Malice (19 page)

“Now that Bree’s parents are aware of what likely happened, they’re putting a lot of pressure on Councilwoman Lebeau. I imagine that Jude’s parents will too,” Finola said.

“Right,” Alex agreed. “As soon as the bodies are found, then my dad will have to judge whether or not he thinks it would be beneficial to reinstate the original spirit.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I knew I would never want to be the one to make that judgment call.

“So there’s hope,” Finola said firmly. “And some hope is better than no hope.”

“I just hate feeling so useless,” I said. “Levi was in our house and we never knew. We just let him walk away.”

“You couldn’t have known what he was up to,” Finola said assuredly.

“I know, but just thinking he was so close to Magnolia all that time, it’s a bit terrifying,” I admitted.

“Now we just sit around and wait to hear from The Council,” Tristan said.

Alex nodded. “It’s not like we can really do anything else.”

“Hopefully they have a full team out looking for Levi,” Finola said with a scowl.

“Until he’s found, I think Sam needs to stay away from The Bella Luna,” Tristan said.

“Where are you two going tonight?” Finola asked.

I glanced at Tristan. I’d momentarily forgotten about that sticky issue. We couldn’t go to The Bella Luna and I was sure the cottage was out.

“You can come to my house,” Finola offered to me.

“Tristan, if you need a place to stay, we have room,” Alex said with a shrug. “I’d have to let my parents in on what’s going on, which I should probably do anyway, but I know that they would be cool with it.”

“Any chance we could just stay here?” Tristan asked. He looked from Alex to me, then back to Alex. “I’d rather stay close to Sam, considering what’s going on.” He reached for my hand, squeezing it in his.

I glanced around the houseboat. It was small and…cozy. I hadn’t been in the cabin but from where I sat, it didn’t look very big. Tristan wanting to stay with me was surprisingly sweet, but I wasn’t sure how much help he would be.

“No problem,” Alex agreed.

I briefly wondered if I should protest. I didn’t think spending the night with Tristan was the best idea.

“I better get Fin home,” Alex said. He glanced at her and his adoration was clearly written across his face for all the world to see.

I was happy for her but I was still drenched in a wave of envy. The two of them together, Alex so edgy and Fin so wholesome, yet they just fit. They complemented each other in the most perfect way. I wanted what she had.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the self-centered thoughts. I had far more important things to worry about than my nonexistent love life.

As Alex guided us back to the marina, Tristan sat in stony silence. I could tell that his mind was anything but quiet. I wished I knew what he was thinking about. It could be any of a hundred different things. Tristan had been more confusing lately than ever. Finola spent the time trying to assure me that Magnolia would be just fine.

“Get a hold of us if you need
anything
,” Finola said.

“We’ll let you know the minute we hear anything new,” Alex assured us.

Tristan gave him a nod. “Good. We’ll be waiting.”

Half an hour later, the sun had set. Tristan and I bobbed along peacefully in an odd sort of silence. The marina was within view, but he’d maneuvered us far enough from the shore that we would see anyone approaching.

He sat across from me, his knees nearly bumping mine. I watched him as he was lost in thought. His eyes flicked to mine and he forced a smile. “I’m sure Renee and Magnolia are okay.”

“I know.” I said the words, but I didn’t really feel them.

When we’d been closer to shore, I’d tried calling my mom. Her phone had gone straight to voicemail. I was desperate to warn her about Levi. I wanted to share what Finola and Alex had told us. I left a brief message, warning her to be careful and to watch out for our former guest. I didn’t dare say more in a voicemail.

Tristan had called Cecily to check in with her. She’d also tried to call my mom earlier, to let her know about Levi. She had the same luck I did. She assured Tristan that it was because she didn’t want to be disturbed.

Cecily was probably right.

I tried to be optimistic. I hoped that if we couldn’t find Mom, or get a hold of her, that meant that Levi wouldn’t be able to either. She’d been gone for hours and hours by now. I wasn’t sure where she was headed or how long of a drive it was, but it was possible that she was already at Myra’s. It was also possible that Magnolia’s powers were already stripped.

My emotions teeter tottered between relief and sadness. I hoped that Magnolia was young enough, and that her gift of spirit was new enough, that she wouldn’t miss it. Most of all, I hoped that she would understand it was for the best.

Until I heard from Mom, it was impossible not to worry.

“Are you sure Cecily will be okay?” I asked. “What if Levi comes back?”

“I don’t think he will. He’ll probably keep an eye on the place to see if your family shows up, but I don’t think he’ll bother Grandma. And if he does, Grandma was brewing up a potion that would knock him on his ass the second he came through the door.”

