Two Halves Series (70 page)

“Eric heard your faint plea for help and insisted on coming,” said William.

“You saved me? You brought Xela and Mrs. G to connect me back to my body.” I looked at my evil-bender. “And you’re hurt.”

“I sensed your soul far away. I didn’t save you, but I do have to stop bending, for a while, at least. The spikes need some rest.” He pointed to his neck, then turned to Mira, tightening his arms around her. “I’ll need to rely on you a bit more, sugar.”

“I don’t mind at all.” Smiling, she stretched her neck up and kissed his lips.

“So who was it?” I closed my eyes to remember. What had happened came back to me in flashes. Just before the saw touched me, someone had picked me up. His hood fell back, and my nose pressed against his hair, and I inhaled a woody musk scent. The sleeve of the black cloak slid up his arm, revealing part of a tattoo on his wrist. A scream rang in my eardrums—someone screamed as if they were being skinned like a wild rabbit. Then splattering blood. The sting in my arms as the titanium needles were ripped out. Then the screaming stopped, ending as a gurgle. And William’s voice, ringing through the room, “No!” followed by “I’m sorry.” A mist smelling of wildflowers swirled around me, overpowered by honey and lemon . . .

I faced my husband. “William. It was you. You held me.”

“I did what I had to do.”

“I didn’t recognize you.”

“Some props are helpful.” He dangled a set of porcelain teeth on his finger. “And you weren’t supposed to recognize me.”

“The warden thought you were dead.” I squeezed William’s hand.

“He needed to think you were helpless. You couldn’t have felt any hope, or he’d have been suspicious.”

“Right.” I wasn’t going to argue. If it weren’t for William, I’d be dead. “You had it all planned out, didn’t you? That was the secret you were keeping. For months.”

“Yes.”

I looked around the room. “You all helped. You all saved me, saved the races.” My eyes welled up. Not only was my family here with me, but we worked together, had one another’s backs when in need. They never left me, even in a time when I had felt lost and alone. Did I deserve to be so fortunate?

“We’re a family, aren’t we?” Atram gave me a genuine smile, and I knew he’d never accuse me of killing his wife.

“Of course.”

William embraced me. His arms felt more comforting than hot coco on a cold winter day. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of an innocent touch, one I’d thought I’d never feel again.

“Can we promise each other we’ll never break our promises again?” I said.

“How about we leave out the promises and let our instincts guide our lives?”

“Couldn’t agree with you more.” I leaned into him.

Willow moved her head. I waited for her body to thrash in pain, but she opened her eyes, then closed them again without any other movement.

“I’ve never seen a human change,” I said.

“Fortunately, it’s not as dramatic as Hollywood tries to make it.” Xander laughed from behind me.

“Willow will be a vampire, just like you.” I looked at Atram.

“She will. You may not see it yet, but it’s better this way. I know it’s selfish, but I won’t need to worry as much.”

“And my father . . . where’s my father?” I scanned the room, then looked behind Mrs. G who sat in a wicker chair, her hands held together in her lap.

Mrs. G held my gaze. Her witch persona today reminded me more of a caring mother, and I her child, much as I had been in Pinedale.

“The book!” I remembered stashing the spell book in the tangled roots of the ceiling in Miranda’s lair—just before I freed my mother. Or perhaps it was another time? The memory blurred. “I know where to find the magic book you were looking for.”

She showed a kind smile. “In due time we’ll get it. Now, your father, darling...”

I stood up. “He should be here. I can feel it,” I insisted, taking small steps forward.

“Sarah, the warden was strong.” William paused, trying to find the right words. I let him think before he spoke. Care and concern mixed with apprehension tinted the shade of his eyes, and I knew what he wanted to say was important. He, too, didn’t want me to be hurt. “And even vampires aren’t immortal.” His shoulders drooped.

“Where is my father?” I asked again as a lump formed in my throat. Tears streaked down my face.

William’s expression mellowed. “Sarah . . .” My husband’s apologetic face told me what he couldn’t.

