The Last Keeper (44 page)

Still, Lizzy’s maturing shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. Her partner was a Were, one who was damned hard to kill at that. It had been unexpected, but it was a pleasant surprise.

“Serenity!” someone called.

I was stuck in the basement again, as if I didn’t spend enough time poring over various books. It wasn’t unusual for someone to have to drag me out for dinner or other events.

“I’m in the basement,” I answered.
 

“Could you come up here, please?”

It was Jayne calling me, but I heard the excitement in her voice. I thought there must have been another surprise visitor I had to see.

I was wrong.

Everyone stood in the hall. Jayne, Lizzy and Martin, Poppy and Issac. Even Al and Leola were standing there, excited. They all were off to the sides, smiling brightly. Only Jayne’s smile wasn’t as wide as the others. It held a sad edge, and I smiled softly in return.
 

Ray stood in the middle of them, dashing in a pristine suit. He was shifting nervously, with his hands clasped behind his back, but he was smiling as brightly as the others.

“What’s going on?”
 

Ray walked over to me, took my hand, and got down on one knee. “I wanted to do this the first time I asked, but it was somewhat difficult,” he told me. “I was also going to use the same words, but I don’t think they fit anymore.”

“Ray . . .”

“Helen was kind enough to tell me where you’d put this when I told her what I had planned.” He pulled the ring out of his pocket and slipped it onto my finger. “I never told you the story behind this ring. It’s my grandmother’s, but it wasn’t the first one she had. She and my grandfather were walking home one night when they were accosted. The muggers took everything, including her wedding ring. They couldn’t afford another one, so all of their friends and neighbours gathered every penny they could spare and they bought her this. It’s not the same, but she treasured it every day. I wanted to give it to you because you remind me so much of the wonderful thing that they did for her. You are one of a kind, Serenity Cardea, and I would be honoured if I could call you my wife.”

I was too stunned to answer right away. It was all too much to take in. My smiling family, Ray’s touching words. It took a conscious effort to force the words out of my mouth, but it was well worth it.
 

“Yes,” I whispered. “It was always going to be yes.”

“Explain to me why I just walked away from my
husband,
” I growled into my phone when it rang. “And
damn it,
if there isn’t a
bloody
good explanation, I’m turning this car around.”

   
“Some of the records are missing.”

Slamming on the brakes, I came to a screaming stop at the side of the road.

“
What?
”

“Some of the records are missing.”

It took me a second to process Lizzy’s words. “How in the hell are some of the
records
missing?”

Our entire race was in there. Everything. Everyone. Every place we had ever been and every place we currently were. Everything we had ever done. The explicit details of everything we were capable of.

How we forged The Seats. The details of what we did to maintain their power.

Everything.

If someone had taken the records . . .

“Take a deep breath, Aunt Sere.”

“Lizzy, now is
not
a good time to tell me what to do. Explain to me how someone managed to get past you
and
the entire colony of Cats to get to the records in the first place.” They should have been secure there.

Our whole history was in those records.

“We weren’t home,” she whispered. “We were up at the colony celebrating the newest Cats.
We weren’t home.
”

Though it was clear she was beating herself up for not being there when it happened, I couldn’t focus on that. “What’s missing?”

“All of them.” She whimpered, her voice shaking. “Every family tree we have. Every single one.”

Time stopped. “What?”

“They’re all gone.”

“They can’t be.
Not all of them.
”

Missing histories wouldn’t be a big problem. They could be replaced. They weren’t essential. Even the details of all of the gifts we had been blessed with over the years could be replaced. They weren’t needed. The family trees?
That was what would wipe us out.

It was a simple enough decision, but one that I did not take lightly. Once the words were out of my mouth, there was no turning back. “Move everyone.”