Nick’s body stiffened as he tried to control his emotions. “I made a horrible mistake, but I don’t know how to fix it.”
“You can start by trying to wake up the person in front of you.” With my body, I nudged him closer to the edge of the bed. “That woman in front of you raised an incredible son, my dad, who took me in as his own. And when both he and my mom died, Nana didn’t hesitate to do everything in her powers to take care of me and my brother. She loves so big, and I think that’s the only reason why she’s still hanging on. Because she’s still trying to take care of everyone she cares about.”
Nick sniffed more than once, and his voice cracked when he spoke. “Mom was like that. She sacrificed everything for me even though it meant her life was harder.
“If this was your mother, what would you be willing to do to save her life?” I asked, willing to pick at his old scabs to break through.
The rest of his resistance crumbled. “Anything,” he breathed out. Taking a seat next to my grandmother’s limp form, he placed one hand under her neck and the other over her forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
“What is he doing?” hissed Matt.
“Shh.” I took a step back but stayed close enough to monitor his progress.
The bedside clock ticked several times with nothing changing. Nick frowned. “I can’t break through.”
“Try harder,” I insisted from behind him.
The bed started vibrating underneath them, and the row of framed photos on Nana’s dresser rattled and fell over. The whole house shook, and the lights flickered on and off over and over.
“We have to stop this,” Matt said, stepping forward.
Dash stood in his way. “Trust your sister and let him work.”
“There’s a literal earthquake happening while he’s doing whatever it is he’s doing to my grandmother. Don’t make me have to take you down,” my brother warned.
“Don’t make me laugh,” Dash retorted.
Nana’s lips moved, and I shushed everyone. “She’s saying something.” I stared at my grandmother’s mouth, hoping I hadn’t hallucinated things.
“She is trying to talk.” Nick bent his head closer so that his ear hovered over her mouth. “She keeps repeating three words.”
The quaking stopped when Nana stilled again. Lights winked back on. Several footsteps stomped up the stairs, but I waved my hand at the door to slam it shut. I heard Lucky arguing with other people in the hallway on the other side.
Nick stood up from the bed, sweat trickling down his temples. “I’m sorry. I tried to tell you that I didn’t think it would work.”
My brother grabbed him by his collar. “What did you do to her?” he gritted through his teeth.
I attempted to pry his fingers off the demon. “If you don’t let him talk, then we might not know what she said. That’s more important than you losing control right now.”
My brother considered my words for a second before shoving Nick away from him. “Okay, somebody better have a good explanation or I’m going to lose it on all y’all.”
“What did she say, Nick?” I asked in a quiet voice.
He ran his fingers through his hair. “Nothing that makes sense to me, but maybe you’ll understand. She repeated three words. Bird, tree, and save.”
My brother cackled long and loud in derision. “That’s the results of whatever you did? Nana talked gibberish?”
I held up my finger. “It might not be. Bird probably stands for me. So, maybe she meant for me to hear her.”
“Or her brain is dying and she can’t control what she’s saying,” my brother yelled, exasperated.
I thought about when she’d talked to me after my visit to the spa. After telling Nick about my grandmother’s and my supposed conversation, I asked him the important question only he could answer. “Is it possible that we were on some similar plane of existence in that moment? That the sleep you put me in was the same?”
Matt’s head popped up. “He did that to you?” His hands balled into fists.
Dash held onto my brother’s shaking frame. “Not yet.”
“It could be,” Nick considered. “The magic that caused your grandmother to fall into this deep a sleep is definitely related. But she’d have to be pretty powerful to fight off the effects to be able to talk to you.”
“And slap me,” I added, rubbing my cheek. It hadn’t just felt real. She’d actually hit me. “Nana is that strong, and I think she’s still trying to warn me or get me to do something.”
“There’s something else, and it’s going to complicate matters,” Nick added. “But you have to promise that neither of you boys take your frustrations out on me.”
“Depends,” grunted Dash.
“I still don’t know why you’re here, so no. I’m not promising you anything,” Matt said, still jumpy for a fight.
“Fine, then I will talk to the one person who’s been willing to hear me out.” Nick turned to me. “My sister’s coming to town.”
“When?” I asked.
“That’s the tricky part.” He grimaced. “I don’t know for sure, but it has to be soon. Your aunt’s contract has been fulfilled, so she’ll be on her way to collect.”
Pixie poop. The last thing we needed to add onto our list of things not going our way was a visit from a she-devil.
“Then I think it’s time we clear out this house of everyone with the exception of the few who haven’t been affected by your actions.” I turned to Dash and Matt. “Gather who you think we can trust and bring them to the dining room. We’ll get Nick to catch them up, and then we’ll all figure out a way to fix things once and for
