Not Your Average Happy Ending (3 page)

Leif smiled. “I know what you mean.” He got to his feet, gave my shoulder a squeeze and left the room.

I thought about Sam’s mom. Since she was human, she wasn’t allowed in our world, but Leif was still with her. He stayed with her most of the time, but occasionally came back to our world to be with Sam. I was thankful he was here. Who knows what would have happened if he wouldn’t have been.

“So, what are we going to do about Dax?”

I looked over at Sam. I’d forgotten he was there. My temper flared. I’d never wanted to hurt someone so much in my entire life than in that moment. “I’m going to hunt him down and tear him to pieces.”

“Let me at least have one piece,” he said, coming to sit next to me.

Misty came and joined us then, taking a seat next to Sam. Her face was red and her eyes puffy.

Sam nudged her. “You okay?”

She nodded and gave him half a smile. “I’m just glad she’s alright.”

He frowned. “What I don’t get, is why Dax wanted Kendall’s necklace so bad.”

I shrugged. “I gave it to her for her birthday a few months ago. It was my mom’s. I didn’t think there was anything special about it, other than it’s the only thing I have of hers.”

“And you gave it to Kendall?” Misty asked. “That is
so
romantic.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “I guess.”

I ignored them both. “Once Kendall wakes up, I’m taking her home and then going to find Dax.”

“I’m coming with you,” Sam said. I started shaking my head, but he wouldn’t have it. “Dude. There is no freaking way you’re going after him by yourself. What if he goes all djinn and sandstorms you again like he did at that prom thingy? You need me.”

I let out a breath and didn’t answer.

“If you want, I could keep an eye on Kendall,” Misty said. “I don’t have anything to do. I could even go to school with her. I want to make sure Dax doesn’t come after her again while you’re gone.”

“Are you sure Misty? I don’t want to put you out.”

“I’m serious. I’d be happy to stay with her.”

“Dax is dangerous.”

She snorted. “I’ll be fine. I’m sure he’s long gone by now, so we’ll be safe.”

Sam jumped to his feet. “Well, it’s settled then. Let’s do this!”

“We’re not leaving tonight, Sam. Go get some sleep. We’ll leave tomorrow or as soon as Kendall’s able.”

Kendall

I woke to the sound of rain tinkling against the window. I looked around, surprised to be in my own room. Faces and voices swirled around in my head. The past few hours had been a blur.

Or had it all been a dream?

My shaky hands inched my shirt up and I sucked in a breath as my fingers traced the raised scar on my stomach. Great. Another scar. So it hadn’t been a dream. I knew the pain I’d felt had to have been real.

“Kendall?”

I sat up, tears coming to my eyes as Ash made his way toward me in the darkness. He sat on the edge of my bed and I wrapped my arms around him. He held me as I sobbed into his shoulder. He said nothing, just rubbed my back as I cried. I didn’t want to move. I felt so safe in his arms.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “I’m here.”

That was the thing I loved most about Ash. He was always there. Always.

It took me a while, but I finally pulled away and turned my lamp on. “Sorry,” I said.

“Don’t be sorry.”

I glanced at the clock next to my bed. Three in the morning. I sniffed and Ash produced some tissues out of nowhere. He handed me the whole box. I blew my nose, which sounded horrible, but I couldn’t have snot running down my face. When I was done, I sat my tissues on the night stand and looked at him again. He looked as exhausted as I felt. “How long have you been here?”

He shrugged. “Awhile. I’ve been dozing in your bean bag. I wanted to be here when you woke up. I hope you don’t mind.”

I shook my head. “Not at all.” I paused, my fingers tracing my scar again. “Does my mom know anything? Ellie?”

“No. Misty used a small spell on them. Made them think you went to bed early because you didn’t feel well. They knew not to bother you.”

Of course. How would they explain Dax to my mom? “What did happen, Ash? How am I still…alive?”

He hesitated and took a shaky breath. “When I found you…you were…” He shook his head, not meeting my eyes. “I took you to my world. It was the only thing I could think of. Sam’s dad healed you.”

