WeavingDestinyebook (20 page)

Chapter 26

Visitor

In the dark of his room, Jacob opened his eyes, tensing with the intuition that he was not alone. He tried to even out his breathing beneath the covers, to feign sleep a few minutes longer while he sifted through the sounds. There was someone shifting near his desk. Whoever it was took a seat in the chair.

"I know you're awake, Jacob." Mara's whisper coasted across the room.

Jacob sat up in bed, letting the comforter fall around his waist. It took a moment for him to remember he wasn't wearing a shirt. He yanked the sheet up to his neck. "Mara, what are doing here?" He looked toward the window. "How did you get in? I know I locked that window."

Mara reached toward her feet and lifted a staff from the floor. "Dr. Silva's. No one hears anything when time stops." She grinned sheepishly. "I couldn't sleep."

Well that explained it. Jacob rolled to the side of the bed, taking the sheet with him, and grabbed a T-shirt off the floor. He noticed it didn't smell great as he pulled it over his head, but hey, he wasn't expecting company. Once he was dressed, he sat on the side of his bed and spread his hands. "So, are you here to make sure both of us are equally exhausted when we practice tomorrow or is something on your mind?"

She twisted the chair on its base. "I want to apologize. What happened with Malini…I never meant to break you guys up. This is my fault. I started it. I can talk to her if you want. Maybe if I explain things—"

"How do you know? We just broke up last night."

"It's a small town, Jacob."

"Yeah, but you never leave Dr. Silva's house!"

"Okay. Umm, Dr. Silva told me. She heard from Mrs. Westcott at the grocery store."

"Great. I hate Paris."

"Anyway, I just came to apologize and to offer to talk to her for you." She picked at her thumbnail absently.

"It wasn't your fault. She kissed someone else, too. "

"What?"

"Yeah. Death. Apparently the hand was some kind of make-out gift."

"You're kidding." Mara perked up in her chair.

"I wish I was. And she seemed only too ready to be done with me. You know I thought we had something. I thought it was…" Jacob's hands tightened into fists. "Fate. I thought it was fate."

"And she broke up with you?"

"Yes. And now she's acting all pissed at me all the time."

"Hmm." Mara sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. Jacob noticed she was wearing a skirt and strappy sandals.

"Hey, I thought you said you couldn't sleep?"

"I couldn't."

"Why are you all dressed up?"

Mara took a deep breath. "I couldn't very well let you see me in my pajamas." She giggled nervously.

Jacob grinned. Mara never giggled. He knew she liked him and there was no getting around that he was attracted to her but…but… He'd run out of excuses. There was no reason he couldn't pursue a relationship with Mara. If he wanted to, he could kiss her right now. But that was the problem, he didn't know if he wanted to.

The silence surrounded them like a heavy shroud. Time stretched on awkwardly from the giggle. It was his turn to say something. He searched his brain for something to say.

"Sooo, it wasn't your fault. Don't feel guilty. You didn't do anything wrong." He rubbed his palms on his thighs.

In a flash, she was sitting next to him on the bed. He couldn't tell if she had stopped time or if she'd just moved quickly. All Soulkeepers were faster than regular humans and he was definitely distracted. His desk chair spun on its swivel.

She leaned forward. He could smell her perfume. Malini never wore perfume. She always smelled clean, like soap. Jacob wondered what kind of perfume it was. The closer she got the more it seemed to suffocate him, like he was burying his face in a bouquet of lilies at the shop, too sweet, too floral.

Before her lips could hit his, he stood and crossed the room. He wasn't sure why he'd dodged the kiss.  But until he sorted out his feelings, he had to say something to put her off.

"Would you go to the prom with me, Mara? I mean you're stuck here anyway until we figure this Watcher threat out. You might as well have some fun while you’re here."

"Yeah! Shit, yeah. That would be great."

"Good. It's a date. Um, maybe we should have a date before we do anything else. You know, get to know each other first."

Mara looked disappointed but walked to the staff and lifted it from the floor. "Yeah. That's a good idea. Two weeks from Saturday, right?"

"Right."'

