Minutes Before Sunset (27 page)

“That doesn’t mean we need to egg him on,” his father said, and Eric’s grip tightened.

“So what are you saying?” he asked. “She has to go? Because I can’t imagine that anywhere would be safer than here.”

Luthicer grabbed his chin. “We really have no solution.”

“But Darthon doesn’t know my identity,” I whined, feeling my acceptance disappearing.

“He could figure it out, Jessica,” Eric said, and his heart beat against my back. “He saw you as a human, too.”

“But he didn’t know—”

“We can’t rely on that.”

I froze. Eric was right. I’d made a mistake. Big time. And there was no coming back from that.

“What if I wasn’t a shade?” I whispered, and Eric’s eyes widened.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “You can’t just change your genetics.”

“You said they stripped abandoned shades of their powers,” I repeated some of the information he taught me and turned back to the others. “If I didn’t have my powers, I’d be useless, Jessica or not.”

Bracke’s jaw popped like his son’s. “But what good would that do?” he asked. “You wouldn’t be able to defend yourself if he found you.”

“Unless even I didn’t know who I was,” I said, listening to the pieces fall into place before I recognized them. “If you can create an illusion for my parents, you can do it to me, too, and, even if he came after me, I wouldn’t be anything. No matter what absorbing means.”

I exhaled, and Camille crossed her arms. “She’d practically be human.”

“I don’t know about this,” Pierce said, and Urte agreed.

“You wouldn’t want to do something like that anyway, Jessica,” he said, and I shook my head.

“If it meant keeping everyone safe, then I would.”

The others blinked.

“I’d do anything,” I said, and the room was enveloped in silence.

It was a solution, and everyone knew it. If I didn’t have powers, I wouldn’t transform, and if I didn’t have a memory, I wouldn’t want to. I’d be a human, unable to slip even in the most emotional times, and Darthon would be unable to trace my powers. Even if he came after me, I’d no longer know, and I’d no longer be powerful. I’d be useless to his cause, and the others wouldn’t even have to protect me. I’d be safe and so would they.

“It’s risky,” Luthicer finally spoke. “But it isn’t impossible.”

Urte, Eu, and Luthicer erupted into arguments, and the room vibrated with anger. Their voices bounced off the walls and died against the floor until Bracke lifted his hand. Everyone silenced as Eric’s father stepped forward, looking only into my eyes.

“We’re capable of what you’re offering, and I think it’s our best option at this point,” he said, pausing to choose his words. “But there are some issues we need to address.”

His blue eyes flickered up to Eric, and Eric tensed against me. I knew what his father would ask, even before the words were spoken, “Would you be able to give up my son so easily?”

I leaned back and caught Eric’s eyes. They were resigned, shadowed beneath his furrowed brow, and his jaw clenched. He wasn’t talking, and I knew why. He’d realized what everyone else had.

“I wouldn’t have to,” I said, unable to look away from him. “I wouldn’t remember him.”

Eric turned his face to stare at the wall, and my hands curled into a fist on his chest. I could feel his heart pound. After everything—after all the tears, words, and kisses—he’d return to being Eric Welborn, the guy who sat next to me in homeroom. Nothing more. Nothing less. And he wouldn’t even try to rekindle the relationship. It had to be over for our plan to work.

“There’s no point carrying out this plan if Eric continues to see her,” Luthicer said, and Camille agreed.

“And it’d be too risky to mess with his mind,” Camille said. “He might forget his training.”

“We don’t have a solution,” Urte said, and Eric shook his head.

“Yes, we do,” he said, wrapping his hand around my fist. He met my eyes, but they were no longer fogged over. They were bright, aware and driven. “I can stay away this time,” he said. “My mistakes could’ve caused—”
death.
He wouldn’t say it. Instead, he ran his free hand through his hair. “I won’t make them again. I can’t.”

His father raised his brow. “I don’t know—”

“I can do it,” Eric said, and his father stepped back. The forcefulness of Eric’s tone even made me jump. I hadn’t expected it, but the others hadn’t either. Eric wasn’t lying.

“Then we’ll do it,” his father said, looking at Luthicer.

