The Gathering Darkness

  “Brooke?”

  I drew a shaky breath of fresh air into my lungs. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his robe drop to the ground on top of mine.

  At first I didn’t know what to say, and then without thinking, accusations started spilling from my mouth.

  I turned to look at him. He winced as his eyes dropped to the front of the shirt of his that I wore, generously stained with my blood.

  “Did Christian know about … Cyra?” It pained me to even say her real name.

  “Only after the binding. By then it was too late.”

  “But Kalan knew everything in Wales and kept it from Bryn.”

  “At the time, Kalan didn’t know Cyra was Bryn’s sister, or that Cyra turned into Morwenna.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that you were with someone else.”

  All hell was breaking loose around us, and there I stood, in front of the burning Ravenwyck, a jealous sixteen-year-old, confronting her boyfriend about a past girlfriend. I knew I was acting childishly. I also knew how much I loved Marcus and that none of the past mattered, but my emotions ruled the moment.

  “That’s two past lives you’ve been with someone else before me … in that way.”

  “You were with Jason,” Marcus said. I knew by his tone, he’d said it out of desperation.

  I shook my head. “No. Claire was never with Jason in that way, only Christian.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

  “And Bryn had only ever been with Kalan.”

  The acrid scent of something burning other than wood wafted from the open door, accompanied by wispy tendrils of smoke. I turned my head away and stepped to the side of the walkway into the clear air.

  “C’mon, we have to get out of here.” Marcus flicked his head back and forth anxiously, from me to the smoke.

  My stubbornness persisted. I ignored the danger.

  “Who were you with before I came to Deadwich?”

  He took a step closer and circled his arms around me, ignoring my puny struggles to break free. I finally conceded and softened against him.

  Marcus lowered his head and spoke into my hair. “I haven’t been with anyone in that way in this lifetime.”

  I contemplated that for a moment. “No one?”

  He shook his head. “I guess I’ve been saving myself for you.”

  I let my forehead drop to his shoulder. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t matter, really. None of it matters.” As I blabbered on, his arms tightened around me. “The past is the past. I’m just tired and cranky … and hungry.”

  He smoothed the back of my tangled hair. I took a deep breath of leather into my lungs. His hands found the sides of my face and he lifted it to his.

  The corners of his mouth twitched into the promise of a smile. “We have a lot to look forward to, plus a future we’ve never had before.” His eyebrows rose slightly, smoothing out the creases.

  “Do you think you could ever forgive me?”

  “If anyone needs forgiveness, it’s me.”

  “No. I’m really sorry. I can’t believe after everything that has just happened I had to act like a jealous teenager. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past.”

  “Whatever happened, I only ever loved you.”

  “I know.” And I did.

  Oblivious to our surroundings, we stood in front of the burning Ravenwyck and kissed.

  The sharp caw of a bird ended our tender moment. Marcus’ lips jerked away from mine. We looked up. A large raven circled above us, spiraling downward. Something shiny was clutched in one claw. It spiraled lower. A claw opened, releasing the object. It fell into Marcus’ hand.

  I stared at it, mesmerized.

  Draped across his fingers, was my amulet. The raven landed on top of a nearby tree and looked down at us. I stared into its dark and familiar eyes. It stared back.

  Something clicked inside me then—the innocent eyes, the raven hair. “Oh, my God. I think the raven is Beth. I knew she had a soul.” The raven’s head bobbed, as if to confirm my theory. “Thank you.” I mouthed the words to it.

  The huge black bird spread its wings and tore into the sky. We watched it fly over the rooftops until it was out of sight. I felt at peace knowing Beth was free. I looked at Marcus, tears rimming my eyelids.

  He turned his gaze from the sky back to me, then without words, he placed the amulet around my neck where it belonged. It felt right. I closed my eyes, spilling the pools of liquid down my cheeks. Marcus wiped the tears from my face and pulled me close.

  “The roof’s on fire,” Sammy shouted from the other end of the walkway.

  “Well, what did you expect?” I heard Robyn say to her.