I closed my eyes and remembered the saw again, as well as the demon who stood beside the warden. It hadn’t been a demon. It had been my father in those platform shoes.

A new memory flashed, and my body twitched. The saw flew from my father to the warden. The warlock ducked, grabbing the handle away from my father and swung at me and William. My father threw himself in its path . . .

“He says she can handle it,” Ayer’s soothing voice interrupted.

“You can see him?” My eyes flew open, wiping my nose with my sleeve. I whipped my body around until my gaze rested on my son.

Ayer nodded.

“He can only show once, then he has to move on,” Crystal explained, standing beside her brother.

“I don’t want him to move on.” My voice shook. “I just got him back. I want him here. With me.” I sniffled and inhaled like a two-year-old, all stuffed up.

Ayer shook his head. “You’ve done what was needed, Mama. You accepted him as your father.”

Crystal’s hand was on my shoulder; I wasn’t sure when she’d moved to my side.

I regretted the years that had passed when I didn’t know him, when I’d hated him for creating me. I looked around the room, from my best friends to my in-laws to William and my children. Love all around me. If it weren’t for my father, I wouldn’t have my family; I wouldn’t know the devotion of a friend and a watcher; I couldn’t experience motherhood and understand unconditional love. My father had protected me when I didn’t know him; even when I rejected him and despised him, he always loved me. I owed him my life, and he shouldn’t have sacrificed his for me. Somewhere inside, I understood, for I would have had done the same, if it was my child whose life was threatened.

“Why only once?” I looked at Eric.

“The balance is restored. Souls will no longer be lost.”

“He was reunited with his body?”

“He didn’t need to be. His final breath came when he turned to ash. He will not be able to see you again after today.” My evil-bender sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Eric, please . . .”

Ayer’s hand found my other shoulder.

“He shouldn’t have jumped in . . .” I was nearly panting as William swooshed the ottoman under my buckling knees.

And then he was there. My father’s ghost, as vibrant as he was in life, floated toward me. The fierceness of his ghost, stronger than when he was a vampire, had been softened by the joy in his eyes.

“It makes me happy to see you alive,” my father whispered.

I jumped to my feet and wished for my ghost back, because I wanted nothing more than to wrap myself in his embrace. He placed his arms around me as if he was corporeal, and the warmth of his soul’s essence soothed my pain. Though I hugged an ephemeral form, I imagined the pressure of his arms as he squeezed me. He smelled of jasmine and wildflowers, just like my mother and the bouquet I always imagined her holding when she collected blossoms on the day she met my father.

“And I would do it again to make sure you live the life you were meant to live—with William and the children. You’re a parent. I’m sure you understand what I had to do.”

Sobbing I nodded, and tightened my embrace.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be all right.” He smiled as he let me go.

I believed him, because my mother’s spirit stood beside him. For the first time since her death, they were truly reunited.

My father took my mother’s hand. Energy vibrated between their souls. His eyes glowed with happiness as he looked adoringly at my mother, who looked at him like she hadn’t seen him in decades. The way they stared at each other reminded me of how much William adored me. My husband’s love flowed with every glance.

Even though I’d lost him, my father had gained what he’d missed for the last few decades—his true love. He’d be happy in the hereafter, and so would my mother.

My heart warmed, and stability returned to my legs for the first time since I’d woken up.

My parents placed their arms around me. The pain in my chest eased as they kissed my cheeks, the gestures as gentle as if fog had streamed in a blanket around me, taking away worries and pain. I felt swaddled in love, like a newborn baby.

“It’s time we moved on, Sarah. Eric has been kind enough to let us say our goodbyes together,” my father said.

“Does this mean I’ll never see you again?”

“Never say never.” My mother winked. “You’re in good hands here. They,” she nodded toward my family and friends, “would give their lives for yours, just as you would for them.”

“I know.” I wiped my wet cheeks with the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

“It’s time,” Eric whispered. The red dots on his bandaged neck had increased in diameter.

“I will miss you,” I said to my parents.

“And we’ll watch over you, always. Your Aunt Helen, too. She says hello but can’t be here. She’s holding the doorway for us.”