The half-breed elder shook his head. “I can’t do it now,” he said. “I’m too weak. I need time.”

“How much?” Bracke asked.

Luthicer breathed in, and his chest sank. “I’d want to wait two months,” he said. “I have to practice. I haven’t done something that big in a long time, and I don’t want to hurt her.”

I swallowed my nerves, knowing what he meant. His powers could potentially affect my brain. I pushed away the thoughts as they came. I didn’t want to think about the others who’d been hurt in order for Luthicer to figure out he could do harm.

“If that’s our only choice, we can wait for the memory loss,” Bracke began. “But I’ll block your powers tomorrow,” he said, pointing at Eric and I. “And you two can’t see each other—not in public anyway.”

Eric straightened up. “You’ll let me see her at all?”

I was like him. I had expected to be banned completely and immediately, but Bracke sighed.

“I think we can allow it for now,” he said.

“But—” Luthicer started to argue, and Bracke glared at him.

“Let the two have a few days of normalcy,” he said. “It’s our fault they got into this anyway. It’s the least we can do, and I’ll take full responsibility on guaranteeing it’s appropriate.” The words came out in one breath, and I grasped Eric’s hand.

“You mean it?” I asked, and Bracke nodded. No one interjected this time.

“Thanks, Dad,” Eric said while the others started for the door.

“Let’s get to bed,” Eu grumbled, obviously disapproving. “I can’t handle any more of this tonight.”

“Me neither,” Luthicer agreed, leaving with the others.

Only Eric and I remained, and he didn’t hesitate to lift my face. “Mind if I kiss you as Eric?” he asked, managing a smile, and I kissed him as an answer.

He tensed, but relaxed, and I leaned against his chest, taking him in. We were together—finally—and I loved it, even if it wouldn’t last forever. One moment of true happiness was worth all the moments of pain.

48

The fireworks were beautiful. Reds, blues, and green glistened against the darkening sky, and sparklers glittered in the valley below us, reminding me of every moment I’d used my powers. The powers I no longer had.

“How are you feeling?” Eric asked, leaning into the shadows beneath the willow tree. It was the only time we’d been in public together. We were still hiding and I couldn’t be more grateful. At least we had one night, one instance of freedom.

“Tired,” I admitted. Ever since Bracke had blocked my abilities, I didn’t feel quite right, but I was adapting to the feeling. I was started to feel like my old self—the girl who was oblivious of everything to come.

“That’s expected,” Eric said, and I nodded, knowing we repeated the conversation every time I managed to see him, mainly at his house and only when Teresa—or Camille—deemed it safe enough to pick me up. I wasn’t even allowed to drive my own car over.

“I spend every Independence Day up here,” Eric said, and we sat down.

I pushed my dress beneath me, loving the hot air summer brought. It was nearly suffocating, but I’d been cold for so long, I embraced the humidity entirely.

“I can see why,” I said, taking in everything, even though I knew I wouldn’t remember it the next day. I grabbed his hand and tightened my grip. “Do you think it will hurt?” I asked, and Eric’s green eyes peered through the shadows.

“It shouldn’t,” he said, running his thumb over the back of my hand. “It’ll happen when you’re sleeping, so you won’t even know.”

I forced a nod, mustering up the courage to ask the question our three months together hadn’t allowed. “You’re planning on fighting Darthon without me; aren’t you?”

He straightened, dragging his fingers through my curls. “What do you mean?” He was avoiding the answer.

“You turn eighteen in December,” I said, crossing my arms. “And you’re not going to bring my memory back until afterwards. I can tell.”

His expression didn’t move. “That was always the plan, Jessica,” he said, and I knew he was telling the truth I’d denied to myself.

“I don’t want you to, Eric.”

He sighed. “Jessica—”

“Why don’t my feelings matter?” I asked, and he tilted his head, nearly smiling.

“You know they do,” he said. “Especially to me. But—”

“But what?” The closeness of my memory being erased was causing me to panic. Had I made the wrong decision? It didn’t matter. There was no turning back from it. Luthicer had already placed the illusion.

“But your presence would only make things worse,” he said, the voice of reason. “And you know that.”