  We pulled apart. Sammy and Robyn were running toward us.

  I looked up, and my mouth dropped open. “The ravens! The ravens are gone!”

  “What?!” Robyn said.

  Marcus looked up in silence. Robyn and I looked at each other, the same astounded look on our faces. The row of sculpted ravens that had sat atop the dormer peaks was gone, as if they’d flown away—maybe with Beth.

  Thick billows of dark smoke, fringed in flame, spiraled into the night sky. The fire alarm sounded at the station. Clusters of people began to form on the street. Within minutes, sirens blared and lights flashed.

  “Everyone’s going to see us,” I said, suddenly alarmed.

  The sound of timber cracking from within made us jump back.

  “I have to go in and find Evan,” Marcus said, letting go of me and bolting for the door.

  “No!” I grabbed his jacket sleeve and wouldn’t let go. “I know Evan’s in there, but I can’t let you go in.” I sounded desperate, but I loved him more than life, and I wasn’t going to lose him now. “Please,” I pleaded when he tried to break free of my grasp.

  “Marky!”

  We spun around to see Uncle Edmund sprinting up the walkway toward us.

  “Uncle Edmund! What are you doing here?”

  “When you didn’t make it to my place I knew something was wrong, so I searched for you on Skull Island, and when I didn’t find you there, I came here. The doors and windows were locked. I spent most of the day trying to find a way in.”

  “They were probably magically sealed,” Marcus said.

  “Where’s Evan?” Uncle Edmund asked.

  “He’s inside.” As I said it, Megan, draped in black, came shrieking out of the front door, alone.

  When it looked as though she wasn’t going to stop running, Marcus caught her arm and whirled her around. With a savage look in her eyes, she crouched like a ferocious tigress ready to strike and then lunged at Marcus. Before she slammed into him, she lost control of her muscles and went limp in his arms.

  “That was close,” Robyn said.

  “I didn’t do anything. Did you, Brooke?” Marcus asked.

  I shook my head.

  A loud sound of wood snapping and groaning, mixed with glass breaking, came from the upper levels of the Inn. We looked up. Pitch black smoke and violent flames raged together, engulfing the entire upper level.

  “She’s dead.” Marcus said flatly. “All spells she’d ever woven are now broken.”

  Marcus was right. Margaret was dead. I could feel the magical energy shimmering over my body again. Marcus looked at me knowingly.

  Megan recovered and twisted herself out of Marcus’ grip. She straightened and looked down at herself. In disgust, she flung the robe off. As she tossed it on the ground, I zapped it into oblivion along with ours. The tips of my fingers tingled with renewed life.

  For the first time since we’d met, I wasn’t intimidated by Megan. I stared at her through narrow slits, holding her with my rage, imagining the possibilities of what my magic could do to her. My top lip even twitched into a snarl.

  Her eyes widened, and she crouched away from me.

  “Easy, Brooke,” Marcus warned.

  I ground my teeth together and released her from my glare.

  Several police and emerg
ency rescue vehicles were parked in front of the Inn now. For an instant, their lights took me back to the night Luke and I had been picked up by the police—the night I’d once held responsible for my fate.

  “We have to get out of here before anyone sees us,” Sammy said in a panic.

  I looked around. “Where’s Uncle Edmund?”

  “I saw him go inside,” Megan said.

  “He went inside? I have to go find him,” Marcus said.

  I stopped him again as the sound of more snapping and cracking exploded from inside. Violent flames shot out of all the windows now.

  “Back on the street kids,” a fireman yelled, startling us.

  “They’re coming this way,” Robyn said.

  Several firemen ran toward us with hoses and other equipment. “This is no place to play,” another one said.

  “My uncle and brother are in there,” Marcus said.

  The fireman stopped in his tracks and pulled out his radio. “Two civilians inside,” he shouted into the radio, and then walked through the middle of our group. “Is there anyone else in the building that you know of?”

  “No!” the five of us chimed at once.

  “Right. Stand aside kids, we’ll find them.”

