The Eternal Ones (42 page)

“I told you I couldn’t tell you,” Haven said. “But Daddy sent a letter to the wrong people, and they made it all happen. The rumors about Veronica—even the accident—they were behind it all. Dr. Tidmore was the one who did the dirty work.”

“Haven, that’s just ridiculous!” Mae exclaimed.

“Why do you think he didn’t come back to Snope City?” Haven said. “Preachers don’t just up and quit like that. Believe me, Mama.
Please
. When I was in New York, I met the man who ordered it all. He told me everything. He told me Tidmore fixed the accident so it looked like Daddy and Veronica had been together.”

“Why would someone do such a thing?” Mae whispered.

“Because he could,” Haven said sadly.

Outside the little white church in the middle of the mountains, Haven could hear the band tuning its instruments. She felt no fear as she pushed open the doors. Leah was talking to two ladies seated in the very first pew, and Earl was lugging his box of snakes onto the platform at the front of the church. When he saw Haven making her way up the aisle, he jumped down to greet her.

“Look who we got here. Miss Haven Moore, all the way from the big city.”

“Hey there, Mr. Frizzell. Leah invited me up. I hope you don’t mind.”

“You hope I don’t mind?” The old man cackled. “This is the Lord’s house, not mine. Anyone he brings up that road is welcome to stop in.”

“Well, thank you, anyway, Mr. Frizzell.”

“We heard you had some trouble up there in New York City, that right?”

“Yes, sir,” Haven confirmed.

Earl looked Haven over. “I don’t see any battle scars. Looks like you came away in pretty good shape.”

“Looks can be deceiving, Mr. Frizzell.”

“So they can,” he agreed. “Wounded on the inside, are you? We’ll see if we can’t do something about that today.”

“I wish you could, Mr. Frizzell, but I’m afraid it’s hopeless.”

“Now don’t let me hear you saying things like that, Haven Moore. Nothin’s ever
hopeless
. Leah!” he called out to his niece. “Come on over here and see to your friend. Haven, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get started with the sermon.”

“Hi, Haven,” Leah said, sounding unusually chipper. “You got your things for after the service?”

“Yeah. But I thought y’all weren’t supposed to go swimming and stuff on the Sabbath.”

“This is different,” Leah promised.

 

“MORNIN’.” EARL FRIZZELL took the microphone, and the church went quiet. “Y’all probably recognize our guest today. Her name’s Haven Moore. She visited with us a few months ago back when everybody in town thought she’d come down with a demon. Since then she’s been away, and she’s battled far worse than demons. She may look okay on the outside, but from what she tells me, sounds like her faith is running low. So I figure the best way we can help is to teach Haven Moore a few of the things we know about the subject.”

He reached into the wooden box that sat by his feet and pulled out a three-foot snake. Its tail shook so fast, it was only a blur, and the sound of rattling filled the room. It coiled around Earl’s hands, but it did not strike.

“It says in the Bible, ‘
In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.
’”

He transferred the snake to one hand and held it over his head. “
This
is faith. And it don’t make a lick of sense to most people. You go to the library, and every book you find about rattlesnakes will tell you that this creature should’ve given me a nasty bite by now. But I
believe
it won’t. At least not until the good Lord decides it’s my time to go.

“You see, faith means listening to your heart, not just your head. It’s not about ignoring facts; it’s about being willing to see around them sometimes. The
fact
is, this snake could kill me. There is
no
disputing that. But I have faith that the Lord will protect me. And as y’all see, I’m still standing here.

“There are some people out there who think you can understand everything. They think that if you read a whole bunch of books or go to church every Sunday you’ll know exactly how the world works. But not a single one of them could tell me how come this snake hasn’t killed me. Or how Leah can give prophecy. Or why Haven Moore has visions of places she’s never seen. They may
think
they understand how God works, but if we were able to understand how God works, we wouldn’t need faith, now would we?”

Earl gently returned the snake to its box. “The problems come when it’s time to put our faith in things other than the Lord. There’s no doubt that other people can be tricky. But once again, it’s all about listening to your heart. That don’t mean you should ignore what your head’s telling you. But your heart will do a much better job of helping you figure out who’s good and who ain’t. Who deserves your faith, and who doesn’t. If you judge solely by evidence, you could wind up making some big mistakes.

“Love and faith go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. And as we all know, taking that leap ain’t always safe. Sometimes you judge poorly, and you land right on your face. But unless you make the jump, you’ll never know what’s on the other side. You just gotta find the guts to do it.

“Now let’s turn it over to the band and see what the Lord has to tell us today.” As a fast-paced gospel tune began to play, he stepped down off the platform and walked over to Haven. “That mean anything to you?” he asked.

“It did,” Haven told him. “Thank you.”

“Think you might be up for giving one of our snakes a spin now?”

Haven racked her brain, trying to come up with a polite excuse.

Earl Frizzell’s smile grew wider, and Haven’s face turned red. “Don’t you know when somebody’s fooling with you?” he cackled.

“Careful,” Leah warned. “These hills are full of copperheads, you know.”

They were inching down the side of the mountain, their sneakers slipping on the slick, muddy trail and weeds slapping against their thighs.

“So I guess you’re off to Duke in a couple of days,” said Haven, just to make conversation. “Beau’s going to Vanderbilt, you know. I can’t tell you how jealous I am of you two. I’ll probably be stuck here in Snope City for the rest of my life.”

“I doubt it,” Leah told her. “You’ve got a few adventures to finish.”

“You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve seen some things,” Leah said. Haven waited for the girl to elaborate, but she didn’t.

“So what are you going to be studying at Duke?”

“Physics. It’s been my favorite subject since I was little. It kind of comes naturally to me. Sometimes I think I might have been a physicist in another life.”

