The Second Heart

  Chapter 22

  In the early hours of the morning, Meredith choked out her story to Vi and Josh between bouts of uncontrolled sobbing. Miguel had been brutally murdered before her eyes. During her escape, Meredith hadn’t allowed her brain to register that the dark, thick liquid on the pavement was Miguel’s blood. But now, as the morning light illuminated the tarp above their heads, it’s all she could think about. The way it glistened softly in the moonlight. The soft squishing sounds as the protégé cut out Miguel’s Second Heart. The way she could feel him die as his magical energy faded away.

  In a daze, Meredith followed along as Josh and Vi helped her down from the boat and led her back to the house. Meredith knew that the protégé was long gone, but she dreaded setting foot inside, looking through the picture windows to the backyard, and seeing Miguel’s still form sprawled out on the concrete. It was an immense relief when Vi suggested that Meredith wait on the porch while she and Josh went inside to call the police. She sank down onto a bench next to the front door, still wrapped up in her own terrified memories.