Part 22 (1/2)
”Oh, no!” I gasp, horrified. I cannot believe I did that! Had I known what it was...
”Lucky, don't feel bad,” Kieron says, seeing my dismay. ”You throwing the ashes of a pure demon is probably what saved our lives. Nothing else was working! Think about it...he gave you this final gift...saving your life...both our lives. I just thought you should know.”
He wraps his hands over mine and leans forward to give me kiss on the cheek. Then he heads back to the cabin, leaving me alone in the dark.
After a few minutes, I regain my composure. Time is of the essence, so I tie the satchel to my belt loop, put my fingers to my lips and blow. Within seconds Diablo emerges from his place in the shadows. He nuzzles his warm nose into my chest, and I gently stroke his face.
”Hey, boy. I'm gonna miss you. I wish you could come with me where I'm going, but you can't.” He lets out a low whinny and nudges me again. ”You need to find yourself another rider, 'kay? Someone who treats you right. Or better yet, find yourself a pretty little mare, settle down and make a family.” I smile and stroke his long neck as he tosses his head. ”But first, I need you to do one last favor for me.” I quickly kick my legs up over his back and hold on tight.
Together we streak through the pitch black night, weaving in and out among the dense trees. I press my chest to his neck, clutching his mane tightly in my hand. a.s.suming we're heading to the Portal, Diablo takes a familiar turn. But I guide him in another direction.
”Whoa, boy. Whoa....now, come on.”
I know he's confused, but he does as he's commanded. Soon I dismount and pat his face. ”Stay here. I'll be right back.”
The air is quiet; the clear sky dances with brilliant stars. Dried leaves and dead branches crunch beneath my feet as I head to the ma.s.sive oak tree...the spot where I first met Bones all those years ago.
I sit down on a stump and wipe at the corners of my eyes. I know he's gone. Yes, part of him will always be inside me, forever, but that doesn't make the hurt any less. I'm not going to see him again...not in this life at least. I know he said we always find each other, and maybe that's true. But I have no way of knowing. Perhaps he just told me all that stuff to make me feel better about dying.
I close my eyes and think of the first time I saw him. How he appeared out of nowhere like a gorgeous beacon, guiding me to the world I would call my home. My true home. He was my companion, my guide, my friend. My ally. My love. He was everything for me, yet it was still never enough.
And now he's gone. Maybe forever.
”Bones,” I whisper in the breeze. ”I keep waiting for it to hit me...that you're dead and never coming back to me. Not in this lifetime at least. But it doesn't feel that way....not really. I still feel you everywhere. I close my eyes and I see your amazing, perfect smile. The wind blows, and I hear your voice. You're not gone, are you?...Not really. I feel like a part of you will always be with me.”
I stand up and walk in a slow circle, kicking at the leaves on the ground. ”I have to go now, and I don't know if I'll ever be coming back. But I just wanted to tell you how much I loved knowing you, and I want to thank you for being my best friend. I'll think of you every day until I die, and I hope that maybe someday our souls do cross paths again. I promise I'll try and find you. I hope you'll do the same.”
I pause to look at the grey, twinkling sky, and wipe the trickle of tears from my cheeks.
”Goodbye, my friend.” I whisper.
Diablo is standing where I left him, and I quickly mount. ”Home, Diablo,” I croak.
I don't look back as we speed through the forest for the last time.
Chapter 22. Liora.
”Sometimes it's okay to spare me some details,” I say as Kieron finishes explaining to me what happened last night, exploding Light-angels and all. ”I still can't believe Tristan was an angel. I never knew...I mean, I suspected he maybe wasn't quite right the other day when I realized I was the only one who could see his scars, but I just thought...”
”You thought he was a demon,” Kieron finishes.
”Yeah.” I gulp guiltily and look away. ”You know, don't you? About me and him?”
We're sitting outside in the early morning watching the sunrise from the back porch. I've been awake about thirty minutes, and have been getting the lowdown on the turn of events from Kieron ever since, while Tatiana is inside making us breakfast. I don't know what surprises me more...that Tristan and Ca.s.sie were Light-angels who got blown up, that Tatiana reconst.i.tuted the demolished cabin by waving her arms around, that Kieron and I have to leave our lives here in Virginia and relocate to California immediately, or that I am sitting here in the same filthy, b.l.o.o.d.y clothes that I woke up in yesterday morning in the dungeon prison.
