Page 27 of Sidhe
But the area of the counter Nathan had been sitting at was wiped clean, and his plate of fries and amazing coffee still sat there, though nothing existed that could have made them.
The sound of a car door slamming made Nathan jump. Jim and Sasha were there, and they were coming for him. Nathan could run, but he knew that wouldn’t get him anywhere but gone. He also knew that ‘gone’ wasn’t what he wanted.
He could feel it, the change in him, the absence. He suddenly knew, without a shadow of doubt, that his eyes would no longer turn black.
Nathan tugged at his shirt, desperate to see his mark. It was gone, too. Somehow, Dave had taken away the last lingering pieces of the Veil from him, and all because…he’d had a moment of faith.
Nathan looked down and in his hand was the saint medallion on its simple silver chain.
“Smartass,” he whispered, just in case therewassomeone listening.
He looked toward the windows again. Jim and Sasha were peering inside the building through the glass of the door that looked very much locked now. Even though it was dark, he knew they could see him, his clear silhouette. They wouldn’t come in. They were waiting for him to decide what he would do.
Pocketing the medallion, Nathan turned back to the counter, stole one last fry, one last gulp of coffee that he had to admit did taste heavenly, and headed for the door. As he left, he could have sworn he heard the jukebox playing Johnny Cash.
Chapter 10
Nathanhadnoplanabout what he was going to say when he walked out of that not-there diner, leaving behind his fries and coffee to the dark and dust. Jim and Sasha were both just standing out there, staring at him, not knowing what to say either. Maybe they thought he would walk right by them, get in his car, and leave again without so much as a word.
Instead, he went up to Sasha and couldn't have been more pleased that the incubus didn't push him away when he fell against him, sighing, "Can we go home?"
The incubus hugged him tight, heart in his voice as he answered, “Yeah, Nate. We can go home.”
Most of the night after that blurred, whatever other words might have passed between them, though Nathan remembered keenly the feeling of Jim hugging him just as tightly as Sasha and making him promise he would never do something like that again.
They left the junker behind and took Nathan’s car instead. Jim drove, Sasha in the back with Nathan so he could rest. Nathan must have fallen asleep right away. He dreamt, vivid and startlingly clear, but not of the Veil. This dream was different. Nathan saw the future, both horrible and beautiful intertwined like two different possibilities playing out side by side. He saw something like a battlefield and more creatures and beings spread over it than he could count. The two sides fighting had become a great mass. He was leading one of them but in the midst of it all he couldn't tell which one.
Nathan opened his eyes to the sight of sunlight on the horizon and the sounds of Johnny Cash over the stereo. He vaguely remembered requesting for Jim to find an oldies station. Sasha’s arms were warm around him, holding him close like everything was a dream and letting Nathan go would mean losing him forever.
When Nathan looked up, he found Sasha smiling at him, his blue eyes so tired and red-rimmed but happy. That’s when Nathan remembered the medallion in his pocket. He fished it out and made Sasha lean down so he could slip it over his head.
The incubus fingered it, not understanding. “St. Anthony?”
“So you don’t lose me again,” Nathan answered.
He stretched his neck forward to capture a kiss. Sasha tasted like everything wonderful about the past year—the real year they’d shared together, not Nathan’s time in the Veil. It was a brief kiss, mostly chaste, but when Nathan pulled away, Sasha was smiling ever brighter.
“There you are,” the incubus said. “I knew you were still in there, Nathan.”
Nathan had to smile too. “Guess so.”
“Nate?” Jim called from the front.
“Sorry, Jim,” Nathan said on reflex, assuming the mushy PDA was getting to his brother. But Jim just chuckled in a relieved, blissful kind of way.
“It’s okay. I just wondered if you wanted this back.” Jim’s arm reached between the seats, his eyes doing their best to stay on the road. Jim was handing him his necklace, with their father’s wedding ring dangling brilliantly on the end.
Nathan slipped it back on where it belonged. But peace was a fleeting thing. “I’m sorry, Jim,” he said again as he stared at his brother’s blue eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Nate?”
“It’s all so messed up.” Nathan scrubbed at his face, shifting in Sasha’s arms that he never wanted to leave. But he wasn’t free yet, not really. They still had work to do.
“It’s okay, Nate,” Sasha said gently beside his ear. “You needed time. We understand.”
“No, I—” Nathan shook his head. “Well, I did, but…”
He sat further up, much of his body still touching Sasha in a way that was purely comforting. He needed to be sure they both listened and understood even if it scared him to say it all out loud.