“
You
think? But I thought Christianity and reincarnation weren’t compatible.”

Leah smiled at Haven over her shoulder. “My faith is big enough to accept all of God’s wonders.”

They walked in silence, and neither spoke until they reached the stream that led to the falls.

“You met him, didn’t you?” Leah asked.

“Who?”

“The one I told you about.”

“Yes,” Haven said. “He ruined my life.”

“You were tested,” Leah said.

“And I failed,” Haven told her.

“You couldn’t have failed. You’re here, aren’t you?”

“I lost the only thing that mattered to me.”

“You’re sure about that?” Leah asked.

“Yeah,” Haven said sadly.

At the end of the stream, the woods opened and revealed the granite pool. Haven kicked off her sneakers and peeled off her shorts and T-shirt. She laid her towel out on the rock and dived into the dark, cool water. She pulled herself out by the waterfall and watched the vapor rising from the bottom. Then she lay down on her towel and closed her eyes. She tried to ignore a rustling in the woods.

“What is that?” she asked Leah, but there was no answer.

Haven opened her eyes and propped herself up on one arm.

“Leah?” she called. The girl was gone. “Hello?”

A figure emerged at the edge of the woods. Haven blinked. Iain looked tired and thinner than he had in New York, and there was a scar on his temple where a wound had healed. Dressed in jeans and a simple white T-shirt, he was the most beautiful sight Haven had ever seen. She ran across the edge of the pool, only inches from where the water spilled over the side, hoping she wouldn’t discover he was just a mirage. When Iain caught her, she felt every nerve in her body explode with pleasure.

Haven opened the door to find an older woman standing in the hallway of the apartment building, proudly holding out a bank envelope.

“We sold four more today, Miss Haven!”

“It’s just
Haven
, Lucetta. Four more of the blue dress?”

“And a black strapless and an emerald.”

“You’re kidding!”

“I don’t joke about money,” replied the Italian woman, fingering the multiple gold chains she always wore around her neck.

“Well, either I’m one hell of a designer or you’re one hell of a saleswoman,” Haven said.

“I think both,” Lucetta said smugly, turning to leave.

 

AFTER SPENDING SIX MONTHS hiding out at the Decker farmhouse, Iain and Haven had moved to Rome one week after Haven turned eighteen. Just past midnight on her first night in the city, Iain blindfolded Haven and led her through the streets. When they stopped, and the blindfold was lifted, Haven had found herself in front of a tiny boutique that bore her own name. Iain had even hired Lucetta, Haven’s first employee. They’d hit it off the moment they met.

Of course, Haven’s decision to move to Rome had not been warmly received by Mae Moore. She made Haven swear that she’d enroll in college before she turned twenty. And Imogene was certain that her granddaughter would fall under the influence of Catholics. But it was Haven’s money that was going to pay for the plane tickets, and eventually they both had to accept the inevitable.

 

HAVEN PASSED THROUGH the kitchen on her way to the balcony, where Iain was reading an Italian newspaper.

“I checked on dinner,” she told him. “It looks like it’s done.”

“Come here,” he said, dropping the paper and pulling her down on his lap. “It’s done when
I
say it’s done.” She giggled as he kissed her.

They hadn’t spoken of Constance or Ethan since the day Iain had materialized at Eden Falls. Nor had they discussed any of their other lives. With the past behind them, there was nothing left to haunt their relationship. Everyone believed Iain Morrow was dead—and by all rights he should have been. If he had been two feet to the left when the roof of the mews house collapsed, it would have crushed him rather than providing him with a means of escape.

Iain couldn’t make contact with Haven while she remained in New York. The Society might have been watching, and the police still considered him the lead suspect in the death of Jeremy Johns. So he hid out in Mexico with Marta Vega before helping her get settled in Paris. At last, using funds he’d carefully stashed away some years before, he traveled to Snope City, where the first person to greet him had been an unusual girl with red hair. She told him she’d known he was coming.

Marta was now living drug-free in an apartment not far from the Louvre. But being clean and sober hadn’t brought much cheer to Marta’s art. Her housewarming present to Iain had been another dark and twisted work that showed two people surrounded by an angry mob. As always, a tiny figure in black stood watching from a distance. Iain kept the painting in a closet in the hallway.

Neither Iain nor Haven had uttered the name of the man in black for months. Haven focused on her designs, while Iain played dead. Beau called regularly from Vanderbilt, but there had been next to no news of Adam Rosier or Padma Singh. In the best moments, it felt as if they were both gone for good.

 

“GO FINISH DINNER,” Haven ordered. “The table’s set, and I’m starving to death.”

“In a second. Take a look at the light.” With the sun setting, the roofs of Rome were golden. Iain put his arm around Haven and pulled her to him.

“I’m glad we’re back,” Haven told him.

When Iain stepped inside the apartment, the wind caught the paper he’d left on the balcony. It whipped the pages apart and sent them flying in every direction. Haven gathered as many as she could, crumpling them to her chest. The front page fluttered off the balcony before she could reach it. She watched it drift down to the cobblestones, where it landed at the feet of a figure strolling through the Piazza Navona. Tall, trim, and dressed in black, the man quickly passed below the balcony. Just as he turned down the Via Giustiniani, he stopped in a shadow and smiled up at Haven. It was growing dark, and the young man’s features were blurry. But Haven couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she’d seen him before.

“Haven,” Iain called out to her. She turned to see him standing in the warm light of the apartment. “Come inside.”

Thank you to all those who helped make this book possible:

 

 

Ben Schrank and Anne Heltzel at Razorbill

 

The incomparable Suzanne Gluck

 

Sarah Ceglarski

 

Jin Ai Yap

 

Katherine and Albert Miller