Bright Blaze of Magic
Page 74
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I stood in front of her marker. The sunlight streaming in through the trees made her name stand out like polished silver against the black stone.
“Well,” I said. “I guess you know everything that happened last night. How it all went down. I hope you’re proud of me. At the very least, Victor will never hurt anyone again. I just wish . . . I just wish that you were still here with me.”
“She’ll always be here with you, darling,” a voice called out behind me.
I turned around, and Seleste and Claudia stepped through the open gate and into the cemetery. Claudia was wearing another white pantsuit, while Seleste was sporting a gauzy white dress and carrying a white wicker basket full of red roses, just as she had been the very first time I’d seen her at the Draconi Family cemetery.
“See?” Seleste said, giving Claudia a smug smile. “I told you she’d be out here.”
Claudia shook her head, but there was a smile on her face too.
Seleste skipped over and hugged me. Then she dropped down on her knees and started humming while she arranged the red roses all over my mother’s grave. Claudia walked over and the two of us watched her work in silence.
Victor had finally been defeated, but my mom was still gone, and I would always carry the hurt and pain of her loss with me. But for the first time, a sense of peace was mixed in with my emotions too. I’d kept my promises to my mom and Claudia. I’d avenged her death, and I’d kept my friends and Family safe from Victor.
And I knew what my mom would tell me if she was still here—that it was time for a new start, a new beginning, a new chapter in my life. One where I could focus on all the good things that I had, instead of all the things that had been taken from me.
I stayed quiet and still until Seleste had finished arranging the roses in a large star pattern. She got to her feet, standing beside me and Claudia, and the three of us stared down at my mom’s tombstone.
“I still miss her,” Seleste whispered. “She was my best friend.”
Claudia reached out and squeezed her hand. “Mine too.”
“Mine three,” I added.
“But we still have each other,” Seleste said. “And Deah and Devon and all the others.”
“That we do.” I nodded. “That we do.”
I held out my arms, and Seleste and Claudia linked theirs through mine.
Together, arm in arm in arm, the three of us walked out of the shadowy cemetery and into the warm summer sun.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Claudia, Seleste, and I headed back to the Sinclair mansion. Claudia went to help Devon with the guards and workers, while Seleste skipped off to the kitchen, saying something about helping the pixies with dinner. I had no idea if Seleste could actually cook or not, but I watched her go with a smile on my face. Then I walked through the mansion, stopping and looking into every single room I passed.
All of the bodies had been removed, and much of the destruction from the attack had already been cleaned up. The broken glass, splintered furniture, and cracked doors had all been removed, but other, more gruesome things remained behind that were harder to clean up. More than one pixie hovered in midair, a rag clutched in his or her hand, scrubbing at the bloodstains on the floors, walls, and even the ceilings. Those would take far longer to get rid of, and I knew that I would always see them in my nightmares.
I pitched in and helped where I could, mostly by carrying bags of debris and ruined pieces of furniture outside to load up onto trucks to be taken down into the city to be disposed of.
Mo was standing outside, supervising that part of the process. He was dressed in another Hawaiian shirt, this one a vivid blue covered with white ocean waves. He had a clipboard in his hands and was scribbling down notes about the items that littered the lawn around him—tables with a few scratches gouged into them, chairs that had been banged up, and several mirrors that were missing small pieces out of their frames. Unlike everything else in the mansion, most of these items were still in one piece.
Mo waved me over. “Hey, kid,” he rumbled, giving me a hug. “Glad to see that you’re up and around again. You gave us all a big scare last night.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He gave me a wicked grin and brandished his clipboard at me. “Getting some new inventory for the Razzle Dazzle. A little paint, a little polish, and all this stuff will be as good as new again. I’ve already got some folks from Ashland, Bigtime, and Cypress Mountain coming to see it. What does it look like I’m doing?”
I laughed. “It looks like you’re collecting more junk to sell to the tourists at double the price of what it’s actually worth.”
“Would I do something like that?” he asked in an innocent voice.
I snorted. “Absolutely.”
He winked at me. Mo went back to his inventory, such as it was, and I went back into the mansion. I helped the guards, workers, and pixies, but seeing all the ruined furnishings being carted off depressed me more than I thought it would. Besides, everyone kept staring and whispering about me. I hated being the center of attention, but that’s exactly what I was right now and probably would be for some time to come.
I worked hard all day long and didn’t go back up to my room until after eight that night. A small hammer and even smaller nails littered the ground outside Oscar’s trailer, along with several honeybeer cans. Repairing his trailer must have worn out the pixie because he was leaning back in a chair on his front porch, his cowboy boots up on the railing and his black cowboy hat pulled down low on his head. He clutched a honeybeer can in his lap, and soft, steady snores rumbled out of his chest. Tiny was also taking a nap in his corral, upside down on his shell like usual. I didn’t want to disturb them, so I slipped out of the patio doors, took hold of the drainpipe, and climbed up to the terrace.
Devon wasn’t here yet; he was still down in the main part of the mansion, helping Claudia deal with everyone and everything that needed to be done to repair the structure. I was grateful for the peace and quiet, especially after all the stares and whispers that had followed me around all day long.
I put my arms down on the iron railing and stared out over the Midway. The view looked the same as always, but the neon lights somehow seemed more colorful and cheerful than ever before. Or maybe that was because I knew that the danger had passed.
