Two Halves Series (59 page)

“I’d been told you’re not here.”

They laughed. Crystal blew on the spheres, shattering them into dust motes, and placed her palm on my ghostly shoulder. I could almost sense her touch on my ghostly skin. Warmth flowed from her hand to me, calming my trembling. “Don’t believe everything you hear and see, Mama.” The lisp had vanished from Crystal’s voice. She spoke like a young teen.

“Mama, you need not worry about us. For us, the realms are connected. We travel between them at will.” Ayer smiled.

My concern faded, as if he’d placed his own magic spell upon me.

“You’ve been cursed,” he said, closing his eyes.

I nodded and lowered my ghosts form closer to the ground.

“Who?” The spikes around Eric’s neck extended. They vibrated like they were the tongues of a cobra tasting the air.

“Miranda. She also has my mother, knows about Xela, and entered Mrs. G’s home.” I tried to squeeze as much as I could into one breath.

“The witch is intruding.” He stood.

“Of course she is! She’s a witch! Didn’t you expect that?”

Eric’s hands flew up into the air. “Sarah, even witches have to abide by some rules.”

Crystal and Ayer seemed oblivious to our discussion, staring into each other’s eyes like they were having their own conversation.

“Since when?” I threw my hands up. “Every time we deal with the sphere-marked ones, they don’t follow any rules.”

Eric lowered his head. “Did you follow the rules when you decided to give up your body?”

“I had no choice.” I didn’t look at my children, who were responsible for my decision. Did they know something Eric didn’t? If there was anyone I’d ever trusted, my children were at the top of the list.

Eric’s head swung toward the door. “They’re coming back. You should—”

My spirit disappeared before Eric finished, my ghostly form slouching in a chair. The cushioned seating felt oddly comfortable and my silhouette didn’t fall through as it usually would.

William stepped through the door, a woven basket strapped across his back. I imagined the aroma flowing from the fresh orchids, a sweet blend that used to intoxicate me when I inhaled. The worry for my husband faded when I saw him. There was nothing more I wanted than to rush into his arms and confess the mess we were in.

Mrs. G’s prediction resonated in my mind:
William’s gone too
. Yet he was here, in the flesh.

The children ran to him, shouting, “Hello, Father!” They flattened themselves against his legs, as if they sensed he’d be leaving.

“Father?” He looked down at them. “Your mother’s right. You guys are growing up too quickly.” My husband tousled their hair before placing his harvest on the marble floor. The basket’s straps left red marks imprinted on his shoulders on either side of his tank top. William unlocked the glass door to the lab as Ekim and Atram carried their harvests into the room.

Crystal picked an orchid from her father’s basket, its yellow petals shining in her hand. “This one’s potent.” She handed the flower to Willow.

“I may need to hire you, darling.” My mother-in-law kissed Crystal’s forehead.

Crystal smiled. “After we get rid of Aseret.”

“It’s all right,” Eric said, calming the alarm on my family’s faces. “Their training is progressing well. It won’t be long before it’s time.”

“Time?” William asked.

“Nothing to worry about yet, my friend, but yes, it will happen soon.”

The children sat down and resumed their balancing lesson. No one ever asked why Crystal and Ayer decided to train in their leisure time, for we knew they controlled their own destiny.

William’s eyes wandered to the chair where I sat. “Is Sarah here?” he asked.

“No, she’s still at Mrs. G’s,” Eric answered.

William’s gaze fell. He put his hands in his pockets, fiddling. No one else but I would detect the hidden frown. William knew something the others didn’t. His eyes glossed over, and head low, he bit his lip.

“I can go check on her if you’d like,” Eric offered.

“No, I’m sure she’s fine.” William looked in my direction again, though he couldn’t see me. “Xander’s probably with her.” He pulled a bandana from around his neck and used it to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

At that moment, Xela and Xander rushed through the front door, laughing.

Xander held Xela’s hand, their fingers intertwined, lost in a conversation about magic she’d like to use on his body. They stared at each other, oblivious to anyone around them—love-struck.

I rose from the chair.
What the hell?