I nodded, mouthing, “I love you” as they drifted backward. Their souls glowed, not because they were souls or ghosts, but because their essence vibrated with more love than I’d seen in a long time. The sun shone through the front window, illuminating their spirits. The energy around my parents tightened, shrinking. The streaks of sunlight beamed through them with increasing intensity until they disappeared in a white flash.

* * *

I lay with my hands under my head, watching the stars fall from the sky. The canopy had shrunk enough to expose the universe; drought neared.

“Do you think we’re the only ones doing the exact same thing right now?” I asked William.

“Watching the sky?”

“Yes, from a tree house, in a jungle, happy.” I smiled.

“I hope not.” He turned his head toward me.

For the first time in four years, the comfort I’d felt while at his side was the same as the first time we’d come to the tree house. The scents of the blossoms wafted around us, the pollen twirling in oval patterns. I’d become used to the high caused by the flowers; my body controlled the intake of their gifts.

“If we were, it’d be a shame.” He exhaled. “I can’t imagine anything better.”

“I can.” I smirked.

“Hmm, if I could read thoughts, I’d guess yours were the same as mine.” He propped his head on his elbow. I felt the heat of his stare.

“I can’t believe how much I missed this.” I turned on my side to face William.

“Me too.” He regarded me, pulling me closer. “You’re back. You’re finally you.”

“I know. And I’m never leaving again.”

He looked at me from below his brows.

“I am not leaving again,” I insisted.

“Good, because we need you.
I
need you. And the world needs a selfless leader like you.”

“You’re talking like I’m going to be the next president.”

“Never say never.” He laughed. “Why don’t we start with something more fun.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

William pressed his lips to mine. The connection was as electrifying as the first time he’d kissed me; shock waves coursed through my body. He let me control him as much as he controlled me; after all, we were no longer two halves, but two equals. The rage I’d missed when Miranda first stole my body returned as passion, and I shifted into a vampire. With William at my side, I could only think of one way to express it.

Straddling his hips, I pressed William to the floor. He shifted as well, sitting up to hold me tighter, losing himself in my body. I didn’t notice when the clothes flew off. His kisses dropped to my neck as I dug my fingers into his back. I looked up and saw a series of falling stars and thought,
Today is the first day of the rest of our lives together, as two equals.

Two Equals Bonus Material

Hopeless wails drifted through the recovery ward of the prison. The cells quieted as William passed, keys dangling off the loop in his slacks. Overhead lamps dangled in the flowing drift. Some bulbs flickered as their light began dying; other had just been replaced and shone too bright, blinding the inmates who’d covered their heads under the sheets.

“I’m coming.” He comforted each prisoner, making his way toward the far end of the hall. William’s daily task to check on all inmates took him just over an hour. The warden’s schedule had been reserved for scheming, which allowed the half-breed vampire to work at the prison long enough to earn the warden’s trust as a worthy employee, yet not run into the warlock too often. When the right time came, infiltrating the facility would be easier.

The key clicked in the metal hole, and William pushed the first gate open. A paled body rested on the bed in the corner. Red streaks flowed out of his arms onto the blue sheets. William shook his head at the warden’s carelessness.

How does he expect these prisoners to donate blood once per week if he doesn’t take care of them? And where is he sending the blood if we haven’t signed the agreement yet?

William opened the bottle of water that rested on the metal stand and sat at the bedside. The inmate didn’t even have strength to twist the cap himself; none of them did.

“You need to drink.” He held his arm under the back of the prisoner’s neck, tipping the bottle toward the mouth.

Water covered the inmate’s cracked lips, and the frail man began sucking on the plastic opening as soon as the liquid entered his mouth. Like a dehydrated hiker who’d just crossed a desert, he couldn’t get enough. None of them seemed satisfied when William had helped with their recovery. The warden’s orders drained the inmates of too much blood. Drops flowed down his chin and neck, soaking the pillow.

“Slow down.” William pulled the bottle back. “Don’t waste it.”

The prisoner’s hands flew to the container, holding it against William’s strength. The half-breed let him finish.