Firewalker (14 page)

“Yeah,” Breakfast said, grabbing his bag. “Comedy or horror?”

“Oh, for the love of Christmas,
comedy
,” Una said emphatically, pushing Breakfast in front of her and into the living room.

Juliet showed up halfway through the film and eagerly jumped onto the couch next to Tristan.

“I love this movie,” she said, grabbing herself a throw pillow and half a blanket.

They spent the entire day together, and luckily, Rowan stopped dropping hints about the rest of the group's hidden talents. Tristan even started to warm up to Rowan a bit, almost like he couldn't help it. Rowan certainly knew how to be charming.

You're good at this, Rowan.

Of course I am. I had years of practice as head mechanic to the witch, you know. The Salem Coven was expected to entertain often.

That's right—you were Lord Fall, weren't you? So strange to think of you as a lord.

Where did you hear that title?

Lily couldn't lie to him in mindspeak, so she shrugged her shoulders, playing dumb. Samantha saved Lily from a grilling by coming down the stairs. Rowan got up to check on her and offered to make everyone dinner.

“Thank you, dear. That would be lovely,” Samantha said, smiling at Rowan like a son.

“Are you sure you don't want me to take you for a walk or something, Ma?” Lily asked nervously.

“Or I could take you,” Juliet suggested.

Neither of them was comfortable having new people around their mother yet, especially since new people made it harder for Samantha to find herself in the blizzard of alternate universes that swirled in her head.

“We can all take a walk together after dinner,” Breakfast said, his eyes narrowed knowingly at Lily. “Sit next to me, Mrs. Proctor.”

Lily was surprised to find that Breakfast handled her mother well. He didn't even blink when Samantha mentioned a recent war with Canada.

“I think you meant to say Afghanistan, Mrs. Proctor,” Breakfast corrected gently.

Samantha frowned deeply, resetting her worldview. “That's right. We're not at war with Canada here,” she said, and changed the subject.

After dinner, while everyone was bundling up to take a walk, Lily sought out Breakfast and pulled him aside.

“Thank you,” Lily said. “That was very thoughtful of you.”

Breakfast smiled. “I have an uncle like your mom,” he said quietly. “Not as serious, but sometimes it feels like he's in another world.”

“Another world.” Lily laughed weakly. “That's a pretty accurate way to put it.”

“Anyway, you don't have to be embarrassed. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”

Lily swallowed hard and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Lily? It's really cold out. I think even you are going to need to dress warmly tonight,” Rowan said, bringing her a jacket.

Did you hear Breakfast and me talking, Rowan?

The bit about his uncle. It means he has spirit walking in his blood. He could be a huge asset for your coven.

Lily frowned as she put her coat on. She tried to tell Rowan in mindspeak that she didn't want a coven, but she couldn't. Because it was a lie.

The well-fed group spilled out into the frigid night. Everyone shivered and laughed around their chattering teeth and frozen cheeks. It was so cold the snow crunched and squeaked underfoot. Lily went to Rowan and pressed against his side. After a moment he put his arm over her shoulder. He hadn't been affectionate with her all day, and Lily knew it had something to do with Tristan. She glanced over at him and saw him staring at them.

He loves you, Lily.

And I love you, Rowan. If he wants to stay friends with me, he'll have to accept that.

Don't push him away.

Lily looked at Rowan, confused. She knew Rowan wasn't the jealous type, and she appreciated that about him, but asking her to stay close to an ex-boyfriend seemed a bit much, even for him.

Rowan suddenly stopped dead, his body going rigid as he pushed Lily behind him.

“Everyone get back to the house,” he yelled. Lily peered around Rowan's arm and saw a man's shape standing under a streetlight across the street.

“He found me,” she whispered, panic buckling her knees. She didn't need to see his face to know who he was. She could recognize the hunched shoulders and cocked head of Carrick's crow-like silhouette anywhere—she'd seen it enough times looming over her in the dark oubliette.

