Chapter 26. Annette
Annette
Temple was dying.
Bringing him home had helped, but it wasn’t enough.
I could feel the vitality seeping from his body.
Between the power he’d channeled at the Gauntlet and the assault on his home, it was all too much for him.
His breathing was rough and ragged, and his face was pale.
His fingertips had taken on a faint blue tinge.
“What do we do?” asked Ronnie.
“I’m not sure.” Jenny was the healer, not me. I sniffed and wiped my eyes. “Damn you, Temple. Your timing sucks balls. End-of-the-world scenarios are when it’s extra useful to have a functioning wizard on hand.”
“Right up there with birthday parties.” He laughed quietly, then coughed. His eyes opened slightly. “It’s a shame I won’t get to see my next one.”
I wanted to punch him to make him take those words back. Instead, I forced a smile. “For your hundredth, I was planning to hire elven strippers to jump out of your cake.”
Temple groaned. “As long as you’re not the one baking the cake.”
“Asshole.” It had been fourteen minutes since Jenny entered the house. I didn’t even know if she was alive. “Jenny’s still inside.”
“I know.” A flake of gray snow landed on Temple’s face. He wrinkled his nose. “R’gngyk’s coming.”
“Most guys fall asleep after that, so we have a little time.” When he didn’t respond, I added, “That was succubus humor.”
“You need to work on it.”
More snow drifted down around us. The sky had turned cloudy, and the temperature had dropped at least fifteen degrees since we arrived. The snowfall was centered around the shop. That was probably a bad sign.
“Did I ever thank you for bailing me out twenty years ago?” he asked.
“No.” I managed a smile. “In fact, I recall you threatening to turn us both into newts for barging into your life and interfering with your affairs. You told me to take my damn money and go back to Chicago.”
“I’m glad you didn’t listen.”
I squeezed his hand. “We need to help Jenny. I can’t get through the door. Alex—”
“The little punk rewrote my spell, I know.”
I’d be helpless as soon as I passed through the doorway. Just like Jenny. “I need you to fix it. Morgan is in there. I know you’re exhausted, but I need your help.”
Temple turned his head and smiled. “No, I’m not afraid.”
“Great.” I grabbed him by the arm and shoulder to help him sit up.
“That would be nice, thank you.” He wasn’t looking at me or Ronnie. His gaze was fixed on a point between us, in the direction of the van.
My chest grew heavy. “Temple, can you hear me?”
He chuckled. “Not for years, but I think I remember how.”
“He’s talking to Mom, isn’t he?” Ronnie asked quietly.
Temple stretched out his hand and squeezed something I couldn’t see—the ghost’s hand? Or maybe not her hand, in which case, good for him. But I needed him here. “Temple, please. Not yet.”
The front door swung open. I spun and grabbed my knife. I doubted it would stop Alex, but at the very least, planting the blade in his remaining human eye might piss him off.
But it was Jenny who stepped through. My relief at seeing her turned to horror at the sight of the two bodies she carried, one under each arm. Each was wrapped in sheets and blankets I’d last seen in our guest bedrooms.
No . . . My heart screamed the sound. The knife fell from my fingers. I couldn’t breathe. Ronnie was holding my arm.
Jenny saw me, and her face paled. “No! It’s all right. They’re alive.”
A sob broke free, so powerful I felt like my chest would crack. Then I was running toward the house.
“Annette, I’m sorry. I didn’t think how it would look—” Jenny shifted her balance and offered me the wrapped body on her left.
I scooped Morgan into my arms and didn’t move until I felt him breathing.
“I needed to get Morgan and Sage out.” She was babbling. “I had to wrap them up because they’re both slimy and gross, and I was afraid I’d drop them. Oh, god, I didn’t mean to make you think—”
“Shut up.” I was shaking my head and sniffling and blinking to try to see. Morgan was alive. He was safe. “Thank you for getting him out.”
Jenny used her free arm to pull me into a sideways hug. She kissed my head. “How’s Temple?”
I fought a sob. “Not great.”
We carried Morgan and Sage to the grass where Temple was resting. Only after I’d set Morgan down and peeled back the blanket to see his face—distorted and monstrous but still recognizable—did I stop to wonder how the hell Jenny had done it. “What happened to Alex?”
“Out of commission for the moment.” Jenny knelt beside Temple and touched his neck, then checked his eyes. “But the interdimensional IV drip he set up from the house to Ringo is still going.”
“How do we stop it?” I looked toward Ronnie’s rocket launcher.
“We’re not there yet.” Jenny stood and stepped back. “Artemis thinks my bond with the house is strong enough for me to heal the breach and keep Ringo from coming through.”
“You can’t.” Temple’s eyes were focused now. “We’re too far gone and too frightened. The panic is too strong. Even the mice have fled. If this place gets hold of you, it’ll drag you down like a drowning man.”
“I was a lifeguard at Camp Windling for two summers,” Jenny said with a forced grin. “I’m a strong swimmer.”
I moved to block Jenny’s way. “Not like this.”
“Get the kids as far away as you can. All the way out of Salem.” She pulled me close and hugged me.
“Artemis believes I can do this. If she’s wrong, I’ll at least buy you enough time to get Ronnie and Morgan and Sage out of range.
Ronnie, leave the rocket launcher with Temple.
