Book of Life (29 page)

“No harm?” I croaked.

Max’s eyes flitted toward Wes. I took it as a hint, redirecting the question. “Wes?”

Wes looked between Stella and I. She was on the couch, fumbling under a pile of blankets before she threw them off her and stood. Her shirt was on backward. I couldn’t help but find myself thinking a whole range of things given the facts: Wes in his boxers, her fumbling to put clothes on. I didn’t want to jump to that conclusion, but it was rather hard, even with Max and Avery in the room—at what point had they arrived?

I could tell by the look on Wes’s face that he was putting together the facts the same way I was. “It’s not like that, Emily.”

I felt my jaw clench without really meaning to. “Then start talking, and fast.”

“I just came down for some milk and Stella was at the window. I let her in and we came in here to talk because I didn’t want to have your mom coming downstairs and losing her lid when she saw her.”

“Talk? She can’t exactly
talk,
Wes.” It was hard to hold my temper at bay.

“Well . . .” Wes’s voice trailed as he looked at Stella. “She does now.”

My brows rose in disbelief. “Prove it,” I demanded of Stella.

Stella looked nervous, her face a pasty white, though still irritatingly beautiful in a way Jane’s never could be. Stella’s soul had done it justice. “What exactly do you want me to say?”

What she’d said in response was clearly enough. I felt a shiver creep up my spine. Though I’d heard the voice in her thoughts many times, hearing it aloud made it real. “What the
Hell
. . .” was all I could murmur.

Max finally stepped in. “Listen, Emily. We lost Jane.” He gripped my arm.

I was having a hard time processing what he’d just said on top of everything else. The world around me shifted in a nauseating manner. “What do you mean you lost her? Where could she have gone? How can you lose someone who’s dead?” Saying it felt good.

“She chose to be reborn, thus forfeiting her body. That’s why Stella can talk. She is now the full owner.” Max seemed so cool about the whole thing.

A part of me stiffened—the part that still wanted to kill Avery. I saw now why Max had gripped my arm. It was more for stopping me than comforting me. “Reborn? I don’t understand.”

“Once you die you have this choice. You always have this choice until you find your true love and your true half. Once you have that, the game of life is over and you can die happy and move on. That’s how this works.”

I couldn’t help but think of Jake. “Really?”

He nodded.

“Why the heck didn’t she just wait for you?” I retorted quickly. Knowing my sister, though, I wasn’t surprised. She waited for no one.

“Jane didn’t want me to die and she wasn’t prepared to give up living, either. Your sister, though an old soul, still craved more.”

“So, then what happened to her? Did she just, become a tree, or a frog . . . or something? How is she
re-
born?” I was using sarcasm to deal with my anger.

“She’s a baby somewhere out there in the world.”

“Well, find her.” I demanded, mind a fog.

“You can’t just find her, Emily. If that were the case I would have already.” I saw something strange happen to him then. His confidence melted, if only for the briefest of moments. “Finding your soul mate isn’t as easy as it may seem to you.”

I couldn’t help but catch the deepened, accusational gaze of his eyes when he said this, as though to suggest he knew my problem with Wes and Jake. That was something I was hoping to bury.

Max’s gaze broke from mine. “But, unfortunately, even with how pressing this all seems, this is not the reason we are here.”

At last, Avery stepped forward. Her eyes were level with mine for a moment before moving on to the rest of us. I was shocked by the lightness inside them, the inky, evil black of before but a memory seared into my mind.

I grumbled.

She ignored me. “Greg is coming. Max and I have talked extensively about what to do, and we’ve both come to an understanding and an answer. We fear there is no stopping him unless we can work together to show him the life he’s missing out on. Greg is lost in a world full of shadows and we need to show him the way to redeem himself as . . .” her speech faltered as she smiled to herself. “As I have,” she finished.

At least she hadn’t given up on her uppity side.

“What do you plan to do? I don’t think you can redeem him unless you kill him. But, you can’t do that. We all know what that means.” Wes looked at Max warily. “You can’t sacrifice yourself, Max. You have to find Jane. You have to remember her in this life or what hope will you ever have of finding her?” He looked exceedingly worried all of a sudden. A part of him was taking this personally.

Max raised his hand. “I’m not going to sacrifice myself. I knew you would assume that. This also means I won’t kill Greg, either. That much is obvious. I’m not saying he can never be redeemed, he can. My brother, Erik’s life, is a testament to his mercy. It does exist somewhere for him. This I have always believed.”

Avery took the stage once more, relieving a taxed looking Max. Though he seldom showed it, he was finally feeling the burden of all that had happened to him. “He is to arrive very soon. The Black Angels are behind him and support his advance.”

“Who’s to say they’ll stop even after Greg is dealt with?” Stella asked the question, surprising me.

“Because that is what the prophets have told Max.” Avery seemed sure of her answer.

“And what about Srixon,” I asked in a dark voice. “What’s he hiding?”

Avery’s gaze slid to meet mine. “He doesn’t know about any of this. He doesn’t even know about me. The prophets are lying to him on purpose. They’re on our side this time. My father’s past discretions have lost him their trust.”

“They were lies about you that he was making. Why do the prophets trust you, then?” I smarted back.

A little flash of the old Avery I knew could be seen. She was aggravated. “They don’t trust me. They trust Max.”

Max looked at me as though to say that that was enough. “What has happened has happened. I know it sounds hard to accept, but all our lives depend on us holding it together. There are hundreds of Black Angels out there in the mountains as we speak. They are here to kill us as they have a hundred other towns just like Winter Wood. Our only hope is to find Greg tonight.”

“Tonight?”
I gasped. I didn’t think it would happen so soon. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

Just then the garage door began to open. In my head I heard the whispered thoughts of Jake and Lacy.

