“That’s understandable,” Z offered, giving Jewel a look that said pull your craptogether.
Anna nodded. “No one wants to bealone.”
Jewel walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’msorry.”
“For what?” Riverasked.
“That you’ve been lonely. Hopefully that won’t be the case anymore.” Jewel motioned for Anna to stand on the other side of the girl. As before, Jewel cut their hands in order to mingle their blood and share Volcan’s magic. She and Anna each took one of River’s bleeding hands in their own, and Jewel closed her eyes. There was a part of her inside that was screaming to let the woman go and run. Maybe if she ran fast enough, she could get away from Volcan. It was a stupid wish, one that wouldn’tcometrue.
The words she’d spoken when she’d changed Anna, and when she’d attempted to change Amy, flowed out of her lips. She felt Volcan’s power inside of her, and it seemed as if her blood was going to start boiling at any second. The heat was intense and overwhelming. Jewel could feel that power flowing from her hands, through River and into Anna, where it rebounded, came back through River, and once again into Jewel. Again and again the power ricocheted through them, like some supernatural Newton’s cradle. She also felt the darkness inside of her own body gaining ground. She despaired because she knew, if this continued, Jewel would eventually lose herself. The more she used Volcan’s magic, the more of herself shegaveup.
Although it felt like an eternity, Jewel knew the ritual had only been going on for a few minutes when she began to feel River’s spirit being sucked into her own body. Jewel wanted to let go, but her hands wouldn’t obey her. No matter how she screamed into her mind to release the hold, her hands stayed clamped onto the othergirls.
And then she saw it. All of River’s memories filled her mind, memories that she shouldn’t see, deep, dark, secret memories, that shouldn’t be shared involuntarily withanyone.
Jewel couldn’t believe it was happening again, and yet, had she really expected any another outcome? No, not really. She’d simply hoped for adifferentone.
Jewel felt the tears streaming down her cheeks. It was like a watching an accident you couldn’t stop in slow motion. All you could do was cover your mouth as you attempted to cope with what you were seeing, what you couldn’t change. She saw a woman that was no doubt River’s mom. She looked just like the girl. The woman was lying in a casket, her eyes closed and her arms laid across her chest. She looked peaceful. Jewel saw the picture of a baby, a tiny baby, wrapped in a hospital blanket. The baby was dead. Jewel wasn’t sure how she knew this, but she could feel River’s sorrow over the child. She’d not only lost her mother, but her own childaswell.
She saw other people, some whom River obviously loved and others who caused her pain. She had not had an easy life, and this washerend.
“Jewel, let go,honey.”
She could hear Anna’s voice, but she couldn’t obey. River had been alone in life, and Jewel didn’t want her to be alone now in death. When she opened her eyes, she saw she was on the floor with River’s head in her lap. Tears dropped onto the girl’s hair as Jewel wept over the lost life of a person she didn’t know and yet, seemed as though she knew everything about. She felt sick, weeping over this woman whose life shestole.
“You have to let her go,” Anna said, her own voice thick with tears. “We have to get outofhere.”
Jewel shook her head. “It wasn’t supposed to happen again,” Jewel cried. “She was supposed to be fine. She was going to have us and not be aloneanymore.”
“Shh.” Sly’s deep voice was soothing. “It sucks, Jewel, it does, but we have to leave her. You have to lethergo.”
Jewel leaned forward and pressed her forehead to River’s. “I’m so, so sorry. River, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for your child and your mother and now for your life. I’m sosorry.”
“What is she talking about?” Jewel heardZask.
“Don’t worry about it,” Anna said as she knelt beside Jewel. “Honey, I know, god, I know how it hurts, and we will mourn her. We will celebrate for her, but we cannot stay. We have gottogo.”
After several deep breaths, Jewel pushed herself out from under the young woman and gently laid her head on the ground. She brushed the hair from River’s face as she stared down at her. “I won’t forget,” she whispered. “I won’t forget your memories.” Jewel stood on shaky legs and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The shuddering breaths wouldn’t stop. The young witch forced her feet to move, and she followed Z, Sly, and Anna as they headed to a back door. Jewel looked over her shoulder at the lifeless woman on the floor, though she told herself not to. She had to look. She had to make sure that River’s face was burned into her memory. The woman deserved at leastthatmuch.
The thud made by the door shutting behind them echoed a macabre finality in Jewel’s mind, as if they were sealing River into a hollow tomb. Jewel was on autopilot once again, following her friends, block after block, but not really thinking about what she was doing. Before she knew it, they’d hailed another cab and were speeding along to another occult shop somemilesaway.
“Here we go,” Z said, pointingupward.
Jewel looked up and saw a bright purple sign with yellow letters. She was shaking her head even as she read it: Cauldron, Boil, andBubbleShop.
“No.”
Zlookedat Sly and then back at Jewel, who was shakingherhead.
“No,” she said again. “I can’t do it again. Notthissoon.”
“We are running out of time,” Z argued and then snapped his mouth shut when Sly shot himalook.
Anna frowned at him. “What do you mean, running outoftime?”
Dammit, he’d said too much. The fact was, he and Sly had grown to care about their two charges. Not in a romantic way. They both saw the girls as younger sisters. They wanted to look out for them, but they were under the control of Volcan, at least to an extent and the high fae had told them what would happen if the girls failed to produce his witches. Z didn’t want Jewel or Anna to gothroughthat.
“You have to keep trying,” heargued.
