Stay (14 page)

The woman placed a hand on my arm. “Stay calm. Getting riled up isn’t going to help anyone.”

“Then explain. You can’t tell me that kind of thing and not give me more details.”

“Casey’s been holding it off. Your girlfriend is very strong.”

I smiled at Casey. “Don’t I know it?”

“But she can’t hold it off forever. She needs to fight harder.”

“You can do it, Case. You can do it.” I returned to Casey’s side.

“We thought you might be able to help.” Her mom smiled lightly. “She seems to draw a lot of strength from your presence.”

“In other words I like having you around.” Casey grinned. I was so relieved she still had her sense of humor. At least that hadn’t disappeared.

“What do we do?” I wasn’t going to waste any time.

“We have to put her into a deep sleep. She needs to do this through her subconscious.”

“Into a deep sleep? You’re not going to drug her.” That wasn’t a question. She’d been through enough already.

“We need to relax her enough.”

“Get Daria.” Taliana turned to Gareth. “Her touch worked on Casey instantly. She might be able to talk her down into a sleep.”

Gareth looked at Taliana with surprise. “Daria? She’s been banished.”

“Banished?” Taliana’s look of horror made it clear that she’d had no clue about the punishment. “For what crime?”

“Aiding your departure.”

“What?” Taliana jumped to her feet. “It wasn’t their fault. I forced them.” I now knew where Casey got her spitfire personality from.

Gareth touched her shoulder. “We both know you didn’t force them. They’d have done anything to help you.”

Tears spilled down Taliana’s face. “You kept them from their home.”

“I’m sorry.” He put his free hand on her other shoulder. “Maybe I acted rashly, but I hoped they’d give me a clue to where you went.”

“But they never did.” Taliana shrugged him off. “Because they didn’t know.”

“I’ll bring them back. I’ll make amends.”

“Yes you will. Right now. Hopefully Daria will still be willing to help.”

“She will.” I felt confident speaking for her. “She will help.”

The man who had escorted me turned to Gareth. “Should I return for her?”

“Bring them here,” Taliana answered for him. “Bring them both here.”

“Yes. Bring them here.” Gareth smiled slightly. There was definitely still something between the two.

Casey leaned into my side, and I quickly put an arm around her. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine. Couldn’t be better.”

I kissed her on the cheek. “Eventually you’re going to look back at this and laugh.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. I mean how many times in your life will you have an excuse for the voices in your head.”

“It’s not funny now.”

“No. Not at all.”

We waited in silence for a while. Gareth and Taliana stood watching us, while Casey and I remained seated. The woman, who I assumed was a healer, had disappeared. I hoped she wasn’t getting some sort of drug. As much as I didn’t like magic, or anything like that, I preferred the Nymph natural magic to anything else. At least it was coming from someone good. My gut instinct was that Daria was a good person. Even her brother, as grumpy as he could be, still seemed genuinely caring. Hopefully we’d be able to take care of whatever was going on with Casey quickly.

“Let me at her.” Daria bounded into the room and ran right up to where we were on the couch. “I heard you need me.”

The other woman returned. “We need to put her into a deep sleep. She needs to fight off an external dark force.”

“Should we put Toby into one too?” Maddock asked.

“Uh, what?” That was the first I’d heard of that idea.

“Oh. Good idea. Maybe he could help her through it,” Daria replied excitedly. “They have a strong connection, so I bet it could work.”

“Why would you need to put Toby to sleep?” Casey asked. “No one hurt him.”

Daria kneeled down to get to Casey’s height. “Do you trust Toby?”

She nodded.

“Do you truly and wholeheartedly trust him?”

My chest clenched. Did she? Did she actually?

“Of course I do.”

“It’s important that you’re honest. This is only going to work if you trust him.”

“I trust him.” She looked right at me. “I trust him completely.”

“Good.” Daria stood up. “We need to move these two couches together so they can lie down.”

Gareth and I grabbed the second couch at the same time. I stepped back and let him do it. No reason to step on his desire to help.

