back inside and took off out the door. I followed her as far as the driveway where she hopped in Nathan’s car, started the engine and peeled out toward the main road at the end of the short drive.
I walked back inside and went to stand over Nathan. He was beginning to stir more and smack his lips, as if they were parched. I knew what was coming for him, at least as far as what I’d experienced with Leah. And I knew it wasn’t good.
As I watched Nathan, a symbol appeared on the door behind him. I assumed it was the door that led to the rest of the cabin, as the other two were to the bathroom and closet. The symbol was the one I’d seen on the girl, the same one I’d found on the door that brought me here. Stepping forward, I was thinking, It only stands to reason…
I opened it and stepped through the doorway. Sure enough, I turned to shut it behind me, but it was no longer there, only trees. I was in the clearing. And it was empty.
The sky was turning a lighter blue, a sure sign that dawn was on its way. Though I was anxious to get home and check on Leah, I spotted a felled tree at the edge of the clearing and I sat.
Slowly, the sky turned from pale blue to a soft orange as the sun burned its way onto the horizon, chasing away the darkness and the moon. Though I couldn’t see the great yellow ball yet, I felt its light and warmth deep on the inside, chasing away my darkness, too.
As though the thirst I’d felt when I saw Grey drink from Nathan had somehow begun to possess me, too, I felt it seep away as I sat in the light. It was then that I knew. As I looked up into the ever-brightening heavens, I knew that my life (or death, as it were) had a purpose. I had work to do, lives to save.
I’d done a good thing tonight. And I was glad for it. I’d never really helped someone like that before. And it felt incredible. Though it had been scary at times and I had no clue what I was doing, it was totally worth it in the end. Now all that was left was to save my loved ones, not that death was such a trivial thing —if you could even call the second death of a dead person “death”.
It was then that I remembered what Grey had said. I stood, suddenly feeling harried and uncertain.
A thundercloud settled over me. Grey had said she wouldn’t kill me. And if she wouldn’t kill me, then how was I going to save Dad and Derek?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Back at the house, I pulled the Camaro into the garage and managed to drag my tired feet through the door and into the kitchen where I collapsed onto one of the bar stools. I crossed my arms on the bar and laid my head down, stress taking its toll on my body, leaving me utterly exhausted.
I heard soft footsteps and I raised my head when I heard them come to a halt somewhere near the doorway that led into the living room. Leah was standing there, smiling broadly. I wondered what she was so frickin’ happy about and my lips were actually pursed to ask just that when the words died on my tongue.
Someone was standing behind Leah. And that someone was my mother.
I don’t think I could’ve been more surprised if I’d awakened locked inside an ant farm wearing a bread tutu and lettuce boots. I came slowly to my feet, my mouth working itself open and closed, open and closed, like a fish out of water.
Finally, with a tolerant, knowing smile, my mother stepped around Leah and made her way to me. She stopped a couple of feet away, giving me a much needed buffer zone.
“You’re even more beautiful than I expected. You glow…from the inside,” she said, reaching out as if to touch my hair in wonder then stopping just short and dropping her hand. “I’m sorry. I’ve just imagined this day for so long and it’s finally here. I- I- I just—” Her voice broke and I saw her chin begin to quiver.
“I have questions,” was all I could squeeze past the lump of emotion in my throat.
My mother nodded, casting her eyes down. “Of course you do. I just got caught