously pulled at hoop in my jeans. We backed away, my mom keeping herself protectively in front of me. I wondered how much we should actually fear; after all, we were already ghosts. But Mom’s face showed we had plenty to worry about.

“You’re lying,” I said. “He’s using you.” This was my chance to get more information from the wicked witch. I wouldn’t give up, even if my instinct told me to run.

“My body burned centuries ago,” Miranda retorted. “Hannah should have told you. She’s the one who sent me down the fire pit. I’d been stuck in the hereafter until Aseret freed me through Xela.”

Was she telling me the truth? If so, how could we ever return our bodies to their rightful souls?

She laughed, almost choking on her spit. “
You
are stuck here. And I’ll ensure Aseret makes good use of your essence.”

“You will not touch me.” I remembered Xela’s warning and wished my voice didn’t shake.

“How is William doing? Last time I saw him, he was doing very, very well,” she mocked. “He must be mourning your death. Poor boy. Perhaps I should find
your
body and make him feel all better again. I’m sure I can make him feel way better than you could.”

“He’d know it’s not me,” I said.

“Ah yes, the petty ruby ring. I can work around that.” She smirked, closing in.

“Run! Now!” My mother pushed my ghost toward the back wall. Miranda reached for me, but my mother blocked her. Somehow, her ghost had enough energy to stop the witch. The last thing I saw was Aseret’s shocked expression fading into its usual emotionless mask. My mother’s painful cry echoed in my ear as I thought about my home and let my spirit be carried to the Amazon.

Chapter 8

As much as I wanted to turn back to help my mother, I couldn’t. We’d both be doomed. My mother had saved me. I’d killed her as an infant, and now her spirit would suffer endless tortures because of me. My invisible insides twisted with guilt.

I will be the one to save her,
I promised.
I have to be.

Feeling hopeless, I slumped on the top of the climbing wall in the Amazonian cabin. I peered down at Xela in the kitchen, stirring dinner, the ruby glinting on her right finger. Though I knew it was a fake, it seemed to glow.
Hmm . . . could the ring trick Miranda again?

With Xander’s help, Crystal and Ayer pieced together a jigsaw puzzle spread out on the floor in the hallway. Lying on their stomachs, feet swinging lazily in the air, all three looked like kids. William leaned over the dining room table, drafting a map with my father and             Atram. They were sketching the vampire territories and marking those in need of training and hypnosis.

I wasn’t surprised to see Willow in the lab, continuing her work with the serums behind the glass wall. Her bravery and dedication in bringing peace and her devotion to her family reminded me of William. Though she had no supernatural skills, she blended into this world as if she was meant to be here. She never feared for herself, only for others. In her own human way, she possessed supernatural powers she wasn’t aware of.

Xela kept her distance from Xander though her eyes smiled and I knew her thoughts were with him. William, preoccupied, couldn’t read her face the way I did. She swung her hips as she stirred the goulash. The witch looked like she had lost herself in her own world when no one was paying attention. I imagined the aroma of sweet onions and peppers wafting through the house, mixing with the scents of the forest.

Xander looked up. “Do you smell roses?” His gaze flew toward Xela. He frowned, focusing his energy on the witch.

Mira perked up and inhaled. “Nope.” She shook her head, letting her eyes fall to the book on her lap—too quickly.

Stay calm, Mira. Don’t blow it.

“You’re lying. Why would you lie about smelling roses?” Xander sat up, looking from Mira to Xela.

“I . . . have a stuffed nose.” Mira kept her eyes fixed on her book.

He’s gonna know!
I warned, but she couldn’t hear me.

Xander’s gaze remained on Xela and her hand circling over the pot as she happily sprinkled parsley and garlic into the mixture. Had happiness released the witch’s floral aroma? Xela put her head into the steam, inhaled, then added another ingredient.

Even I began to smell her soul’s potent rosy essence!
How am I smelling this?

My attention darted to the children.

Don’t worry, Mama, we’re on it.
My son’s voice in my head startled me.

Ayer’s body slumped on the floor, his head resting on his arm as he pretended to sleep. His soul rushed out of the house. I’d never seen his soul leave his body, but it seemed natural for my son to be in this state.

Be careful!
I called after him.

Before I could ask Crystal what he was up to, her brother returned to his body and continued to fake sleep. Crystal nodded in her brother’s direction, then answered, “I picked flowers in the forest.” The exchange had taken seconds. No one noticed.

“When did you go to the forest?” William asked.

“Training with Uncle Eric.” She shrugged, then tapped Ayer’s shoulder to wake him up. They returned to their puzzle.

Thank you.
I smiled.

The children winked. In their faces was a maturity I hadn’t seen before. Their bodies were still those of three-year-olds, but the twins were wiser than many adults.

You’re welcome,
they said together.

Did Uncle Eric teach you to speak to me in your mind?

Yes, Mama. We can hear you, too.
Crystal smiled my way.

William looked from our daughter to where I sat, then back to her again. “What’s so captivating?” he asked her.

“I’m drawing a picture of Mama,” she said.

“May I see?” He braced his hands against the table to stand, but she stopped him by freezing his feet with blue light.

“Not weady yet.” She smiled.

“All right, I promise not to look until you’re done.”

Crystal took the light off William’s feet.

Xander had risen and now strolled toward Xela. “Where did you get this recipe?” He inhaled as he approached the pot.

William’s gaze followed them.

He’ll recognize her.

But my husband’s gaze went back to his iPad, and he murmured about referencing the vampire locations he’d marked with my father. He’d been obsessed with the device for several weeks, creating what he called a supernatural app.

“From Mrs. G.” Xela stuffed a spoonful into his mouth. Sauce dripped on his chin, and she wiped it away with her thumb, then pulled her hand away as if she’d been burned.