“There’s only one problem with this.” I hated to bring up any difference between Casey and me, but I had too. “Casey’s mind can be influenced since she’s half bear, but mine can’t.”

“We know.” Daria appeared unconcerned. “You aren’t going to let me influence your mind, you are going to make the choice to follow Casey into her subconscious. If you are the one choosing to do it, everything will work.”

“Have you done this before?” The woman asked Daria. “Are you sure it’s safe? There’s powerful magic at play. By allowing himself to be part of this isn’t he opening himself up to being harmed?”

“I don’t care.” I brushed off her concern immediately. “I will do whatever you think will help Casey. I’d rather she not have to do this alone.”

Taliana smiled. “I knew I had a good feeling about you.”

“You know I’m going to make this up to you.” Casey tugged on my hand.

I smiled. “Make it up to me by being okay. That’s all I’m asking.”

“I can do better than that.”

Gareth cleared his throat. “Do you really want to say such things with your father in the room?”

Casey shot me a look. I think all this father talk was beginning to mess with her. “I’m just kidding.”

“Ok, good.”

I lay down next to Casey, trying to stay off the crack between the two couches but wanting to stay close. I couldn’t really believe we were about to willingly put ourselves into some deep sleep. Then again I knew I’d do anything to help Casey so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

I wrapped my hand around Casey’s. “I’ll be with you.”

“I know you will be.” She squeezed my hand back. “But, Toby?”

“Yes?” I turned my head to look at her.

“No judging me on anything you see. I mean letting you inside my head is a little nerve wracking.”

“You mean you don’t tell me everything?” I joked.

“I tell you most.”

“No judgments at all. Zero.”

“Good.”

“When you’re ready, you both need to close your eyes,” Daria said from above us. “But take your time. This all needs to be at a natural pace.”

“Natural pace?” Casey asked. “Is there anything natural about what’s happening?”

“Actually, yes. My magic comes from a very natural place. My tree. I promise this isn’t like any magic you’ve experienced before.”

“And Toby will be okay?” Casey sounded panicked for me.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Just stay focused on the goal,” Daria explained. “Everything else will fall into place.”

“And the goal is to get the magic out of my head?” Casey asked.

Everyone laughed.

She sat up slightly. “What? It’s a reasonable question. I just want to double check.”

“That’s the goal,” Daria touched Casey’s arm. “Just lie down.”

“Okay, let’s try this again.” Casey rested her head back.

I waited until Casey had closed her eyes before closing mine. I held her hand securely in mine. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing, but I hoped it came naturally. Daria had seemed confident of it.

Daria’s touch was feather light on my forehead, but I immediately felt the effects of it. I was overcome with a strong calming sensation, my body relaxed, and the pounding headache that had been mounting began to disappear.

I focused on the comfort, and the only other sensation I was aware of was Toby’s hand wrapped around mine. His touch was strong and grounding. It provided a tranquility of its own.

Things were foggy for a few minutes, like the feeling you have after waking up suddenly from a dream. I just let the fog set in, trying to save my energy for when I really needed it. Then slowly the fog started to dissipate, and I was no longer on the couch, I was standing in the middle of a city street.

I looked all around me, trying to get my bearings, but nothing looked familiar. I started to panic. Where was I? Why was I all alone?

“I’m here.” Toby’s voice calmed me immediately.

I glanced around for him. “Toby? Where are you?”

“I’m here,” he repeated.

“Where’s here?”

“I’m here.”

Each time he said the two words they sounded exactly the same. No louder, no softer. “Toby?”

“I’m here.”

I walked down the street. “Where are you? Show me where you are.”

“I’m here.”

His voice sounded like it was behind me, so I turned around again. “Toby?”

“I’m here.”

I started running. Where was he?

“I’m here.”

I ran faster. I needed to find him. That was what I was supposed to be doing, right? The goal was to find Toby?

Wait. No. It wasn’t. I stopped running. “I’m supposed to push the magic out.”

“I’m here.” Toby’s voice came from right next to me.

I looked down and found the old teddy bear I used to sleep with as a kid. I picked it up.

“I’m here.”