For now, anyway.
“Well,” I said. “I guess you know everything that happened last night. How it all went down. I hope you’re proud of me. At the very least, Victor will never hurt anyone again. I just wish . . . I just wish that you were still here with me.”
“She’ll always be here with you, darling,” a voice called out behind me.
I turned around, and Seleste and Claudia stepped through the open gate and into the cemetery. Claudia was wearing another white pantsuit, while Seleste was sporting a gauzy white dress and carrying a white wicker basket full of red roses, just as she had been the very first time I’d seen her at the Draconi Family cemetery.
“See?” Seleste said, giving Claudia a smug smile. “I told you she’d be out here.”
Claudia shook her head, but there was a smile on her face too.
Seleste skipped over and hugged me. Then she dropped down on her knees and started humming while she arranged the red roses all over my mother’s grave. Claudia walked over and the two of us watched her work in silence.
Victor had finally been defeated, but my mom was still gone, and I would always carry the hurt and pain of her loss with me. But for the first time, a sense of peace was mixed in with my emotions too. I’d kept my promises to my mom and Claudia. I’d avenged her death, and I’d kept my friends and Family safe from Victor.
And I knew what my mom would tell me if she was still here—that it was time for a new start, a new beginning, a new chapter in my life. One where I could focus on all the good things that I had, instead of all the things that had been taken from me.
I stayed quiet and still until Seleste had finished arranging the roses in a large star pattern. She got to her feet, standing beside me and Claudia, and the three of us stared down at my mom’s tombstone.
“I still miss her,” Seleste whispered. “She was my best friend.”
Claudia reached out and squeezed her hand. “Mine too.”
“Mine three,” I added.
“But we still have each other,” Seleste said. “And Deah and Devon and all the others.”
“That we do.” I nodded. “That we do.”
I held out my arms, and Seleste and Claudia linked theirs through mine.
Together, arm in arm in arm, the three of us walked out of the shadowy cemetery and into the warm summer sun.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Claudia, Seleste, and I headed back to the Sinclair mansion. Claudia went to help Devon with the guards and workers, while Seleste skipped off to the kitchen, saying something about helping the pixies with dinner. I had no idea if Seleste could actually cook or not, but I watched her go with a smile on my face. Then I walked through the mansion, stopping and looking into every single room I passed.
All of the bodies had been removed, and much of the destruction from the attack had already been cleaned up. The broken glass, splintered furniture, and cracked doors had all been removed, but other, more gruesome things remained behind that were harder to clean up. More than one pixie hovered in midair, a rag clutched in his or her hand, scrubbing at the bloodstains on the floors, walls, and even the ceilings. Those would take far longer to get rid of, and I knew that I would always see them in my nightmares.
I pitched in and helped where I could, mostly by carrying bags of debris and ruined pieces of furniture outside to load up onto trucks to be taken down into the city to be disposed of.
Mo was standing outside, supervising that part of the process. He was dressed in another Hawaiian shirt, this one a vivid blue covered with white ocean waves. He had a clipboard in his hands and was scribbling down notes about the items that littered the lawn around him—tables with a few scratches gouged into them, chairs that had been banged up, and several mirrors that were missing small pieces out of their frames. Unlike everything else in the mansion, most of these items were still in one piece.
Mo waved me over. “Hey, kid,” he rumbled, giving me a hug. “Glad to see that you’re up and around again. You gave us all a big scare last night.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He gave me a wicked grin and brandished his clipboard at me. “Getting some new inventory for the Razzle Dazzle. A little paint, a little polish, and all this stuff will be as good as new again. I’ve already got some folks from Ashland, Bigtime, and Cypress Mountain coming to see it. What does it look like I’m doing?”
I laughed. “It looks like you’re collecting more junk to sell to the tourists at double the price of what it’s actually worth.”
“Would I do something like that?” he asked in an innocent voice.
I snorted. “Absolutely.”
He winked at me. Mo went back to his inventory, such as it was, and I went back into the mansion. I helped the guards, workers, and pixies, but seeing all the ruined furnishings being carted off depressed me more than I thought it would. Besides, everyone kept staring and whispering about me. I hated being the center of attention, but that’s exactly what I was right now and probably would be for some time to come.
I worked hard all day long and didn’t go back up to my room until after eight that night. A small hammer and even smaller nails littered the ground outside Oscar’s trailer, along with several honeybeer cans. Repairing his trailer must have worn out the pixie because he was leaning back in a chair on his front porch, his cowboy boots up on the railing and his black cowboy hat pulled down low on his head. He clutched a honeybeer can in his lap, and soft, steady snores rumbled out of his chest. Tiny was also taking a nap in his corral, upside down on his shell like usual. I didn’t want to disturb them, so I slipped out of the patio doors, took hold of the drainpipe, and climbed up to the terrace.
Devon wasn’t here yet; he was still down in the main part of the mansion, helping Claudia deal with everyone and everything that needed to be done to repair the structure. I was grateful for the peace and quiet, especially after all the stares and whispers that had followed me around all day long.
I put my arms down on the iron railing and stared out over the Midway. The view looked the same as always, but the neon lights somehow seemed more colorful and cheerful than ever before. Or maybe that was because I knew that the danger had passed.
For now, anyway.
