Speed of Light (36 page)

I had to close my eyes, but still we called on Light and Good.

I imagined Auntie and Roshana chanting with us on their side. Smiling and sharing their love.

When hot wind blew over my face and tousled my hair, like riding in a fast car with the windows down, I cracked an eyelid.

“You can stop,” Juliet said. “She’s dead. They’re all gone.”

Our voices trickled off.

“You watched?” I asked Juliet.

“I had to. I had to know it was finished.”

Just then, a Timothy threw open the door with a strength that pushed Rumi out of the way. “Guys, we’ve got a problem. A big one.”

S
he’s gone. Ms. Asura is gone
.

Woodsmen swarmed in around us. “We saw the Light. Best firework and lightning show we’ve ever seen.”

I couldn’t catch my breath.
She’s gone. We did it. Took out Nocti
.

“Nelli’s down here.” We followed Timothy into the basement, Bales tumbling down the stairs in his haste to get to her.

The basement reminded me of maggoty sausage and stinking cheese.

“You okay?” Fara asked me at the top of the stairs.

Woodsmen hung LED lights and flashlights everywhere. We had to act fast. The police were on their way, probably because of the gunshots.

“I don’t know.” I could barely feel my toes. I felt like I floated above all of us.

“Bales!” Nelli fell into Bales’s arms, sobbing. “I thought you were dead.” Duct tape hung from her arms and legs. She’d been strapped to the chair.

“Shhh, honey, it’s okay. It’s over.”

On the floor at her feet was the freshly dead body of a man.

“That’s the tattoo.” Meridian knelt down beside him, checking out a tattoo on the side of his neck.

“And the symbol she had me searching for.”

“That’s my boss,” Nelli cried between the words. “He shot himself when we heard you upstairs. I thought he was going to shoot me, but he just shot himself.”

Bales leaned back from her. He pulled his hand away, covered in dark red. “You’re bleeding.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.” Bales tried to find the wound on her body.

“Bales?” Nelli’s voice caught my attention and I walked closer. “Asa Bales look at me.”

He was trembling, falling over, his eyes showing lots of white. “Nelli, I love you.”

“Bales!” She squealed as he collapsed onto the floor. “Don’t you die on me, you hear me?”

I saw a gaping wound as if a bullet had sliced through Nelli’s clothes, leaving a trench in her skin. Meridian saw it at the same time that Tens and Rumi began to check on Bales.

“Nelli, you need to sit down.” Meridian tugged her. “You’re losing a lot of blood.”

“I’m not hurt—it’s Bales. He’s—”

I grabbed a doorjamb, trying to keep from fainting. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I tasted a menu on my tongue.

I knew the moment my legs collapsed because I sat at my kitchen table. Spread before me were platters of fried chicken, fluffy biscuits, green bean casserole, ears of steaming corn, and the tallest pile of glazed doughnuts I’d ever seen. I brushed the tears off my cheeks. I didn’t want to look up, to see who was in the kitchen, at the window, with me.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” Bales asked me.

I couldn’t speak, so I nodded, clearing my throat until I could say, “Yes.”

“We didn’t win after all, did we?”

“Nelli’s alive.”

“She’s hurt.” He frowned.

“It’s not bad. A few stitches and she’ll be okay.” I prayed I was telling the truth. Her wound didn’t appear life-threatening, but then neither had Bales’s. “We should have made you go to the hospital.”

“You know I wouldn’t have gone no matter what. You
need to know about your father. He’s alive. I think he’s the reason the Woodsmen made contact—”

A rock band struck up opening chords on the other side of the window. I saw crowds start dancing toward us.

“That’s my favorite band.” Bales turned back to me, delight filling his voice. “Wow, look at that—my grandparents are dancing! I have to go now. Tell Nelli I’m sorry. I love her. But I can’t stay.”

“I will, but what about my dad?”
Wait!

“Ask Gus about camping in the shades.”

“But—” I tried to get him to stay, to tell me more.

