Time - Chapter 10
I didn’t know how long I slept, but when I woke up, the sun was ready to set again, and Mom still slumbered beside me.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
In the ashes of her past, she will rise up, and her death will save us all.
Lizzie ran from her past for ten years, zigzagging across the United States every few months, trying to outlast the prophesy that an oracle gave to her when she was just sixteen years old.
But nobody can run from their destiny forever.
After watching her friend brutally gunned down by a group of ruthless demons, she had no choice but to protect the woman’s child, and there was only one place where Lizzie knew the girl would be safe.
Bronard, Missouri.
Home.
She stayed away to protect her parents, but the girl needed mystical protection.
Her parents had taken in magical strays their whole lives, including Lizzie. If anyone could save the poor child’s life, it would be her mother and father.
But will returning to her home doom Lizzie even as she works to save the child she has vowed to defend?
I didn’t know how long I slept, but when I woke up, the sun was ready to set again, and Mom still slumbered beside me. I slipped out of her gentle embrace and made my way down the stairs. Dad was sitting on the couch, watching White Christmas even though it was nowhere near, as Veronica lay curled up on the couch next to him.
I intentionally stepped on the creaky floorboard in the middle of the hardwood, and he turned to me with a smile. He eased himself out of his chair and hobbled into the dining room.
“Coffee?”
I nodded. “As much as you can spare.”
“A woman after my own heart.” He quietly disappeared into the kitchen. Junebug and Carl always had coffee brewing, no matter the time in the day or night, because there was always work to be done. I had long been convinced they were immune to the effects of caffeine.
A few minutes later, he came back into the dining room holding two cups of coffee in tremoring hands. I jumped up and took my cup from him before easing him into the chair.
“This isn’t anything fancy, so if you like that kind of French vanilla crap or mocha choco blast, you’re not gonna find anything like that here.” He grunted. “We drink our coffee black in this house, in case you don’t remember.”
I took a sip. “I remember. It hasn’t been that long.”
Dad placed the cup down, looking down at his liver-spotted hands. “Feels like a lifetime. Last time you were here, I could pick you up in my hands and lift you straight over my head.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t a baby when I left. I was sixteen, Dad. Exaggerating much?”
“That’s how I remember it—you running away—barely up to my waist.”
“Delusion is a great gift, old man.” I took another sip of coffee and saw that my innocently jestful tone didn’t come across. “That was a joke.”
“I know it was a joke, but it wasn’t funny. I never humored you as a kid, and I’m not gonna start now. Besides, you were telling the truth. I am old. Feel like I aged a hundred years since you left.”
“You look great, Dad.”
“Don’t you lie to me, dang it. Not in my own house.” He looked down at the coffee in his cup. “I can barely get out to do chores anymore. Yields are down, so I can’t hire staff. Most days, I think the only thing I’m good for is dying.”
Thoughts of the prophecy danced through my head. I spent so much time away to save my parents from death, but it had come for them anyway.
“I thought pixies lived for a long time, Dad. You’re not that old. Mom either.”
He squeezed his hands together. “I don’t know how magic works, kiddo. Nobody does, and anyone who tells you otherwise is duping you, duping themselves, or both. It was like one day I was fit as a fiddle, and the next I could barely lift a shovel.”
“I don’t know much about magic, but I know that’s a load of horse manure.” I brought my eyes to his. “How long ago did you try curing her yourself?”
He sighed. “Don’t even remember now, and it doesn’t matter. It didn’t work. Kimberly tried to tell me there would be side effects, but I didn’t care—I don’t care. Life’s not worth a lick without her, so maybe it’s a blessing that it backfired and took so much from me.” He took another sip of coffee. “How is your mother?”
“You know how she is.”
“I do, but I want to hear you say it.”
My head dropped. “I’ve spent the last decade stuffing every emotion I’ve ever had deep down in the dregs of my soul. The last day has cracked all that open, and now every feeling I’ve suppressed for ten years is hitting me at once. And none of that was as bad as seeing her in that bed.”
He nodded solemnly. “It’s hard to watch my little Junebug waste away like that. Sometimes—sometimes she looks at me like she used to, with love and hope in her eyes. Those are the worst moments because I know there is no hope left.”
I slid my hand across the table and touched his. “There is hope left, Pop. I’m here now.”
“Then you’ll go again.”
“Maybe,” I replied. “But I’m going to help until then, and I’m going to take care of you both while I’m still here, okay?”
There was something he wanted to say, and it danced across his face for a moment, but it was replaced by a simple, sad smile. “How bad is it with the girl?”
“She lost the only two people that cared about her today. She didn’t watch them die, at least, so there’s hope there.”
“That’s the blessing in this curse, I suppose.” He sipped his coffee again. “She’s welcome here. We still have your bed made upstairs.”
“It needs a good cleaning. I’ll bring down the sheets when I go back up.”
“Bring the ones from the guest room, too.” He stopped for a moment. “You know, had you told us you were coming, we would’ve made the bed up for you.”
“I didn’t know I was coming until I walked through the door.” I hesitated. “I know you don’t believe this, but I was trying to protect you both. That’s why I left.”
His face was stone. “I know you think that, but it wasn’t your job to protect us. It was our job to protect you, and we failed.” His lip quivered. “Your mama never forgave herself for that.”
I opened my mouth to say something but couldn’t. I knew my appearing out of nowhere picked open some wounds that had long since been scabbed over. It was selfish to come back here, but as Kimberly had made all too clear, I was a selfish girl.
“Let me get the linens.” I pushed my chair out. “Do I need to pull them off Mom’s bed, too?”
He shook his head. “No, Johnny will be here soon to look after her.”
“Johnny?”
“He’s the fella we hired to look after Mom in her last days. He does a crack-up job, too. Makes sure she comfortable.”
“That’s nice, Dad.”
He took a long sip of coffee, staring at the floor. “It’s something. That’s for sure.”
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.