  We stepped back to the edge of the property, away from the intensity of the heat, hidden from view of the street by the hedge of wild roses. An ambulance came blaring into the Inn parking lot. Two paramedics got out. Minutes later, two firemen emerged from the Inn pulling a coughing Evan out by the arms. Marcus ran to him. I went along to keep him from going inside.

  The paramedics hovered over Evan, directing him to the open back of the ambulance. Evan refused to go inside, and instead sat heavily on the back bumper.

  “Did you see Uncle Edmund?” Marcus asked.

  The paramedics had a portable oxygen mask strapped to his face already. Evan waved them away. They stepped aside, but stayed close by. Evan nodded to Marcus. He pulled the mask off his soot-covered face. The grim look he gave Marcus then made the bones in my legs turn to mush.

  “I couldn’t see. It was dark. Uncle Edmund … .” He swallowed hard.

  I was barely breathing, waiting.

  “I couldn’t see to get out. I heard him calling me. I followed the sound of his voice. I was almost to him when part of the ceiling fell on top of him, trapping him. I tried to drag the debris off, but some of the pieces were too heavy.”

  Marcus’ eyes widened. The pain and shock on his face was like a stab to my heart.

  Evan took some deep breaths into the oxygen mask, which he now held, and continued. “Then the firemen came. The three of us dug for him until the flames got too intense. I didn’t want to leave, but they dragged me out.” His shoulders rose then fell heavily. “I’m sorry.” Evan lifted a shaking, soot-covered hand and pushed away the sweat-soaked hair that had matted to his forehead. His blue eyes were glossy.

  Marcus looked too stunned to speak. I was torn. Evan looked as if he needed me more, so with a heavy heart, I went to him and put my arms around him.

  “It’s not your fault,” I said.

  His arms tightened around me. I reached a hand out for Marcus. He took it and joined our embrace. There were no tears, although the three of us exuded sadness.

  Marcus straightened and broke away first. With a raspy voice he said, “We have to leave and make it look as if we were never here.”

  Already, it was chaos on the Ravenwyck grounds and equally chaotic out on the street. It looked as though all of the Villagers had come out to watch the Inn burn—probably the most exciting thing that had ever happened in Deadwich. They would never know it, but the Village name had been justified, once again.

  “Evan, I can magic you home if you want,” Marcus offered.

  “No. I’d rather walk, but if you can get me away from these guys—” He gestured toward the paramedics, “and make them forget about me, that would be great.”

  “Sure,” Marcus said and then hesitated. “Do you want to come with us?”

  Evan shook his head. “Just get me out of here.”

  Marcus nodded. His face was an emotionless mask, and I knew that he was concentrating all his energy into making his brother disappear.

  As I watched Evan sitting on the back bumper of the ambulance, hunched forward, his arms resting heavily on his legs and his head bowed, he vanished into thin air as if he’d never been there at all. The oxygen mask he’d held was gone—probably put away wherever it’d come from.

  Marcus grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side of the ambulance, away from the paramedics’ line of vision.

  With a resistant groan, one end of the Inn collapsed, shooting sparks like the Fourth of July into the air and across the lawn. People on the street yelled out in distress, or excitement—it was hard to tell. Personally, I couldn’t wait for the Inn to be reduced to ash.

  “I’ll walk Sammy and Megan home,” Robyn said. “But you can whisk us out on the street too, so no one sees us leaving.”

  I looked at Sammy for her approval.

  “Wait!” she said. “Brooke, I can’t believe everything that’s happened. I didn’t want to be mean to you, honest.”

  I wrapped my arms around my cousin. “Sammy, I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you.”

  When she pulled back, her face was tear-stained. “I’ll make it up to you. We all will.”

  “None of it was your fault, Sammy. There wasn’t anything you could do differently.”

  She smiled grimly and then lightened her tone. “I can’t believe I was a real witch.” Then she looked at me strangely. “I can’t believe you were a fairy. Wow. You’ll have to tell me all about it sometime.”

