Amaretto Flame (22 page)

“No,” I answered. “They might already be here
and could follow us to Eagleton. We don't want our home
compromised.”

“You're right,” Ivanna said. “Then we'll come
to you.” She promised to be here as soon as she could, and made me
swear to stay put until then. With nothing to do other than wait
and try to comb my brain for some kind of brilliant plan, I spent a
lot of time pacing back and forth. The world through the windows
was turning lighter, soft shades of gray-blue staining the sky. I
was running on nervous energy; tired beyond words, but unable to do
much of anything but worry. Feeling constricted, I stepped out
Claire's back door and into the manicured yard.

I thought about how I felt. My family would
be here soon to do what they could to protect Jackson and his
mother. I knew they'd do this for any Wise One who was in trouble,
but I couldn't help feeling a little guilty; like they were coming
here to do
me
a favor. If I didn't care about Jackson, would
I have been able to go home, and extract myself from his problem
without worrying about him? No. The answer to that question came to
me instantly. I hated the Venator so much that I would have fought
them for anyone, but what I hated more was innocent people
suffering. This was the very thing the Venator stood for.

I sat down on an old, covered stone well in
the backyard and put my head in my hands. I
had
trained for
this, just like I'd told Jackson and his mother. But the truth is,
I could easily see that the odds were stacked against us. Against
all of my family living through a battle like this. Which ones
would be the weakest? Sylvia, who couldn't fight with magick at
all? Who couldn't stand the thought of a fly getting hurt? Ivanna,
who was my rock, and the person I was truly inspired by? When my
mind began to go in the direction of Everett, I shook my head to
empty it. I couldn't do it; I couldn't think about which family
member's death would be the least painful to me.

“I offer myself, Goddess. If blood must be
shed...if someone on our side must die, let it be me,” I whispered
down at the thick grass. That's when I heard the footsteps behind
me and I whirled around, remembering that I'd been sitting just
like this when the hunter kicked me before. It wasn't a man dressed
in black approaching me, though. It was Jackson.

“Sit back down, Slayer,” he said. “I'm not
going to hurt you.” Relaxing, I returned to my seat and Jackson sat
down beside me. He was quiet for a long time, looking out at the
day, which was brightening.

“I have a theory about you,” he finally said,
turning his head to look at me.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I think the reason magick doesn't work
on you is because you are
accidentally
blocking it. I think
that block works kind of like trust,” he said. I was so confused by
what he'd said that I turned to look at him as well, raising an
eyebrow.

“See,” he continued, “most people trust
automatically. In fact, most people have to work really hard at
putting guards up; at blocking other people out. You, on the other
hand, work in the opposite way. You automatically block people out
and you have to work really, really hard to let them in. It's the
same with your...walls, or whatever it is you use to keep me from
healing you. That day in the woods, you fought really hard to let
me in, and it worked.”

I threw his theory out before he'd even
finished, because my family had tried magick on me throughout the
years and it hadn't worked. And I trusted my family. Didn't I?
Before I could answer him, he took my hand in his. It was warm and
there was the familiar tingling.

“I'm sorry you regret doing that,” he said.
“Letting me in.”

“It doesn't matter,” I said quickly. “I was
being naïve. We're from two completely different worlds. We have
different priorities and morals. We're just very different.” I
realized I was babbling and shut my mouth. He squeezed my hand and
lifted my chin so that I was forced to look him in the face.

“We are different,” he said. “But not in the
way you think. I could feel it when our powers were switched
earlier. It was like some part of you came to me along with your
abilities. We're so different that we're necessary to each
other.”

His lips were so close to mine, and I
couldn't help being caught in his eyes. I wanted to kiss him so
badly that it was startling. “What do you mean?” I whispered as a
small breeze swept across the yard. Jackson brushed his hand
against my cheek and looked at me with an intense concentration
that made my stomach do little flip-flops.

“I've spent a lot of time trying to figure
out what was wrong with me,” he said. “Why I could never feel the
same way about the girls who said they cared for me. Sure, I wanted
to have fun with them but at the end of the day, they held nothing
for me.”