Lily could hear Tristan and Breakfast asking what was wrong, but she couldn't make out exactly what they were saying over the ringing in her ears. Carrick took a step toward them.

Give me strength, Lily.

She felt the pull of Rowan's willstone, asking hers for power. Lily had no flame from which to gather energy, but she did have a belly full of food. She took the calories inside her body, changed them into force in her willstone, and poured as much of it as she could into Rowan. She saw a bright flash from his willstone, and then she saw Rowan charging after Carrick. Both of them were moving so quickly it almost looked as if they had disappeared.

“What the hell just happened?” Tristan shouted. Great trenches were dug in the snow, and deep tracks led into the darkness.

“Lily, are you okay?” Una said. Lily realized she'd collapsed, and Una and Juliet were trying to lift her off the ground. Una looked up at Tristan, Breakfast, and Samantha, standing over them. “Holy shit, did you see that?” she asked, breathless.

Juliet frowned, but said nothing.

“I saw it,” Breakfast said. “They were glowing.”

Tristan crouched down next to Lily, his face grim. “Where have you
really
been for the past three months?”

 

CHAPTER

6

The mug clanked against Lily's teeth. Her hands were shaking so badly she had to use both of them to steady her tea.

“What aren't you telling us?” Tristan demanded.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Juliet mumbled unconvincingly.

Rowan still wasn't back yet. Lily had tried calling to him in mindspeak, but he hadn't answered. She could feel him, though, so she knew he was alright. She could feel his rage and, behind that, his fear.

“Juliet, I've known you since I was five,” Tristan replied. “And you have to be the worst liar I've ever met. What. Happened.”

Juliet and Samantha shared a defeated look.

Should we just tell them, Lily?

Don't say a word, Juliet.

“Look, we all know that whatever it was, it wasn't normal,” Breakfast said, barely keeping hysteria in check. “Rowan and Lily were
glowing
, and then Rowan frigging disappeared into thin air!”

“And so did that spooky guy standing across the street,” Una added calmly.

“Something happened out there. We all know it. We
felt
something,” Tristan said, looking at Lily. His eyes turned inward and he touched the base of his throat, almost like he was reaching for a willstone. “Just tell us the truth.”

“And please don't say it has anything to do with aliens,” Breakfast muttered.

“Stuart,” Una said, using Breakfast's real name. “Not the time for a joke.”

“It wasn't aliens,” Rowan said. They all jumped and turned to see that he had silently joined them. His jacket was torn, there were scratches on his forearms and face, and his jeans were stiff and smeared with half-frozen sand.

Did you get him, Rowan?

I chased him for miles along the coast, then through a town, but he got away. He didn't come to fight me. He just wanted to let us both know that he was here.

He outran you?

Lillian must be fueling him. I don't know how much energy she can give him or how strong he is, but he was able to stay ahead of me. He couldn't have done that without a witch.

How did she do it? I can feel the willstones of my claimed back in your world calling to me. Asking for power. But fueling them across the worlds would be so hard.

Hard or not, she figured it out.

Breakfast turned to Una. “They're doing it again,” he said.

“You guys talk with your eyes, you know,” Una told Lily and Rowan.

“Not with our eyes,” Rowan said. “It's called mindspeak. You call it telepathy in this world.”

Rowan, don't!

“I have to, Lily,” Rowan yelled. “Carrick is here for
you
—and if Lillian can send him, she can send others. You need a coven to protect you, and you need it now.”

“He's right,” Samantha said, breaking the tense silence. “She won't stop. Neither would you.” Samantha went to Lily and kissed her on the forehead. “Good night, everyone. You're all welcome to stay,” she said before shuffling upstairs to bed.

I'm scared, Rowan.

I know. You need to trust me, Lily.

“Did you just say ‘coven'? As in, a
witches'
coven?” Una asked carefully.

“Yes,” Rowan answered. He paused.

Lily sighed and nodded, reluctantly giving her consent. “Go ahead,” she said.

