Enchanting Wilder (33 page)

McKenna nods. “And why don’t I remember being a demon?”

Dad shakes his head and mom shrugs a shoulder. “For Declan, his memories will come back as he regains his angelic abilities. It’s only a matter of time before they start coming back. As for you, McKenna, I can only imagine they were spelled away by a very powerful witch.”

McKenna’s mouth turns to the side and I stand. “Come on, let’s go find our siblings.”

Mom rises from her chair and grabs McKenna lovingly by the shoulders. “Everything is going to be okay. You have to believe in it. Magic doesn’t just come from spells and potions. It comes from within yourself. You’re the magic, you just have to remember it.” She pushes McKenna’s hair away from her shoulders. “Trust in your good. Trust in yourself and things will work out in your favor.”

McKenna places her hand on my mom’s arms, her eyes shining with tears. “Thank you, Sarah.” She sniffles. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have your support and believe in me.”

“You’ll always have us.” Mom winks. “Don’t forget that.”

McKenna sniffs, a smile on her lips.

I gaze down at the ground, my heart overjoyed by my mom’s love and willingness to see the good in all people.

“See the look on that boy?” Mom points to me and I bring my eyes up. “He’s the most important one. That boy will bring you back from any darkness you have inside of you. That’s what love is there for.”

Air catches in my chest and McKenna chuckles.

My mom just basically told McKenna I loved her.
Way to drop the ball, mom.

Mom brings McKenna into a hug, engulfing her in the fierceness I know all too well.

When they let go, mom reaches for my hand and gives it one squeeze before sitting back down.

With McKenna’s hand in mine, I wrap it around my middle. Kissing the side of her head, I bring her in close to my body.

The evergreen needles crunch under our feet as we make our way into the woods. Squawks of birds and swishes of wind howl in the silence. There’s a small stream down the way I can hear flowing, and McKenna’s breathing is even.

We eventually find Wood and Candy sitting near the stream, each on an aged log.

Their heads are close together as if they’re talking in hushed voices, which I’m sure they are. They’ve both been knocked on their ass with our day’s events. Candy shakes her head.

“Hey guys,” I greet carefully.

They both turn to us, Candy’s eyes skirting away and Wood’s nose flaring.

McKenna and I take a seat on the rock next to them.

I lace my hands together in front of me, setting my elbows on my knees. The sun is about to drop down over the horizon and it’s getting hard to see. “I know this was a lot to take in.”

Candy and Wood scoff at the same time.

“Imagine how it is for us,” McKenna says with a soft tone. “We’re all in this together. Being upset isn’t helping any of us cope.”

“I’m not mad,” Candy says. “I just don’t know how to feel.”

Wood nods enthusiastically. “Exactly. You can’t help who you are. We aren’t faulting you for that, but when you’re the loser in a family of important people, it’s hard to not feel discouraged.”

“You guys are far from losers,” McKenna offers, gauging their temper. “We aren’t anything special—especially me. I’m apparently something everyone hates.”

“No one hates you, McKenna,” Wood says. “Maybe you do have a little demon in you, but it doesn’t mean that’s who you truly are.”

McKenna shrugs a shoulder. “Maybe it is, though…”

“It’s not,” I say, looking deep into her eyes. “You have to believe in the goodness inside of you.”

Candy moves to the rock and sits next to McKenna, bumping her shoulder. “Right. We don’t know the whole story.”

“I think your parents can fill in these holes,” I encourage. “We’re going to find them.”

McKenna perks up. “Maybe that’s what Mrs. Carlson meant. Maybe somewhere deep inside me, I know how to get to Beneath.”

“But Kai should know how to do that,” Wood says with a slight head shake.

I smooth my hand over my hair. “Maybe. Or maybe he’s been cut off since Maker knew he turned.”

“You don’t think he’s playing us, do you?” Candy asks in a timid voice, clearly not okay with the possibility of him being on the wrong side of this fight. Hell, I’m not okay with it. He’s become a good friend.

I huff. “God, I hope not. We’ve put a lot of our eggs into his basket.”

“I don’t think he’s misleading us. He’s a good guy,” McKenna says with earnest. “I can feel it.”

Candy turns her wide, almost accusing eyes at McKenna. “You can feel it because you’re a demon.” It’s not a question, it’s purely a statement. One I don’t think was meant to hurt McKenna, but I feel her body tense next to me.

“N…no. Not at all. Well, maybe it has something to do with it, but he’s done so much. We need to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“He stepped out the moment you told us you were a demon. It seems odd.” Candy pulls the sleeves on her jacked over her hands.

“That’s because I should have known before now,” Kai says, taking us by surprise, walking up to us with his hand in his pockets and his eyes droopy.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I’d always had a connection to her,” he confesses. “I think that’s why I felt so compelled to help her before. I only knew her name and I felt inclined to help. They put the hit out on you and I was the first to volunteer.” He walks in front of us and sits down on the ground. “McKenna, I think we knew each other in Beneath.”