“We didn’t know until now. Srixon hadn’t said anything because he wasn’t being informed. The prophets found us.”

“They found you?” I wanted to laugh if not for the circumstances. I tried to picture June anywhere but at his table playing games. “It must be bad, then.”

Max didn’t reply, instead looking over his shoulder as Jake and Lacy stepped into the garage. In that moment, my mother also opened the door, eyes groggy with her pink robe wrapped around her. Max was quick to step toward her and usher her back into the house before she got the chance to see Stella. I wasn’t sure what he was going to tell her, but with his charm, I was certain I wasn’t about to see her again tonight. As much as my mother knew about my father’s world,
my
world, I’d rather keep her in the dark at the same time. Allowing her to know about Stella or what Greg was up to was just as cruel a punishment as it was for me.

“So, what now?” Jake barked, looking at Avery the same way I’m sure I was—with mixed emotions. Lacy looked sleek and put together. She arrived at Stella’s side, seeming to whisper harshly into her ear, only to be surprised when Stella whispered harshly back. There were a lot of surprises tonight, it was hard to know which to feel and allow to sink in and which to cast aside for a later date, if there was one.

STELLA:

“What are you doing here?”
Lacy hissed at me in a low tone. I felt a little ashamed to have snuck away from her, but I couldn’t help it. Besides, given the unfurling circumstances, it was probably a good thing I had.

“I’m talking to Wes,”
I hissed back, finally able to stand up for myself.

Lacy looked shocked. “What the
heck,
Stella. Since when did you start
talking?
Been hiding it from me?”

I shook my head. “No, leave me alone. It happened today.”

“When you fell?”

I felt annoyed. “No,
before.
I wanted to tell that to Wes. That’s why I’m here.”

She rolled her eyes. “I wish that were true.”

Avery’s voice cut through our bitter whispering. “We’ve got to meet with the prophets. They’re at my winter retreat in the woods, behind the Black Angel camps. The prophets are safe there for now. It’s already outside their kill zone, so to speak.”

Max returned to the garage from inside the house. I watched him as I watched every man in this room. There was always a sad glimmer in his eye when he looked at me. I could hardly stand it, and his avoidance was obvious and purposeful. I looked sideways at Wes. I had hoped this was finally going to be my opportunity to approach him the way I wanted to, but it had been ruined again. I began to wonder why it was this kept happening. It was like fate was doing it on purpose.

“Let’s go.” Max announced, heading out toward the driveway.

“What did you tell my mom?” Emily slid after him in her less than flattering pajamas.

I was relieved that the Avery girl had brought me something wearable, at least. I didn’t know her, a part of me wanted to, but it was a lost part. There was a strange mix of anger and happiness that I felt toward her—that’s when I recalled her name being spoken before. I gasped a little to myself. No one heard me. She was the reason for my death. She had
killed
me, in whatever form that was. I found myself stepping away from her and closer to Wes.

Wes looked sideways at me, a kind look in his eye. He wasn’t exactly objecting to my nearness.

“I told her we were going to Winter Wood for an event with Srixon,” Max spoke over his shoulder as he made his way out onto the frozen driveway.

I guess I really couldn’t be mad at what Avery had done to me considering where I was now. I know that everyone wanted the person who used to own this body back, but after what had happened last night, that felt more unlikely than ever. I felt possessiveness over the body I was in, and I wasn’t about to give it up.

“Wes, you and I will take Lacy and Stella to Avery’s cottage via the air. Jake, take Emily in your car along with Avery,” Max delegated. “I’ll see you all there in a few moments, half hour for Jake?” Max looked from our group to the group that was going to navigate their way there by road.

Avery was already headed toward Jake’s red car that was parked along the street, looking out of place amongst the snow. I didn’t waste another moment, quickly dropping out of my new, barely worn clothes as I became an owl. Wes looked at me and did the same, followed by Lacy.

I had never seen Max’s wings. I was a little surprised as they grew from his back, despite his jacket. Jake, Emily and Avery had already ducked into Jake’s car as the garage door closed. I was opposite Max as Wes and Lacy sat up on a nearby branch. That’s when I saw something I probably shouldn’t have. Max’s wing that was closest to me had been clipped. The blood was dried and clotted but the wound seemed rather fresh. He hid this wing away from the view of the others as though on purpose. He didn’t want them to see it. In my head, I wondered why it wouldn’t just heal. I knew what angels could do, so what was so different?

Staring at the wound, I felt a sinking feeling. Up until now all the pending horror they’d been discussing felt like simple speculation. Seeing blood made it real, especially wounds that didn’t heal when they should have. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a part of it. I had my own problems. Then again, regardless of what I thought, Wes was bound to be a part of it and I couldn’t leave him. So, it was my problem.

But, for love? That made everything different.

WES:

We arrived at Avery’s cottage a few moments later. It had been a quick flight, and a hard one in order to keep up with Max who spent most of the time diving through shadows. Even with our powerful eyesight, he was quicker than a field mouse and as dark as the shadows themselves. I had to be the leader that kept track of him, the girls following behind me—though most of the time Stella seemed to want to challenge that, but that was her.

I had never seen Avery’s cottage, but I knew Jane had come here. We landed on a marble porch, Max setting himself down as though lowered by God himself. I wasn’t so graceful. On the porch, clothes were already set out for us. I grabbed for mine with my talon, the only male set, and flew around the corner. I quickly changed and emerged, allowing the girls to both retire around the same corner. I was left alone with Max as he stood leaning against the marble rail of the balcony, looking into the darkness. His wings had not yet retracted, but as they did I heard the gentle drip of something on the ground. Looking down, I noticed the blood, but didn’t immediately react to it.