Beautiful Darkness(118)

“Comprehende, Liga, Cruci Fige.



Capture, Cage, and Crucify.”





Macon dropped my hand, and the vision released us. I held it in my mind, unable to let her go. My mom had saved him, using the weapon Macon had given her to use against him. She had given up the chance for them to finally be together, because of me. Had she known he was our only chance?

When I opened my eyes, Liv was crying, and Ridley was trying to pretend she wasn't. “Oh, please. Enough with the drama.” A tear leaked onto her cheek.

Liv wiped her eyes, sniffling. “I had no idea a Sheer was capable of anything like that.”

“You would be surprised what we are capable of when the situation warrants it.” Macon clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Isn't that right, Mr. Wate?”

I knew he was trying to thank me. But as I looked around our broken circle, I didn't feel like I deserved thanks. Ridley had lost her powers, Link was wincing in pain, and Liv had destroyed her future. “I didn't do anything.”

Macon's hand tightened on my shoulder, forcing me to face him. “You made yourself see what most would have overlooked. You brought me here; you brought me back. You accepted your fate as a Wayward and found the way here. None of that could have been easy.” He looked around the cave at Ridley, Link, and Liv. His eyes lingered a moment on Liv, and then his eyes locked on mine. “For anyone.”

Including Lena.

I almost couldn't stand to tell him, but I wasn't sure if he knew. “Lena thinks she killed you.”

Macon didn't speak for a second, but when he did, his voice was even and controlled. “Why would she think that?”

“Sarafine stabbed me that night, but you died. Amma told me. But Lena can't forgive herself, and it's … changed her.” I wasn't making sense, but there was so much Macon needed to know. “I think she may have made a choice in her heart without realizing it.”

“She didn't.” Macon dismissed me.

“It was The Book of Moons, Mr. Ravenwood.” Liv couldn't help herself. “Lena was desperate to save Ethan, and she used the Book. It made a trade, your life for his. Lena had no way of knowing what would happen. The Book can't be properly controlled, which is why it's not meant to be kept in Caster hands.” Liv sounded even more like a Caster librarian than usual.

Macon tilted his head slightly. “I see. Olivia?”

“Yes, sir?”

“With all due respect, we've no time for a Keeper. This day will require certain actions best left unkept. At the very least, untold. Do you understand?”

Liv nodded. Her expression said she understood more than he knew.

“She's not a Keeper, not anymore.” Liv had saved his life and destroyed her own in the process. She deserved Macon's respect, at the very least.

“Not likely, after this,” she sighed.

I listened to the waves crashing, wishing they could carry my thoughts out to sea with them. “Everything's changed.”

Macon's eyes flickered again to Liv, then returned to me. “Nothing's changed. Nothing important. It could, but it hasn't yet.”

Link cleared his throat. “But what can we do? I mean, look at us.” Link paused. “They've got a whole army a Incubuses and who knows what else down there.”

Macon took stock of us. “What do we have? A powerless Siren, a renegade Keeper, a lost Wayward, and … you, Mr. Lincoln. A motley but resourceful crew, indeed.” Lucille meowed. “And yes, you, Ms. Ball.”

I realized what a train wreck we were, hammered, dirty, and exhausted.

“Yet, somehow you made it this far. And you released me from the Arclight, which was no small feat.”

“Are you sayin’ you think we can take them?” Link had the same look on his face as the one he had when Earl Petty started a fight with the whole Summerville High football team.

“I'm saying we don't have time to stand here and chat, as much as I enjoy your fine company. I have more than a few things to take care of, my niece being first and foremost.” Macon turned to me. “Wayward, show us the way.”

Macon took a step toward the mouth of the cave, and his legs collapsed under him. A cloud of dust rose where he fell. I looked at him, sitting in the dirt in his charred dinner jacket. He hadn't recovered from whatever happened in the Arclight. I hadn't exactly called in the Marines. We needed a plan B.





6.20





Army of One


Macon was insistent. He was in no condition to go anywhere, but he knew we didn't have a lot of time, and he was determined to go with us. I didn't argue, because even a weakened Macon Ravenwood was more resourceful than four powerless Mortals. I hoped.

I knew where we had to go. The moonlight was still pouring through the ceiling of the coastal cave in the distance. By the time Liv and I helped Macon navigate the shoreline leading to the moonlit cave, one painstaking step at a time, he had finished asking me his questions and I was asking him mine. “Why would Sarafine call up the Seventeenth Moon now?”

“The sooner Lena is Claimed, the sooner the Dark Casters will have secured their fate. Lena is growing stronger every day. They know the longer they wait, the more likely she is to make up her own mind. If they know the circumstances surrounding my demise, I imagine they want to take advantage of Lena's vulnerable state.”