Bloodstone (22 page)

My niece had lowered her face, so only the crown of her head showed itself. Maybe she positioned her body in order to press forward with more force.

Ignoring Nolan’s newfound vitality, I tried to disregard the tremulous anger lighting up inside me. “You’ve never done this before? Do you remember me talking about not trusting you because you relied on powers you’ve never used before, powers you never even knew you had?”

“Yeah, but—”

“So you have used that ability before? How many times?” I glanced back at Celestina, wishing I could run over and pull her out of the wall, but she pressed on, moving slowly. At this pace, Alexis and Zephora would soon make their way into Celestina’s bedroom and discover that we’d disappeared. Next, they’d search the vicinity, only to find us in the backyard. “Are you sure I can’t help her?”

“No, I’m not sure of anything. This is the first time I’ve done this.”

I gritted my teeth, trying not to imagine what could have happened if Nolan’s ability to allow us to sift our way through the wall hadn’t ended up the way he’d expected.

“Why are you upset? You’re okay, I’m okay, and Celestina will be okay.” He looked in her direction, but not seeing her, he blanched as though he’d assumed incorrectly.

“Because I’m scared.” As much as I wanted to strangle him, I grudgingly admitted that he had saved me twice. Plus, he’d followed his instincts, which I’d done successfully more than once with my own newfound abilities. Therefore, I couldn’t be too hard on him. He’d meant well, plus I was still alive, so he deserved a pass on this one.

“How did you know it would work?” I asked him.

“I didn’t. I just…tried

I looked over my shoulder at Celestina. “She should be out by now.” I couldn’t hide the way my voice quivered, releasing more fright than I’d realized. I rushed over again in time to see her hair and forehead come into view. I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God!” But because her ears or eyes hadn’t cleared the wall, I knew better than to attempt speaking to her. Since she couldn’t hear me, it wouldn’t be any help. “Come on, Celestina!” I shouted anyway, unable to hide the anxiety spiking through my body. “Almost there.”

“She just took a deep breath before she went through,” Nolan said. “Besides, she’s only been in there a few minutes.”

“Minutes?” I repeated, puzzled by that statement. “You weren’t in there for minutes. You appeared about fifteen seconds after I did, and I was only in there for twenty seconds – max!”

He crossed his arms in a show of confidence, but worry lines appeared on his forehead, quickly displacing his self-assured expression. “But it didn’t feel that way.”

“Did you check your watch in there?” I asked facetiously. Unwilling to wait for an answer, I went over to Celestina, put my hands on my knees and squatted so I could meet her eyes once they appeared.

Soon enough, her entire head cleared the surface, although her lowered head made it impossible for me to meet her gaze.

I grinned and the anxiety biting at my nerves relaxed a bit.   

Celestina scarfed up oxygen, but wheezed as though drained of energy. She’d slung her head low not in an attempt to get better traction to propel herself out of the wall, but because she was exhausted.

My apprehension returned, this time more than doubling the tension I’d experienced a short while ago. “Nolan?” I asked without looking his way. “Did you…hold onto Celestina on your way through the wall?”

“Alexis’s hammer knocked through the wall and was about to look into the room. I didn’t know if I had enough power to send all three of us through the wall separately. I didn’t know how long it might take Celestina to go through by herself. She looked scared, and I wanted to assure her, so I—”

“Nolan,” I said, my voice strained because I feared what he’d say next. “Did you hold her hand in there?”

“She was scared. I wanted to—”

“Yes or no? Answer the question.”

“Yes,” he said in a soft tone as though just now realizing why he’d felt such an energy boost.

I couldn’t berate him now, not after he’d tried to allay Celestina’s fears. I’m sure he didn’t even think twice about trying to comfort Celestina without regard to the consequences of doing so. Nolan placed more emphasis on others than himself. When he saw someone in need, he helped out, giving no consideration as to what it might mean…now that he’d become a demon.  

Celestina’s arms appeared out of the wall. They looked longer than they had a short while ago. Her knobby knees came next.

Given Nolan’s comment about Alexis, I presumed my sister had emerged into her daughter’s bedroom, only to look around and find an empty room. Uncertain how much time remained before Alexis and Zephora rushed out of the room and examined the premises for us, I ignored Nolan’s uncertainty about assisting Celestina out of the wall. I grasped her hands and pulled gently.

