“Heather?” He blinks, searching every inch of me. With a clank, the blade falls to the ground and he stumbles back. “You’re, you’re—”
Red swims at the corner of my eyes, and when I open my mouth to speak, a growl replaces anything of substance.
“Heather.Darling—”
I want to hurt him.
And I think I just might.
14.
Moth
The cabin.
We are back at the cabin.
I imagine her lounging on our loveseat, a book in her hand. She kisses my lips and tells me her scheme worked. She has been waiting for me to return. But we search, and search, bickering and talking over each other—she’s not here.
Surrounded by her scent and wedding decorations, my compatriots and I lay together on the floor, displaced and discontented. The open portal glows by the bookcase, lighting our way back to Eclipsica. I am thankful my mother-in-law appears to have stepped out. Her minivan is not in the drive, and for now, the space is ours to wallow in.
If any of us dares to speak to Pepper, they just groan. Heather calls this‘rotting’—when your body simply will not allow you to do anything else. Perhaps it has been too much failure for us to bear.
“Friends, wemuststrategize,” Holly says, though she sounds exhausted. “She was under my watch. I am fighting the urge to run off on my own to fix things.”
“We were all right there,” Rosie reminds her. “I know I don’t have powers or anything like that, but we were all right there—and,and… what if we can’t find her? I mean, those portals, doyou even understand how they work? It should have led us to her, right?”
It is correct for her to be upset. She is giving voice to every horrible thought I have had since the portal lead us back here.
“Enough,” I groan, but my racing thoughts do not settle down even in silence. I need her back with me. “Our focus should be on finding a way to break the bond. Is it possible without the vampire king’s cooperation?”
Holly shakes her head. “The magic that seals things like that is binding to your very soul—”
“Damn, it’s bad enough that Heather is missing. Magic binding her soul sounds … concerning.” Rosie groans. “What are we going to do?”
A cool draft blows into the room, followed by the scent of coffee. Picking up my head from when it has fallen onto the cushions, I glance up to see our front door is open and my future mother-in-law is standing in the doorway, holding a large coffee in her hands. By the way her mouth is hanging open, I wonder just how long she’s been standing there—
“Oh my God.” Her voice is understandably shrill. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”
We have not bothered to hide or shift into human forms—and we all seem to be frozen in place by her unexpected appearance. She is lucky. Normally, when Holly is startled, she reaches for her sword, but instead, she clambers for her glamour. It is too little too late. There’s no use hiding it.
The wings, however, seem to be the least of Marsha’s worries as she closes in on me. Heather has always said she and her mother look very little alike, but I see a striking resemblance in the fire of their eyes.
Swallowing hard, I kick myself for not letting her in on this sooner. If there is anyone who would burn the world to get someone back, it’s a mother looking for their child.
“Where would you like me to begin?” I ask, glancing around the room. “I fear we do not have time for all the details but—”
“Uh, you could start by explaining why it looks like I just walked into a room filled with extras from a low-budget fantasy movie!” Her eyes dart around the room, and I do not know whether she is going to begin shouting or simply faint with the way her face is turning red. “Or maybe focus on the fact thatno one told memy little girl is missing!”
“What is a fantasy movie?” Pepper whispers to Holly, whose face has gone pale.
“A pornography, I presume,” she whispers back, a little more than offended. Meanwhile, Rosie bites back a laugh.
I narrow my eyes in their direction. Now is not the time. Not when this small woman looks like she is going to explode.
“What are you hiding, hm?!” She jabs me in the chest.
So, I tell her.
