The Rising King (16 page)

“I am sure,” said a female voice Kera didn’t recognize. “This will cure her. Trust me.”

“Oh, I do,” came his quick reply. “But is it the plant or your spit? ’Cause there’s a lot of spit in that.”

“I suspect both,” Faldon injected. “Siren lore makes note of the mystical qualities attached to their kisses.”

“Oh,” Halim sounded disappointed. “I have ordinary spit.”

Bodog grunted. “Most humans do.”

They found Bodog. Good. Kera angled her head and saw the last sister kneeling beside her. It was Neve and she was chewing on some green leaves. After they were good and soggy, she peeled off a layer of green she’d previously pressed into the cut along Kera’s arm and replaced it with the latest green slime. It stung like mad and Kera took a quick intake of breath.

“She’s awake!” Halim shouted like a village crier on a Saturday night outside the local pub.

Signe’s face immediately hovered over Kera, blocking out the sun. “How do you feel?”

“Alive.” She glanced at Neve and back at her friend. “You missed. How could you possibly miss?”

Halim pushed Signe out of the way. “It’s a good thing she did or else you’d be deader than dead.” He glanced over at Neve and sighed. “Isn’t she amazing?”

“Halim,” Reece called. He didn’t look at all happy. When Halim only stared at Neve, Signe snagged his ear and pulled him toward Reece.

Neve plucked at the leaves she’d gathered in her lap and sent Kera an apologetic smile. “I don’t mean to beguile the boy. It just happens sometimes.”

Kera saw past the glamour to the sadness that swelled around Neve. “Did you accidentally enchant Wyatt?”

Her eyes widened in real surprise. “No. The rules of that game were different. Sorcha was bored and Lucinda came at just the right time. I didn’t expect to love Wyatt, but I did. We all did in our own way.”

Kera stopped herself from letting out a disbelieving snort, but she couldn’t hold back her words. “Love usually doesn’t end in murder.”

“He threatened us. We are the Seven Sisters. Without someone to take my place, they had no choice but to eliminate the threat.”

“And you believed that?”

For a moment, Kera wasn’t sure Neve would answer her, but when she did, it was in a small soft voice filled with pain. “No.” Neve looked at the statue Sorcha had become and sighed. “Sorcha was jealous.”

That rang true. “And she convinced the others to go along with her plan.” Kera eyed the crying statue. “Turning her into stone was too kind.”

“I understand why you did it,” Neve said. “I wanted to do worse to them, but Wyatt’s gone. Killing them won’t bring him back.” She blinked back a tear and glanced around at what remained of each of her sisters. “I know this will sound strange, but if you let me, I would like to stay and tend to them.”

Confusion had Kera pushing herself up onto her elbows and giving Neve a hard look. “It’s no simple spell I used. It’s a hundred-year curse. That is a long time even for someone like you.”

“Maybe we need a long time to ponder our mistakes.”

Neve was sentencing herself to a punishment almost as severe as her sisters. Kera didn’t understand it, but she wouldn’t deny the girl. Let her tend her new garden and dwell day after day upon the one true love she had lost. It was a just punishment.

“Thank you,” Neve whispered. She replaced the green leaves with a fresh coating of slimy ones, and this time wrapped Kera’s arm with a silken bandage. When she was done, she brushed the unused leaves off her lap and helped Kera to her feet. Signe and Halim steadied her as they watched Neve walk away. She stopped and turned to look at them. “My sisters and I aren’t truly bad. Just misguided at times.”

Kera had to bite her tongue. The Seven Sisters were not misguided. They were calculating creatures who preyed on innocent people. That was a fact. Watching her slip into the forest alone gave her a moment’s pause.

Reece asked the question she was asking herself. “Do we just let her go?”

Signe put her arm around Halim. “Without her sisters, Neve is lost. She has nowhere else to go.”

“Come,” Bodog grunted. “We leave.” Even Bodog didn’t fully trust the girl.

Kera touched the bandage on her arm and as they left the sisters’ domain, she lagged behind the rest of them. This moment called for the magic within her to mingle together. What Navar used for bad, she would use to ensure the sisters stayed where she put them. When she was alone, Kera spoke the words that sealed the sisters’ fate. “One hundred years, the curse will be. Only that day will set you free. Hidden in time, hidden in space. Those who look, will find no trace.”