“What?” I say.

“How?” McKenna asks.

Kai sighs. “All those years I was stuck in Limbo, I think you might have been there with me.”

“Why do you think that?” Goose bumps break out on McKenna’s skin.

“I recall a demon being saved. Taken from Beneath. It was this huge covert mission brought out by high ranking angels. It might have been you who was saved. I never asked because it wasn’t my place. And if I had, Maker would have gone mental. Everyone could tell something was off with her when it happened.”

McKenna contemplates for long minutes.

“What was it like? Being in Limbo?” she asks.

Kai picks at the leaves on the ground, breaking the brittle ones. “It’s a lot like being shoved in a room full of people and locking the door. There was no room to breathe, no room to move. We just bump into each other, getting in each others space. It’s awful.”

“You were there for a long time?” McKenna queries.

“For as long as I can remember.”

My legs bounce up and down, my hands twiddling. “Shit. You’re saying you and McKenna have some sort of a relationship?”

“Not like I loved her,” Kai says quickly, his eyes moving to me. “Like, we kept each other sane.”

“Is there any way to prove it?” Wood asks. “Is there a way to be sure McKenna was the one you were with all those years?”

Kai’s jaw clenches. “I’d have to dig into her lives to see if there was an actual connection.”

“How do you do that?” I ask resignedly.

“We have to meld. Meld our minds, I mean.”

“Does it hurt?” McKenna inquires, her cheeks red from the wind.

Kai laughs. “No, silly girl. It won’t hurt, but it requires Manifestation.”

I stand up with force. “No. No Manifestation.”

“Why?” Kai scoffs. “She can handle it. Especially now that she knows what she is.”

“I can?” McKenna questions, looking to me for encouragement. “I don’t know if I can let it overtake me again.”

I sit down in a huff and grab her hands. “You have to promise me, if you feel yourself falling into it, you’ll stop. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

McKenna leans in close, kissing my lips lightly, nodding, though I can see in her eyes she’s second guessing herself. “I promise if I feel the Manifestation start to overwhelm me, I’ll stop.”

I grit my teeth and sigh. “Fine. Get it over with.”

Kai stands up, dusting his ass off with his hands. Rubbing them on his jeans, he cleans them of dirt. Palms out, McKenna places her hands on his.

“Rohadia, ne in me,” Kai chants, closing his eyes.

McKenna’s hands hold onto Kai tight and she rocks back and forth slightly.

After a few rounds of incantations, both Kai and McKenna open their eyes. They jerk back, but their eyes aren’t their normal colors. All white, they look horrifying.

They tug and pull on each other. Wind blows through the trees, stirring up dirt and leaves. It rustles around us.

Kai’s mouth opens as if he’s gasping for air and McKenna sucks in, wincing. Her mouth turns down.

“McKenna…” I coax.

She holds on tighter to Kai.

“McKenna,” Candy tries.

“Stop!” McKenna shoves Kai away, breaking their connection.

“Whoa. Good job, McKenna,” Kai compliments, pleased. “You did very well.”

McKenna steps back into my space and I wrap my arm around her shoulder.

“Well?” Wood questions.

Kai looks at me, and then down at the ground.

“It was me,” McKenna offers. “We’ve known each other for years.”

It’s official. I’ve hopped on the train to Crazytown—or Nuttersville. Either way, what the hell has happened to my life?

To think, a year ago, I was just a normal Strix living out my days with my family, taking it easy. Had I known my life would turn to this…I think I would have gladly stayed in my naïve little bubble.

There’s a happiness that comes with being in the dark.

I want to go back there. In the dark.

Not being
the
dark.

“Our connection goes back further than I could have even imagined,” Kai says with a creased brow. “Centuries.”

“Why didn’t you remember me? Why couldn’t you see me as a demon?”

Kai wanders down the creek a few feet, thinking and then turns back. He touches the base of his neck with his hand and shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re something other than a demon and it hid that side of you. All I know is, I could never place you, but that feeling, the tug of your being, always called to me. It makes sense now, though. If we did stay together in Limbo for so long, we’re linked.”

“What do you think she is?” Declan asks, lightly scratching my back with his fingers.

Kai opens his mouth, his tongue playing with his teeth. “No clue. It’s not anything demonic, I can tell you that much. I’d be able to see it.”

“Maybe it’s something you can’t see…” Wood suggests.

“Like, what?” Kai asks.

“An angel, maybe?”

Kai shakes his head. “I’d feel the pull.”

“Not if she’s only half,” Declan compromises.

“True.”

I grit my teeth. “We need to find our parents.”

Wood sits straight. “Speaking of, Kai, why can’t you get us into Beneath?”

Kai swallows. “You have to understand. I’m only allowed in when I’m called. It’s not a revolving door. There’s no key. I come when Maker wants me and that’s it. The moment I’m done being of use, I’m shoved back here or to Limbo.”