The Hour of Dust and Ashes

sure.

Nwyvre I understood now. It existed all around us, more in some places than in others, like in ley lines, convergences, and earthen structures designed to heighten its energy. Very few knew how to access it, how to identify it, how to join with it. Being in this light was like sitting in the classroom of Mother Earth. I understood so much. I understood where my sister got her power.

My sister.

I moved closer, a gliding ball of light. Solomon shrunk back, but I didn’t stop. I went into her and enveloped him in light, jerking him out and flinging his shadowy spirit into the air. He didn’t fight, didn’t say anything. He seemed stupefied, and perhaps a little humbled.

It is not meant to be held, Charlie.

Melki’s voice invaded my wonderful ball of light. I ignored her. Bryn’s spirit didn’t fill out her body like Rex’s had done. She was too weak. Too tired. Too broken by ash and its spirit-suppressing qualities.

Charlie, no.

But it was too late to stop. I had no real idea what I was doing, but if this power fueled my sister’s abilities, then maybe it would wake her up, energize her, give her the strength to come back and be whole again. I took off, zinging around the room in an arc, gaining speed, using everything I had to hold it together, and coming back around, aiming for Bryn.

One giant dose of Nwyvre coming up.

I flew into her and released everything, dropping my concentration, my focus, letting the power explode out of me in a burst of white.

21

My chest collapsed in a great release of air. I sat up, eyes wide. Everyone in the ballroom was staring at me.

Melki was gone.

So was the power within me.

And Bryn was laid flat out on the floor, unconscious. Glowing. My sister was fucking glowing. I crawled over, not trusting my legs to support me. I shook, a billion tiny tremors vibrating at once.

Em dropped down beside me, hugging my shoulder as I sat next to Bryn and put my hand on her forehead, smoothing back the hair from her face. The glow enveloped my hand. Amazing. I looked up and found Aaron kneeling on the other side of Bryn, staring at me with an unreadable expression. After a long moment, he dipped his head. I returned the gesture.

“What happened?” I asked, unsure of what had been real and what had taken place in my mind.

“Momma,” Emma said softly. “You’re glowing, too.”

I blinked, frowning. I lifted my shaky hand to see my skin ringed in white and my arm, my legs … Very dim, however. Not nearly as bright as Bryn’s glow. My hair fell in my line of sight. I reached up and held out a strand— that, too, was glowing.

I started laughing. It was as if I’d been hit with pixie dust from Tinkerbell herself. And I knew now that it had all been real. It all had happened and everything would be okay.

“Bryn’s just passed out,” Aaron said. “She’s breathing. Pulse is a little fast …”

“Momma?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Are you okay?”

I stared at her for a long moment, and cocked my head as I realized that nothing ached or burned. I wasn’t tired. And I was hungry—always a good sign. “I’m fine. I’m glowing like a lightbulb. And I’m okay.”

She shook her head and smiled. “Except you really need a bath.”

“Thank you, my darling child, for pointing that out.”

“Well, you always say to tell the truth …” She stood and held out a small hand to help me up. “Can you stand?”

I took the help, gripping her small hand. Once I was up on my feet and balanced, I hugged her tightly, breathing in her scent and whispering into her hair. “Thank you.”

She pulled back. “For what?”

I smiled and moved a strand of hair from her cheek. “For what you said to Melki. I never want you to put yourself in harm’s way, but—” I cradled both of her cheeks in my palms—“Your courage makes me proud … And I love you.”

“I love you, too. Your glow is fading,” she said with tears in her eyes. “And I was hoping to take you to show-and-tell.”

A half laugh broke through my lips. God, she was getting more like Rex every day. I glanced around the ballroom to get my bearings. The ballroom doors were closed and several warlocks guarded the entrance. The music was off, but the disco ball still spun. From beyond the doors and windows came the sounds of party horns and the sudden rise of voices as they started counting down to New Year’s.

TEN! NINE! EIGHT!

I continued my perusal and found Rex.

SEVEN! SIX! FIVE!

He stood apart from the others. Tears of joy and sorrow ran down his face.

FOUR! THREE!

My heart sank. He knew. Will was gone.

TWO! ONE!

Sadness, grief, understanding, acceptance, it all passed between us in one moment, one look of pure understanding.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My daughter had lost her father. Forever.

Horns and clapping erupted with the crack of fire-works somewhere high overhead.

“Mom.” Emma tugged at me. I was squeezing her hand too hard. I let go and turned. She grinned broadly at me. “Happy New Year.”

I wrapped her in a hug, whispering against her neck as my heart broke. “Happy New Year, kid.”

“I love you, Momma.”

“I love you, too.”

After clearing the ballroom, we took our small party upstairs to the room Bryn was using during her stay at the League.

Before I went into the room, I used the League phone in the hallway and called the chief—mine had gotten lost somewhere in Charbydon, if I had to guess. I told the chief what had happened to Hank in the parking lot, minus the details of his past—that was for him to tell, not me—and he was swift in his response.

“I’ll put an immediate call in to the terminal. If they try to take him back through the gate, we’ll detain them,” the chief declared. “I’ll get in touch with Washington and I’ll put some serious pressure on the siren delegate here in town. I’ll call as soon as I know anything. Get some rest, Madigan. You’ve been through hell. Literally. If we need to go in and take him back, I’ll need you one hundred percent.”

Easier said than done. Hank was a U.S. citizen. He had rights, and the sirens couldn’t just come into our city and kidnap one of our own. Our big, bad bosses in Washington needed to step up to the plate and do something, anything, to get him back.

“Charlie,” he said more gently than I’d ever heard him before. “There’s nothing you can do at this point. Go home. Eat. Sleep. Let me do my thing. We’ll find him and get him back.”

“Thanks, Chief.” I hung up the phone and stood there staring at the hall table until Emma poked her head