Last Rite (11 page)

“It comes from here,” I say, lifting my hand and laying my fingertips over her heart. “If you remember that, you’ll be fine.”

She reaches up and grasps my hand, holding my eyes with hers. “Do you think I can do what Gabe wants me to?”

I’ve thought about that. As crazy as Gabriel’s plan is, with a little more practice, I think Frannie could probably pull off her end of it. But there’s no way Gabriel will be able to destroy Lucifer. He’ll fail utterly and get Frannie killed in the process. “I think you can do anything you set your heart to.”

She swallows hard and nods before dropping my hand. She pulls a deep breath and stands. “I just need some time…”

But time is the one thing I’m fairly certain we don’t have. I gain my feet and look down into her eyes, praying sincerely to God to help me see my role—how I can help her.

Something in her expression changes—loosens. But just as she opens her mouth to say something, the front door swings open and Gabriel strides through, Faith’s arm in his tight grasp and a scowl on his face.

Faith looks freshly showered, her hair still damp and dangling around her shoulders. She offers a strained smile when she sees us.

“Luc is going to stay at Faith’s,” Gabriel announces.

“Oh … um…” Frannie trails off and splits a tentative glance between Faith and me.

I fight the smile I feel pulling at my mouth, but I’m not entirely successful as I catch Frannie’s eye. “Thanks for the offer, Faith, but that won’t be necessary.”

“Explain,” Gabriel presses, shooting me a glare.

I shrug and my smile widens. “Love conquers all?”

Frannie bursts out a nervous laugh, and Gabriel’s eyes shift between us, assessing. “This is what you want, Frannie?”

Her gaze grows concerned as it falls on me. “Maybe you should—” she starts, but I stop her with my best “don’t even think about it” stare.

Gabriel rolls his eyes and settles into the seat on the couch that I just vacated. “You two need to make up your mind whether you love each other or hate each other.” He doesn’t even try to hide the venom in his words as he glares at me.

Faith settles into the couch next to Gabriel. It’s clear from the look on her face that she’s totally uncomfortable in the middle of this. “Um … thanks for the run, Luc. It was great to have someone to push me.”

I nod and pull a chair over from the kitchen table as Frannie drops into the armchair under the window.

Gabriel settles back into the cushions. “Since the Luc thing,” he says with a punctuating glare in my direction, “seems to be settled, Faith needs to give you the rundown.”

Frannie quirks a quizzical frown at him. “What rundown?”

“Just about the people around here, so you’ll know if anything is … off,” Faith answers.

She proceeds to give Frannie the lowdown on everyone who lives within a half mile. Finally she starts winding down. “Oh! And old man Butler, third house on the right,” she says, pointing down the beach, “is a stealth groper. He’ll pretend to help you pick up your beach bag, or your towel or something, and cop a feel in the process.” Her face pinches. “I’ll point him out to you. Stay far away.”

By the time Faith is convinced that Frannie won’t be taken by surprise by Mr. Butler, or any other of the neighbors, we decide to call for pizza.

“Jerry, the pizza guy,” Faith says low in Frannie’s ear as he approaches the door, “got his last two girlfriends pregnant. Also stay away.”

“So … yeah.” Frannie says, her face screwing up with disgust.

We slide into seats around the table and demolish two large pizzas. “Now’s the perfect time to practice,” Gabriel says to Frannie as we’re finishing up.

Frannie goes a little pale. “My Sway?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Faith’s eyes widen.

Gabriel nods. “Start small.”

She shrugs. “Like what?”

“Use your imagination,” he says, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers behind his head.

Frannie’s eyes fall on me and narrow slightly with effort … and I discover I’m suddenly craving another piece of pizza, even though I just polished off most of a pie on my own.

She smiles when I pluck a slice from the box and bite off a hunk. I smile back once I’ve swallowed, even though I’m fairly certain I’m going to explode.

Faith and I suddenly feel the overwhelming urge to wash the dishes, so we do. And when we’ve finished, I find myself in the Jeep on the way to the ice cream shop.