When the last words were uttered, the forest and inland sea where the Sisters lived disappeared, replaced by a stretch of inhospitable desert.

When she turned around, she found Bodog, his big eyes staring. Her chin rose defiantly. “Dylan is safe now.”

He nodded and they walked away.

Impossible to Handle

We’re not looking at the edge of the world, but we might as well be. We’re at the edge of the Vegas strip, a place only the poorest gamblers or those who come to shake loose their spare change frequent. An empty bag of chips tumbles past the cracked glass of the little motel’s front door. Forty-eight low-budget rooms sit in the shadow of the Stratosphere hotel. The place is about as far from luxurious as Mom can get, while still close enough to let her smell the high-priced perfume drifting off the main drag. Her beat-up car is in the parking lot next to the trailer containing all our worldly possessions. I don’t want to believe she’s stooped this low, but all the signs point to her being one step away from living off the streets.

This was the life Kera had saved me from. Gutters and gambling and living off air. It’s barely a life at all. From the moment Kera met me, she’d believed in me. She’d told me I was special. A guy like me rarely lays claim to that title. I’d never heard it directed at me before. Ever.

Leo and I sit in the idling Jeep and stare at the run-down motel. “What a dump. No offense, but I really don’t want to be here.” He throws his head back against his headrest and sighs. “I miss Lucinda.” He inhales like he’s trying to recall how she smells. “This has been the longest I’ve spent away from her in a long time.”

Are his eyes actually tearing up? Oh for the love of… They are. “We’re almost done. You’ll see her soon enough.”

I can’t believe I have to be the guy’s emotional crutch. We don’t have time for him to get all sappy.

He turns his head toward me. “I miss Cin’s cute little nose, how it wrinkles up when she’s having…”

I wait for him to say, but he turns away. “Having what?” Then I think about it and I wish I hadn’t asked.

A smile tugs on his mouth. “Milk. She likes her milk.”

Oh, thank God. I thought he was going to tell me something I really didn’t want to hear. I relax, and my mind goes to Kera. “I miss Kera’s eyes. I’ve never seen anyone with that color before. Violet, with shots of blue.”

“Yeah, she has really big eyes. Anime eyes.”

I tilt my head at him and frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” he says all innocently, and quickly looks at the motel. “You sure this is the place?”

“Positive.”

“Just think,” he says, staring at a man pushing a shopping cart filled with his belongings across the street. “If your mom knew what kind of power she held, she wouldn’t be here.”

The thought brings out a cold sweat, and I feel sick. “She can’t know.”

“How are we going to get it from her? Do we even know what it is? Does she even have it still?”

“I don’t know.” I rub my red-rimmed and sore eyes before slipping on my new dark sunglasses. The salesgirl said they give me a dangerous look, and Leo said I look like a Hollywood player. All I want is to shield my eyes from the glaring sun. An absinthe hangover is nothing to joke about. “How are we even going to get her out of there?” I rub my forehead and sigh. “God, this is a mess.”

Leo turns the car off. “Let’s clean it up, then. No way will she complain if we tell her where we’re going. Let’s pack her up and take her back to our hotel.”

“And do what?” Mom, sitting in a room full of expensive breakables as she recounts the evils of her latest love disaster didn’t sound like a good idea.

“She wants money.” Leo flashes a megawatt smile. “Let her play, bro. You’re the one with a magically thick wad of green.”

I didn’t just hear him correctly. “The moral fiber by which you live your life is beginning to tear, because I’m pretty sure you just suggested I cheat.” I throw him a hard look. “Are you suggesting I cheat?”

“Relax, bro. The universe won’t dissolve because I’m stepping into a gray zone. I’m suggesting you take the money your grandma gave you and put it to use in a creative manner while I search her stuff.”

There’s a flaw to his plan, but I can’t think. All I want is to get Mom and get the hell away from Vegas.

“Okay,” I say, but I’m not at all happy. No doubt disaster is waiting for us right around the corner. I just can’t see it, although I have an excellent imagination. “You want me to put my mom in the middle of a crowd of people with a wad of money and let her loose? I’m not seeing the wisdom of that plan.”

