Enchantment (136 page)

“You’re
parents
called. You
w
anna
talk
about
it
?
”

“Nothin'
to
talk
about,”
Kerrigan
slurred,
taking
another
long
drink.
“
S
he
wasn’t
supposed
to be
here,
and
n
o
w
she’s
not.”

Str
y
k
e
r
was
silent
for
a
m
ome
n
t
before
he
spoke.
“So
y
o
u’
r
e
j
u
st
gonna
let
her
g
o
?
” Kerrigan
turned
on
him
like
a
rabid
dog.
“
S
he’s
the
one
who
left,
not
m
e.”

Str
y
k
e
r
took another
s
wig
of the
potent
alcohol.
“Like
y
o
u
’ve
said
to
her, Kerrigan,
this
was not
her
ho
m
e. Why
would
she
st
a
y
?
”

“You
don’t
know
a
n
y
t
h
i
ng
about
her
or
what
I
m
ig
h
t
or
m
ig
h
t
not
have
s
aid
to
her,” Kerrigan
spat
out
at
h
i
m
.

“Perhaps,
but
I
kn
o
w
how
m
uch
she
cared
for
y
o
u
.
Cared
for
y
ou
so
m
uch,
she
couldn’t sleep,
couldn’t
eat,
but
trained
until
s
he
was
so
exhausted
I
al
m
ost
killed
her.
The
only
thing
she could
think
about
w
a
s
y
o
u
.”

Kerrigan
wanted
to
kill
so
m
et
h
ing
a
s
he
flung
the
e
m
p
t
y
bottle
into
the
fire.
“
Y
eah?
Well,
I gue
s
s
she
changed
her
m
ind! What
is
it
y
ou think
I’m
supposed
to
do?
I
can’t
leave.”

Str
y
k
e
r
s
hook
his
head,
a
fierce
expre
s
sion
on
his
face.
“Y
o
u
can’t
leave
here.
Or
y
o
u
’re scared
to
do
w
hat
y
o
u have
to
in
order
to
leave
Enchantment
?
”

He
stepped
up
nose
to
nose
with
Str
y
k
e
r.
“
G
et
out,
Str
y
k
e
r.
I
don’t
need
y
o
u
—or
her,”
he hi
s
sed.

Str
y
k
e
r
spat
back,
pushing
at
Kerrigan’s
chest.
“
Y
ou
are
s
cared.
The
only
thing
y
o
u
have
to do
is
ask
for
help,
but
y
o
u
w
on’t.
Y
ou
don’t
deserve
Meeka.”
Then
he
w
as
gone.

A thin
m
ist
existed
w
here
Str
y
k
e
r
had stood. Kerrigan
stood speechless. Nobody would dare
s
peak
to
him
like
his
best
friend.
A
nd
Meeka.

D
amn
her
to
hell.
W
hat
h
a
s
she
done
to me?

Kerrigan
walked
over
to
his
large
leather ar
m
ch
a
ir
and
plunked
hi
m
self d
o
wn.
Her
s
m
i
le
and laughter
was
all
he
could
see
and
hear.
The
scent
of
lilacs,
hair
that
felt
like
s
pun
silk
and
her
s
parkling
e
y
e
s
w
ould
haunt
him
forever.

He
was
lost,
and
he
knew
it.
St
r
y
k
er
was
right—it
was
his
fault
she’d
left.
She’d
poured
out her
love for
hi
m
, and he had
run
awa
y
.
H
i
s true feelings for her
s
cared h
i
m half
to death. With an icy
certai
nt
y
,
Kerrigan
knew
w
hat he
had
to do.
Sl
o
w
l
y
,
his
e
y
es
closed.

Cha
p
ter
Thirty-Nine

The
noise
w
ouldn’t
go
awa
y
. W
h
y
wouldn’t
it
shut
up?

H
i
s
head
hurt.
Realiza
t
ion
ca
m
e
creeping
back.
He
m
ust
have
fallen
asleep
in
the
chair.
And he
kn
e
w
who
was
m
a
k
ing
the
noise.
“
Threeo,
please,
s
hut
u
p
.”
Kerrigan
ground
out
each
w
ord.
H
ow
he
wished
this w
a
s
all
j
u
st
a
bad
drea
m
.

“I
can’t
find
Meeka.
S
he
pro
m
ised
the
babies
she’d
co
m
e
visit
again,”
Threeo
repeated again.