When I return with a quart of mocha java lava, which I don’t even like, it’s dark. We scoop ice cream onto cones and head out to the beach, where we sit in silence and eat, watching the moonlight shimmer over the rolling waves.

Finally, Frannie stands. “I think I’m gonna crash. All this making Luc get ice cream has worn me out,” she adds with a playful jab of her toes into my side.

I pull myself out of the sand and head inside with her, leaving Faith and Gabriel on the beach talking strategy.

She heads to the bathroom, and I cross the room to the kitchen, where I pour myself the last half-cup of coffee from the pot.

When she emerges five minutes later, her face is shiny and pink and her thick, sandy blond waves fall around her shoulders and down her back. She pauses at her bedroom door, then slowly turns to look at me where I’m still leaning against the counter near the sink. “Night.”

I push away from the counter, wanting to go to her. I don’t know if the compulsion is her Sway or just my need, but, either way, I fight it. “Good night.”

She takes a step toward me and my insides flip, but then she hesitates. “Thanks for understanding.”

I nod once, afraid to open my mouth. I do understand. I understand everything—what’s at stake, why she can’t be with me—probably better than she does. But that doesn’t make it any easier. I root my feet to the floor to keep from going to her, but then Frannie moves slowly toward me and curls into my arms, sending my heart racing. She stretches onto her tiptoes, her face tipped up to mine, and I hold my breath as I lean down and kiss her.

There aren’t words to describe the sensations rushing through me with her kiss. Her lips move on mine, tentatively at first, but when she presses deeper into me, all my insides explode in a burst of bliss. She draws me closer and it’s everything I can do not to sweep her into my arms and love her properly. Finally, she pulls away. I close my eyes and we stand with our foreheads pressed together. Neither of us move for a long minute, but, finally, I hear her start to breathe again.

“When I get everything figured out…” she starts.

I want the end of that thought to be, “then we can be together,” but I know the reason she trailed off is because even she doesn’t know what the end of the thought is.

I loop my arms gently around her waist and pull her to my chest. I lean my face into her hair, living in this moment and hoping it won’t end. But then the front door opens and Gabriel steps through.

Frannie pulls away and her whole face changes. She squeezes my hand. “See you in the morning.”

“Good night,” I say again as she disappears behind her door.

Gabriel stares me down, but I’m way too tired for this. I spin and head to my room, away from his inquiring gaze. Because even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know how to answer the question in his eyes.

8

The Evil Eye

FRANNIE

I’m gasping for air, but I can’t get a full breath. ’Cause his lips, so hot, are burning into mine. His hands are on me, but he’s being careful to stay away from the most sensitive spots.

Too careful.

I take his hand and guide it under my shirt. I feel him smile into my lips as his fingers inch toward their target, and a deep, throbbing ache explodes through me.

Delanie will never believe this!

Delanie?

The thought shakes me from my restless sleep. And, just for a heartbeat, I see it. Bloodred eyes set in a pitch-black face.

I’m panting for breath as my eyes snap open. I stare at the ceiling and replay the scene in my head. I’ve had lots of dreams about Luc that left me totally breathless, but this was different.
Real
, my mind screams at me.

I roll on my side and choke on my own spit as I gasp. In the shadows near the door, a shape looms, darker against the dark of the room, black wings spread, a menacing smile on his otherwise angelic face.

Matt.

This time I’m sure of it.

Until I sit and look harder.

At nothing.

Moonlight shimmers over the wall, and what I thought were big black wings are nothing but shadow. There’s nothing there.

I lay back on the pillow, my heart pounding. It’s a long second before I can breathe again. Finally, I glance at the clock. Four. Too early to get up. I drag myself off the bed and move to the window, staring out over the rolling waves at the pale horizon of a day preparing to dawn. Slowly, my shaking stops. These nightmares and hallucinations have to stop or I’ll go crazy.

Or maybe I’m already there.

What was that dream?

Maggie?

I was Maggie. Whether that was her dream, or I was seeing something real, I have no idea.

The Mage
.

Luc said he’d show me things in my dreams. Why is he showing me Maggie? Especially Maggie doing
that
—making out with some boy?