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too."

"Goodbye, Jacob."

"See ya." Jacob watched as she raised her bell and vanished. He had the oddest feeling that Mara hadn't left immediately after she'd stopped time. Her perfume smelled stronger than it had a moment before and there was a wetness on his lips. He ran the back of his hand across his mouth. It came away red.

Lipstick.

Chapter 27

The Promise

"Wait for it...Wait for it..." Malini whispered to herself from behind the bank of lockers. She'd promised the medicine woman she'd visit before prom and had effectively procrastinated as long as conceivably possible. Now she had only a week and a half to keep her promise. She was waiting for Jacob to enter his combination and open his locker. With his hands busily swapping out books he was less likely to avoid her.

Malini stepped up behind him. "Jacob, I need to talk to you."

He jerked upward, banging his head on the shelf. "Damn!" He grabbed his head and turned to face her. "Jeez Malini. Do you mind?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"There's something we need to do before prom."

Jacob's face paled and he took a step back from her. "I thought we weren't going to prom anymore. You broke up with me, remember?"

"There's something we have to do before the date of prom. Of course we aren't going to prom… I mean not together. "

"Right, because I'm already going with someone else."

"Let me guess. Mara." There was too much venom in the way she said her name. She didn't want Jacob to think she was jealous. That was just ridiculous considering she was going to prom with Henry.

"Yes, Mara. I see no reason why I shouldn't have asked her. I didn't want to go alone."

"There is no reason. I'm sure you two will have a fabulous time. I'm going, too, by the way."

"With who?" Now it was Jacob's voice that held the edge.

"Stop. This isn't what I came here to talk to you about and we only have a few minutes before class." Already, the hall was emptying. She needed to get him to agree, now.

"Then spill it."

"We need to go see the medicine woman."

"I thought you were the medicine woman."

"When I was on the other side, I promised I would take you to see her before prom. There's something she needs us to do."

"Why me?"

"She didn't say. But she made me swear. I know she wouldn't if it wasn't important."

"Fine. Saturday. Meet in the forest behind Dr. Silva's. We'll use the staffs. Hopefully, it won't take long." He pulled a stack of books into his arms and slammed the locker – hard.

"Oh, believe me, I'll be doing everything in my power to make it as short a trip as possible," she said, but she wasn't sure he heard her. He was halfway down the hall and the bell was ringing. Malini forced herself to turn away and headed for class.

* * * * *

No matter how much time Malini spent dreading Saturday, it came anyway. She drove to Dr. Silva's, anxious to get the trip over with. Every minute she was with Jacob was another minute of feeling like her still beating heart was being torn from her chest.

She parked her car, grabbed her staff out of the trunk and hurried toward the woods. With so much to do before prom, she hoped this wouldn't take long. She needed to find a dress to wear. Shopping was impossible. What did you wear to a dance with Death? The red dress she'd worn during her initiation was perfect, but she'd never find anything like that in the human world. What was she thinking inviting an immortal to prom, anyway? No one could live up to the expectations of prom night, let alone the added stress of being someone's first date in who knows how many millennia.

"It's about time. I've been waiting for like fifteen minutes." Jacob was standing at the edge of the woods with his staff in hand.

"I thought we said noon? It's only 12:05."

"Well, I assumed when you said noon you wanted to be there by noon. I allowed for travel time."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. We have enchanted staffs. It takes like two seconds to go anywhere. Besides, we're going to the Achuar village. They don't even own a clock. It's not like we can be late."

"Fine. Let's just go." He held out his hand to her.

"What's that for?"

"We need to hold hands so that we end up in the same place at the same time."

"Why can't we just both pop over to the village?"

"Do you even know how to get there? Have you been there before?"

Malini thought about that one. She'd only met the medicine woman on the other side. She hadn't actually been to her village. For the staffs to work, she needed to picture where she was going clearly.

"Point made," she said and slipped her hand into his. As soon as she did, she regretted it. Her mouth went dry and a zing of electricity travelled through her. Their eyes met. More than anything she wanted him to kiss her. She hated herself for it but she did. He leaned forward, stepping into her, and for a moment she thought he felt it to, that he might close the remaining distance between them. But he didn't. He simply squeezed her hand and lifted his staff. With a crack and a flash of light, they were standing in the Achuar village.