I started to look away, but Jackson held my
face with his hand and continued speaking, “It's because
you
held it. I don't know how or why, but in this small amount of time,
you've been able to do something to me that no one else has ever
done.” His amaretto eyes were burning into mine, and in a book or
some movie, I might have leaned over to kiss him. I might have told
him that he'd touched me, too. But in the real world, I slapped
him.

“Don't say those things to me,” I hissed, my
eyes full of angry tears. “You're a liar. You're the only person
outside of my family that I've ever trusted with the truth about
me. I did let you in, and you're right. I regret it. I don't know
if I regret anything more than I regret that.” I stood to leave,
but Jackson caught my arm and pulled me back to him.

“I didn't tell her,” he said. “She came to my
house. She had a key that I never remembered to get back. She was
there when I got home one night, waiting for me. I made her leave,
and thought that was that. I didn't realize until after she already
outed you what happened; she read the things that I wrote about
you. That's how she knew.” Jackson's rough grip on my arm turned
softer and he took my hand in both of his. “If I'd told her...if I
had truly shared that with her, she would have loved it. The only
thing that could make her mad enough to do what she did to you was
the fact that I didn't share. I stayed loyal to you, and she
couldn't take it.”

I shook my head, trying to clear it. Had
Jackson really kept my secret? Did that even matter? There were
still secrets he didn't know about me. I blinked hard and said, “I
killed my father. It was an accident, but I did. That's why my
mother hated me. That's why she tried to kill me.” There. I'd said
it. Now he could realize what kind of person I really was. Now he
could forget about trying to make things better. Instead of
talking, Jackson pulled something out of his pocket and put it into
my hands.

“Olivia, they're here,” Claire called from
the back door. My family. I scrubbed the remaining tears from my
face and took a deep breath. After a long look at Jackson, I turned
and headed toward the house.

Strangely enough, I was nervous to see my
family. Overjoyed, but also nervous. When I walked into Claire's
kitchen to see Ivanna walking through the front door, I wasn't sure
how to react. My last memory of seeing her in person involved me
threatening her and her refusing to allow me to go home. She
embraced me immediately, though, and my reservations were gone.

“Olivia, I'm so sorry for the things you've
had to suffer through,” she said quietly, pulling back to look at
me. “You look exhausted, and have you been eating at all?” Her dark
eyes fixed upon my face, and she looked at me with tenderness. I
grinned up at her.
“Ivanna, you look great, too,” I said, drawing a chuckle from her.
Perry gave me a smile that made his eyes crinkle, and gripped me in
a bear hug. Sylvia rushed up to me as soon as she was through the
door, and wrapped her arms around me.

“I missed you so much,” she gushed, her
caramel eyes twinkling. “Everything has been horrible and boring.
Finally, we get some real excitement.” And then, because deep down
she knew the severity of the situation, she added, “I'm glad you're
okay.” I gave her an indulgent smile and turned to Charlotte, who
had tears in her eyes. She gathered me up in a hug, too, and then
moved aside so Everett could slide in beside her. He gave me a huge
grin, and then we had our arms wrapped around each other and I was
crying.

I'd missed him so much; more than I even
realized. I had so much to tell him. I wanted to spill my guts
right then and there, but it wasn't the time. He held on to me for
a long moment and then whispered into my ear.

“Don't cry, Livvy. Everything's going to be
okay. I have a surprise for you.”

I pulled back from him and flicked the tears
from my cheeks. “A surprise? Is it a new car?”

Everett laughed and I could hear Ivanna
chuckling, too.

“Nope. Even better,” he answered. He looked
toward the doorway, and my eyes followed his gaze. Through Claire's
front door stepped a boy with dark hair and eyes the color of a
summer sky. It was Joshua, the boy from the orphanage!

“He came to us, Livvy,” Everett said. Joshua
gave me a shy smile from the door, and I crossed the distance
between us quickly and hugged him. He chuckled, but returned the
hug tightly.