“Stop, Aunt Serena,” my niece grumbled. “It hurts.”

I immediately let go. It seemed Nolan’s instincts were spot on. Each of us had to exit under his or her own power. I couldn’t fault Nolan for doing what came naturally inside the wall, especially considering I’d just done the exact same thing.

“We need to hurry,” I told Celestina in a determined voice. “Once your mom and Zephora notice we’re not in your room, they’ll come looking for us.”

My niece shook her head. “So tired…”

A streak of terror whipped through my skin. “Where’s
The Book of Souls
?” If neither of them had it, they must have left it behind…

“It’s gone,” Nolan said in a defeated tone. “Celestina had to…well, she…”

“Burned it,” Celestina finished for him. She launched herself forward with a grunt, cringing as she pushed her chest through the wall.

Dropping the subject of the book, I found myself reaching for Celestina, wanting to clutch onto her, but knowing I couldn’t touch her without inflicting pain. I just needed to be ready once she freed herself.

With one last burst of energy, Celestina lunged forward and finally broke free.

I grabbed onto her, but the force she burst through with sent us both to the ground.

As she gasped and coughed to send air into her lungs, I crawled over to her, grasped an elbow and her hip before helping her up.

Celestina nodded, still huffing for air. She lifted her head and...and…

I couldn’t believe it. What had happened?
How
had it happened?

“What’s wrong?” she asked, wincing at the surprise that surely registered on my face. She cringed and reached down to massage the toes inside her sneakers. She looked at her shirt, and her sleeves looked as if they had shrunk in their last visit to the dryer. “Aunt Serena, you’re scaring me.”

“It’s…” I started, but I couldn’t finish my sentence. I didn’t even know where to begin to explain my shock.

“We have to go,” Nolan said, doing his best to maintain a stoic expression. He waved us toward my car as he sped toward it.

All the while, Celestina’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “Am I hurt?” As she ran, she checked her arms and legs. Not seeing any cut flesh or blood on her shirt or pants, whose bottoms hiked up past her ankles, she threaded a hand through her hair, the length of which had grown ten inches. “What’s going on?” Her voice sounded timid, fearful. “Tell me. Something’s wrong. What is it?”

As we reached my vehicle at the curb, I heard Alexis’s screen door whip open.

“Celestina!” Alexis screamed, looking left and right until her gaze locked on mine.

Thankfully, we were out of range for her to pelt us with ice. I clicked my key controller to open the doors. As Nolan called shotgun, Celestina hopped in the back seat, scowling at her jeans, wincing in discomfort.

I hurried around the front of the car and an invisible force walloped me in the back. I sprawled out across the hood, and for reasons I couldn’t explain I felt weak, as though I’d stayed up way too late and had only gotten a few hours of sleep before waking to start the next day. Looking back at Alexis, who just now raced toward the street, I spotted Zephora standing on the porch with an outstretched arm and a vibrant grin, which told me she’d somehow managed to hit me at a distance with a blast of magical ability. It didn’t make sense. If she mandated that witches could only use their abilities up to three times their height, how could she violate that rule unless…

Zephora bound every witch in our line to those rules, but exempted herself to ensure others couldn’t innately acquire more power than she could wield. Doing so ensured she would remain dominant in one-on-one confrontations, forcing everyone else to gang on her in hopes of defeating her. At least, that’s how I imagined my ancestors had bested her.

As I peeled myself off the hood and straightened, I checked my body for injuries but didn’t see or feel any. She must have whipped a burst of energy at me, the same kind I had access to. Maybe she’d used it to flaunt her abilities, in essence revealing that not only did she possess the same gifts I did, but it granted her an opportunity to show she wasn’t bound by the rules she’d set in place. In addition, Zephora surely had a secondary goal. By showing how far she could project any given ability, she also hoped to scare me. Unfortunately, I had to admit she’d achieved both objectives.

That knowledge, however, didn’t terrify me into immobility. Since Zephora only now started making her way toward Alexis in a jog rather than follow my sister’s example by running, I suspected she wouldn’t fling another bolt of energy my way. She’d proven her power and ability. Besides, as I’d discovered earlier, she preferred others to do the dirty work. It allowed her to keep her hands clean.

