“We need to get going,” Celine said, “I’ll fill you in later.”
“No. No way. I’m not going anywhere until I understand what is going on. Josie, you just lifted a guy up in a chokehold. How did you even do that, I mean, what… how…” he stammered, shock setting in as the words came out of his mouth.
Celine made a face at Gray. “We’re losing him,” she said, “he needs to lie down.” Gray took Damien by the shoulders leading him to the car, reassuring him everything would be all right. “How are you doing?” she said, directing the question to Michael.
“Oh, just fine,” Michael said, a hint of sarcasm showing through his shaky voice. “I mean I just saw a dead girl walking and talking and a fire start from spontaneous combustion and you with some kind of Hulk-like strength but, yeah, totally good.”
Celine smiled at him. “I’m sorry that you had to witness that but there wasn’t much I could do, everything happened so fast.”
“Josie, I…”
“Ah,” Celine said, wincing, “sorry, but can you just call me Celine. I realize it’s weird, but I am not Josie.”
Michael looked at her, surprise on his face with no understanding. “I’m sorry,” she continued, “everything will be clear soon, I think.”
She took his arm, leading him to the car. Damien was already sitting in the back seat murmuring to himself about what he had just seen. Michael slid in next to him, shaking his head as if to say nothing would be clear anytime soon.
“Are they going to be okay?” Gray asked as they got into the front seat.
Celine looked back at them. They had seen too much too fast; their minds could not process the events right now. She reached back and touched Damien’s cheek, then Michael’s, putting them both into a peaceful sleep while they drove back to the house. “They’ll be fine, they need to rest.”
Gray headed toward the house, taking the driveway to Alexander’s rather than the main house. As they drove, he put his hand on Celine’s knee. She smiled at him. “Despite everything, I’m glad you’re back,” he said.
“Despite everything, so am I,” she said, putting her hand on his.
They arrived at Alexander’s house; he ran out to meet them. “Theodore told me it was you. Welcome back, Celine,” he said, opening her car door.
“Help me get these two into the house,” Gray said. Celine made sure they were conscious enough to walk to a bedroom and lie down.
“Now,” Gray said, once they were all in the living room, “Can you stop him?”
“Not outright, no,” Celine answered.
Gray sighed. “So, you’ve sacrificed your normal life for nothing?”
“No, not for nothing. I can stop him for good, but I need a particular item to do it.”
“What do you need, Celine?” Alexander asked.
“The Book of the Dead.”
Gray’s mouth dropped open. “So we’re doomed,” he said, throwing his arms in the air.
“No one has known the whereabouts of that for centuries, Celine. If anyone has it, the Duke does and he’ll never let anyone get near it. I doubt you could get near it even if he thought you were on his side,” Alexander answered.
“I know where we can get the book,” Celine said.
Gray looked stunned. “You do? All this time you’ve known where it is and you’ve done nothing to destroy him?”
“No, not exactly. I don’t know exactly where it is but I know how we can get it. I realized it when my memories returned. Once they did, I was able to piece things together. I know how we can get the book.”
“I still don’t understand,” Alexander said, “the last time anyone saw that book was…”
“Was the night I became what I am, yes,” Celine finished his sentence.
“Did you remember something new?” Gray asked.
“No, but I met someone new. Or rather, Josie did.”
Gray looked confused, as did Alexander. “That night,” Celine began, “there were two men there, my English tutor and his brother, remember? I gave them the book. When I ran through the caves, I ran to them and I gave the book to them and I helped them escape.”
“By opening a portal through time, yes, I remember you told me,” Gray said. “But we concluded that they were inevitably working for the Duke, right?”
“Well, we were wrong,” Celine answered. “They were working for me.”
“You?” Alexander asked.
“Me. Like the me from right now. I sent them back to bring the book here. When I opened the time portal that night, I sent them back to me in this time.”
“How do you know this?” Gray asked.
“Because I finally met the two people that helped me that night. My English tutor and his brother. I know them. Or rather, Josie did.” Alexander and Gray exchanged a glance, realization dawning on both their faces. “Yes,” Celine said, nodding, “They’re upstairs asleep right now.”
The realization stunned Gray. “You knew then, that’s…”
“Why I wanted them to leave, yes. The moment they arrived here, I realized that it was too late, I realized where this was heading. I thought I could escape my fate but I couldn’t.”
“I’m sorry, Celine. I know you wanted a normal life,” Gray said.
Celine shook her head and smiled at him. “I’m not meant for a normal life. From the time I got my memory back I began to doubt that I could live a normal life. I prepared for this. I’ll always treasure my time as Josie but this is where I belong.”
Gray smiled back at her. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“Now,” she said, turning serious again, “I will need your help. I need a letter of introduction for them to my father, and I need to write a letter to myself. We’ll also need some clothes for them, Teddy should be able to help with that. Alexander, I will
