Embraced (The Eternal Balance #2)(33)
“Several whens, actually,” Michael said. “In order to understand the situation in which you currently find yourself, and those who wish to control your power, you must first understand your place in the scheme of things. Both of you. You must fully understand that each choice you make from this point potentially carries the weight of the world.”
The weight of the world? I couldn’t even manage to wash the dishes or pay the cable bill on time. “And what do we have to do, exactly?”
“Simply sit down and close your eyes. I will do the rest.”
I looked at Jax. Brows lowered in a scowl, he narrowed his eyes at our new friend. I knew just how he felt. I wasn’t thrilled with this idea, either. But this was the condition. If we didn’t do it, Michael wouldn’t help us remove the cuff. If the cuff wasn’t removed, it would kill me. Jax hadn’t admitted it outright, but I knew. Killing Malphi would be impossible. He insisted Azi would fight him, but the truth was far worse than that—the demon would never allow its mate to be killed. That meant Chase would never take the cuff off—or worse, he’d use it as a bargaining chip like Heckle said. I could feel it, getting tighter around my skin, constricting to suffocate out everything that I was.
No. This was our best chance. And if in the process we got answers to some of the questions Heckle refused to answer? That would be a bonus. “Okay,” I said. “Okay, we’ll do it.”
I waited for Jax to argue, but he simply took a seat next to me, the rock that he’d always been, and slipped his hand into mine.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Now,” Michael said with an eerie grin. He snapped his fingers. “It’s show time.”
A rush of panic rose like a tidal wave inside me. Out of nowhere, my eyelids grew leaden, and I felt as though my head had gained twenty pounds. It was far too heavy to keep up. I let it fall back against the cushion, and there was a sudden flash of white before everything went dark. Moments later, the light returned, but I wasn’t on the couch with Jax anymore. Michael was gone, too.
I was alone.
“Jax,” I called, worry bubbling up in the pit of my stomach. “Jax, where are you?”
There was no answer. I turned in the other direction and found myself in a familiar setting. Kelly and Rick’s houses sat twenty feet away, side by side, but something about them was off. Newer, I realized after a moment of staring. Less worn than they’d been yesterday. The Flynn house was the same horrible shade of mustard yellow it’d been when I’d moved in with Kelly. They’d repainted it blue when I was fourteen.
While I didn’t want to move forward without Jax, the chances of me finding him standing still were slim. I hurried across the street. It was dark out, and the stars shone bright and clear from a cloudless sky. Judging from the trees and flowerbeds, it was sometime in the late spring or early summer. Next door, Kelly’s rose bush was in bloom. She’d loved that smelly thing and had been crushed when the mailman backed over it six years ago.
I crept up to the Flynn house and stepped onto the porch. The door was open a few inches. I moved to slip inside, but something at the corner of the house caught my attention. A small dark haired boy was making his way into the backyard. I decided to follow.
He walked around the house, then settled on the picnic table between the two houses. I held my breath. He was looking straight ahead, but didn’t seem to see me. It made me braver. I held my breath and moved closer, stopping right beside the table. To be sure, I waved my hand in front of his face. Nothing.
The little boy pulled something out of his pocket. A small green thing. A turtle. He placed it on the table, then folded both feet beneath him and looked over at the house next door. Kelly’s house.
How had I not realized it right away? Jax. This was Jax. I’d never known of him having a pet turtle, though. At first I assumed it was before I’d come to live with Kelly, but movement in the window upstairs next door squashed that theory.
Jax sighed. “That’s her, Harvey,” he said, still looking up at the window. “Mrs. Merrick’s niece. She moved in today, after they buried her parents.” He looked down at the turtle as it slowly crawled across the table. “She’s like me and Chase. An orphan.”
The turtle got close to the edge, and Jax gingerly picked him up and set him back in the middle before resuming his inspection. “I met her today. Sorta. We didn’t talk or anything. She was sad. I liked her, though. She’s different. A lot like me.” He sniffled then let out a long breath. “Only not bad like I am. I heard what Dad said, Harvey. That I shouldn’t be allowed to live.” Another sniffle.
Jesus Christ. What the hell kind of person says something like that to a child? Jax never spoke much about his parents. He said he didn’t remember them, and that Rick had been the only father he’d ever known. After they’d died, he and Chase had been sent to live with Rick. The pain in his voice was far too much for a young boy, and the look in his eyes, a familiar spark of self-deprecation, made my heart hurt for him.
“I don’t wanna be bad, Harvey. I want to be her friend. She’s alone. I can tell. So am I,” he said. Fat tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, spilling over to roll down his cheeks. “But Dad said I have to. I’m bad and I don’t have a choice.” He sniffled once more, then swiped his eyes with the heel of his hand. A twist of determination showed in the hitch of his lip.