Maddie blinked through watery eyes.
“My dear girl. I love you. I’m afraid this is my time to leave you. This is where I say goodbye. I can’t help you anymore. I can’t see your future beyond here and, finally it seems as if I’ve completed my remaining business.”
Maddie whimpered. “But, I still need you.”
Her mother's cold touch caressed her cheek.
“No. You are right where you should be. It’s my time to rest. Your fate is now far away from here.”
What a shitty goodbye this was. Maddie started to cry. Salty drops of anguish kissed the corner of her mouth, some tears fell on her hand, and in the end she felt a healing of her soul. She’d never cried for her mom. She’d never allowed herself to feel. Until now.
“Maddie? What happened?”
Hadn’t he been there? No? Maybe he’d stepped away? She couldn’t remember the last few seconds beyond her mother.
“Kal? Bring me my phone. It’s somewhere here.”
Standing, he looked around the room and left Maddie on the floor helpless again.
It was then she realized Kal had no idea what she was talking about.
“It’s my communication to everyone, Kal. White and rectangle, about the size of my hand. I know it’s here. I didn’t have it with me when those stupid Illuminati assholes grabbed me.
“Right. The small rectangle.” After a second he took several purposeful steps into the other room.
“Here? Is this it? It was behind the door.” He held it out for her. “How do you use it?”
Maddie held up her hand. “Push the buttons.” She winced in pain.
Jabbing at the screen, she waited for it to wake up. Less than two percent of her battery. Great.
“Who are you communicating with?”
Squinting, Maddie tried to see through the blur in her vision.
“My mother, did you hear her? She said to slow the poison, we needed to call someone. Wait, did you get through to Eadric or someone?”
Kal nodded. “Yes, I did. And no, I didn’t see your mother. Was she here?”
Shaking her head, maybe she was hallucinating.
“I. I don’t know. She did say that we need that witch. The one Eadric kidnapped. Maybe I’m hallucinating that I saw my mother. I don’t even know.”
Kal scooped her up.
“Fine. Just push the buttons to the woman you need. Eadric is trying to control his witch. She doesn’t want to cooperate.” We’re to meet them back at the ship.”
She was too tired to argue.
“Fine. But wait until I reach my mother’s friend.”
Finally, she found the contact in her phone. A million years passed with each ring. Her arm threatened to collapse as the phone grew heavy.
Worst fucking trip home ever.
As her muscles gave, she reached over and hit speaker right as the incessant ringing stopped.
“Maddie, dear? Is that you?”
Not how she’d expected to be greeted. She hadn’t seen Mrs. Rivers since the funeral. Channeling strength from Kal, she finally got her voice working again.
“Yes. Mrs. Rivers. It’s me. You. My mother.” Well, hell. This wasn’t going well. “Can you help?”
There was a pause. “So it happened? Your mother had warned me you might have a run in with the local quacks. I’ll be right over.”
“These women in your town. They are strange,” said Kal, as he pulled her closer. She didn’t think that there was any more space between them, but she was wrong.
“Yeah. Welcome to my world. Couch. Can you put me on the couch?”
Thankfully, she didn’t need to ask twice.
“Also, can you go put a towel on or something?”
Naked Kal was something she enjoyed, and maybe something his shifter brothers seemed resigned to. Human women, probably not.
“She’s old, Kal.”
He looked down and shook his head. After he made sure Maddie wasn't going anywhere, that she seemed safe, he walked off muttering to himself.
“You can give her a heart attack -” Maddie worked to get more air. “After she saves my life.”
Crap, she was already out of breath. After today, Maddie would be better about not getting kidnapped. This was all her mother’s damn fault. But, really it wasn’t. It was fate’s fault. Maddie wanted to hate fate, but then she would never have met Kal. She’d never have let him in.
Maddie awoke to voices. Her eyes skittered around the room. Right. Okay. Her mom’s house. When had she fallen asleep?
“Oh wonderful, Maddie dear. I need you to drink this.” Mrs. Rivers’ short and squat frame toddled over. Maddie shielded her eyes as her lemon yellow hair came into view.
“I. Your hair?”
Mrs. Rivers smiled. “Yes dear. The purple had to go. Now drink this up. One big gulp. Don’t ask what’s in it. Just swallow.”
Maddie took a flask with the cap already removed. She then made the mistake of smelling it. If her stomach hadn’t been churning before it was now.
“Always fighting instruction, Madison. Well, just know it only tastes half as bad.”
Not really helping.
Maddie, do it. Please.
Kal knelt next to her. “The woman says it will slow your system down, suspend the poison.”
She turned to him, looking deep into the orange that had intrigued her from the very first moment she’d seen him.
The color was wrong though. Almost murky.
“Kal?”
He shook his head.
Don’t expel any more energy. Drink.
Without looking away, she felt the rippling of magic where his hand slid beneath her own. He lifted her hand, bringing the flask to her lips.
With a single nod of his head she did as told.
Oh, God! That tasted worse.
She started to gag. Nope, this wasn’t going down. Shit.
“Wait. Wait a moment. Just swallow, dear. Don’t fight the potion.”
Mrs. Rivers’ soft wrinkled hand settled on her brow and a calming void started to set in. She felt her hand begin to slip down; the flask falling.
“Sleep, dear one. Your warrior will fix this. Go, warrior. Time is your enemy now more than those scientists.”
Those were the last words she heard before she fell into a black emptiness. The only comfort around her was the swirl of Kal’s magic, his dragon coming in and out of the
