dramatic look—one that would allow her see and be seen. She’d added glitter to the dark pigment and ointment, and brushed it onto her entire eyelid in bold strokes.
The smell of clover was strong as she blinked away happy tears, showing off eyelids that looked like a starry midnight sky. I clutched the door casing, overcome by dizziness.
I sank into the memory of a long forgotten night, the heady smell of clover in my nose and my eyes on the stars. I was lying on a bed of clover, staring up at the star filled night sky. My father, Will-o’-the-Wisp, leaned over me into my line of sight.
I smiled, reaching my arms up for a hug. He lifted me into strong arms and kissed my forehead, then set me on his shoulders where I grabbed at the glowing fireflies dancing around his head. He carried me across the lawn and toward the house. It was the same house I’d grown up in with my mother and stepfather, but it looked brighter, cleaner, and larger than I remembered. Even beneath the night sky, flowers surrounded the house in full bloom.
We met my mother on the porch and I squealed as father pulled me from his shoulders. He pretended I was flying as he lowered me down to the freshly painted porch.
The house wasn’t the only thing to look refreshed. My mother was fully transformed. Until now, I hadn’t remembered her ever looking so happy. The perpetual lines in her forehead were gone and her eyes crinkled at the corners. For once my mother wasn’t frowning. Her smile was radiant.
Her face, and my father’s, began to blur. I tried to hold on, to make the memory last just a bit longer, but the happy moment was replaced by a second memory. This new memory was from a different day entirely.
“Please don’t leave,” my mother sobbed.
She was on the porch and I crouched inside the house, behind the half-open door. I could hear her voice shaking, but she stood just out of sight of my hiding spot. Her hands were the only part of her that I could see clearly.
My father was standing on the front lawn. He was holding a lantern that shone strangely and cast eerie shadows over his face. His shoulders were slumped and he looked like he was in pain. I wanted to run to him and ask if he was hurt, but something about the lantern in his hand frightened me.
I held my breath and listened.
“I must go,” he said.
He lifted the hand that held the lantern to his head, and lowered it with a frustrated groan. He raised the other hand to run fingers through his hair and let out a lengthy sigh.
“You…you can’t let it go, can you?” my mother asked.
Her hands shook where she clasped them together in front of her. I didn’t think I’d be able to look at my mother’s hands the same way again. The woman I knew was hard and solemn. She’d never looked so weak or upset before, but those hands, shaking and clasping each other over and over, spoke volumes. My mother was terrified.
My father demonstrated trying to set the lantern down, but could not. No matter what he tried, the lantern remained in his hand.
“I can’t be rid of the cursed thing,” he said. “So long as I hold this damnable lantern, I cannot escape the devil’s eye. I must leave you, or risk the attention of Hell. I won’t bring that on you and Ivy. I’d rather die first.”
He looked worn and haggard, as if he’d aged overnight.
“There must be another way,” my mother said. Her hands fisted. “What about the fae? You are a king. There must be others who can help.”
“I’m sorry, love,” he said. “Wisps are solitary, usually preferring their own kind. We are short on powerful allies. No, I must leave. But I promise to return when I find a way to break this fool bargain. Until then, I forbid you to speak of me. Forget.”
My mother’s hands fluttered, going limp, and the memory blurred. I thought I heard my father whisper, “I’m so sorry, Sarah, please forgive me,” but I couldn’t be sure. The memories, and the answers they may have held, were gone.
I blinked rapidly, leaning against the doorframe. Jinx hovered, eyes wide.
“Dude, you okay?” Jinx asked. “What did you touch?”
“Ivy?” Ceff asked.
Ceff stood rigid, the knuckles of his fists gone white with the strain of holding himself back. He still wasn’t used to my lapses of reality and was obviously worried. He looked like he wanted to scoop me up into his arms, but knew enough to keep away. Instead, he studied my face intently.
“I’m okay,” I said. “It wasn’t a vision. I…I remembered something from my childhood. It was a memory of my father.”
I gently bit my lip and smiled. Ceff blew out a long breath and flashed a smile in return.
“A good memory?” he asked.
“Yes and no,” I said. I struggled to find the right words. “My father didn’t abandon us. He left to protect us.”
I explained what I had seen in both memories.
“Soooooooo,” Jinx said. She lifted a hand and ticked off each point with sparkly tipped fingers. “Your real dad made a deal with the devil that went south. He ended up cursed to carry some kind of tainted Hell beacon, and now he’s wandering the earth looking for a cure. And if he finds one, he’ll come back to you and your mom and maybe lift the memory spell.”
“Yes,” I said.
“So if your real dad comes back, what happens to your stepfather?” she asked.
“I have no idea,” I said. “I don’t know if my dad will ever come back, or find a way to break the curse. But now I know that he wasn’t some fae creep who used my mom for sex and tossed her away when he got bored with her. No offense.”
I aimed the last at Ceff.
“None taken,” Ceff said a wry smile on his lips.
I’d spent the last few months convinced that I had a deadbeat dad who’d used his fae powers to take advantage of my mother. But now I knew the truth. My parents had loved each other. We had been a happy family before my father made a bargain with Hell. I didn’t know yet if there was a way to break the curse laid upon my father, but one thing was certain.
I was prepared to do anything to get my family back.
Chapter 19
I’m not sure if it was the awakening of my fae blood or the awareness that the place existed, but Club Nexus wasn’t difficult to find. As soon as we were within a block of the club, I could feel the energies of the place pulling me closer. In my second sight the nightclub shone like a beacon.
I took a deep, calming breath and closed my eyes. I remembered what Kaye had said about how the club sat on a magical nexus point where lines of power intersected. I opened my eyes and gasped. Threads of neon light ran out from the location of the club in every direction.
I picked a single pink ley line and followed. My skin prickled and the hair on my arms stood on end. I continued on toward the intersection of threads, feeling energized for the first time in days. Walking along the ley line was like knocking back a shot of espresso. It was no wonder fae had chosen this place to gather.
When the club was within sight, I stopped to examine the surrounding street. The only source of light was