Someone growled a threat.

Chapter 10

Xela’s gaze flew to William, who braced his body against the doorframe. She released Xander’s hand as if she’d been burned. My husband’s face flushed for less than a second. She took the matching bandanna off her head—my bandanna.

I remembered the earlier growl and struggled to figure out where it had come from. I’d never heard William release such a fierce sound, though it did come from his direction. Now, his casual posture added to the mystery.

“Hi!” Xela smiled with my smile. It faded as her gaze fell to his hand. I hadn’t noticed when William took the ring out of his pocket.

No!
It’s a trick!
I tried to show myself to warn her, but something prevented my ghost’s transformation, as if someone blocked me.

“What’s this?” William displayed my ruby on his forefinger.

I looked at the fake one on Xela’s hand.

“Where did you get that?” she asked, taking an involuntary step back.

“Crystal’s jewel box fell off the night table. Put it on.” He took a step closer.

“No.” She shook her head.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s a fake. I have my ring on. I know who I am.”

“I’m not sure I do.” He narrowed his brows, looking from Xander to Xela. “If it’s a fake, then you have nothing to worry about, do you?”

“Look, William . . .”

“I’ve had enough of this! Who the hell are you? Where is my wife?” He dashed across the room until he was tightening his fingers around Xela’s throat.

He knew! He’d finally figured out it wasn’t me.

She pushed him off.

Xander moved in front of his witch, face tinted green. “Do not touch her again.” His forehead furrowed, and his upper lip quivered.

Willow peeked from within the lab. “Let them settle this,” she whispered to Ekim and Atram.

“Why in the world do you people keep choking me?” Xela backed up, rubbing her throat.

“Where. Is. Sarah!” William bared his fangs, taking a calculated step forward with each word.

“Sarah?” Warily scanning the cabin, Xela paced backward, until her back pressed against the wall. She held her palms flat against the wall, like she was ready to run.

Our fathers and Willow braved to emerge out of the lab, obviously drawn by the commotion. Xander began shifting, first into a wolf, then a vampire, then a bear and last, a combination of all mammals.

William didn’t hesitate. “You don’t scare me, shifter.”

Xander continued the shifting until he settled on a vampire’s form—a worthy opponent for William.

“Sarah?” Xela called out again, her voice shaking. “They’re going to kill each other.”

I wasn’t sure I should show. Would William be mad? Of course he would, but at least he’d know the truth. Didn’t I owe him that much?

I should have never kept this from William. I thought she said I couldn’t show myself to him,
I said to Eric.

The children continued their training, lost in their spheres as if nothing had happened. I noticed a grin on Ayer’s face and knew his share of power played a role in the commotion.

Your choice.
Eric smiled grimly.
But Xander is strong and a lot has happened since Xela told you to stay put.

Believe me, I know. But you underestimate my husband’s fierce nature.

A blue light appeared under Xander’s feet. His gaze flew to Eric. “Take it off!” he growled.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t do it.” Eric put his hands up, grinning.

William smirked at our kids and proceeded toward Xela.

“You touch her and I will kill you!” Xander warned.

William passed just beyond his reach. My father and Atram’s shoulders tensed.

The same light appeared under Willow, Ekim, and Atram when they tried to interfere.

“She’s fine, William. Sarah’s fine. She knows about this,” Xela said. I was as fast as William, but Xela didn’t know him the way I did. He’d read her face, know where she’d want to go before she took a step. Though she had my abilities, she didn’t know how to use them, the same way I hadn’t before I met William.

“What exactly does she know about?”

Three steps and William’s grip would find its way back to Xela’s throat. I had no choice; I had to help her even though it meant he’d know I’d betrayed his trust and given up my soul without telling him. It wouldn’t matter that I’d had no choice when it happened.

Our plan to exclude William so he could help the children and not be distracted was ruined. It was a wrong plan in the first place. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me that I hadn’t been honest with him. Miranda fooled us all when she stole my body, and I couldn’t hold a grudge any longer. All I wanted was to be with William, always. And now, we lived our lives further apart than I could have ever imagined.