Kieron nods and shrugs. ”He mentioned something. I think he was draining you...trying to keep you under his control...”
”You're not mad?”
He narrows his eyes, and the muscles in his jaw quiver. ”Mad? I'm furious! I wish the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was alive right now, just so I could have the pleasure of killing him again, by myself this time. Nice and slow-”
”I mean mad at me,” I say softly. ”Mad that I was...with him while you were...” I swallow the rest of my sentence and look away.
Kieron brings my face back to his. ”I'm not mad at you; I am grateful. Grateful you're here with me now. The past is the past. We have our whole future to look forward to. A new start. Just you and me.”
”Um, yeah, about that-”
”Breakfast is ready,” Tatiana says, popping her head out the door. ”Hurry and eat. You two best get on the road soon.”
We stand up, and I brush the dust from my legs. ”You eat, I can't,” I tell Kieron and lean in for a kiss. I melt in his arms for a moment before pulling back. ”Go. There's a hot shower calling my name.”
”You don't want anything?” he asks.
I shake my head as we cross the living room. ”Nah, I'll just have some toast when I'm done cleaning up.” I didn't want to tell them that the smell was making me sick to my stomach. We have enough to worry about without me getting the stupid flu right now. Perhaps once I shower and change I'll feel better.
Fifteen minutes later I emerge, fresh and rejuvenated. I don't feel as queasy anymore, but I pa.s.s on the omelet Tatiana sets before me in favor of an English m.u.f.fin. She eyes me suspiciously. ”You need to eat. You need your strength.”
”I'm strong,” I mumble, not wanting to meet her gaze. I'm afraid if I do, I'll start bawling like a baby. Am I really leaving this cabin forever? Is this the last time I'll sit across the table from Tatiana? Is this the last time I'll ever see her?
”I'm going to miss you too, sweetheart,” she says, casting a loving gaze in my direction. I look up from picking at my m.u.f.fin and smile at her.
”Um, I'll be in the other room packing Lucky's things. I have a feeling she'll be pretty upset if her favorite dresses don't come with us.” Kieron winks at me as he stands up and heads toward my bedroom. ”Let me know when you're ready.” I give his hand a squeeze, grateful for a moment alone with Tatiana.
”I don't want to leave here, Tat,” I tell her once he's gone. ”I never wanted to ever leave you. I'm only doing this because you want me to. But I wish I didn't have to-”
”It's for the best.” She comes to sit beside me, clasping my hands in hers. I see the tears in her eyes and my own start flowing freely. I throw my arms around her and hold her close.
”I don't want to leave you. You're the only mother I've ever known,” I sob quietly into her shoulder.
She gently pats my damp hair. ”There, there, my sweet Liora. I'll always be a part of you. And if you ever need me, I'll be here for you.” She pulls back and gives me a shaky smile, dabbing at her eyes. It's so unnerving to see her cry. Never in my seventeen years have I seen her so much as sniffle.
”Liora, I want you to know this. Finding you, raising you, and being a part of your life has been by far the most wonderful, most joyous experience of my life. Thank you for letting me be a part of your world. You gave this old woman more happiness than you will ever know. I hope I was able to provide you with what you needed. Know that I always did the best I could-”
”Oh, Tattie!” I cry. I hug her tiny shoulders closer. ”Thank you for being the most amazing, wonderful mother a girl could ever have. I couldn't have hoped for anyone better than you. I'm going to think of you every day.”
”I always knew you were on loan to me, and that someday you'd leave to follow your life's path. I just never thought it would be so soon, and I didn't know it would hurt this much.”
”Oh, Tatiana, I love you, too. I'll miss you so much.”
We hold each other in a tearful embrace until it's time for me to go. I look around the cabin one last time before walking into the bright morning light. Kieron is putting a few of my bags in the back of the Mustang, next to all of Lucky's prized clothes and shoes. His mouth curves up in a small smile. ”Ready?”