AllFreeNovel
Share Us
rt inside his head. “You’re gonna be fine now. I promise. Let’s get back to the truck. It’s cold. Don’t want you to be cold.”
“Do you see anything?” Sam asked the others. They shook their heads.
“Gonna be right as rain soon enough,” Memphis said to the air.
Theta shook her head. “No. No, this isn’t right.”
Memphis snatched a horse blanket from the back of the truck and wrapped it around nothing. The blanket fell to the earth, but Memphis didn’t seem to notice.
“I don’t know who that is, Memphis, but it isn’t your brother,” Jericho said, not without gentleness.
“Talking nonsense. ’Course it’s him! He’s come back. Hey. Hey, Ice Man.”
“Memphis.” Theta now. Warning. Afraid.
Doubters. Unbelievers. His brother had been dead and was returned to him, just like that resurrection thousands of years ago. But why wasn’t he talking? Isaiah used to talk a mile a minute. He was tired, was all. He needed to get his feet under him.
“It’s all right, Little Man. You’re back. You’re here. I won’t let anything hurt you, I promise,” Memphis said, looking over at the brother only he could see. Isaiah glowed faintly. A fly landed on Isaiah’s lips and Memphis brushed it away. “Shoo!”
“Where did Isaiah’s body go?” Henry asked quietly.
“Pal, I don’t know. I don’t know anything about what’s happening right now,” Sam said under his breath.
“Memphis, what happened in the land of the dead?” Ling asked, because she was beginning to understand something she did not want to know.
Tears blurred Memphis’s vision. He felt cold. Why did he feel so cold and yet feverish at the same time? His teeth chattered as he spoke: “I m-made a b-bargain.”
“What kind of bargain?” Ling asked.
“I c-couldn’t let my b-brother d-die.”
“What kind of bargain, Memphis?” Ling pressed.
“My h-healing power f-for Isaiah,” Memphis said.
“Oh, that’s just terrific. That’s swell,” Sam said, angry.
Theta glared. “Stop it, Sam.”
“What are we supposed to do now? How are we supposed to heal the breach without a healer?”
“He just lost his brother!” Theta shouted, and a little fire erupted at the ends of her fingers. She blew it out.
“I’ll be f-fine. I just… n-need to r-rest is all,” Memphis said, falling to his knees. It was hard to walk. He looked over at Isaiah, who smiled again. He still wasn’t talking, but in time, he would. They’d talk about everything well into the evening, the way they used to do back at Aunt Octavia’s house.
Theta put the blanket across Memphis’s shoulders and helped him stand again. He was shivering and his lips were pale. “Hey, Shrimpy. You ’member that time after church when the Elks had a parade, came down Lenox Avenue in their sashes, and Papa Charles was out in front carrying the banner? Mr. Reggie gave you a root beer float for free, wouldn’t even take your nickel,” Memphis said to the air. “Yeah. And we bought penny candy after church, too.”
Evie wanted to cry but she was too horrified. There were no tears for what was happening to them. It was beyond crying. Losing Isaiah had been heartbreaking. Now they were losing Memphis, too. He was getting weaker. She could see it. Sweat beaded along his upper lip and forehead. His eyes were bloodshot.
“What does he see?” Henry asked.
“The King of Crows played a trick on him,” Theta said through gritted teeth. Her hands were warm all the time now. She would burn everything down if she could. She might still. “Just like he did Miss Addie.”
“You cold? Don’t worry. I’ll share my blanket,” Memphis said. He lifted one edge to let an imaginary Isaiah in next to him.
The night sky with its beautiful stars was an affront. Nothing should ever shine on such a night. There were whip-poor-wills calling into the darkness, reminding Evie that even the night had layers. The ghosts watched from the prairie edges. She could see them out there, winking in the dark. When the wind whipped up, it carried their whispers: This is the history, they said. Blood.
“Jericho,” Evie said.
