Page 36 of Total Eclipse of the Moon
"It’s collateral damage from the curse." The tears poured as the emotion she’d bottled up for years overflowed. "Belonged to my son."
Shane released her and pulled her into him. He wrapped her tight, his large frame surrounding her with warmth and a safety she hadn’t experienced in so long. The power he had over her alarmed her, but at the same time she felt protected as the sobs wracked her body.
She managed to get out, "They killed him right after I did the curse."
"They killed your son?" He held her away from him and swiped tears off her cheeks.
"That bitch…the qu-queen held my husband and our four-year-old hostage. Said she'd exchange them and guarantee their lives if I cast the curse. I didn't know then that she'd ordered my father killed when I was a kid because he was a warlock. She made that look like an accident. I didn't know she hated me because I was a witch too."
"That's a trap from a mile away to do a hostage exchange."
"I had no choice. I had no magical brothers to help me get them free. I didn't know Cora well enough back then to get her help. I had no one. She never planned to let them go. She told me this right before her bodyguard shoved a knife in my chest and threw me off a bridge. They wanted to wipe me and my family off the face of the planet."
Obviously, the queen had known nothing about how to kill a witch. That move weakened her but would never have killed her.
Madeline's free hand, the one not holding the car, dug into his shirt as she pressed her face into his chest. "He was only four." She chanced looking up into his eyes, finding empathy. "He was so full of joy. Such a beautiful kid. He was my light. My everything. The house where they were being held caught fire. I don't know if they died before it went up in flames. And I…" She buried her head in his chest. "I…I wasn’t there. I’d rather have died with him than exist like this."
He said nothing but held her. Which was perfect. Pity was too painful. Disingenuous platitudes would’ve lowered her esteem of him. But simply being strong when everything inside her fractured into pieces? This man was so dangerous to her because he was addictive in addition to being everything she’d missed about intimacy with another person.
"I miss his little hugs so much. But if I’d died, then or now, then she would have her legacy. In a twisted way, I avoided death to thwart her. And to see my son once a year."
"Your son’s ghost comes back to you once a year?" Shane didn’t make a move to let her go.
"Tonight is my only chance to see my son for a whole year. To hear his laugh and maybe get a hug before his spirit goes away. I don't know how it works or why his spirit comes back. It's a miracle that I don't question anymore. I can't get him to come to me any other day of the year. I've tried." She'd begged Cora to help her twice, but even when working together they couldn't find her son in the afterlife. "Please, don’t take this away from me. It’s all I have left to live for."
"Where do you need to go to see him?"
"Outside, where it’s quiet and safe. The backyard here will work."
"Go." He stepped away from her. "I’ll keep lookout to make sure nothing bothers you."
"That easy? You’ll just let me go?"
His gaze was sad. "Your best chance of survival right now is for us to stay together. But this is different. This is…" He chinned toward the door. "Go. I swear I’ll make sure nothing threatens you. That you’ll be safe while you talk to him." When she didn’t move, he added. "Go."
She pushed out the door, wiping tears off her face. In the backyard she could hear the whistle of the wind lightly through the trees, and the hum of insects. Car traffic from early pre-dawn commuters echoed in the distance. She knelt in the overgrown foliage, uncaring when the dry grass scratched her arms and hands. She concentrated on Samuel, reaching with her mind to connect to his spirit. Based on experience, she’d be lucky to get thirty seconds with him, but that would be enough to sustain her.
She had trouble stopping her mind from assessing for potential threats.Shane’s got it. He promised.
She believed in him.
Deep breaths. Relax.
She held the toy car between both hands and channeled all her energy into finding his spirit. Conjuring such a connection required a lot of energy and dedicated focus.
Samuel didn’t come right away. Like always, it took a few minutes of patience to find him. The air rippled around her, crackling with energy. A soft laugh rent the air. Her breath caught, her chest overflowing with relief.
"Don’t cry, Mum." He was all light, grinning his toothy smile where he’d lost his lower front two teeth a few weeks before he died. His short-cut dark hair was all messy like he’d just woken up after a long, restless nap.
She held out her arms and he came to her. Although he was as substantial as the breeze that rattled through the trees, she could feel his small arms link behind her neck in a tight squeeze that was a bit too tight like she remembered. She didn’t care. His little fingers curled into her hair where it was in a ponytail. He’d loved to hold onto her hair. Tears blurred her vision.
"I miss you so much, love," she whispered.
He leaned away but didn’t let go of her hair. His small hands played with the ends of the ponytail. "You always say that."
"It’s the truth. I’m so sorry."
He let go of her hair to step back, his young eyes growing ancient in a way she often remembered as he looked up into her face. "Why are you sorry?"