He said it with confidence but I knew it was for my benefit. He loved his grandma. They were close and always had been. I knew he had to be as worried about her as I was about my family. The only consolation was that Levi had no business with Cecily. She wasn’t the one he was after. It seemed unlikely he’d waste his time with her.

“I do wish that your mom was answering her phone, though. I’d feel better if we were able to warn her,” he admitted.

“What really frustrates me,” I started, “is Councilwoman Lebeau’s attitude. She totally blew Mom off.”

“You heard Fin. She didn’t want people to panic.”

“I know,” I argued. “But Mom wasn’t just someone off the street. She had a legitimate reason to be concerned. The Councilwoman shouldn’t have shut her out like that.”

“On the other hand,” Tristan said, “Renee obviously didn’t pay much attention to what Lebeau said. She’s taking precautions anyway.”

I blew out an agitated sigh. “I know. But I still think it was a bad idea for her to keep Mom in the dark like that. She could have told her in confidence. Or something! She should’ve said
something
.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I can’t disagree. I don’t think she handled that situation the best.”

“Magnolia’s name was at the top of the list,” I said. I couldn’t stop myself from obsessing about it.

“I know,” Tristan quietly replied.

“It wasn’t crossed off.”

I had been gazing out at the water but when he didn’t respond, I swung my gaze back to him. His face was dimly lit by the cabin light. I realized he hadn’t answered because there really wasn’t anything to say. He knew that I already knew why.

“He still wants her,” I said with a sigh.

“Yeah,” he finally said, “I think you’re right.”

“I don’t understand why he didn’t take her right away. He had every opportunity.” I cringed, remembering the day he came into the kitchen giving Magnolia a piggy back ride. “He was alone with her at least once. Probably more than that.”

“Maybe he’s not ready for her yet. It could be that he’s waiting until she fully comes into her talent. Or it could be that he’s waiting for her to be older. If that’s the case, she might be perfectly safe. It might be prudent to let word get out that she’s had her gift stripped. If that gets back to Levi, most likely he’d lose all interest in her,” Tristan suggested.

I drummed my fingers over my knee. “True.”

“Most likely it won’t come to that. If The Council wants him, they should find him well before he becomes a threat to your sister,” he confidently said.

“I feel like that’s a lot of ifs. If they find Levi. If they find Bree. If they find Jude. If The Council does their job.” I shook my head. “I know they aren’t really Bree and Jude. Not anymore. But it’s hard not to think of them that way.”

“I know,” Tristan agreed.

I leaned back in my seat. It was getting late but I was hesitant to check out the cabin. It didn’t look very big. It sure didn’t look big enough for Tristan and me, both.

“You know,” I said, “you didn’t have to stay with me. I could’ve gone with Fin. Or I could’ve stayed here by myself.”

He scoffed. “No way am I leaving you alone with a maniac like Levi Devane on the loose. I’m just not. So until he’s caught, you’re stuck with me.”

“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure how much help he would be, but it was nice to not be alone.

I glanced up at the black sky that spread out over the top of us. It was speckled with glittering stars. Any other night, I would’ve enjoyed the sight. Right now, I just wished it were morning. That way we would be one day closer to having everything figured out. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head. I was exhausted but I was never going to get to sleep tonight if I couldn’t get my thoughts out of overdrive.

My heart stuttered when Tristan’s finger lightly traced the scar on my elbow. I’d gotten it years ago when I fell out of a tree.

“I remember the day you got this.” His finger lazily slid across it. I didn’t even think he was aware. Me? I was hyper-aware. Every cell in my body sparked at his touch.

The last few days, he’d been giving me so many mixed signals. He had to know how he affected me. Didn’t he? It was Tristan, who bordered on socially awkward most of the time. So maybe he didn’t know.

“Sorry,” I muttered, “but you can’t…please don’t do that.” I gently pushed his hand away.

He looked at me, startled.

“Just…don’t,” I said. I slid off the chair to put some space between us.

“What’s wrong?” He seemed so clueless, probably because he was.

A bitter laugh slipped out. “What
isn’t
wrong? That’s what you should be asking. I just need some space from you.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?” I did not want to be having this conversation on a boat. I had nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.

He hung his head before looking at me again. “You’re still mad. I get it.”

“Mad? I was never mad, not really,” I said in surprise.

He shook his head in confusion. “Then what…?”

“For someone so smart, you really are an idiot,” I said. I felt a storm of tears brewing behind my eyes. Of course I did. They always came at the most inopportune time. “You just don’t get it, do you? When you’re around, I can barely breathe. It’s like all of the air has been sucked out of the room.” Now that this little bundle of truth had been opened, I couldn’t seem to stop it from spilling forth. “Tristan, it hurts to be around you.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Well, now you do. And I wish like hell that you didn’t because now that it’s all out there, things have changed. I wish I could take it back, stuff it back into some small, tightly locked emotional box, but I can’t. I think it’s pretty clear how I feel about you. You’ve made it clear how you feel about me. Obviously, our feelings don’t mesh. So let’s do each other a favor and not talk about this anymore. Like, ever.”

