Page 192 of Envious Of Fire
“I’m just …” She sighs. “Juan, I don’t know what to believe in anymore. Vampires. Witchcraft. Are fairies real? Elves? I just wish everyone would … would just wait until I’ve had atleasttwo hours of consecutive sleep before asking me all these questions. My body still thinks it’s Tuesday. And my poor overwhelmed daughter … she feels guilty, Juan, she feels like we’ve done something bad, like we’ve trapped us here forever …”
“We’ll get by, Cade, we’ll get by.” The man’s voice is rough in texture, but he’s calm, soothing. “The town’s plenty capable of being self-sufficient for a time. How much time, well … we’ll see about that.”
“Where do we house all of these new visitors we’ve got? Not like there’s a cozy Holiday Inn for them to stay at.”
“I’ve got the mayor working on something.”
“Oh, you mean the lazy bastard actually came out of his cave? I know,” she says with a slightly unhinged laugh, “sorry, sorry, I know, I’m just—”
“Don’t be. I know he’s … he can be a bit …” The man sighs. A moment passes. Kaleb hears the soft ruffling of clothes, perhaps an embrace. “We’ll get through this. All of this. We’ll survive.”
“Promise me.”
“We’ll survive, Cade, all of us. Even your rascal of a favorite bartender you won’t let me beat to a pulp for all the trouble he’s brought on this town.”
“Juan, you know better than I do, it’s because of him we’ll all be okay, and it’s because of his boyfriend I was even able to make that … well, that ‘magic wall’ we’ll call it. What?” Her voice turns playful. “What’re you looking at me like that for?”
“Magic wall.” He chuckles. “You’re just … you’re so …”
“What?”
“You’re all the magic I need in my life. You’re …” He lets outa breath, a long one. “Cade …”
“Juan …?”
The two fall silent. More gentle ruffling of clothing. Perhaps another embrace—or something else that requires no words, yet still makes the use of lips.
Kaleb drifts away again.
The next time he stirs, his room is dark, no sunlight from the window. He hears another quiet conversation nearby, the words soft, almost unintelligible. “I can’t read Ferals, not like I can with humans and … and other people like me. But Elias, I swear, I was, like …attachedto the vampire … to La-La. It felt like my Reach worked the other way around. Like I couldgiveLa-La emotions. I could affect him. Change how he felt. I … I can’t explain it.”
“Maybe you’re evolving, babe. There’s no handbook for this shit, y’know? Hey … you’re alright, okay? Don’t worry. It’s over with. All of it. You don’t have to see any of them again.”
“I know, but—”
“Never again. Not ever. No,sir. They’re done. Markadian is fucking done. Dead. Their whole society. My mom’s free from them, too, now, finally. You and I … we’re fucking free.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“Babe …” There’s the soft smacking of lips, a kiss, the squeak of a chair cushion. “I’m not gonna let a goddamned thing happen to youoryour brother. Got it? You’re my family now.”
“Elias …”
“Hell, throw Drake in there, too. Mikey, also. All of you.” He lets out a soft chuckle. Another kiss. “You’re my family now.”
The conversation fades away—as does Kaleb’s consciousness.
The next thing he knows, his hand is being held once more. But the hand is different. Cooler in temperature, smoother. He opens his good eye to a dark room, save for one lamp near hisbed. He turns—and is surprised to see Raya. Her white and black hair has been freed from its single large braid, now loose, the black strands over one shoulder, white over the other.
She seems to have noticed him move first, already staring at him, shock in her eyes. “Kaleb?”
He sits up too fast. He becomes swiftly aware of how weak his muscles are, how sore his body is, every movement delayed. “Raya,” he manages to croak, winces at the dryness of his throat.
She reacts at once, offering him a glass of water with a straw, directing the straw to his lips. Their eyes lock as he drinks.
“Your brother’s outside,” she says. “You’ll see him soon.”
Kaleb releases the straw, sits back. “Brother …”
