Not Your Average Happy Ending (12 page)

Kendall

To say I was exhausted was really putting it lightly. I hurt everywhere. The second I set my feet on the ground the next morning, my balance was thrown off. I almost fell over when I tried to stand up, and hung onto my dresser for support.

Stupid Dax. Stupid knife. Stupid curse. And stupid me for going running by myself that night.

I wasn’t about to admit to Ash how awful I felt. My body was starting to ache all the time and I was so tired. I could probably sleep all day if I wanted to, but I told myself I wouldn’t get to that point. Even if it meant dragging myself out of bed every day. Which was starting to happen more often.

I sent Ash a text and he said he’d be over after work. I chuckled. He hadn’t been to work forever. He could talk his way out of anything and his boss loved him. I swear he could take all the time off he wanted without using any magic on him. Or maybe he had used some magic on him. I’d have to ask him about that.

My stomach growled. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. I made it to the door, my legs weak and shaky. I stopped by the bathroom and splashed some water on my face to wake myself up. It didn’t help. I was still beat. When I looked in the mirror, I was surprised at how different I looked. My features were sharper than I remembered. More boney. I had lost a little weight, but I didn’t think it was that much. I decided not to step on the scale to find out. I took one last look at myself and went to get some breakfast.

I passed Ellie on my way downstairs. She looked as horrible as I did.

“Morning,” I said.

She walked by me, not looking in my direction. “Hi,” she mumbled.

I grabbed her arm, nearly falling down the stairs as I did so. She didn’t seem to notice. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” She pulled away from me and I watched her walk in her bedroom and close the door.

I stood there, staring at her door for the longest time. She never acted like this. So sullen and distant. She was my best friend. We told each other everything. I couldn’t figure it out. She was clearly not herself. The old Ellie was always looking in the mirror to make sure her hair was in place and her makeup perfect. This Ellie didn’t care. She barely glanced in the mirror anymore. The dark circles under her eyes proved she wasn’t sleeping well, but why? What would keep her up all night like that?

I sucked in a breath. 

I thought back to before Ash and I had gotten together, to the night when Dax entered my dreams and gave me nightmares from my own memories. It made perfect sense.

Her not sleeping well and the way she wanted to see my necklace a few days earlier and got defensive and mad when I told her no.

It was Dax. It had to be. Dax was the reason she was acting strange. He was using her to get to me. To the necklace. That meant he wasn’t looking for Ash at all. It also meant he had been in my house.

He had been in my house.

I bolted up the stairs and stumbled into Ellie’s room, not bothering to knock. The door slammed into the wall and I cringed as a picture frame fell and hit the ground with a crack. I reached over and picked it up, making sure it wasn’t broken.

“Kendall, what are you doing in here?” She sat on her bed, and shoved something under her pillow when I came in. I didn’t ask her what it was. Not yet.

“I need to talk to you.” I hung the picture back on the wall and turned toward her.

She sighed. “Can’t it wait until later? I’m kind of tired.”

“No. It can’t.”

“Kendall, just give me an hour. I need a nap.”

I took a few steps toward her, staring her right in the eyes. “It’s about Dax.”

Her whole body went rigid and then she let out a breath and relaxed. “Who?” She avoided my eyes and became really interested in her cell phone.

“Dax. Don’t pretend like you don’t know who he is. I know what’s going on. Why you’re not sleeping. He’s a sandman, Ellie. He’s using you to get to me. I’m guessing through your dreams. Or nightmares.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stood and turned away from me, throwing her cell on the bed. She walked to the window and looked out, completely ignoring me.

“Yes, you do. I know for a fact you do.” I grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face me, throwing myself off balance in the process. After my head stopped spinning, I focused on her again. “Stay away from him, El. I mean it.”

Her eyes narrowed and she ripped her arm out of my grasp. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“He’s dangerous.”

She took a step back. “Stop it.”

I reached for her again. “El—”

“I said, stop it, Kendall!” She was breathing hard, her eyes wide. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, I do!”

“How? How could you possibly know anything about him?”

“I know he tried to kill me!”