Bales slid across the window frame, the food going with him into the crowds.

Kirian held the hand of my mother and both were smiling. “Kirian?” I called.
Why are you happy?

I awoke lying on a couch.

“Welcome back.” Fara leaned over me. My eyes didn’t want to focus. My head throbbed, pounded, and my mouth was sticky dry like salt rocks.

“What happened? Bales, is he really—” I struggled to sit up as Fara pushed me back down.

“I’m sorry, Juliet, he died.”

My breath left in a gust. Tears traced into my hairline. “Nelli?”

“She’s in the hospital under observation. She didn’t
handle it well.” Meridian knelt by my head and offered me a sip of grape soda.

Fara whispered, “We found Kirian’s body and Aileen’s bones. They were in those drawers, with others Nelli searched for. They are safe now. Your FBI showed up.”

We found Kirian? Did I hear correctly?
“Kirian?”

“Yes.” Fara’s voice sounded far away and controlled.

Hope blossomed in my chest for a moment. “My mother?”
Could she have been there too?

Meridian shook her head. “Not yet. But we’re not giving up.”

I swung my legs over the side of the couch to sit up. “Where are we?”

“At the hospice. We wanted Delia to look at you,” Meridian answered me.

“We think the condo is infestated,” Fara added.

I blanched, confused.

Meridian chuckled. “Bugged.”

“Oh.” Fara shrugged.

“Meridian, girls, come listen to this.” Gus paused the report and turned up the volume. “There’s been another racing accident.”

“I thought they were canceling the race?” I asked.

“Lots of people objected, said the danger is what makes it exciting. Most years no one gets hurt; people said these were nasty coincidences,” Gus answered me.

I rubbed my eyes and held my belly. How long had I slept?

Faye’s chest rose and fell, but her body was even smaller than I remembered it. As if her soul would outsize her body, and soon.

Meridian nodded at Gus to press PLAY, and Jessica Martin began:
“First an accident on the track and now off. This team can’t catch a break. This year’s pole sitter has had to pull his name out of the running this year. His season is over after he was hit crossing Circle Street last night with friends. The hit-and-run accident had many eyewitnesses, but no suspects have been arrested yet. His femur was shattered. We’re going to roll footage captured by people waiting to get into the club. They were race fans trying to get autographs, which is why we have any video at all. With a warning for sensitive viewers, this is graphic.”

It wasn’t the picture of the black SUV hitting the crowd, but the sound of impact and the shattering of breaking bones, of traumatized flesh, that made me chalky.
Like butchering a carcass for parts
.

The reporter continued.
“Six others are also hospitalized for their injuries. Many considered this team and driver the favorites for this year’s milk drink, so this development opens up the race to smaller teams.”

The in-studio newscaster couldn’t keep the glee off his face. Carnage made for good ratings.
“Should make it fun to watch.”

“Yes indeedy.”

“What do you make of that?” Gus asked.

A huge part of me desperately hoped they’d cancel
the event before anyone else got hurt. The other part knew the Nocti would just strike somewhere else when we weren’t prepared.

Meridian answered what all of us were thinking. “I don’t know.”

“How is Faye?” I asked to fill the silence.

Flesh hung off Gus like a shell. This vigil was breaking him down. “She won’t go. Every time Dolores shows up, Faye rallies, or at least her vitals increase again. Like she can’t let go.” He leaned down close to Faye’s ear. “We’ll be okay. Meridian and Juliet are here. Let them help you.”

“Gus, why don’t you go home, change your clothes, eat something. We’ll call you if anything changes.”

“I need to lie down for a while.” He nodded.

“I promise we’ll call.”

“I’d just like her to let go now. I don’t understand what she’s waiting for.” He kissed her cheek and left us alone in the room with Faye’s shell.

“Gus?” I asked as he picked up his car keys.

“What, chickadee?”

“Does camping in the shade mean anything to you?”

He started to shake his head. “I usually pitch my tent under a tree for shade.”