I rushed to the driver’s side, got behind the wheel, and started up the vehicle.

“Hurry!” Nolan said, watching Alexis race down the porch steps in order to get close enough to send frozen daggers our way.

A solid thump hit the lower portion of the vehicle near the passenger tire.

Suspecting that Alexis was trying to puncture my tires, which would make it impossible to get away, I stomped on the accelerator, and we rocketed down the street. I glanced over my shoulder, past Celestina’s dazed expression as she looked into the rearview mirror at herself.

Through the backseat window, I saw Alexis jump into her vehicle, while Zephora already sat opposite her.

I swung back toward the dashboard, slowed for a speed bump, and then made a quick turn, hoping to lose them before they had a chance to tail us.

“Oh, my God!” Celestina said, breathless. “How is this possible?”

I glanced in the rearview mirror.

Her fingertips tentatively tapped her chin, her cheeks, her lips. “This is impossible!”

While Nolan had helped Celestina make her way out of the wall, Celestina had aged at least two years…in less than one minute.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“How is it possible?” I asked Nolan, doing my best to check my anger. “That my niece lost two years of her life in thirty seconds or less?” While scanning for Alexis’s vehicle, which had just turned onto the street we drove down, I cursed inwardly at my inability to shake her off my trail. In so doing, I noticed Celestina’s glassy eyes. She blinked and twin tears traveled down her cheeks. My heart ached for what she had lost. I didn’t know how to comfort her or soothe her nerves.

“I guess maybe,” Nolan began, “having human contact while I used my abilities somehow sped up the aging process.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Do you think there’s a way to reverse it?”

“Reverse it?” Celestina asked, incredulous. “No way, we’re reversing it.” She traced her fingers along her eyebrows. A faint smile slowly emerged. “I’m…” Her voice cracked. “I’m…” Tears once more slipped out of her eyes. “I’m beautiful!” She turned her face in either direction to examine every aspect of her new face. “This is the best thing that ever happened to me!”

Well, I hadn’t expected such a buoyant response. If I had lost two years from my life so quickly, I’d be enraged. Then again, what teenager didn’t want to look older?

“Wait a sec,” Celestina said. The moisture in her eyes had disappeared. She placed her hands against her ribs. Her fingers dawdled upwards until…a giant grin made it clear her breasts had developed as well.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her. If she’d matured so much in such a short span of time, she could be suffering growing pains, similar to having your teeth develop.

“My clothes are way too tight,” Celestina said.

“Yep, you’re a teenager, for sure,” I responded, noting that so many female adolescents these days wore tight-fitting clothes to get attention from boys.

Celestina squirmed in every direction, but only felt some relief when she undid a button on her pants. “That’s a little better.” She sat upright once more to check her image again. “This is so cool!”

I hoped she didn’t look back on this incident and have regrets, but how could she not? When I look back on my life, I didn’t necessarily like my teenage years, especially considering all of the self-doubt, wildly fluctuating hormones, and my uncertainty when it came to fitting in and being comfortable in my own skin. Still, those issues helped mold me.

When it comes to Celestina, however, I now worried about her physical manifestation in contrast to her maturity level and social disposition. She had the mentality of a ten-year-old while stuck inside a fifteen-year-old’s body. Girls often matured quicker than boys, but how would my niece fit in with kids who looked her age now, if she was still watching episodes of Scooby Doo when others her “age” were watching R-rated movies at home, talking about boys, and wearing make-up? I mourned her lost years, even if she didn’t, because she had no idea what she’d lost.

“Celie?” I asked, hoping she’d pry her eyes away from the rearview mirror, which might be difficult given that her entire existence had changed. “Nolan said you burned
The Book of Souls
.”

“Yep,” she said, smiling at herself in the mirror. “I just can’t believe this. It’s so—”

I decided to try a different line of thought. “Your mother and Zephora are still on our tail.” If they got within striking distance, would Alexis sling shards of ice at us from behind the driver’s seat? I doubted it. She wouldn’t want to attract undue attention. Besides, the pressure of sending ice our way might accidentally make her veer into oncoming traffic. With those barriers in place, I just had to worry about losing her on the road.

