The curse had been ruining lives for half a millennium.
“Nate.” Scarlet looked at him intently. “This curse needs to end. I don’t care what we have to do—we need to find that fountain.”
He smiled broadly and winked. “There’s the Scarlet I know and love. I like it when you get all empowered.”
“I’m not kidding.” Her eyes burned as she looked at him.
His smile fell. “Okay. Just relax, I know you’re not kidding.” He took a step forward and reached for her face.
Realizing her eyes were probably glowing, Scarlet moved her head away from Nate’s hands. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Let me see your eyes.” He walked closer to her and tipped her chin up so he could look directly at her irises. “Scarlet. You’re getting worse.”
“I know that,” she snapped.
“No. You don’t understand. Your eyes don’t usually get this bright until the very end. How often has this been happening?”
“I don’t know. Once a day, maybe?”
“Has your nose started bleeding yet?”
“What?”
“Your nose. Have you had any nosebleeds at all?”
Scarlet shook her head. “No. My nose is fine. I’m fine.”
He looked at her with genuine concern. “I don’t know why your condition is progressing so fast this time…something’s wrong. Something’s…different.”
Scarlet shrugged her way out of his hand and stepped back. “Okay, well. We can’t fix whatever’s different about me. So, we need to just focus on finding the fountain so this will all be over with.”
Slowly, Nate nodded, still looking at her eyes. “Okay.”
“We need to find the fountain of youth,” Scarlet repeated.
After a long moment he swallowed and gave her a weak smile. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
63
Gabriel sat next to Nate at the kitchen table and watched as he disassembled the Head Ghost. “How much time do you think we have?”
Nate’s eyes stayed on the black contraption. “Four weeks. Maybe five. Scarlet’s eyes are brighter than normal and I’m almost positive they flash more than she’s willing to admit. Her nose hasn’t started bleeding yet but…she’s sick.”
Gabriel’s eyes shot to Tristan, who sat across from him.
This is all his fault.
Tristan met Gabriel’s gaze but made no expression.
The drawing he’d seen on Scarlet’s body the other night had him worried. Her knowledge of the design implied she might already be lost to him—a thought that pierced his gut with sorrow.
He couldn’t lose her.
He’d spent centuries loving her, wanting her, taking care of her.
And it might have all been in vain.
The thought made his blood boil almost as much as it broke his heart.
Nate pulled the crystals off the band and set them on the table. “We should keep these somewhere safe. Somewhere separate from the Head Ghost.”
Gabriel nodded. “Should we hide them?”
“Nah, just put them somewhere you can get to easily, but not obvious. Like a candy dish, or a pill bottle.”
“A candy dish? Nate, we don’t want someone to accidently eat them.”
Tristan sighed. “I can just put them in my medicine cabinet.”
Nate nodded. “Yeah, that’s good. Hopefully, Scarlet’s intruder doesn’t have any more Head Ghosts.”
Gabriel exhaled. “Do you think the guy came after her because he knows she’s dying?”
“Possibly.” Nate glanced at Tristan. “What else do you remember about the guy?”
Tristan shook his head. “Not much. He was big. Strong. Unusually strong. But his muscles were weird, and he smelled…weird. Not bad, but…potent.”
“Like what?” Nate didn’t look up from the Head Ghost.
Tristan shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“Cologne? Hair gel? Roses?”
“I don’t know, Nate. It’s not like I was sniffing his chest hair. I was too busy trying to keep him away from Scarlet.”
“How did he get away?” Gabriel asked.
“Beats me—I stabbed the guy.” Tristan shook his head.
Gabriel’s mouth droppefd open. “You stabbed him?”
Tristan shrugged.
“This isn’t the Wild West, Tristan, there are laws. You can’t just slice people up willy-nilly.”
“Willy-nilly? Really?” Tristan rolled his eyes. “He stabbed me first. And it’s not like I killed him—although I totally would have. He rolled down the stairs, got up, and just ran out the door. Like a knife to the gut was nothing more than a scratch.”
Nate looked up.
“Do…you think he’s immortal like us?” Gabriel furrowed his brow.
Tristan thought about it. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.” He shifted his weight. “Everything about him was…I don’t know. Just not human.”
Gabriel rubbed the side of his face. “Are you saying you believe in supernatural beings now? Like, werewolves? Or was the guy in Scarlet’s house more like a robot?”
Tristan squared his jaw at his twin. “I don’t know what he was. I just don’t think he was human. I can’t explain it. His eyes were…weird. And he moved…weird. I don’t know.”
Nate looked at Tristan. “Do you think there are other supernatural beings? Beings like us who are…more than human?”
Tristan looked uncomfortable. “You guys are making me feel like an idiot here. I’m not saying I believe in the boogieman or anything. I’m just saying we need to be careful. Just in case.”
Gabriel inhaled deeply. It wasn’t like Tristan to believe in the fantastic, or to even take supernatural possibilities seriously.
Unease trickled down Gabriel’s spine.
He really, really hoped Tristan wasn’t right.
64
Tristan waited until Gabriel left the cabin to be on night watch duty before seeking out Nate. He found him upstairs in his newly renovated cave. “Hey.” Tristan stood in the doorway and waited for Nate to pause his game.
“What’s up?” Nate turned around.
“We need to talk.” Tristan entered the room.
Nate rolled his eyes. “I hate our ‘talks’.”
Tristan sighed. “Trust me. So do I.” He leaned against the wall. “Have you been able to find any potential weapons?”
“No.”
Tristan pushed away from the wall. “I have a feeling you’re not really trying, Nate. Scarlet’s getting worse.”
“I’ve contacted anyone and everyone I know of who might be able to help us find the fountain. I’ve got websites, blogs, ads, and bounties dedicated to tracking it down. Gabriel’s looking over every ancient map he can find and you’ve been pouring over old ship logs and journals. We’re doing everything we can, Tristan.”
Tristan’s jaw tensed. “To find the fountain maybe. But not to help me find the right weapon.”
“I’m not going to help you kill yourself.”
“Oh, come on.”
“No way.”
Tristan groaned, “Please?”
“Don’t beg, dude. It’s lame.”
“So, what then? Are you just gonna let her die? Again?” His voice cracked and he immediately tried to get himself under control.
Nate sighed. “I’m not sure what the right thing to do is.”
“The right thing is to save her life.”
“At the cost of yours? Uh-uh. I don’t think so, dude. Gabriel would kill me. And then Scarlet would kill me. And they could just keep on killing me over and over again because I don’t ever die. Do you know how much that would suck?”