Chapter 32
The day went by in a blur. Jacinda knew time was running out and the more she thought about her options, the more she thought maybe things could work. Maybe she needed him to stop Thanatos.
At dinner she realized she may have found a home. Not at Taryn and Loval’s but there, with Chatan. And if he could handle the truth about what was coming for her, he could help her stop it.
That was Hawk and Dove’s story, right? That it took love to stop such evil. And if he couldn’t, well, she knew what love was.
She set her fork down and turned to Chatan. He stole her breath with his smile.
“What?” he asked.
The words were on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to tell him what she felt but wanted to be alone with him first. Mom was right. This was worth everything.
“You two should go,” Taryn cooed.
“Hmm?” Loval asked.
She elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a look.
Jacinda couldn’t stop the giggle. “You two are cute.”
“Not as cute as you two. Now go. You’ve been here long enough. I know that look,” Taryn explained.
She gulped.
Chatan stood and hugged Taryn, then knocked knuckles with Loval before taking Jacinda’s hand. “Come on.”
“Thank you for dinner.” Then Jacinda squealed when Chatan tossed her over his shoulder.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Taryn called as Chatan went through the door.
He hurried to the truck, depositing her in the seat, then rushed around.
She clicked the belt and turned toward him. “In a hurry to get me home?”
“We’ve been running all day. I want some alone time without having to worry about anything else.”
“You going to worry about me?”
He laughed. “No. I’m going to enjoy every second with you.”
* * * *
By the time he pulled into his driveway, Jacinda had grown quiet, holding on to her necklace with a frown. She hadn’t said a word, hadn’t let his hand go, but had lost the smile she wore when they left his cousin’s.
Chatan parked and caught Jacinda’s chin, pulling her gaze his way. “What’s going on?”
She pulled in a breath. “Um…want to meet my mom? Sort of?”
He nodded, a slow grin spreading. “Of course. How?”
“Just need a sink filled with water.”
He paused. “What?”
“Trust me. You’ll see her. She’ll see you.”
He smiled. “You want her to meet me?”
“Yes.” Jacinda slipped from the truck and hurried to the door. “Come on.” She went inside.
He caught up and spun her back to him. “You’re nervous. Is that good or bad?”
“I love you. I do. I wouldn’t introduce you if I didn’t want her to know you.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Jace.”
She gulped, nodding. “Waiting for me to get with the program?”
He laughed. “Figured it was too soon to say. You haven’t been here before. And this is so much more than anything I’ve felt in the past. You’re it, Jace.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine this with anyone else. Let me show you the spell.” She pulled him into the kitchen and plugged sink, filling the it with water.
“That’s why you don’t have a phone?” he asked.
She giggled. “I guess. Look, she didn’t grow up with a phone. We never had one when I was a kid. We didn’t need one when we went our separate ways. This works for us.”
He nodded. “Think I could convince you to get a phone?”
She smiled. “Maybe. We’ll see.”
He pulled her closer to kiss her. She pulled back once the sink was full and turned to shut off the faucet. She spoke the spell, and her mother appeared a few seconds later.
“There you are, and is this Chatan?” Mom’s face split into a grin.
“Yes, this is Chatan, I wanted you to meet him. This is my mom, Mina.”
He leaned closer, looking into the water. “Hey, wish we were doing this face to face, but it’s a pleasure.”
She smiled. “He’s sweet and cute. And you look so happy, little dove.”
Jacinda smiled. “I am, Mom. Maybe soon we’ll meet you somewhere, but we need to take care of that strigoi first.”
“Oh, baby, don’t get in her way. Let the Silver Council deal with it.”
Her mouth popped open. “What?”
“Only a matter of time with the way people are disappearing from that area. They are going to investigate. Better you stay out of their way,” Mom said.
Jacinda frowned. “You want me to stay out of the way?”
“Yes, I do. Not that I believe you will.” She sighed, then smiled. “I hadn’t heard from you for a few days. I wanted to see my girl.” Tears filled her eyes. “You’re in love now, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “I am. And soon I’ll bring Chatan to you.”
“Good. I miss you, baby. And, Chatan, be good to her. She deserves the world.”
“Mom, so do you.”
“I have you. I have your father in my heart and soul. Everything I could ask for I have. You found your other half finally. I need to go. Love you.”
She faded away and Jacinda’s breath caught. The fear pouring off Jacinda worried him. He turned her to look into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
* * * *
Mom had seen something. Jacinda didn’t know what, but that was the closest to goodbye her mother ever came. “Something’s wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t have had you there. Maybe she wanted to tell me something. I need to go in the bathroom, see if there’s more.”
“If you’re sure.” The hurt in his eyes tore her apart.
“I’m sorry. It doesn’t change anything, but I need to know why that sounded like it may be the last time we’d talk.”
“I didn’t get that impression,” he whispered.
“You don’t know her like I do. And she’s a seer. She saw something. It’s the only explanation.” Jacinda pulled out of his arms.
“Will you talk to me after?” he asked.
She nodded, hoping she could still tell him everything. She ran to the bathroom, filled the water, and contacted her mother. It took her a moment to answer, but she reappeared over another sink, tears in her eyes.
“Why are you crying, Mom?”
“You found what your father wanted you to find. I never believed you would.”
“Mom, I don’t care about that. Why are you so upset?”
“I should have believed in you.”
“You did, in other things. You wanted to protect me in case he was wrong. You did everything you could for me. Now stop. What’s going on?”
“Promise you won’t run from him. Tell him everything. Let him help you.”
“Promise. Now what did you see to make you like this?”
“My girl finally whole. I’m sorry. Makes me miss your father. I’m sure he’s happy for you.”
