Keeper(96)

Lainey.

The familiar voice was barely audible, and I wasn’t sure if my subconscious had made it up or not. I looked around, looked at Maggie, but with the exception of Zia and the Skippers a few feet away, the campsite was still.

Lainey.

This time I sat straight up, my eyes searching. I saw someone waiting in the shadows of a small grove of trees. I didn’t hesitate this time.

I grabbed the Grimoire and eased off my cot, careful not to wake Maggie and Serena or draw attention to myself from the Skippers. I hedged my way out of the light of the fire and then dashed as quietly and quickly as I could to the trees.

I nearly cried when I saw her standing there.

Josephine. Her long dark tresses danced in the breeze, her face so full of sorrow that I had to clutch my chest to keep from crying out.

“Where have you been?” I croaked, my throat full of emotions. I hadn’t seen Josephine since the Gathering, and I’d feared I might never see her again.

She said nothing, but her own eyes began to fill with tears. She pointed to the Grimoire in my hand.

“Yes, I have it, but something’s wrong with it,” I said. “I can’t open it, can’t transform it. Shouldn’t I be able to?”

Josephine took a deep breath and held out her hand. I paused for only the slightest second before I placed my hand in hers. I was ready for the vortex of color as it swirled around me. This time the pain was familiar, and gripping the Grimoire, I welcomed it.

When I felt solid ground underneath my feet, I opened my eyes. I was standing on the bank of a small river. Across the water, there was what looked like a thick wall of smoke or a gauzy curtain. People were moving behind it, but I couldn’t make out faces or features. The place was peaceful, but there was something heavy hanging in the air that made me grip the necklace a little tighter.

“Lainey.”

I whirled around. Josephine was standing behind me, though for the first time, her garments were clean of blood. Her hair was combed and pulled back in a loose braid, and she was more solid than ever before. For the first time, Josephine looked nothing like a ghost. She looked human.

“Josephine?” I reached out to touch her, but hesitated and pulled back.

She smiled at me and reached out, squeezing my hand affectionately. I stared in shock at the hand in mine, the feeling of warmth around my fingers. “How is this possible? Where are we?”

“I’ve brought you to the Veil,” Josephine explained. “Some call it the In Between. It’s the only place I could appear to you like this. There is much to be said, and my time with you grows short. I wanted you to see me like this, if only for the last time.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Lainey, it’s exceedingly difficult to communicate from the Other Side. It requires incredible power, and I’m afraid that I am growing weak. My magic is running out. I will only be able to speak with you this one last time.” She smiled, though her eyes were sad. “Our parallel destinies made this connection possible, so that I might warn you of the dangers and be with you in that final moment when you needed strength the most—when you had to do what I could not do. But now, I must go.”

Panic rocketed through me. “But you can’t leave. I have so many questions. I don’t know what to do.” I sucked in a large breath, trying to keep it together. “The Master, he . . . he . . .” I broke off as a sob lodged in my throat.

Tears dripped down Josephine’s cheeks, the pain in her eyes mirroring mine. “I know.” She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close. I clung to her as a torrent of emotions poured out of me. Josephine held me, rubbing my hair until my sobs had subsided. I knew I didn’t have to say the words. Josephine had been through it all.

The crater in my chest felt ragged and raw, but for the first time in two days, I felt like I could breathe again. I pulled back and wiped my cheeks with my hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize to me, Lainey. I know your pain well. Our paths are connected; your pain is my pain.”

I nodded, remembering Henry and the loss of her child. I took a deep breath. “Why can’t I open the Grimoire?”

Josephine gently took the necklace from my hand. “Because this is not the Grimoire.” She waved her hand, and the necklace began to bubble and ripple. With an audible pop, the magic surrounding it evaporated, and it transformed into a thick, leather-bound book.

She handed the book back to me. Gripping the spine, I flipped through it. Every single page was blank.

“But . . .” I kept turning the pages, unwilling to believe it. My mind was whirling, trying to come up with some kind of explanation, but there wasn’t one. “It’s a fake,” I finally whispered. My fingers dug into the covers of the book. “It’s a fake.”

Josephine nodded gravely. “Yes.”

Pain shot through me, followed by hot flashes of anger and frustration. “Then it was all for nothing?” I cried. “Oh, God!” I clutched at my heart as I thought of Gareth. “Oh my God.”

I whirled on Josephine. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I was nearly hysterical.

“Please hear me,” Josephine urged. “I swear to you, Lainey. There are secrets even in death.”

“You didn’t know?”

Josephine shook her head. “No, I did not. Things are not always as simple as they seem. Not even here.” She gestured at her surroundings.