“Thank you,” he whispered. Then out loud, he
added, “You look a lot younger than I remember.” This gained a big
laugh from my family, who no doubt remembered my 'middle-aged'
illusion that Ivanna had given me the morning we'd gone to rescue
him. I was overwhelmed, but watched the door expectantly. When no
one else entered, I turned. Everyone was standing around Claire's
kitchen table, some looking at their feet and others wringing their
hands together.

“Where's Max?” I asked, looking at
Ivanna.

“He's mad as --” Sylvia began, but was
interrupted.

“Max is at home,” Ivanna said. “I felt it was
best for the coven that he stay.” I looked at her for a few
heartbeats, and then I finished her sentence in my mind.
In case
we don't make it back.
She wanted someone left in Eagleton to
carry on. I nodded briefly.

“Ivanna, Perry, Charlotte, Sylvia, Everett,
and Joshua, this is Jackson and his mother, Claire,” I made the
introductions quickly and Claire welcomed my family to her home,
thanking them for coming. Ivanna gave the woman a small hug and
Claire asked everyone to sit. Jackson helped her bring a few more
chairs from another room, and then we were all seated. It seemed as
if no one was really sure what to say, so I decided to talk. I'd
been chewing on something for a few moments, ever since I'd seen
the look on Ivanna's face when she'd told me where Max was.

“I would imagine that Max feels rather
punished, not being able to come along,” I said, tentatively. The
way Ivanna's head rose and her eyes met mine told me I was on to
something. She glanced at Sylvia and then back at me.

“I'm sorry to tell you that I've been
deceiving you a little, Olivia,” she said. “Our Sylvia is more
gifted than you know. She originally saw the Venator coming long
before Margaret did. In fact, she saw a large number of them coming
to Eagleton to look for someone. I naturally assumed it was you,
Olivia, being that you hold the power I would imagine is most
valuable to them. I needed to keep you safe, and when you and
Everett returned that day, you looked as if you expected to be
punished. That's when the idea formed. I hope you know that I truly
trust your judgment and I know you'd never endanger us, but I had
to make you believe I was angry or you'd never have stayed
away.”

I clasped my hands together in my lap and
said, “And then the course the Venator were on changed.”

Ivanna nodded. “If I'd only known that by
sending you to the safe house, I'd be putting you further in
danger...” She trailed off, shaking her head.

To my surprise, Claire spoke up. “I think
sometimes that despite all of our plans, life will simply take us
where it wants us.”

Ivanna smiled at her. “I do believe you're
right. And now we're left with a situation to tidy up.”

I looked around the table at my family, at
Jackson and his mother. At any moment, the Venator would be here
and we needed to be prepared to fight. I wondered how I might say
goodbye to them all, how I might make each of them know how
important they were to me, before I died.

I pulled the blankets up to my chin and
stared at the dark ceiling in one of the guest bedrooms in Claire's
house, thankful for the blackout curtains. We'd known that we
needed a plan but no great ideas were coming to anyone yet. Most of
the time was spent talking about gifts and comparing talents. Perry
had been so impressed at Claire's gift that he'd demanded a
demonstration. I'd volunteered right away, but Ivanna thought it
was too dangerous to experiment with my talents.

So Everett and Jackson's powers had been
switched and Everett performed a healing on Perry, who nicked his
finger with his pocket knife. While Everett had seemed a little
cool toward Jackson before that, it was obvious that he'd been awed
by the power. This led to a discussion about Jackson's strange
ability to heal me, or what he preferred to think of as the times
I'd been able to let my guards down. Perry and Ivanna were
extremely interested in this, and I promised that we'd try some
experiments when this was all over, and I'd really try to drop
whatever guards Jackson was talking about.

When my eyes were drooping and my body
refused to stay awake any longer, Jackson showed me to the guest
bedroom and after squeezing my hand, left me alone. It was only
then that I remembered what he'd handed me just before my family
arrived. I'd stuffed it in my pocket out back, and now in the dim
light, I pulled it out. It was what looked like a few pages from a
book, and then I realized that it was hand-written. I unfolded the
crinkled paper and read the lines.