The villagers came running, the children grabbing their hands, the adults chattering back and forth between themselves in a language Malini didn't know.

"They're asking each other if we're Gods," Jacob said.

"You can understand them?"

"Ever since last year when I was here, I've been able to speak other languages. Remember in Nod, how I could read the signs? I guess it's part of my gift."

"But I was there in the parking lot. Your gift was…is the ability to manipulate water. It's weird that the language thing came on later."

"Our gifts, our powers, develop over time. I don't claim to understand it but it's pretty much saved my Spanish grade this semester. "

"Nice. Why don't you go for broke and be a languages major—really milk the gift for all it's worth."

"Good idea."

They turned when they saw the medicine woman emerge from her hut. She said a few words in the language Malini didn't understand.

"She's inviting us in," Jacob said.

Malini followed him into the small thatched roof hut and joined the old woman sitting cross-legged on a woven grass mat.

There was a selection of herbs and oils in front of her. She mashed them together using a stone mortar and pestle. Standing, she dribbled the concoction in a large circle around Jacob and Malini, and then returned to her place within its boundaries.

"For protection and purity," Jacob translated. "What we are about to do is dangerous, but it must be done."

The medicine woman smiled broadly. With only two or three teeth left in her mouth, Malini wondered how she managed on a jungle diet. The old woman said something to Jacob in her native tongue. His face turned bright red. He didn't translate.

Malini poked Jacob's leg emphatically, until he relented and whispered the translation. "Malini, she's offered to bind us together."

"Bind us together? What does that mean?"

"Umm. I...ah...think it's like a ceremony. Like what she does for her tribe."

"You mean, like MARRYING us?"

"She says it's considered an honor for her to offer without being asked. What should I say?"

"You say NO, that's what you say. We're sixteen years old and we're not even going out anymore! It's ridiculous."

Jacob translated, although she was sure his respectful tone did not include the part about it being ridiculous.

The medicine woman nodded her head slowly, her gap toothed smile melting a little. She said something that sounded almost like she was chiding Jacob.

"What did she say?" Malini asked.

"That one was meant for me." He looked down at the dirt.

The old woman reached for Malini's right hand, the hand of death, and pointed at the crook of her elbow. She said a few words and her face grew positively grim.

Jacob's head snapped up, his attention turning to Malini's hand. He cleared his throat before translating. "She says it's her time. She wants you to release her. I think she wants you to kill her."

Malini yanked her hand back. "NO!"

The medicine woman sat back on her heels, her face serene. She folded her hands in front of her chest, as if in prayer, bowing her head in Malini's direction, and spoke to her in a pleading tone.

Jacob translated. "It's the only way she can die. The next Healer must release the first or she will live forever. She has lived for two hundred fifty eight years waiting for you. Living is very painful for her and she begs for your mercy." Jacob's voice cracked

"I don't think I can do it. I'm not a murderer. It's too awful."

"I think you have to do it, Malini. She's suffering. Look at her. What if this was you? What if you were forced to serve as a Soulkeeper for over two centuries and the only way you could die is if the next Healer let you go? You need to help her."

"I'll heal her. Tell her I'll heal her."

Jacob translated. The medicine woman responded, sounding absolutely furious.

"She doesn't want to be healed. She's outlived her husband and children. She's watched countless villagers die. She says it's her time. She wants to die."

"I can't. I can't murder someone."

Jacob scooped her left hand into his. "It wouldn't be murder, Malini, it would be mercy."

Malini remembered what Death had said, that the world thought of him as a curse when in fact he was also a blessing. The medicine woman hunched in front of her, her dress exposing the bones of her shoulders. Her father's words came back to her. When they were in Springfield, he'd said Abraham Lincoln was his hero because somehow he knew the Civil War would be worth it. She was a Healer. Part of her job was to look at a situation and know right from wrong. And right wasn't always about life.