He’ll know if . . . He’ll know when it’s time. ”
I reached for her. “What do you mean, ‘out of range’?”
“Hopefully nothing.” She retreated another step. “Your family needs you, Annette.”
“Dammit, that’s cheating.”
She smiled for real this time. “I love you. You’re the hot, slightly scary older sister I never had.”
And then she was walking back into the house and shutting the door behind her.
She hadn’t even said goodbye.
· · ·
Ronnie helped me get Morgan and Sage into the back of his van. I called Blake as I buckled the kids into place, both of them still wrapped in blankets like wool burritos.
“Mom?” Blake’s calm was like an eggshell about to crack. “What’s going on? Is Morgan—”
“I’ve got him. He’s . . . Well, he’s not fine, but he’s alive and safe for the moment.” I slid the side door shut. “Listen to me. You need to take Ava and drive. Grab the cat, but don’t stop to pack anything else. We’ll meet you at the Northshore Mall.”
I heard him yell for Ava. When he spoke again, his words were quiet and tightly controlled. “How bad is it?”
“Jenny didn’t give me the details. For now, just go.”
“What about everyone else?” he asked. “Is the whole town . . .”
“I’ll see you soon.” I hung up.
“They’re lucky to have you,” Ronnie said softly. “If this all goes to hell—”
“It won’t.” I felt strangely calm, considering the week I’d had. Or maybe I’d just reached my limit of fear and worry and grief and loss. My emotional fuses were blown, leaving me detached and analytical.
Your family needs you.
I’d never had the mythical mothering instinct I’d heard so much about during my pregnancy.
When Blake was born, I hadn’t felt a magical wave of love.
I hadn’t held my child for the first time and realized I would burn the whole world to protect him.
I’d been exhausted and in pain and scared to death and I’d desperately wanted a drink or five.
Blake was right about me. I’d been a shit mother. I’d resented him for taking away my freedom. For endless crying and tantrums and late-night fits, and for my complete inability to figure out how to make them stop.
Children were worse than demons. They were uncontrollable little chaos tornadoes.
So, I’d avoided him. I chose my cases and my clients over my family. I told myself it was better for both of us. Blake had grown up to be smart and strong and popular, so he clearly hadn’t needed me.
I handed Ronnie my phone. “The lock-screen code is 696969.”
He didn’t take it. “What are you doing, Ms. Thorne?”
“Jenny is trying to fix this. I’m going back to help.”
“Your family—”
“Needs me, I know. I heard Jenny the first time.”
Blake’s split with Erin had given me a second chance.
I’d brought them to Salem where I could reconnect with my son and get to know my grandchildren.
I’d taken an interest and gotten involved and scheduled weekly times for the kids to visit at the shop.
For me, his divorce had been an opportunity, even a blessing.
Now that I thought about it, that attitude might have been a factor in his ongoing resentment toward me.
Blake was a better parent than I’d ever been. If the world burned, he would keep his children safe. He’d love them both, no matter how many eyeballs they had. He would care for them with such fierceness that the gods themselves would hesitate to cross him.
I could go with them. I wanted to. I wanted to help them fight the monsters, to be their guide and protector in a world none of them fully understood.
“This is how I can best protect them,” I said. “Not by being with them when it all goes to hell, but by stopping it from happening in the first place. Now take the fucking phone.”
He took it. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Blake will call to find out what’s happening. Let it go to voice mail. He’ll text next, asking why I didn’t answer. Reply like you’re me. Tell him things are under control and you’ll fill him in when you get to the mall.”
“Lie to him, you mean.”
“That’s right.”
“He’ll be mad.”
He’d be furious. He’d think I’d chosen work over family again.
If I was very, very lucky, maybe someday he’d realize I was doing the opposite. For once, I wasn’t choosing what was easiest for me but what was best for my family. I couldn’t let them grow up in the world of Ronnie’s nightmares, not if there was any chance I could help stop it.
“You heard what Mr. Finn said.” Ronnie looked past me at the house. “It’ll consume you just like it will Ms. Winter.”
“Jenny talked about her bond with the house. Well, my name’s on the title right beside hers and Temple’s. I can help.” I put my hands on his shoulders. “Take care of them, Ronnie. Promise me.”
He straightened as he realized what I was asking. Not just to get Morgan and Sage away but to look after my family if I couldn’t. “You have my word.”
“Thank you.” I walked toward the house. I heard the van door slam behind me. The van pulled away a moment later.
The doorway tried again to keep me out.
“All right, damn you.” I removed my knife.
Even knowing what I had to do, I hesitated.
The idea of being unable to defend myself .
. . of being powerless for the next year .
. . it went against every instinct that had kept me alive this long.
There were too many people, too many things that would come gunning for me if they found out.
Well, they’d have to take a fucking number. I set the knife on the splintered remains of our porch bench. “I accept your contract.”
I felt the spell wrap around me and sink through my blood and bones. Revulsion made me shudder.
Jenny had better be right about this.
“Noah. Sophia. Get over here and untie me before Jenny gets back.”
“. . .”
“I know you can hear me. R’gngyk isn’t going to starve if you leave the portal for thirty seconds to loosen some knots.”
“. . .”
“Come on. I don’t have the leverage to break free myself.”
“. . .”
“Noah? Sophia? Hello?”