I couldn’t leave Xela, either. Between William’s strength and with her unfamiliarity with my supernatural abilities, she had no chance.

“Sarah. Now would be a good time—”

William grabbed her throat and squeezed. If I let him, he’d kill her. He’d kill the body we needed to get me back into.

Come on! Fight him off!
I yelled.

Xander growled and howled, reaching toward William, his hands swiping empty air. My family, frozen in the blue light, stared helplessly.

Somehow, my father didn’t panic; he kept looking from me to Xela, though I was sure he couldn’t see me.

She tried using my vampire strength to shake William off, but his determination won out. He would not let go. I knew he wasn’t killing me; so did he. Xela’s pale skin turned gray. Her pupils disappeared as her eyes rolled back.

Let her go, William, you have to let her go!
I tried again, but he couldn’t hear me.
Shit! Eric? What do I do?

I can’t get involved in this one,
he said.
I need to leave.
Your mother is in distress.
With that he disappeared into a vortex.

Xela’s hands flopped limply to her sides.

I finally showed my ghost. “William, stop!”

He eased his grip. Xela coughed and dropped to crouch on the floor. “It’s true,” he whispered.

“What in the world . . . ?” Willow plopped into the wicker chair as the blue glow disappeared from under her, Ekim, and Atram.

“Sarah?” My father stared at my ghost, perplexed.

“Yes, it’s me.” I shrugged, looking at William, who stood frozen.

“How? Why?” My father collapsed to the floor and braced himself up on his arms.

The blue light faded from under Xander’s feet as well; he ran to help Xela up.

“It was the only way to get rid of Aseret,” I explained.

“By giving up your body without telling me?”

“I had no choice. I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“We always have a choice, Sarah.” The sadness I saw in his eyes devastated my spirit. I wanted to cry, but my ghost wasn’t capable of shedding tears.

By this time, Crystal and Ayer had taken up their nap positions at the end of the wicker sofa in the sun room, drained. Their eyes closed, and the twins fell asleep.

William composed himself and shook off the confusion as if he were trying to get rid of a nightmare. Pain covered his face. My heart broke when I read William’s expression, recognizing his sorrow in the curves of his cheeks and his hollow eyes. That was what I must have looked like when I lived back in Pinedale, before I accepted myself, before I knew my true purpose; when I was waiting for William to come for me, and he did. He saved me from a life of loneliness and misery. He taught me how to love and fight for those I cared about.

How come I couldn’t see it before? William had fought for me since the day we’d met, trying to reach me at a depth only he knew, but I’d been too selfish, trying to deal with my problems, instead of
our
problems. All he’d asked for was honesty, and I’d failed him. I betrayed our trust and the promise that we could work together instead of separately. We were much better as two equals, rather than two halves.

“Watch the children,” he said to his parents and my father.

“William, wait!” I cried as he stormed out.

My father and Atram sat down by the twins. I read my father’s frustration on his face. I’d lied not only to William, but my entire family.

“Sarah, what’s going on?” he asked.

“Are you disappointed?” My ghostly figure trembled.

My father rose and stepped forward. “Surprised, yes. Disappointed, no.” He shook his head. “I do wish I could hug you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I had no time and can’t explain now. You need to guard the children. I have to get William.” The door still swung open after my husband had pushed it.

“Honey, give him some time. Please.” Willow’s eyes begged me to stay.

I pointed to the witch in my body. “Xela will get you caught up. You can trust her.”

“Trust Xela?” My father’s head swung from me to the witch. “No time to tell us you switched bodies? Whose body do you have?”

“I . . . I don’t have a body.”

“What?” My father pointed to me. “What madness has driven you to do this? I can’t lose you. Not again.” The sorrow in his voice pained me.

“I need to find William.” I floated toward Willow, but my ghost began to drop closer to the floor, as if weighted. “Willow, I should have told you.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You’re a smart woman, and you did what you needed to do. Don’t doubt your choices.”

“But I deceived you.”

“You protected us. It’s time you begin thinking about yourself first. Go, find your husband.”