I swallowed. All I remembered was someone with green eyes. And the pain. I’d never forget the pain. “And Dax?”

Ash stiffened. “What about him?”

“Do you know where he is?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Do you think he’ll—”

He grabbed my hands. “No. I won’t let him hurt you again. I’ll kill him if I have to.” A breeze blew through the room, though the window wasn’t open. I put a hand on Ash’s arm and he relaxed, the wind subsiding.

“I can’t control it.” He stared at his hands. “When I’m angry or upset, the djinn part of me takes over. I’m not sure what to do about it.”

I grabbed his hand and traced the back of it with my finger. I knew he didn’t want to talk about Dax again, but something about the whole thing was bothering me. “Do you know why Dax hurt me?”

“Kendall—”

“He wanted my necklace. Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“He said I had to give it to him. He couldn’t just take it from me.”

Ash reached out and fingered the blue stone. “Huh. It’s warm. Which means it’s enchanted somehow, but how did I not know that before? It’s not something you can miss that easily. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention.” He frowned. “And if I didn’t notice it was enchanted, how would Dax know? I didn’t even think he knew about it.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“What do you mean—it’s enchanted?” I knew something was different, since it was warm to the touch. And it helped me remember Ash after I made my last wish. Not to mention the voice I’d heard after Dax stabbed me. I wasn’t about to tell Ash I was hearing voices though. He’d think I was crazy.

“I don’t know, but if Dax wants it then we have a problem. I don’t want you anywhere near the necklace. Why don’t you give it to me? I’ll keep it safe and then Dax will leave you alone.”

“But—”

“Kendall. I won’t have you getting hurt again or worse over a stupid necklace.”

“It’s not stupid.” I didn’t want to give it back, since I was so used to wearing it, but I decided to listen to him. It would be better if he had it. I reached back to undo the clasp, and couldn’t find it. Again. I pulled the chain around to see every part of it and the clasp had disappeared.

“What the…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“The clasp is gone. And it’s too small to fit over my head.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Well, it has to come off somehow. Let me try something.” He said something under his breath and I felt the chain heat before growing cold again. He did several more spells, but finally sat back looking confused.

“It has some kind of spell on it. A powerful one. I can’t break it.”

“The spell or the necklace?”

“Both.” He frowned as if deep in thought. After a while, he pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it. “You need to sleep. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.” He tried to stand, but I pulled him back down.

“Please,” I begged. “Don’t leave me. What if he…” I trailed off, blinking back my tears.

Ash touched my cheek. “He won’t. And I won’t leave you.”

I scooted over so he could join me on the bed. He pulled the covers up around my chin and made sure I was comfy before lying down next to me. I could feel his heat through the blankets and tried to keep my head clear. His arm came around me and I snuggled up against him.

“This can’t become a habit of yours.” His breath tickled my ear. “I may be respectful, but I’m still a guy.”

I chuckled. If he only knew what
I
was thinking. “Just for tonight,” I said.

His body shook as he laughed and he kissed the top of my head. “I’m not saying I couldn’t get used to it. I’m just saying your mom would kill me if she knew I was in here with you.”

“Yep. She would.” I snuggled closer.

“Not helping,” he said.

“Sorry.” I blushed.

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek. “I love you, Kendall Corrigan.”

I really wanted his lips to find mine, but that would probably lead to other things…so all I could do was smile. “I love you too, Ash.”

Ash

It had been a week since Kendall’s incident and I hadn’t left her side. Besides her sleeping and showering and all that fun stuff. I was getting antsy. The urge to find and beat the crap out of Dax haunted me all the time. I was starting to get obsessed, and I’m pretty sure Kendall was worried about me. She tried to take my mind off of it, but it was always there. Simmering under the surface. I had to find him—and fast. Before he went into hiding and disappeared. Or got to Kendall again.