“We could always tie her up and ransack her belongings.” He tips his head as he thinks. “First we’ll need to buy some rope, duct tape, and maybe a face mask and a—”

“Stop.” I hold up my hand. Any guy who walks into a hardware store and buys a mask and duct tape at the same time is one step away from serial killer. “We’re not tying her up. She’s my mom.” I open the car door, look back at him, and shake my head. “Why would you even think that’s an option?”

“Just showing you how not-so-crazy my first idea is.”

“Fine. We take her back to the hotel.”

I start to get out when Leo puts his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. He has one of those faces that says “trust me” and a voice that can calm a raging bulldog. “Your mom still has the magic. I know it. She’s going to give it to us and we’re going to take it back and save Teag and everything will settle down.”

“Right. It’ll be easy.” I sigh. What am I saying? It won’t be. “Trying to find something that sounds too good to be true could easily be a huge waste of time. Why do I get the feeling my dad is playing me?”

Leo pushes his dark hair out of his eyes. “He wouldn’t. Not about this. He really does care about Teag.”

“I don’t.” I look at him, completely serious. “Not this much.”

“Yes, you do.” He sounds confident. He knows me better than I do. “Kera believes in you. I’ve seen you do the craziest stuff and not bat an eye, and all because of her. She’s made you care, even when you didn’t want to. So don’t lie. Kera’s worth all the shit you’ve been through and more.”

He’s right. “She means everything to me.” Kera thinks I’m better than what I am, and I want to be. For her.

We get out and walk toward a flight of concrete stairs that leads to the second floor. “Girls. They make us crazy, bro.”

“For sure, dude.”

I feel calmer now, like I’m not alone. Leo gets the chaos I’m in. He’s experienced it and is willing to stick by my side to the end. I just hope the end hasn’t already commenced. We’ve been gone two days. A lot can happen in two days. We need to figure this out fast and get back.

I lead Leo to room number 22. He raises his hand to knock, but I stop him. The walkway is clear. It’s late afternoon. Everyone here is probably just waking up and getting ready for another late night. Not even a maid is in sight.

“Are you going to bust it in?”

I shake my head. My hand glows and the door magically opens.

“Oh, right. Cool. I forgot you can do that.”

We enter the room, and I close the door. Mom is still passed out on the bed. Her clothes are scattered everywhere. Leo finds her suitcase, and I toss it onto the other bed. A little magic, and clothes and accessories fly until the suitcase is neatly packed. I do the same trick with all her toiletries, tucking them into a smaller case.

When I come out of the bathroom, Leo is sitting on the empty bed. He stands and looks at Mom. “Bro, your mom can sleep. Are you going to wake her?”

“And have her fight us all the way there? No thanks.” The sleeping spell I placed on her is still in place, so I wrap her in a blanket and pick her up. She mutters in her sleep, and I tell her everything is fine. She believes me and settles into my arms. I carry her out. Leo follows with her bags. We pass a man coming out of his room. He steps out of our way and stares after us. I pick up the pace, not wanting to hang around here any longer than we need to.

“What about her car?” Leo asks when we get to the Jeep.

She’d keep the magic close, so I feel no shame in saying, “It’s a piece of trash and so is what’s in the trailer. Leave ’em.”

Leo tosses the suitcases in the back while I secure Mom in the backseat. When we both get in, Leo starts the car and backs out, shaking his head in disbelief. “What’s it say about a place where two guys can take an unconscious woman out of her hotel room and nobody says a thing?”

The man we passed is still hanging outside his room, just leaning on the railing as he smokes a cigarette and stares down at us. He’s making Leo nervous.

“Don’t worry about him. He saw two paramedics load a woman on a stretcher and put her in an ambulance.”

“You can do that?” Leo sounds impressed.

“It’s one guy.” I look back as Leo turns into the street. The guy flicks his cigarette over the railing and returns to his room. “The challenge will be carrying Mom through a huge crowd. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s going to be risky.”

“The problem is you don’t think you can create an illusion that’ll affect hundreds of people at once, right?”

I nod. It’s just too risky at this point to try it for the first time.

“So why not concentrate on your mom?”

“What, like create an illusion only for her?”

“Yeah. Make it dreamlike.”

I turn the idea over in my head. We pass a billboard with an image of Charlize Theron selling sunglasses and an idea sparks. “Leo…you’re brilliant. I’ve got just the dream she’ll love. Are you ready to help me make her fantasy come true?”