Her mouth dropped open and her face paled. “No. You’re lying. He wouldn’t do something like that.” She folded her arms and shrank back against the wall.

“He would.”

“Stop making him sound like a bad guy. He’s not.”

“He stabbed me, Ellie. He
is
the bad guy.” I lifted the side of my shirt and pointed to my ugly scar. More black spiderlike veins branched out from it, almost reaching my belly button. It looked horrible. When I looked back up at her, she stared at me with a horrified expression. I reached out to comfort her, to take some of the pain away.

“He cares about me. He…” She looked around, tears filling her eyes.

“Ellie. It’s okay. Please, we can talk about this. Ash can help.”

Her eyes narrowed when I said his name and she slapped my hand away. “Don’t.”

I was so shocked by her reaction, I wasn’t sure what to say. All I could do was stand there and watch as she slipped further away from me. Into the dark.

“Get out.”

“Ellie,” I said, trying to think of something else to say to make her pain go away.

“Get out of my room.” Her voice was calm, but had an edge to it. I couldn’t describe the look on her face, but it scared me. I turned and left her alone, shutting the door behind me.

I went downstairs, trying to think of something. Anything I could do to help her. There was no way I’d lose another family member. Especially to some stupid psycho guy. What could I do though? I was a human. I couldn’t fight off a crazy djinn.

“Rough night?”

I jumped at my mom’s voice when I reached the kitchen, but managed a nod. “Yes.”

She sat at the table with a cup of orange juice and the newspaper spread out in front of her. “What was all that yelling about?”

I shrugged. “Ellie wanted to borrow my shirt and I wouldn’t let her.” I hated lying to my mom. She had no idea about magic or fairies or djinns. It was best to keep her in the dark. She’d been through too much to need anything else in her life.

“Not something you guys usually fight about. I thought you shared your clothes?”

“She ripped a hole in my last skirt, so I told her no.”

“I see.” She looked back at her newspaper as I walked past her. “I’m going out with Jason again.”

Jason. Jason. Who was Jason? I couldn’t keep track of the men my mom dated. There hadn’t been very many, I just didn’t want to know about them. I missed my dad. I couldn’t imagine her being with anyone else.

“Oh. Have fun,” I said. I pulled a toaster pastry out of the cupboard and sat down across from her. I broke off the four corners and set them on the table before taking a bite.

“You’re just like you’re dad, you know that?” I raised an eyebrow and she gestured to my toaster pastry. “He hated the corners too.”

I smiled. I’d already forgotten some of the little things he used to do.

“Kendall, about Jason. I wanted to talk to you about him.”

Oh, no.

“We’ve been dating for two months now. I want you and Ellie to meet him.”

“Mom—”

“Please, just listen. I know you miss your dad. I do too. More than I can say.” She took a deep breath. “But I need to move on. He’s not coming back and you girls need a father.”

“I already have a father.”

She sighed. “You know what I mean.”

I stood, my pastry forgotten. “I’ll meet him, if it will make you happy, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

She nodded, but I didn’t miss the moisture in her eyes.

“I think I’m going to go back to bed. I don’t feel good this morning.” I headed back upstairs, stopping only for a second by Ellie’s door. Hearing nothing—I went to my room and locked myself in.

After the mess of a morning I had, I hoped Ash would be here soon.

Ash

I appeared in Kendall’s room the second I got off work. “Where is she?” I asked.

Kendall’s worried expression met mine. “She left a few minutes ago.” I turned to leave and she grabbed my arm. “Don’t go looking for her. It will only make things worse.”

“I have to talk to her about this. She’s not safe. You’re not safe.”

“It can wait.”

“Dax is dangerous, Kendall. I can’t just—”

“Ash.” She slid her hand down my arm and squeezed my hand. “She’ll be back soon. Let her cool off. We both had a rough morning. Once she thinks about it for a bit, she’ll come home and talk to me. She always does.”

I sighed and pulled her into a hug. I knew she was worried. She was good at making it seem like everything was fine when it wasn’t. “This is all my fault. I never should have given you that necklace.”

“Don’t say that. You didn’t know it was going to cause problems.”