G
od,
my
head h
u
rts.

“Threeo,
Meeka’s
not
here.”

“What
do
m
ean
s
he’s
not
her
e
?
Where
did
she
go
?
”
He
tilted
his
head
to
the
side.

Kerrigan
took
a
deep
breath
and
rubbed
his
face.
This
w
a
sn’t
going
to
go
well.
Lucki
l
y
, Todd
and
Pad
d
y
walked
in
the
door
right
then.

“Great,
just
great,”
Kerrigan
excla
i
m
e
d
standing
up.
“
Can
this
get
a
n
y
w
orse?
D
ad,
w
h
y don’t
y
ou
explain
to
Threeo
where
Meeka
is.”

It
w
a
s
Paddy
who
soft
l
y
spoke
to
Threeo.
She
knew
Threeo
had
beco
m
e
attac
h
ed
to
Meeka just
as
she
had…th
e
y
all
had.

“Threeo,
Meeka
decided
she
should
go
ho
m
e
,
”
Pad
d
y
explained.

N
obo
d
y
spoke
a
w
ord,
waiting
for
Threeo
to
co
m
p
r
ehend
what w
a
s
j
u
st said. “When
is
s
he
c
o
m
ing
back,
Kerrigan?
This
wasn’t
part
of
my
vision.”
Threeo
asked.

Kerrigan
sighed
heavi
l
y
.
“
N
ot
ever
y
t
h
i
n
g
in
y
o
u
r
vision
ca
m
e
true,
Threeo.
Meeka
isn’t co
m
ing
back.”

Threeo shrieked loud
l
y
with his feathers puffed out.
“
This is
y
o
u
r
fault, Kerrigan. You
m
ade her
leave!”
Threeo
vanished
off
the
m
a
n
tel.

“J
u
st
great! Did
y
o
u
two
co
m
e
to tell
m
e
this
is
all my
fault, too
?
”
He
sat
back d
o
wn. “Your
m
ot
h
er
and
I
will
never
critic
i
ze
what
y
o
u
do,
we
never
have.
You
have
alw
a
y
s

decided
the
path which was correct for
y
o
u
,
” Todd explained, and Pad
d
y
added her own senti
m
e
n
ts.

“Son,
I
kn
o
w
how
m
uch
y
ou
m
eant
to
Meeka,
and
I
think
y
o
u
feel
the
sa
m
e
about
her.
The rest
is
up
to
y
o
u
.
This
m
oment
has
been
destined
to
co
m
e
for
a
long
t
i
m
e.”
Pad
d
y
sniffled
back the
tears,
but
continued.
“
We
will
alwa
y
s
be
y
o
u
r
parents,
Kerrigan.
We
will
alwa
y
s
be
here
for
y
o
u.
We
love
y
ou
m
ore
than
a
n
y
t
hing,
but
y
o
u
r
biological
parents
are
the
on
l
y
ones
who
can help
y
ou
now.”
Pad
d
y
walked
to
him
and
kissed
him
on
the
cheek
as
both
parents
exited
the roo
m
.

Long
after
th
e
y
’
d left,
he
sat
in
silence.

W
h
y?
W
hy did this
happen?
How
am
I
s
upposed to
go
on?

Facing
his
biggest
fear
seemed
a
trivi
a
l
thing
co
m
pared to
losing
Meeka. Kerrigan
sprang
from
the
chair
and
ran
upstairs to
the
s
hower.

The
cold
water
helped,
perhaps
even
dulled
his
se
n
ses,
but
not
even
the
frigid
droplets covering
his
body
w
ould
stop
it
from
reacting
when
he
thought
of
Meeka.

He
w
a
sn’t
looking
forward
to
w
hat
he
was
about
to
attempt.
Dried
and
dre
s
sed
in
blue
jeans and
T-shirt,
he
looked
in
a
m
irror.
He
looked
like
hell.
Circles
of
weariness
sh
o
wed
under
his e
y
es, but
there
wasn’t
m
uch he
could
do
about
it
n
o
w.

He
hurried
back
down
to
the
den
and
su
m
moned
Str
y
k
e
r
back.
He
waited
i
m
pa
t
ien
tl
y
a
s
m
inu
t
es
pa
s
sed.
H
e
wouldn’t
bla
m
e his
friend
for
not
wanting
a
n
y
t
h
i
ng
to
do
with
hi
m
.