My face must have looked as crestfallen as I felt because he paused longer. “My parents always took me to Shades State Park as a kid. Gorgeous place to camp. Lost a little luster when I grew up and found out the history and real name.”

“What’s that?” My pulse galloped.

“It’s called Shades of Death State Park officially.”

Fara made an ick face and said, “Sounds like a great place to camp.”

“Shade … where did I hear that?” Meridian started jotting notes down, but I couldn’t bear to take my eyes off Gus.

I saw Gus struggling through exhaustion to connect the dots for us. “There are several stories. One is a woman killed her abusive husband and buried his body there. The town all knew but kept it secret because they knew what he’d done to her for years. Another is that there was a huge Native American slaughter. Some say it was an ancient place where a war was fought and many died. Now people call it Shades and don’t know what the full name is.”

Mini meowed and pranced out from under Faye’s bed.

“Baba said the ancestors and Ahura Mazda, the Creators, used our texts to communicate with us. Juliet, when Tony asked his question at our Nowruz, what was the answer from the book?” Fara barely breathed.

I’d been trying to puzzle it out for days, so I knew it by heart. “ ‘The sun is relentless this week. For all I’d like is a tall glass of punch and a nap in the cool shade for all time.’ ”

“Child, what was his question?” Gus turned to Juliet.

“He said he wanted to know where my mother was.”
Could she be at Shades?

“Oh, Lordy.” Meridian paced. “Auntie gave me a message. She didn’t understand it, but she said your mother was in shade.”

Hope felt like a warm bowl of soup on a bitterly cold day. “Maybe my mother’s body is somewhere at Shades?”

“It’s a drive from here and it’s a large park. I don’t know how to find anything that hasn’t already been stumbled over.” Gus frowned.

“What are the chances the Nocti have moved Roshana or will follow you down there to hurt you?” Gus cautioned.

“I think toying with Juliet was solely on Ms. Asura. With her dead, I think they’ll move on to bigger games,” Meridian answered Gus.

She glanced at the television screen and whistled. Cells of severe-weather storm clouds were three states over and predicted to head straight here. They didn’t seem to be diminishing in strength as they neared. Hail, tornadoes, powerful straight-line winds, and drenching, flooding rain were all over the radar.
Do we pray for bad weather?
“Do they cancel the race for rain?”

“Delay it anyway,” Gus said.

“I hate to think tornadoes might be a pleasant alternative to the Nocti’s plans, but …” I trailed off as Fara said, “Tony is on his way.”

I wanted to start walking to the park that moment; instead I busied myself moistening Faye’s mouth, squeezing her hand and brushing her hair out of her face. Her eyes were sunken more, and her pallor was yellow where it wasn’t bruising.
We’re here, Faye. You are not alone
.

The television brought up race graphics and Fara clicked off the mute. “Guys? Did you know there was a parade the day before the race?”

Rows of bleachers were being hauled in and the roads lined with black-and-white checkered flags.

“What?” Meridian turned the volume up.

D
olores arrived to sit with Faye and kicked us out. So we headed back to the cottage. I wasn’t sure how Juliet was handling Bales’s death; I was shaky enough for both of us. I took out a mental box, stuffed the grief into it, and turned all my attention to the next few critical days. I would allow myself time to grieve later.
Way later
.

Fara finished stacking the paintings and photographs from the walls. With all the recovered Nocti documents, we needed all the space to figure out our next move. Tens added pages to the timeline until it covered the middle of two walls like a weird kind of ribbon on a gift.
Some gift
.

Rumi held a journal in his hands; he thumbed through
it without seeming to read any of it. The corners were blackened.

“Rumi?”

“We found this at the museum. It fell behind the fire. She was trying to burn it.”

“That was in your nain’s box, right?” I squatted down. Rumi’s vitality was sapped and he finally appeared his age.

He nodded. “My uncle’s.” He opened his mouth and closed it, his gaze drifting off.