I feel totally disgusting, like some kind of voyeur. But my little sister doesn’t even have a boyfriend. So what the hell was that I just saw?

No. It wasn’t the Mage. I just miss my family, so I’m dreaming about them. That’s all.

I rub my eyes and try to clear the fuzz from my head, then stand here listening to the silent house and the crash of the waves on the shore. I move to the middle of the room and close my eyes. I draw a deep cleansing breath and center myself.

I sorta dropped judo after Taylor died. I sorta dropped everything, really. As I start moving through my judo routine, I’m not sure what to expect. At first, it feels a little like trying to reconnect with an old friend—distant and awkward. But after a few minutes I sink effortlessly into the moves, and a serenity I haven’t felt in a while settles over me.

Focus.

Balance.

Breathe.

I close my eyes and let my body go with the motion. Muscle memory takes over and my mind shuts down. I don’t want to think. I breathe slow and deep with each shifting position, and it helps me feel almost normal again.

Almost.

When I’m done, I push my window all the way open and lean on the sill, staring up at the last of the constellations in the brightening sky, and breathing in the salt air. But just as I turn back to the room, I catch movement in the dark window of Faith’s house. The curtains blow back in the breeze, and I see her there in the pink light of the dawning day, watching.

I’m in a goddamn goldfish bowl.

My judo-induced serenity is gone. I breathe a long, weary sigh and slump into the window frame.

The hum starts so softly that, at first, I don’t distinguish it from the sound of the waves. But when I realize what I’m hearing, I turn slowly back to the room. He’s standing there, silhouetted in the dark. For just an instant, I can’t understand how Gabe got in here without me hearing. But it only takes a second, as I stare at him in the thin light, to realize it’s not Gabe.

It’s a beautiful boy with green eyes.

A boy I’ve seen before.

He looks young—my age—except for his eyes, which look very old … and sad, like he’s carrying the weight of the world. My heart aches as those sad eyes lock on mine and he takes a hesitant step forward. He’s still humming as he stops an arm’s length from me and stands there, gazing down at me as though looking for something he’s lost. And it’s then that I realize I’m humming along.

When he holds out his hand, there’s a ripple, like sun off asphalt, as his form starts to waver and shimmer. I reach up to take the proffered hand, but my fingers slip through air.

Nothing there.

Yet, I can see him, standing not two feet away. It’s only when I’m this close that I realize how tall he is. And it’s hard to miss how muscular he is, ’cause he’s wearing nothing but a pair of faded jeans—same as when we were on the beach. His long sun-gold hair falls nearly to his shoulders, framing a strong, proud face. But, as amazing as his face and body are, it’s the beautiful white wings—three pair—that spread from his back and the way his golden skin contrasts with them that holds my attention. Staring at him, everything else seems to fade away. Time and space are meaningless.

His expression is soft and his eyes bright as he reaches up and drops a thin leather strap around my neck. I feel the weight of an object thump against my chest, but I can’t take my eyes off the boy long enough to see what it is.

I’m not scared.

Logic says I should be. After all, there’s some creepy demon thing living in my dreams, and now the boy from my dreams is standing here, in my room. But this isn’t a dream, and I can’t find fear anywhere in me. I feel nothing but peace.

He stops humming and stares at me for a long moment. “I’ve found you,” he finally says, his voice a soft, musical echo. He lifts a hand and his touch feels as insubstantial as the brush of butterfly wings when his fingers trace the leather strap along my collarbone.

I don’t dare move. I don’t even breathe. I don’t want to break the spell.

He smiles down at me and I feel my heart breathe a sigh. “We’ll be together. I promise.”

And then he’s gone.

“No! Come back!” I gasp, my hands swiping at the air in front of me.

My surroundings come back into focus then. I’m in my room. In the cottage. In the dark.

Alone.

GABE

I sit on the sofa. And sit. And sit. Then shift and sit some more. I pull myself off the sofa and pace, closer and closer to Frannie’s door. Finally, I knock. “Frannie?”

I push the door open and stick my head through, expecting to find her asleep, but instead, she’s standing next to her bed, out of breath and flushed.