Page 5 of Crimson Promises
A firm tug on my wrist prevented me from going any further. I looked to where his hand held my wrist. He had unusually large hands. His fingers seemed delicate like he played the violin or piano. Remy’s thumb and middle finger tightened on my wrist.
“What, Remy?” Impatience laced my tone. I just wanted to get Charles out of here.
“Listen to me, Aurora. It would be best if you were careful. What you did was dangerous. That’s not something that can happen again.”
I blinked rapidly. “What Idid? I didn’tdoanything!”
“Rory, one minute Charles was dead. Next thing, you touched him or whatever you did, and there he is, cute, snuggly, and breathing again.”
I bit my bottom lip. Something Dad always told me I needed to stop doing if I didn’t want a lifetime addiction to Chapstick. As much as I hated to admit it, Remy had a point. There wasn’t anyone else around. As far as I knew, magic—or whatever this was—only existed in the books I read before bed.
“Bringing Charles back to life, or whatever it is you think I did, wasn’t something I knew I was doing.”
The silver sparks.
I clapped a hand over my mouth.
A smug grin spread across Remy’s face. “Exactly.” He released his grip on my wrist and ever-so-gently tugged on the back of my ponytail. “Kid, you gotta be more careful. Whatever that was is dangerous and shouldn’t have happened. We will pretend it didn’t and go back to normal.”
How could things ever be normal again? According to Remy, I brought something back to life. I healed Charles. I could help people. Make sure no one has to lose their mom, like I did.
“I have so many questions.” My mind swirled with infinite possibilities: Where did this come from? Will it happen again? Is it dangerous? Remy didn't seem surprised that it happened. He seemed eerily calm that sparks were coming out of my fingers. “Do you know anything about magic?”
He shook his head, jaw clenched.
“Aurora.” He was using his stern tone now. “Promise me.”
I always kept my promises to Remy. He took care of me. I shifted Charles into one arm, so he faced over my shoulder, nibbling at my stray hairs. But I didn’t think I could, just this once.
“I promise,” I said, crossing my fingers behind my back.Everyone knows that means the promise doesn’t count.
“Come on. I’ll walk you back to the shore. We should get you home before it gets dark.”
I rolled my eyes behind his back. “That’s what I was doing when you decided to show up.”
We walked in silence. I was still reeling from the fact that I could do something socool. Remy was ruining the mood, all serious and brooding. He looked straight ahead the entire time. The only time he glanced backward was when I stepped on a twig. Probably just making sure I didn’t break my neck or something inconvenient. He was usually warmer. Today, he was cold and distant.
“You can go now. I know the way back. This seems to be cramping your style. You look like you would rather be anywhere else right now,” I said.
“If only you knew,” he mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure, whatever you say, Remy.”
After what felt like an eternity, we made it to the shore. The sun had dropped closer to the horizon. I was gone longer than I thought. My gaze swept over the bridge—no sign of Lucy or herfriends.
“Let’s get you home, Rory,” he said with warmth, a little more like himself.
At least the rocks we had gathered for Charles were still there.
“Can you hold Charles for a sec? I’m going to grab these rocks to bring them home.”
“Yeah.”
I pulled a reusable bag from the back pocket of my shorts and started tossing in all the rocks Lucy and I had collected. Growing up on the West Coast, I appreciated that people here cared about the ocean. They made more of an effort to respect Mother Nature. The land wasn’t everyone’s universal garbage disposal. Once I was done, I headed toward Remy. Charles immediately hopped into my arms as if sensing Remy’s unease.