“Just so long as it’s legal, I’m in.”

One moment we’re dressed in regular clothes, the next we’re in black suits and crisp white shirts looking very bodyguardish.

We pull into the front, and as Leo hands over the keys to the valet, I open the back door and wake up Mom by saying in my most professional voice, “Ma’am. We’re here.”

Gone are her nightclothes and messy hair and in their place are a stylish hairdo and the trendy outfit I spotted on Charlize Theron’s billboard ad, sunglasses and all. She swings her leg out, baring a long length of skin. The tall heel of her strappy sandal digs into the road, and she holds out her hand. I grab it and help her out. The jersey tank dress she’s wearing is model-perfect, and so is Mom. She looks amazing, the way I know she could if she’d get her act together. I create a line of photographers and fans calling her name as we sweep her inside the casino hotel. Once inside, I can relax the illusion and get rid of the fans and photogs and hustle her to the elevators.

She’s great, like I knew she’d be, movie star attitude and all. She always wanted to be an actress, then I came along, and ruined that dream. She never said it outright, but she didn’t have to. It was there, in her eyes, the sound of her voice and her mood change. I grew up knowing my birth had destroyed her dreams. It was a messed-up thing to do to a kid, but Mom never really thought about how things affected me. Her attention was always centered inward.

We get her inside, no problem. The illusion starts to thin and real people take their place. Mom doesn’t notice, just like I’d hoped she wouldn’t. Behind the sunglasses, her smile shines so bright, she actually stops people in their tracks. One woman even takes her picture. For real. Mom stops and poses and another flash pops. Then another and another. She blows a kiss to the gathering crowd and laughs.

These people actually believe Mom is someone famous. No magic required. Cool. I lean close. “Your appointment, ma’am. You don’t want to be late.”

She nods. “Of course.”

I’m in front of her, leading her through the growing crowd of onlookers who’ve stopped to stare. Leo’s behind us, pulling her luggage that I’ve magically turned into very expensive designer bags. The plan is working beautifully until Mom suddenly veers to the right. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her grab a guy by the arm and autograph his shirt.

The man’s wife squeals with pleasure, gushing about how much she loved Mom in
The Mummy
. The crowd thickens.

I turn to Leo. “We need to get to the elevator. Now.”

The stunned man blinks as she ends her name in a flourish and kisses him on the cheek as his wife takes a picture. I take Mom by the arm and gently steer her toward the private elevators. By this time, she’s gathered an impressively large crowd and they are all snapping pictures and trying to get her attention.

When we finally get her in the elevator, people are clapping and Mom’s waving even while the doors close. Leo and I face each other in the universal bodyguard position of hands clasped in front of us as Mom stands between us, lapping up the praise. As the elevator starts to go up, she sighs and looks between Leo and me. “Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?”

“As always,” I say, trying to hide the sarcasm that creeps into my voice. Mom would have been a perfect reality TV star. She loves attention and goes after it with gusto few people possess outside the Hollywood D-list.

“I was talking to my agent the other day and he thinks I’m more popular than Anne Hathaway.” She leans back and runs her hands back and forth along the rail that runs the circumference of the inside of the elevator. “Anne Hathaway. That’s big.”

“Wow,” Leo breathes and stares at me. He’s got a stupid grin on his face, and I have to look away. Mom is eating this illusion up.

A sudden frown creases her forehead. “Ugh! These heels.” She slips out of her shoes and dangles them by the straps. “Pretty, but hardly practical.”

Her whole outfit easily costs over five grand. Trust her to find something to complain about. I’m tempted to switch her into a grungy top and dirty pair of overalls and watch the meltdown that’ll follow, but now is not the time to play out any revenge fantasies I harbor. I’m trying to be a good son…and save a whole other world from being consumed by death. “You can change when we get to your room.”

The doors open at our floor and we walk into the suite. As soon as the front door closes, I bring her out of her fantasy. She stops mid-prance toward the couch, like a child who’s suddenly lost sight of her parents.

She looks from the strappy shoes to her expensive dress and then the luxurious room. “What’s going on? Where am I?” When she turns and sees me, she wraps her arms around her torso and takes a frightened step back. Nothing says I’m glad to see you like a freaked-out expression and closed body language.

I suddenly have a serious craving for a shot of absinthe. “Hi, Mom.”