“Lily is a witch. A very powerful one. When she went missing it was because she was taken to another world. That's where I'm from—a parallel world where witches and their mechanics, who are the vessels for the witches' power, run everything. All of you have the potential to be a mechanic like me. I'm going to give each of you a willstone like this,” he said, pulling out his huge smoke-colored stone that pulsed with eerie light, “and train you to be vessels for Lily's power.”

Tristan, Breakfast, and Una stared silently at Rowan's willstone, entranced. They could already feel what their minds were struggling to process.

“Your necklace,” Tristan said, his voice rough. They all turned to Lily.

She opened the collar of her shirt and allowed her three willstones to shimmer with her strength. All three of her potential mechanics pulled in deep breaths and held them.

“Are you sure about this, Rowan?” Lily asked, already craving the stones they didn't yet wear.

“It's the only way,” he replied sadly. He turned to Tristan, Breakfast, and Una. “You must decide for yourselves. No one can force you into this. Do you want to learn more?”

“What kind of power are we talking about here?” Tristan asked.

“What kind do you want?” Rowan replied, holding his gaze.

Tristan smiled slowly. “I'm listening.”

Breakfast and Una shared a look. Una turned to Rowan. “You had me at
coven
,” she said in her unflappable way. “Keep going.”

“Breakfast?” Rowan turned to him. “This has to be your choice,” he said firmly.

Breakfast nodded. “Just tell me I don't have to drink blood or worship a goat or anything like that,” he said, grimacing.

“No. Breakfast—it's nothing like that,” Lily said, shaking her head and trying not to laugh. “Magic isn't some creepy cult. It's more like science. Basically, my body is a crucible and it can transmute matter and energy. I can't create something out of nothing, but I can take energy from one source, like this heat,” she said, reaching a hand toward the flames in the fireplace. Her willstones pulsed with light and a small witch wind moaned eerily through the room. “And I use the crystals of my willstones to alter the vibration of the heat's energy. Changing the vibration changes the fundamental nature of the energy without losing any of the power. So, right now I'm changing the heat of the fire directly into physical force. But I can't use this force myself. I need a vessel.” She gave the force to Rowan. His willstone flared, his head tipped back, and his eyes hooded in pleasure. Tristan regarded Rowan's reaction intently, intrigued.

“Follow me,” Rowan said, and led them all outside. “Watch carefully.” He grinned and then it seemed as if he'd disappeared. Everyone looked around, confused. “Up here,” Rowan called. They followed his voice and found him halfway up a tree on the other side of the street. “I'll move more slowly,” he called. They all watched him jump from the tree, to a rooftop, and then execute a graceful backflip before landing next to Lily.

“Damn,” Breakfast groaned, almost like it hurt to see something so awesome.

“And that's just kid's stuff,” Lily said. “Right, Rowan?”

“Right,” he said, smiling at her.

“You can change any type of energy into any other?” Tristan asked, his excitement building.

“Yes. And I can alter matter—change it chemically, even without a mechanic,” Lily said. “I can manipulate cells and DNA, heal wounds, and make medicines you've never even dreamed of. I can also change the way the light falls on my face.” Lily cast a glamour and heard everyone gasp as they looked at a stranger's face instead of hers. She smiled and reverted back to her own face. “It's called a glamour. It's actually really easy, and it only works in dim light, but it certainly
looks
dramatic.”

They went back inside, and Tristan turned to Rowan. “How does it feel when she gives you power?”

Rowan shared an understanding smile with Tristan, and for a moment Lily saw the two of them connecting as if this Tristan were the one that Rowan had known for years. “I can't think of many things that compare,” Rowan replied.

“There's a downside, though,” Lily warned. “In order for you to become my mechanics, I'll have to claim you. This is dangerous for you because it means I can possess you. I can control your thoughts, your speech, and even your movements if I choose. I can make you my puppet.”

“But she's never done that to me,” Rowan added quickly. “Lily is a very respectful witch.”