“Me too.” She wanted to demand answers, but Mom wasn’t going to tell her anything more. As soon as they dealt with Josephine, Jacinda planned to take Chatan to her mother. Hopefully, her mom was only upset because Jacinda finally had what her mother lost. “I love you, Mom. But if you have something to say, don’t hold back. Tell me.”
“No, I don’t. I’m happy for you. These are tears of joy. Only a little regret that I didn’t believe in you or Tyrell.”
“Everyone has tried for years. I get it. Mom, I love you.”
“Love you too, Jacinda. Go back to your man. Don’t worry him because I’m emotional.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon.”
Smiling, she waved and Jacinda ended the spell. She stepped into the hall and Chatan was right there, waiting with such a sad look.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t remember the last time I saw her like that. She always smiles.”
“Sometimes things hit us hard. She probably saw you with me and remembered being with your father. It’s why my dad doesn’t like being out here. Everything reminds him of my mother, and he can’t deal with it.”
“Does he blame himself?”
Chatan nodded. “Yeah, he was busy searching for answers for a friend of his. He wasn’t there when she first got sick. Then he couldn’t find a way to cure her.”
“We should talk. You may decide everything to do with me is too much.”
He took her hands and pulled her toward the bedroom. “I have a feeling nothing you say could ever change anything between us.”
She hoped not. “I guess we’ll see.”
He sat down on the bed, fully clothed and cross-legged. “Tell me your story.”
Not an ounce of humor graced her laugh. “Sounds like a bedtime story to scare kids into going to sleep. Only, I’ve seen what happens to those of us the creature finds.”
His head tipped. “I’m all ears.”
She let out a breath and licked her lips. Then she started slowly. “My family has always been a source of power. Unlike most Others, we wind up with different casters, it makes for magic deemed too powerful by the Dark Templar. Some of us have been hunted by then, but mostly, because of a dark entity that couldn’t claim what he wanted. He cursed our family.”
“I don’t understand,” Chatan said.
“One of my ancestors could manipulate reality. They called her a transcendent mage. One of the Dark Templar hunted her down, but she used magic to make him fall in love. Only then she couldn’t break the spell to get rid of him. He became obsessed. She refused him. The mage was more sorcerer than mage, and he called on a powerful entity to help him claim her. She fused them together and Thanatos became a monster, oozing shadows, giant wings. He looks something like a shadowy demon.”
Chatan rubbed her arm. “Sounds similar to what’s locked away at the pillar. And remnants of the creature are at the waterfall. Everyone who goes there at night is plagued by nightmares.”
“Does he look like this?” She held out her hands, calling the image she saw in countless nightmares. Nine feet tall, black skin, red scales, giant black wings with curling red patterns. Glowing red eyes.
His head cocked. “That’s more demon than anything.”
“That may not be his true form. He’s an illusionist, sorcerer, and other things. Plus, whatever gifts the creature gave him. Maybe he delved into our deepest nightmares and created something truly terrifying.”
“And why should this scare me away?”
She closed her hands, clearing the image, only to open them again and form the last victim she knew of ten years before. A woman of thirty years. Blond hair, blue eyes, freckles, and she had ancient symbols Jacinda couldn’t find anywhere, carved into her flesh. The only other place she’d seen those symbols were in the dreams. “I can’t read those. No one can, as far as I can tell.”
His brow pinched. “I may know someone to ask. It’s right up his alley, the kind of shit he loves to study. And why he was away when my mother got sick. Chasing after another ancient creature with old symbols no one could find.”
“Did he find out what they were?”
“Yes, but he wouldn’t tell me what. My father would love to meet you.”
“You don’t sound like you want me to meet him.”
He shrugged. “I do, but I don’t always see eye to eye with him. We have a strained relationship. I don’t understand how he could replace my mother so quickly. And he doesn’t see why I don’t believe in myself.”
Her head tipped. “Why don’t you believe in yourself?”
“Mom didn’t.” He looked away. “Her words stuck with me. She told me we weren’t all meant for greatness.”
“Chatan, you are so much more than you believe. I feel the magic inside you. Hawk believes it too. He came to life because you helped me find what I needed. And somehow, I think they’re supposed to help me stop Thanatos, and I don’t have a clue how.”
“Jacinda, we’ll figure it out. Besides, this way, you get to meet my brothers, my favorite cousin and his fiancé, and my father. You get to see the other half of my life.”
“I’ll be happy to. Now tell me a little about the rest of your family.”
“Tomahawk is a tattoo artist. He did my wolf and hawk. There’s magic in those pieces. He’s with a nurse, and they have a sweet little girl. Dakota is purely a healer. His married to a doctor, and they have a little boy. They live in Edenton. My father was married to a woman before my mother, and they had Tomahawk and Dakota, who are twins. Their mother died in a car crash. Two months later he met my mother and fell in love. Then he lost to her to a curse, or illness. He found his current wife just months after my mother died.” He wiped at his eyes. I have never understood how he can move on so quickly if he truly loved my mother, their mother, and this woman. I don’t get it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I mean, I always wished my mother would find someone else, and she never did.”
“It was so fast though. So, don’t be surprised if I choose to hang with my brothers or Eddie more.”
“I’m happy wherever you want to go. But tell me about Eddie.”
He smiled. “He’s a few years younger, but we’re close. Tom and Dakota are twelve years older than me. We aren’t as close. I was around Eddie and Jackie a lot. I told you how they were like family, or everyone thought they were. He’s in IT for Ward Tower Security. And Jackie is a photographer. They live in Seattle.”
His phone rang and he picked it up only to frown. “Okay, that’s Eddie. He has the worst timing. Let me take this and I’ll be back.”
“Of course.”