Chapter 23 #2
“I don’t mind.” A happy, faraway look comes over Agatha.
“I like to talk about her, keeps her memory alive.” She sits back in her chair and refastens the locket, stashing it beneath the folds of her scarf and clothes.
“She was a happy child. Was a little younger than you were when she started hearing the voices. My family, they didn’t know how to deal with her, you see.
They were pack wolves, of course, and they only knew the version of the world their pack had taught them. ”
“Sounds familiar.”
“All too familiar, sadly. Without the proper guidance, Jenny’s blood-wolf powers overcame her. She thought she was going crazy. My parents did as well. They put her in a hospital where her connection to the Lunar Plane dwindled.”
Agatha twists her lips in different directions.
“I remember the last time I saw her. It was like the life had been sucked out of her. They say she died of a heart defect, but I always knew it was because we’d stuck her in that place, told her to close herself off from her true self.
” She lifts her head, shakes out her fierce curls.
“After she passed, I left my pack. Couldn’t stand being near them anymore.
I left my family and went into the mountains.
Devoted my life to learning everything I could to hopefully help the next blood wolf who entered my life. ”
Now she looks me directly in the eye and I swear I see a twinkle.
“I’ve been waiting, hoping one day, I could help someone the way I wish my sister had been helped.”
I reach out and place my hand on top of hers.
“You have helped me,” I say. “And not just in the mountains. You helped me realize who I was. And you passed that information to Omar and he’s been with me this whole time. So in a way, so have you.”
“That’s very nice of you to say.” She wipes at her cheeks with the back of a hand.
“Gosh, I’m a mess. Anyway, what was my point?
Ah, yes. My point is”—she nods in my direction—“people are stubborn, especially when there are things they don’t understand, that they fear, or when they’ve been hurt.
And sometimes it can feel like pushing a brick wall up a hill.
But when you have the privilege of powers like yours, you have to keep trying. ”
I nod along, but inside I can’t help feeling a little disillusioned.
“So you’re saying to just keep trying?”
“I’m saying, people will come around, it just might take a little more oomph than you think.”
“Right.”
“That mate of yours. He’s come a long way since you met him, right?”
I nod, my heart skipping a beat just thinking of Jasper and how he’s grown over the last year and a half.
“Took him a while though, didn’t it?”
“That’s an understatement.”
Agatha laughs a little. “But you never gave up, did you? Because you’re strong. Persistent.”
My shoulders roll forward as I deflate a little. “I suppose.”
Agatha reaches out and takes both of my hands firmly, almost thumping them onto the wooden tabletop. “You have a whole line of blood wolves behind you,” she says. “They’ll back you up as long as you keep trying.”
Even though I still feel lost and a little useless, I force myself to smile. Because Agatha is, of course, right. Mal can turn me down, every rogue in the country can turn me down, Mia and Olivia can stay where they are, but I won’t stop fighting.
Behind Agatha, I notice bubbles appearing at the brim of her pot.
“Um, should it be doing that?”
She jumps up with a yelp. “Oh, goodness. Caught it just in time.” She turns and winks. “See, you’re more perceptive than you think.”
With a ladle she drops some of the tea in two cups then places one in front of me.
“Can I ask you a question?” I say, wrapping my cold hands around the hot mug.
“Shoot.”
“Someone important told me something recently, they said when the time comes, I would need to leave Jasper. What do you think that means?”
Cupping her own mug, Agatha slips back into her seat.
“Hard to say,” she says, thinking. “My best piece of advice is to keep your mind open. There’s more than one way to leave someone.”
“I guess.” Blowing on the surface of the murky brown liquid first, I hesitantly take a sip. But of course, my taste buds are immediately lit up. “That’s good!”
Agatha lifts a teasing brow. “What did you expect?”
In the afternoon, Omar and I get ready to leave. I throw my duffel in the trunk of the car while he says goodbye to Agatha, then turn to look up at the house once more.
Mal never reappeared after our conversation in the morning.
We spent the few hours we had eating, drinking Agatha’s soul-cleansing tea, and catching up with the girls.
Mia and Olivia exit the house with their bags as well, throwing them into their car, about to head back to the Pixies.
“How long is the drive supposed to be?” Mia asks, catching my interest.
Olivia leans over the top of their car. “Something like twenty hours, maybe more.”
“What?” I ask, wondering why the hell it would take them so long to get back when it only took us closer to five hours to get here.
Mia and Olivia share a look and Olivia smirks at me.
“We’ve been talking all morning,” Mia says, then stops.
I stare at them open-mouthed. “And?”
“You’re gonna like this,” Olivia says.
“We can’t let you go back empty-handed,” Mia says. “If Mal isn’t going to help you, well, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
My jaw drops and I shake my head in disbelief.
“But I thought you were never coming back,” I say to Olivia.
“Look, if swallowing my pride means people aren’t going to get hurt, then what else am I going to do? I still care about the people there, even if they’ve been dicks to me.”
Mia gives me a big, toothy smile. “Seeing what you’ve done, coming out here, putting yourself in danger, got us thinking. You’re an inspiration, Max.”
“You’re sure?” I ask, because even though this is definitely good news, I don’t want to be the reason anyone puts themself someplace they don’t feel comfortable.
“We’re sure,” Olivia says. “I don’t know if it will stick. But you were right. We’re out here fighting the same fight. Why not do everything we can to make sure we win. You know I hate losing.”
Instantly, I’m reminded of Olivia’s determination during that game of capture the flag back at the Blue Moon Festival. If she enters this war with any of the same energy, we pretty much can’t lose. “Oh yeah,” I say. “I remember.”
“I can’t guarantee my father will decide to put his pride aside for the greater good. But all I can do is try, right?” Mia asks.
“All you can do is try,” I reiterate, feeling a little less depressed about this whole mission.
Omar heads over, waving a last goodbye to Agatha.
“Guess what?” I say.
“What’s that?”
“You want to tell him?” I say to the girls.
Olivia taps the roof of her car. “We’re coming with.”
“Nice,” Omar says, as if he was sort of expecting this eventuality.
“Your dad will be happy to see you,” I say to Olivia as Mia jumps into their car and Omar slips into ours.
“Don’t make me change my mind,” she says, then disappears into the driver’s seat.
I take one last look up at Mal’s house, at the dark windows on the second floor, wondering if she’s up there watching us leave.
And for a second, I think I see movement behind one of the curtains.
“You coming, Cuz?” Omar yells from inside.
“Yep,” I say, getting in and closing the door behind me. “Let’s go home.”