  I nodded. “We’ll talk.”

  She looked at Marcus and smiled half-heartedly. “Sorry about Uncle Edmund, Marcus.”

  With a grim look, he nodded.

  Standing on the edge of the group, Megan kicked the toe of her designer boot into the grass, looking as if she wanted to say something.

  “Megan, you coming with us?” Sammy asked.

  She nodded and said, “In a minute.” She bit her lip, looking nervous. She looked at Marcus then me. “I just wanted to say that … I’m sorry, too.”

  “Like Brooke said to Sammy, nothing was your fault,” Marcus said.

  She looked at me, totally remorseful. I figured this was probably the hardest thing she’d ever done, so I showed her some sympathy. “Margaret possessed you this time around. You had no control over anything you did. I know that.”

  “But I was such a bitch in school.”

  “Oh, you’re always a bitch, Megan, but we love ya anyway,” Robyn said, linking her arm through Megan’s.

  Megan pursed her lips and nodded knowingly.

  “Okay, you guys ready?” I asked, with increasing anxiety.

  Robyn nodded.

  As I concentrated on the magic within me, my body pulsed with electricity. With a simple wave of my hand, I whisked the three of them to the end of the street.

  “That just leaves you and me,” Marcus said when they were gone.

  “Don’t you want to stay? Maybe, he’ll … .”

  He shook his head. “No. He’s gone. I can feel it. No one but us will even know why he was at the Inn.” He paused looking thoughtful. “Maybe they’ll think he had a thing for Maggie.”

  “That wouldn’t be so bad if everyone thought that. We could even say he told us about it and swore us to secrecy,” I said, although I didn’t sound too convincing.

  “No, that’s good.” Marcus sighed. “He went in there so I wouldn’t.”

  I didn’t like the guilt his tone had picked up.

  “Yes. He gave up his very long life so you could finally live yours. You know he wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

  Marcus pulled me into his arms and buried his head in my hair. “What am I going to tell my parents?”

  “Nothing. We’re not here, remember? If they need an explanation for why Uncle Edmund was here, then w
e’ll offer them ‘the crush on Maggie’ story, but not unless we have to.”

  “Right.”

  A fireman on the other side of the hedge saw us and said, “Will you look at that. Teens have no respect these days.”

  “Where are their parents,” another said. “Those kids oughta be in bed by now.”

  We couldn’t help but smile half-heartedly.

  “It’ll feel good to be normal again,” Marcus said.

  “I know what you mean.”

  Marcus looked at his cell phone display. “Ten minutes to midnight. What do you say we ditch this place?”

  “Okay, but first, we have to erase ourselves from the minds of the firemen.”

  We put our magic into use again. Once we were confident we hadn’t missed anyone, Marcus grabbed my hand and whisked us away, making sure the two firemen who had made snide comments about us, saw us disappear.

  Chapter Forty

  We materialized inside the entry of the boathouse.

  “I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces when we vanished” I said, laughing and then clamped my mouth shut, remembering the bitter-sweetness of the situation.

  When reality of where I was set in, I grew serious. “Don’t you think for our family’s sake we should go home?”

  Marcus brushed a lock of hair out of my eye, leaving a warm spot behind where his hand had grazed. “They won’t miss us tonight. I took care of it. I really don’t want to be alone, and I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to you right now.”

  “I know.”

  “But I don’t want this night to be a sad one either,” Marcus said.

  “How can it not be?”

  “Because you’re here with me and we’re safe. We have our whole lives to look forward to now. I want to celebrate it. Tomorrow I’ll mourn.”

  He shrugged out of his leather jacket and threw it on a bench by the door. His upper body was bare, which gave me an idea.

  “What time is it now?”

  Marcus looked at the digital clock on the stove panel. “Eleven fifty-five.”

  “Five minutes of magic left. How about a couple of quick showers?” I asked playfully.

  Marcus smiled and nodded.

  With our brief time of magic soon at an end, I quickly thought of everything I needed and with tingling fingers, zapped us freshly showered with clean clothes.