“What if he kills you?” I asked, tugging on his shirt when he didn’t respond. “What if he wins, Eric?”

“I’m not going to die, Jessica,” Eric said, and he sat up, pulling me into his lap. He poked my side, and I giggled, fighting him. I didn’t want to laugh.

“Stop it,” I said, sticking out my bottom lip as he leaned over me, his brown hair hovering over my face.

“Then relax,” he said. “I said it’d be fine, so at least attempt to believe in me.”

I sat up and kissed him before lying back down. “I do.”

His hand brushed my curls off my face, and he laid his palm on my cheek. “I don’t want this any more than you do, but it has to be this way,” he said. I didn’t bother nodding. He knew I agreed. I’d offered, after all.

“I love you,” I said, and his fingers dropped from my face. He didn’t say anything, and I sat up, my heart racing. I hadn’t said it before then, and he wasn’t saying it back. “What’s wrong?” I asked, and he grabbed my hands, lacing his fingers through mine.

“You know I feel the same way,” he said as his green eyes held mine. “But I want to say it when you’ll remember it. Not now. Not when you may never get the memory back.”

He reminded me that Luthicer had erased every memory of Shoman, the Dark, and anything that could trigger it, but he’d done it with hesitation. He wasn’t sure if I’d get every moment back, even when he removed the blocks.

I bit my quavering lip, and Eric leaned forward, kissing me. His hand waved through my curls, resting on the nape of my neck, and he held me against him. Beneath the willow tree, we remained like that for minutes, until I needed to breathe and pulled away.

“I still love you,” I said, and he chuckled, knowing my love wasn’t something I gave expecting it back. I loved him, and because I did, I knew how he felt. If he needed more time to express it, then I accepted it. I wanted to.

“I am sorry,” he said, pulling me under his arm as an array of fireworks burst over the night sky.

“Me, too.”

His shoulders rose. “What are you sorry for?”

I swallowed my nerves. “In case anything happens,” I said, hesitating to elaborate. “In case, I date someone else—just know that my heart belongs to you.”

His jaw tightened as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him. “I forgive you already,” he said, and he rubbed his hand over my back, although he was the one who probably needed comfort. “We’ll get through this, Jessica. I promise.”

I brought Eric’s hand up and kissed it. His eyes widened, and I leaned back, yawning for the first time. My face fell into a frown, reminded by the upcoming sleep that would trigger the illusion, and Eric didn’t bother to hide his grimace either.

“I’ll be back before I know it,” I said, and he tilted his head to the side.

“It’ll be a blink for you,” he said and smiled before I could talk about his reality. “This won’t be the last time I hold your hand,” he promised with a kiss.

I agreed and hoped it was a promise we could keep, despite the future ahead of us.

Many moon cycles ago, a fourteen-year-old experienced an array of terrifying nightmares—many of which felt too realistic to have only been dreamt. These nightmares continued for one year, and the only solace resided in a singular boy who appeared in them to discuss a magical and unfamiliar world. Without explanation, the dreams ceased, but the girl’s memories continued to captivate her, eventually becoming the inspiration for The Timely Death Trilogy. 

In the decade following, The Timely Death Trilogy was written, and with the support of many talented people, those dreams became a reality when The Timely Death Trilogy was published. For that reason, I want to thank my teachers—Mrs. Metcalf, T.L. McCown, Megan Kaminski, and Dr. Valk—for showing me a literary world full of possibilities. I also want to thank all of my dear friends who’ve gone beyond themselves to help with this novel, including Kirsten Moore, David Flores, Alex Villers, Tyler Gravenstein, Raul Diaz, Kyle Pettey, Cassie Barker, and Atheil Barker. A special thank you also goes out to the dedicated team at Clean Teen Publishing for believing in the world of the Dark with eager determination to share it with readers. Another thank you is for all the Members of the Dark—book bloggers and reviewers—who supported this trilogy through many trying times.

Without all of these passionate people, this novel would not be possible.

To all of you mentioned and beyond, I owe the greatest gratitude.

Stay Dark,

Shannon A. Thompson

Join the Dark and visit
http://www.ShannonAThompson.com