Chapter Twenty-Four #2
I take my equipment into the bedroom. Luke sleeps soundly on the bed, only the slight rise and fall of his chest any indication he’s alive.
When I pulled over during The Reckoning, I tied my sweatshirt over the wound, creating as close to a tourniquet as possible.
It stopped the bleeding, but now new blood wets the stained fabric.
It must have started up again when we moved him inside.
Beside the bed a small nightstand sports a dusty lamp and a yellowed stack of books. Dropping the contents in my hands to the edge of the bed, I move the books to the floor and wipe down the table as best as I can before setting everything I’ll need on it.
Cracking my knuckles, I force deep breaths to calm my frazzled heart. I pass Moira on my way out of the room and reenter the living area. She follows me out.
“You said they could go home,” she says, facing where Krystal, Yasmine, and Poppi are slumped on the couch with their eyes closed. They still look worse for wear, but a hint of warmth has returned to their skin. “What about you?”
“I need to stay here and patch up Luke.”
I don’t remember making the decision, but I know it’s the right one.
Yes, he kept the truth about his brother being the devil from me.
Maybe knowing would have changed my mind about everything, maybe it wouldn’t have.
All I know is that he took an arrow for me.
He was about to die so we could get away. I can’t just leave him here.
Especially after that kiss.
Moira hesitates, like she knows if Luke was awake, he’d fight me on it.
Before she can argue, I cut her off. “You know the fastest way to the pier. I know how to suture and dress a wound. You said yourself that the partial dose of Vitality might only slow the poison, at best. You have to take them now. Please.”
Her disturbing gaze clings to mine. “How will you get back to your world?”
“Luke will make sure I do. If I can save him, he’ll save me.”
It’s a bold statement to make about someone who’s left me a breadcrumb trail of half-truths to puzzle together. But I do trust him. Even if maybe I shouldn’t after everything I’ve learned today.
Finally, Moira nods. “I will prepare the car. Get them ready to leave.”
Gently, I rouse our rescues. When they open their eyes, I’m relieved to see the film ebbing.
I scoot the plaid chair closer to the couch so I can face Krystal. Pressing my palms to her cheeks, I try to ignore her still-burning skin.
“Hey,” I say in my softest voice. “Remember me?”
Blearily, she nods. Her fingers come up to weakly hold on to mine. “Angel…where are we? What’s happening?”
“You’re going home,” I promise. “Aren’t you excited to see Amelia and Kassidy and Aurelia? They can’t wait to see you.”
A faint smile pulls at her full lips. “You’re coming with me?”
“I’ll meet you there.” I pull out my phone. “I want you to have this, okay?”
She wears the same outfit she had on Monday when she disappeared, though at some point, she lost her blazer.
The pockets on her ripped dress pants are too tiny to hold anything of value.
I grab my denim jacket from where I slung it over the back of the chair and help her shrug into it.
On my phone, I set an alarm for four hours from now with the note: CALL AMELIA AND CHECK THE NOTES APP.
In a fresh note, I tap out a quick message listing the poisonous plants and saying that they need to go to the ER stat.
All I can do is pray someone competent finds them.
I tuck the phone inside the pocket of my denim jacket, which Krystal now wears. It’s still mostly charged, so should last, barring any detours.
“Promise me this isn’t the last time I’ll ever see you,” she whispers, fingers finding mine again. Her squeeze is weak, but there. “Promise you won’t end up like Madeline.”
The image of the arrow piercing Madeline’s chest sears through my brain.
“I promise,” I choke out, though I have no way of keeping it. Moira opens the door, waiting in the entryway. The time to go is now.
I help Krystal up. With Moira’s help, we shuffle Krystal and Yasmine and Poppi into an ancient sedan. Before I close the door, Krystal grabs my hand, tugging me to stoop down to her level. She meets my eyes with a quizzical look that would be comical in any other situation.
“I know we’re in a nightmare and all, but was that Luke kissing you?”
The question and expression combo is so her it makes me laugh in relief. “I have a lot to catch you up on once we get home. I love you. See you there.”
I close the door and step back. Moira meets my gaze over the car, her scarred face creased with concern. “Save him.”
“Save them,” I say back. Before I lose my nerve, I ask the question that’s been burning at the back of my throat since I realized who she is. “Is it true? Is he”—I can’t bring myself to say Luke’s twin or your son—“really the devil?”
Her eyes turn sad. “He was once just a boy. But sometimes we can’t help what we become.”
The words rattle me, striking too close to home.
Moira looks up at the cloudless sky. “Nothing has been the same here since Luke was banished by his brother. It’s as if their broken bond broke something else, too.”
“The veil,” I say as another puzzle piece slides into place. His brother didn’t just get Luke kicked out. The betrayal was deeper than that. He banished Luke. Because, as the devil, he was the only one who could.
It makes sense now why the hell hounds have been after us. Like Beliar, they were sent.
Moira must read the realization on my face. “He did what he did to survive.”
Before I can ask whether she’s talking about Luke or his brother, she gets into the car and leaves in a cloud of dust.
I turn back toward the cabin as a wave of anxiety crashes over me. After withdrawing from med school, I never expected to dig up that version of myself again. I thought she was dead and buried with her parents.
But maybe those we lose don’t ever fully leave us. Even if it’s ourselves.