Unfortunately, we’d been driving for a few minutes, and I’d done a poor job in shaking her. During that time, when I hadn’t been able to cruise through green lights, I’d darted through yellow lights or made quick turns in hopes of eluding Alexis, not to mention honking my horn before I reached red lights to still traffic…in order to zoom past oncoming vehicles. Luckily, at this time of night, I hadn’t encountered any problems maintaining a consistent pace.

Alexis seemed in no rush to resort to riding up beside me in hopes of forcing me off the road. As someone who tempted fate and preferred to act rather than react, Alexis hadn’t stayed true to herself. Either Zephora asked her to follow us at a reduced speed or Alexis had a full tank of gas and I…

I glanced at the fuel gauge and noticed I had less than a quarter of a tank remaining. I usually filled up once I slipped below half a tank. With so much going on lately, I hadn’t given thought to following up on the norm. Obviously, my sister wouldn’t allow me to stop off at a gas station, which meant I needed to formulate a plan of action soon.

Noticing my niece hadn’t responded with a complete sentence, I returned to the topic that filled me with dread. “Why did you burn the book?”

“Had to.”

“Okay, but why?”

“Because I couldn’t take it with me. Each time I tried to push it through the wall, it fell to the ground. Besides, I couldn’t ask it any more questions.”

“I only remember you asking two questions. What was the last one?”

She shifted her eyes in the mirror and set her accusatory gaze on mine. “I asked if I could stop you from killing Mom.”

That made me flinch, but if I didn’t respond quickly, she’d probably assume I’d lied to her earlier, so I said, “But I promised you I wouldn’t.”

“I know. You promised. But you lied.”

“Wait…what? I haven’t lied. I haven’t touched her since we talked about it.”

“Not yet, but you will.” She let out a heap of air, resigned to disappointment. “My visions, remember?”

“Yeah, but you said they don’t always come true. Besides, I promised you.” I held her gaze with steely resolve. “I swear to God, Celestina, I will not break my promise. I will not kill your mother.”

“Saying it won’t make it true.”

“But—”

“Whatever,” she said, dismissing the conversation.

I clenched my teeth, aggravated that she wouldn’t believe me. “Here’s something I don’t get: why do you care so much for someone who has disowned you?”

“She hasn’t—”

“Oh, is that right? You don’t remember how she swore at you, how she said you ruined her life?”

“She didn’t mean it. She was angry.”

“No,” Celestina. “A mother may get upset, and okay, if she’s really pissed off, she might make a mistake and swear at her daughter. But under no circumstances will she ever…
ever
…say  giving birth to her ruined her life. Not if she loves her. A mother who cares will
never
say that. Besides, you told me you trust me more than her. What does that tell you?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she yelled at me, so angry her veins stood out in her neck. “You had a mom and she didn’t want you. Your Granny raised you, so you don’t know what it’s like to have a mother.”

“And that’s where you’re wrong,” I said. “It’s true, my mother didn’t want me, but if Grams never talked to me that way, then why would it be okay for a mother to talk that way to her child? You’re wrong, Celestina. You won’t win this argument. I’m sorry, your mom treated you that way. She shouldn’t have, but I think once Delphine died, your mom lost it. She went over the edge, and I don’t see her coming back.”

“You’re wrong,” she started. “You don’t know—”

“I don’t know your mother?” I asked. “You’re right. A few days ago, she promised never to lie to me, and because I didn’t know her, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. And you know what? That’s all she’s done since.”

“She wouldn’t do that. She—”

“Just like she wouldn’t swear at you? Like she wouldn’t say you ruined her life? Your mom doesn’t regret saying it. She
truly
feels that way.”

Celestina didn’t respond. The excitement upon discovering her physical transformation had disappeared. Tears now stood in her eyes.

The silence made me realize she’d wound me up to such a degree that I was gasping for air. I’d raised my voice way too loud, and I’d hurt her feelings in the process. One part of me despised my actions, while the other felt justified in telling my niece the truth. However, I needed to change the subject. After twenty seconds of silence and working to regain my composure, I said, “Let’s go back to when you saw Delphine. What did she say when you asked her about stopping me from—”

“Killing mom?” answered Celestina in a bratty tone. She rubbed the moisture that tipped out of her eyes, and a freaky smile made her lips lift upwards.