You are playing with fire, Xela.

As if she’d heard me, she took a step back and wiped her hand on her apron.

Xander dipped a piece of bread in the goulash, then popped it into his mouth. “I don’t remember hers tasting this—”

Xela began to stir with haste, keeping her gaze on the bubbling pot.

“Better not say it’s not good,” Mira warned.

“It is good. It’s just . . . different.”

Xela stopped stirring abruptly, as if a memory had slammed into her. “I added a few more spices,” she said, her lie easy for me to read on my face.

Unfortunately, so could William. He’d observed the exchange between Xela and Xander, and his temper flared. “Xander, step away from my wife,” he growled.

All eyes focused on the couple by the stove. The electricity between them sizzled. I’d heard Willow’s test tube smash to the floor in the lab and she peeked from behind the glass wall into the kitchen. No one moved.

My best friend took a step back, wary. He shivered as if trying to shake off overpowering thoughts. “I didn’t do anything.” His hands flew up in defense.

William bared his fangs, the way he did whenever Xander crossed the line of our friendship. He understood Xander and I had a connection no one could explain, but William had his limits as well. On more than one occasion, I had cleaned up the house after their rampage of testosterone. After a while, I made them clean up their own mess. Today, I found their tiff both amusing and frustrating. I understood William’s pain and appreciated his trust, his understanding, and his forgiveness.

“It’s not what you did,” William said. “It’s how you looked at her.”

“Like how?” Xander said in confusion, obviously unaware of how he’d acted around Xela, whom to most people in the house was still me.

“He didn’t do anything, William.” Mira rushed to his side and pushed his shoulder to make him sit down. Her biceps flexed. My husband sat reluctantly. She pointed to her brother. “You. Outside. Now.”

I left Mira to lecture about Xander crossing the line and stayed to see Xela handle William’s jealousy.

“Willow, will you watch the children, please?” Xela wiped her hands on her jeans, the way I would have.

“Of course.” Willow emptied the broken glass into the trash.

“You guys better stop wandering too much.” Xela winked to the children. “Come with me.” She took William’s hand.

Confused, he obliged. I’d hush him with kisses and puppy eyes, but perhaps Xela didn’t want William’s affection. Maybe she’d keep her promise.

I followed Xela and William as she led him to our tree house. They climbed up the kapok tree toward the blooming canopy as I floated alongside the trunk, passing our orchids. The pollen was denser near the top, covering the branches in yellow dust that drifted from one limb to another with the push of a light breeze. The sun made for a perfect spring day.

Xela sat cross-legged across from William. She took his hands in hers and squeezed them. “You didn’t recognize me.”

What is she doing?

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, the same way he had for the past four years.

“I know, but I need you to stop being sorry and be the William I met in my dreams.”

How does she know about my dreams?

“I’m trying, but seeing you with Xander makes things awkward.”

“
I’m
sorry. That part is my fault, and I mean it.”

Is she talking about herself, or me?
Was Xela trying to fix my life?

William rubbed his thumb on the fake ruby Xela wore. The doubt in his expression concerned me. He looked from the ring to her face, then back to the ring again, but he didn’t say anything.

“I know I’ve asked you before, but you must trust what I’m doing. I can handle Xander.”

“I’m afraid I can’t. You’re different around him. The way you look at him . . . I wish you’d stop going to the cave.”

“All right. I’ll stop.” She paused. “I can’t promise you things aren’t going to be difficult for a few more days, but I can promise I’ll do everything I can to make things right.”

“You know something I don’t.” He narrowed his brows.

“I do.”

“And you can’t tell me.”

“Not yet. You have to trust what’s here.” She pressed her palm to William’s chest, atop his heart.

“If I trust what’s in here,” he placed his hand on top of hers, then took it away and pressed his palm on her heart, “then it tells me you’re different.”

I gasped.

“Then listen to your heart,” Xela whispered. “I’m going to visit Mrs. G now. The children need you—”

“They need you, too.”

Xela shook her head. “No, I’ve done everything in my power to prepare them, sacrificing things I shouldn’t have.” Her gaze flew my way. “They need the William I fell in love with to help them. You will face a great challenge soon. Show the children your fearlessness. It’s the only way they’ll succeed. They look up to you.” She closed her eyes. “And you need to do it by tomorrow.”

“You speak in riddles, as if you were a—”

“Sh, trust it.” She tapped her chest, kissed him on the cheek, and left.

I remained in the tree house, hovering where she’d sat. The sky was clear, but the branches hadn’t been trimmed in two weeks, making the sun difficult to see.

William lay down on the floor, head cradled in the arms crossed under his head. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. “If things are all okay, then why do I feel your presence more when you’re gone?” he asked.

I smiled.
Trust your feelings. Trust your heart.

I drifted away, thinking about a witch whom I no longer thought of as a black witch.

* * *

I followed Xela through the woods, the way she’d travel to Mrs. G’s. With my eyes closed, I let my spirit be carried through time and space again. I caught up to her a few miles short of the hill. How in the world did she get here so fast? It’d take me two days, unless I used a vortex with Eric.

Xela leaned against a spruce while staring at the Grand Teton Mountains between the branches.

“These woods are important to you, aren’t they?” I showed my ghost to the witch.

Startled, she jumped away from the tree. Then familiarity covered her face. “I met him here.” Xela closed her eyes, smiling. “He sat on the ledge, up there.” She pointed to the mountains in an exhale. “And I wanted him to come down to be with me. I wanted him unlike anything. I used magic to sway him, though he said I didn’t need to.” She twirled her hand in a circle, the way I’d seen Mrs. G do when she summoned powers, but nothing happened. Xela examined her hand.