“I should have.”

“Ash, look at me.”

I met her eyes and shivered as she placed a hand on my cheek. “It’s not your fault. Please don’t beat yourself up about this. Again.”

“But what if something happens to you?” I blinked, trying to push the thought of losing her out of my head.

“I thought we were talking about Ellie?”

“I was. But he’s using Ellie to get to you. I know he is.”

“I’ll be fine. Right now I’m only worried about her. You’ve seen her. How crappy she looks lately. Kind of matches me, right?”

I frowned. “That’s not funny. How are you feeling today?”

She shrugged. “Been better.”

“Is your scar any worse?”

She bit her lip.

“Kendall.”

“It’s fine.”

I folded my arms and stared at her. “Show me.”

She hesitated for a second before lifting the side of her shirt up. I sucked in a breath at the sight of it.

Angry black lines covered almost her entire stomach. I reached out, tracing one that went all the way around her waist and across her lower back. They looked like the twisted branches of a dead tree. “Son of a djinn.” I cringed after I said it, since I was in fact a son of a djinn. “Does it hurt?”

“No.”

Her voice shook when she said it. She was a horrible liar.

“You need to lie down. Get some rest.”

“I’m fine, Ash.”

“No. Lie down and relax. I’ve got to find Dax, Kendall. I won’t let you…” I swallowed. I couldn’t even say it.

“I told you. I’m fine.”

“You’re getting worse.”

Her chin quivered. “I know.” She cleared her throat, attempting to stop any emotion from showing. “Can you hand me my phone?”

I grabbed it off the nightstand and handed it to her. She moved her finger around the screen for a minute or two and threw it on the bed. “I just want to make sure I don’t miss a text from Ellie. I don’t know why she’d text me, since she’s mad at me, but you never know.”

Of course she’d be more worried about Ellie than herself. She was always so selfless. “Did she say where she was going when she left?” I asked.

“No. She didn’t even say goodbye. She could be at a friend’s house or she could have gone to visit my mom at work. I doubt it though. She hates hospitals just as much as I do.”

“We’ll stay here until she gets back then.”

She grabbed my hand again. “Thanks.”

“Do you want to grab a pizza or something?”

“I’m not very hungry.”

I frowned. Was she not eating either? “I can make you something.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? You can’t even cook a grilled cheese sandwich without burning it.”

Blast. She was right. “I can have Sam come over.” I smiled at the look on her face. “Sam’s a great cook. Really. You’d never know because he’d never admit it. He’s like one of those fancy chefs on the Food Network.”

“I’d like to see that.”

“Perfect. I’ll go get him.”

***

Kendall, Sam, Misty and I sat in the kitchen a few hours later, chowing down on pasta and some kind of funky salad. I didn’t really pay attention when Sam was making it and telling us the ingredients. It was food. That’s all I cared about.

“Where’s Glade tonight?” Kendall asked.

“He doesn’t eat…well…human food,” I said.

Sam snorted. “Nope. Definitely not human food. Humans on the other hand…” I shot him a look and he smiled. “Just be glad he’s not here during dinner.”

“You’re not saying he’d eat me, are you?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Of course not,” I said. “Sam’s joking around.” I shot him a glare. If she knew everything about dragons she’d never go near Glade again.

He shrugged. “Sort of.”

I glanced at Kendall again. She’d hardly touched anything on her plate, which worried me. She liked food almost as much as I did. She caught my stare and gave me a small smile before taking a tiny bite of noodles. “This is really good, Sam. Ash was right. You’re a great cook.”

He puffed up his chest and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Where did you learn to cook like this?” Misty asked. She had been quiet most of the evening, but her eyes had hardly left Sam. I wish they’d stop being stupid and get together already. I knew Sam was practically in love with her, since he never stopped talking about her.

“A chef never reveals his secrets,” Sam said.

“Oh, give me a break,” I said, laughing. I finished off my plate and put my dish in the sink. It was nice not worrying about anything for a moment. We all needed a good laugh.

“I think it’s the boys turn to clean up the dishes,” Kendall said. “What do you think Misty?”

She nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“Not a problem,” I said, waving my hand. The water in the sink turned on and the scrubber came to life. When the dishes had been scrubbed, the dishwasher opened and all the dishes and silverware flew inside. I looked over at Kendall and grinned.

“Not even fair,” she said. “I should have said no magic.”

“That’s no fun,” I said.

“You big cheater.”

“It’s not cheating if there aren’t any rules.”

Kendall laughed and pulled out her phone again. I’m sure she was checking to see if Ellie had texted her. She frowned and stuck it back in her pocket.

The doorbell rang then and Kendall started to get up.

“I’ll get it,” I said, and headed to the front door. I practically lived at their house anyway. I put on my best smile as I pulled the door open. I was not prepared for who was on the other side.

“Hello, Ash.”

Dax’s face was smudged with dirt and his clothes were filthy. He looked like he had just finished running one of those races where you trudge through piles of mud.

After my initial shock wore off, I was able to speak. “What are you doing here?” I sounded in control, but inside I was ready to snap.

His golden eyes met mine and he let out a huge sigh. “I need your help.”

“You want
my
help?” My body shook with rage. Like I was going to help a loser like him.

He must have noticed my shaking because he backed away, his hands up. “Ash, calm down. Just let me—”

I didn’t calm down. I took a step forward and punched him in the face. It was probably a stupid thing to do, but I just reacted. He dropped to the ground as blood poured out of his nose. I picked him up by the front of his shirt. “Ash, wait!” he cried. I clenched my jaw and made a fist again. I swore to myself I’d kill him if I ever got the chance. This was my chance. But I needed something first. The one thing that could save Kendall’s life. “Where’s the knife you son of a djinn? Give it to me.”

He held up his hands. “I don’t have it!”

“I swear to you, if you don’t tell me where it is, I’ll kill you myself.”

His dark eyes widened and I felt satisfaction from the fear he obviously felt. The tables had turned. He knew I would hurt him. I could see it in his eyes. “I swear, I don’t have it.”

“Stop!”

I turned around, still hanging onto Dax’s shirt, surprised to see Kendall standing between Sam and Misty. They both had their hands up like they were going to shoot spells at me.

“Put him down,” Kendall said, slowly.

I stared at her. Was she really asking me to let him go? After all he’d done? He didn’t deserve to go free just like that.

“Ash,” she said, more forceful this time. “Put. Him. Down.”

That’s when I noticed the mini tornado that had wrapped around Dax’s body and was holding him off the ground in front of me. I thought it was just my strength, but I knew I wasn’t that strong to hold him up by his shirt for that long. I calmed my emotions and he floated back to the ground, his shirt still clutched in my hand. I stared at him, amazed at the resemblance between us. I never noticed it before.

“Ash.” Kendall whispered. “Let him go.”

“I. Can’t.” The rage kept hold of me. I couldn’t let him go. I couldn’t.

“Ash.” She touched my shoulder. “Your eyes are changing.”

For a moment, all I wanted to do was hurt him. To make him feel pain like Kendall did. But after seeing the way she was looking at me, I knew I’d never do that. She looked like she was afraid. Not of Dax, but of me. And I never wanted her to look at me like that again. I let go of Dax and he stumbled backward into the wall.

Kendall grabbed my hand. Her nails dug into my skin, but I ignored it. She was scared and I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. I wanted her to know I could control my power. I wouldn’t lose control like that again.

“What do you want?” I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check. I could still feel my magic swirling inside of me, but I wouldn’t release it.

Dax sniffed and wiped his bleeding nose with his sleeve. “I told you. I need your help. You’re not the first person I would have chosen for the task, but I thought you’d be the best, since it has to do with you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s about Ellie.” His eyes widened and he backed into the wall again as I took a step forward.

“What about her?”

He glanced at Kendall and hesitated. “She’s in trouble.”

“What?” Kendall let go of my hand and got right into Dax’s face. “Where is she? Where is my sister?”

I didn’t want to admit it, but Dax didn’t look like his usual self. He actually looked concerned.

“Where is she?” Kendall yelled.

He hesitated and glanced at me. “With Linkin.”