Kendall’s senior year started in a few days and I was pretty sure she’d be too distracted by school to notice me being gone. I wanted to make sure she’d be okay though. I worried about her safety. Especially since she still wore the necklace. We’d tried everything to get it off, but it wouldn’t break. I had to figure out why it was so important. It was driving me crazy.

A dog ran past us chasing a Frisbee and I had the urge to stop it with my magic and fling it the other way. Pretty sure that would be a little obvious at a park though. Too many witnesses.

I turned my attention to Misty and Kendall, who were discussing their new “friendship.” Misty had volunteered to go to school with her every day. She seemed way too excited about the idea of going to a human school, but if she would be there to protect Kendall, I was grateful.

“What am I going to say when people ask me how I know you?” Kendall asked Misty.

“I met you over the summer and we became really good friends. I live a few blocks away…” Misty looked at me and I shrugged. “We’ll figure out where I’m supposed to live later.” She snorted. “Like anyone will ask anyway.”

Sam chuckled and Misty raised an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, so now that you’re all registered for high school, let’s focus on finding Dax,” Sam said. “No offense. I know you’re super excited to pretend to be a human.” Misty glared at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve heard Dax is somewhere in Washington. Or so my sources tell me.”

“Your sources?” I asked, smiling.

“I’ve asked a few people to keep an eye on weird weather and a dude dressed in a black cloak. Not too hard to find if you’re looking for it.”

I was pretty sure Dax didn’t wear a black cloak all the time, but whatever. “Okay, go on.”

“Anyway, my buddy in Washington says that some strange crap is going on with the weather up there. Funnel clouds, things that aren’t normally seen. It’s freaking the meteorologists’ right out, since they always think they know everything.” He laughed. “Weathermen. A funny breed indeed.”

I laughed. If Sam wasn’t a time keeper, I was pretty sure he’d be an excellent weatherman. “We’ll start there, then.”

“Wait,” Kendall said. “Aren’t there…you know…vampires up that way?”

Sam chuckled and she gave him a dark look.

I stared at her, my lips twitching. She was serious. What was with girls and their fascination with monsters? “Don’t you mean vampires and werewolves?”

She nodded.

I laughed. “You’ve been reading too many books. Vampires and werewolves don’t exist. That’s ridiculous.”

She frowned and folded her arms. “Says my half-fairy, half-genie boyfriend.”

Sam burst out laughing and reached out to give her a high five. “Dude, your girlfriend is awesome.”

“Yes. She’s quite hilarious,” I said, dryly.

“Speaking of half-fairies,” Sam said. “What’s up with your wings?”

I froze and avoided Kendall’s eyes. I knew he’d bring it up, but I didn’t think it would be in front of everyone.

“Wings? Your wings are back?” she asked.

“Sam...” I started. He had such a big mouth.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I let out an exasperated breath. “I didn’t want to tell anyone, okay? I woke up with them a few days ago and about had a panic attack. I don’t know why they’re back. I don’t know how to get rid of them, and I really don’t want to talk about it.” I was breathing hard and staring all three of them down.

“Wow. Someone has issues,” Misty mumbled.

Kendall ignored her and put a hand on my arm. “Ash, you should have told me.”

I frowned. “I couldn’t. You know how I feel about wings.”

“Oh, please. They’re not that bad. I’ve told you this how many times before. I think they’re beautiful.”

“I know! That’s the problem. It’s just…I was getting used to
not
having wings, and they came back out of nowhere. I was pissed. Still am. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I understand,” she said. “I’d love to see them again though. I think they’re sexy.”

I grunted and folded my arms. “Sure they are.”

Sam chuckled. “Are they pink this time? I know how much you love pink.” He patted me on the arm. “Will you teach me how to fly? I guess I can’t randomly grow a pair of wings though. That would be awkward. What kind of guy has wings anyway?”

I rounded on him and thrust out my hand. His eyes widened as a gust of wind picked him up and flung him into the tree we stood under.

He dangled a few feet above us, his arms wrapped around a thick branch. “Not cool, man. Not cool.”

I smiled. “You asked me to teach you how to fly, so there you go.”