“What?” I spoke out loud. It hadn’t been Toby, it had been a toy? I needed to stay focused. This wasn’t about Toby; it was about the dark magic.

I spun around, trying to figure out what direction to go. I still held the bear, not sure what to do.

“Hello?” a small voice said.

I glanced around, half expecting to find another toy, but it was a little girl. It was me I realized with frightening certainty. I was looking at myself as a kid. I stumbled back.

“Can I have my teddy bear back? I can’t sleep without it.” The girl walked toward me.

I held out the bear. “Here, take it.”

I was so hot, and sweat started to pour down my face. “Mommy told me that bears will protect me. She said I had an inner bear. Do you like bears?”

I shook my head, not sure what to say to make this vision disappear. It had to be a vision. It couldn’t be real. Find the magic I reminded myself. “Take the bear. Be careful.” I handed the bear off and started down the street. I glanced over my shoulder, and the girl and the bear were gone.

I kept walking in the same direction, not sure what else to do. Where was this magic? Where could I find it?

“You’re not innocent,” a male voice said from right behind me.

I whirled around coming face to face with Finn. I said nothing, not as angry at him as I should have been. Hadn’t he hurt me? But then another memory surfaced, a more recent one. “You helped me.”

“You’re not innocent. Once you accept that you’ll find your strength.”

“What do you mean? Innocent how?”

“In everything. You’re not always the victim. You can’t always play the victim.”

“I don’t play the victim.” The anger was back full force. “But you used me.”

“I didn’t use you. I had to leave you.”

“Why?”

“Does the why matter?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head. “No. You love someone else.”

“I gave myself to you.”

“Physically, yes, but is that what’s important right now? Is this what you’re supposed to be doing?”

“No. Leave me alone.”

“I will.” He turned and disappeared into thin air.

I buried my face in my hands. I was losing it entirely.

I moved my hands away, and I was no longer on the street. I was in the woods. It was so dark, dark the way it used to be before I transformed for the first time. Why was my night vision gone? Was I no longer a Pteron?

“You think you’re really a Laurent?” A voice called from above me.

I squinted up to look just as a man jumped down from a tree.

“Levi?”

“Answer me. Do you think you really are?”

I hesitated. What was I supposed to say? “No. Maybe.”

“A Laurent has confidence.” He stepped toward me. “Show me your confidence.”

“I’m trying.”

“Try harder.” He leaned in close. “Try harder.”

“I will.”

“Good.” He disappeared into thin air just like Finn.

I blinked a few times. He was really gone. Find the magic. Find the magic. I needed to focus, but how? How was I supposed to focus when half-brothers were jumping from trees?

I closed my eyes tight, trying to clear my head. I waited a few seconds before opening them again. I was in Toby’s apartment. I heard voices coming from down the hall.

“I’ve waited so long for this.” Toby laughed the way he usually only did with me. Who was he talking to?

“Me too. At least she’s out of the way now.” My chest clenched. I knew that voice well. It couldn’t be though. Toby would never be with Vera.

I was frozen in place, I couldn’t move.

“Go on, go watch.”

I turned around, nearly knocking into Jared. He was shirtless and bleeding in a few spots. “You might as well get it over with.”

“I can’t. I can’t watch that.”

“Why not? Maybe you can join in.” He sneered.

“That’s disgusting.”

“Is it? Is it more disgusting than us sleeping together?”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. “You still think that? You think it was disgusting?”

“Of course, but that’s okay. We all make mistakes don’t we? We make mistakes and move on. Isn’t that what life’s about? Moving on?”

“Just leave me alone.” I couldn’t worry about Jared. I was supposed to be doing something else. What was it? Oh yeah. I was supposed to be checking on Toby.

I walked down the hall.

“You’re so gorgeous, perfect.” He was on top of her. I couldn’t see her, but I knew it was her. He was admiring my sister, calling her perfect.

“They make a good couple, don’t they? A much better couple than you.” Jared smirked.

“Shut up.”

“Stop living in the past.”

Toby turned. “What are you doing here?”

“I… I came to see you.”

“Why? Why would I want you here?”

“Toby…. I thought.”