It almost seemed as though she’d been waiting for another chance to return to this subject, so she could stick her defiance into my face. Nevertheless, I’d asked the question, so I had to expect some resistance. In my silence, I felt more than saw Nolan looking at me with a pleading look as he shook his head, begging me off the subject. I’d never seen him look so vulnerable, so distraught. “Okay,” I said to my niece, “what did Delphine say? How could we prevent your mother from dying?”

“Granny said I’d need to kill you.”

Breathless, my jaw popped open as I stared at her in the mirror. Although I looked for the cute kid I treasured, I couldn’t find her. In her place sat a young woman who had seen tragedy, expected more to come, and exercised her powers on those she cared about, which prompted her to fortify her heart from exposing her true feelings.

That hurt me because ordinarily her heart shined so brightly. But not now, not when she suspected that I’d break my promise. For that reason, I actually scrutinized my niece for any indication that she had considered ending my life. But she'd put up a wall that prevented me from reading her thoughts or feelings.

“So,” I said, “you asked three questions, all of which were answered.” Just as I approached a yellow light with no oncoming vehicles headed my way, I cut a quick left and hit the accelerator.

“Thanks for the advance warning,” said Nolan.

“Sorry.” I looked in my rearview, but sure enough, Alexis had also made the turn with ease. I shouldn’t have expected a clean getaway, not this late at night with so little traffic. I looked at Celestina. “So you couldn’t take a book through the wall, but you can take a person with you?”

“It doesn’t seem logical,” Nolan admitted. “Think about it. What would stop me from sending a car through a wall or even a plane? My gut tells me until I learn more about this ability, I can only send something that breathes through a wall or barrier. Why? I have no clue.”

I’d relied on my instincts often throughout my life, and doing so had served me well, so I couldn’t knock his explanation. “So rather than leave the book, you burned it?”

“Why not?” asked Celestina. “I already know everything.”

Oh yeah, she’s definitely a teenager!

I decided not to mention her difficulty with reading comprehension. “If you do, then why did you ask how to kill Zephora? Delphine said the answer was in the book.”

“It’s not,” my niece said emphatically.

“But she said—”

Celestina cut me off. “It doesn’t matter what she said. She was lying.”

“If the person who owns the book gets to ask three questions, the answers should be correct, right? Otherwise, why bother?”

“Aunt Serena?” Her eyes contained no familiarity, nor the least bit of affection. “She was lying.”

I didn’t want to get into the practice of submitting to my niece, no matter how many abilities she had or how much power she could access. “That’s not an explanation. That’s an opinion. Tell me why you feel that way. Make me understand.”

Celestina pursed her lips, annoyed to have to explain the “obvious” to an elder. “Was Granny a good person?”

“No,” I admitted. “Plus, she was a terrible mother.”

“Exactly. So why do you think she’d be any nicer now?”

My niece had lived with Delphine for years. She knew my mother better than anyone on the planet, including Alexis, who overlooked our mother’s shortcomings in attempting to gain more power and influence over others. For that reason, I needed to trust Celestina. “Point taken.”

“And accepted,” added Nolan. He pointed to the right. “Take this street.”

I veered quickly, evened out the car, and sped down the street. Soon after, however, I watched Alexis take the turn and speed up to remain close behind. “I thought Delphine would be different because she’s either in heaven or hell and she’s—”

“In hell,” Celestina answered for me.

This discussion reminded me of the visit Grams had paid me, so I told Celestina and Nolan about it. “I got the impression that once our ancestors go beyond the veil, they communicate and—”

“Really, Aunt Serena? The witches from our line all get together, eat popcorn, and play video games?”

“That’s the PG version,” I said, thinking they’d more likely drink wine and watch
Magic Mike
. Then again, since they weren’t corporeal, I doubted they were able to consume anything. I glanced at the fuel gauge and was shocked to discover I probably only had another gallon left in the tank. My pulse drummed in my head. My thoughts swirled without the ability to latch onto any ideas that would allow us to exit this predicament.