“Sammy, you have to understand something. I never thought you’d feel that way about me.” He sounded truly baffled.

“Well, I do,” I said in frustration.

“Do…or did?” He leaned back and a thoughtful look crossed his face. It was the same look he got when he found something really interesting in a textbook. It wasn’t a bad look. It was just so very…
Tristan
.

“What do you think?”

“You do.” He said the words cautiously. They came out sounding like more of a question than a statement. “Though I really don’t understand why. No one’s ever had a crush on me before.” His bafflement turned to bewilderment.

A crush? If he’d reacted this badly to thinking I had a crush on him, he’d probably really lose it if he knew how deep my feelings really ran.

“I’m sorry for everything I said the night…” He faded off, as if he needed a moment to get the words out. “The night you kissed me. I said things I never should’ve said. I panicked. I went overboard. I didn’t mean any of it. Except for the gorgeous girl bit, I meant that.”

I walked over to the side of the boat, turning my back to him. I wasn’t normally so emotional. I’d never been a crier. The last few weeks had been wearing me down. Ever since the day that Tristan had leveled my heart. He was making things worse by trying to put it back together again. It was almost more than I could take.

The reflection of the silver moon shimmered, reflecting, radiating out from the ebony water. The only sound from here was the soft caressing of waves as they hit the side of the boat.

“What can I do to make this easier?” Tristan asked.

I shrugged but didn’t turn to face him. “Stay away from me,” I said softly.

His voice came from right over my shoulder. “I don’t think I can do that.”

He wasn’t touching me but he was close. I was so tempted to lean back into him. I was sure that he’d let me but that would only leave me wanting more. I wanted to simply enjoy the sensation of being near him.

What a conundrum. I wanted to be closer to him every bit as badly as I wished he’d stay away.

To my horror, I felt a tear slide down my face. I hastily wiped it away.

“Hey,” Tristan said, “everything is going to be okay.”

He pulled me into a hug before I had the sense to dodge him. His kindness set loose the tears I’d been trying to hold back.

I realized the absurdity of the moment. I was crying all over Tristan, soaking his chest with my tears. I was crying all over him…because of him. Ridiculous. I needed to pull myself together.

Daphne probably had the right idea all along. Flitting from boy to boy, never getting too attached to anyone. Daphne had never suffered a broken heart.

“I’m not
just
crying over you,” I said defiantly. “I’m worried about Magnolia. And I’m upset about Bree and Jude. I didn’t know either of them well but what happened, it was awful. There’s just so much going on. And none of it is good.”

He brushed a lock of tear-soaked hair off of my face. “I know.” As he continued to stroke my hair, it was hard not to slip into a momentary fantasy, one where things were so much different. Where everything was okay and where Tristan had his arms around me because he wanted them there, not out of guilt or concern, or whatever this was.  I plucked myself out of that fantasy almost immediately. It was a dangerous place, emotionally, for me to be.

My emotions were playing tug of war. Caged inside of Tristan’s arms I felt safe, yet so insecure.

“When this mess is over, when we know Magnolia is safe, I think you and I need to talk,” Tristan said.

I tilted my head away from him. “We have all night. We can talk now.” Might as well get it over with, right?

He got a faraway look on his face. “I don’t even know where to start.”

I backed up another inch or so. “Tristan, what’s this about?”

“My feelings for you are…complicated,” he admitted. “You are the last person on this earth that I’d ever want to hurt. I love you like you’re family. You mean a lot to me.”

I slid my hands down his chest, giving myself some leverage so I could push away completely. Family? Did he mean he loved me like a sister? Is that why he’d freaked out?

“I wish I could explain it better,” he said.

I shook my head. I didn’t think I really wanted to hear it. I’d probably traumatized him with that kiss, what with his brotherly feelings and all. “No, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. There are…things I need to explain to you. I just don’t think that right now is the time or place.”

I pushed a smile onto my face. “No problem. I can wait.” In fact, I could probably wait forever. I ducked out of his arms and moved back to the railing again. This time, a light off in the distance grabbed my attention. It was definitely on the water. And definitely headed our way. Any other night I wouldn’t give it much thought. Tonight, it just seemed wrong. My body broke out in chills. My instincts told me that evil was drawing near. It wasn’t that long ago that my mom had said we should always trust our instincts.

I glanced at Tristan. He was frowning as he looked across the water too. He moved closer to me until we were standing side by side at the railing.