Dillan was too shocked to speak.
“I don’t think that’s Selena,” Rainer said cautiously.
Like lightning, she flashed from the ash mound that once was Ormand to Rainer. She brought the sword down so fast Rainer barely had time to block the blow. The power of her stroke brought the Boogeyman to his knees. A part of Dillan took perverse pleasure in seeing Selena kick his ass. She was scary beautiful. But something also told him they’d all be dead after she finished with Rainer. He swallowed.
Rainer kicked at Selena’s feet. He sent her stumbling back. It gave him time to get on his feet. She charged again, sword over her head. She brought the blade down when a shadowed blur ran between her and Rainer. In seconds, the sword’s blade was sandwiched between Selena’s grandmother’s palms.
“Caroline?” Rainer asked, just as shocked as everyone in the clearing.
“Not the right time.” She grunted, barely holding on to the sword.
David ran into the clearing and delivered a perfect roundhouse kick against Selena’s torso. She flew back, but didn’t go down. He stood by Caroline. They both had their shoulders squared. Their Council powers pulsed around them.
“What the hell’s going on?” he finally managed to ask.
“Shut up, Dillan,” everyone except Sebastian said.
Selena, sword at the ready, didn’t back down. She growled at David and Caroline like she didn’t recognize them.
“Enough, Serena,” David said.
Serena? Dillan’s eyebrows came together.
“Selena’s not in danger anymore, Serena,” Caroline urged in that calm voice of hers. “Please return her to us.”
“She’s dead.” A voice more mature than Selena’s came from her lips. It sounded like two voices. Hers and this Serena’s, who killed Ormand with one blow and brought Rainer to his knees. What did they say about Karma?
Heal her heart and I can return her soul into her body, Sebastian finally spoke up.
The lack of confidence in his voice didn’t convince Dillan.
Selena—Serena—relaxed her stance. “What you propose will not work. For her to live, I must attach her energy to someone else’s.” She scanned all their faces. “The next time she is harmed, I will not hesitate to kill any of you. Am I making myself clear?”
The seriousness of her tone and the way she gripped the handle of the sword brought home her silent threat. Nods and grunts affirmed her words. Another new secret. Dillan hated it. But other than that, he had a feeling anyone in that clearing would have volunteered to save Selena by attaching their energy to hers. He opened his mouth to do just that. Unfortunately, she pointed at Sebastian.
“You’ll do,” she said.
Chapter Forty-Six
Selena
Four Kisses and a Funeral
Death—not all that it was cracked up to be. No matter what anyone said. No bright lights at the end of tunnels. No pearly gates. No burning pit. Depending on where you were supposed to go, of course. If you believe in that sort of stuff. Take it from me; death was just pitch black darkness. Quiet. A floaty kind of feeling. Peaceful.
Coming back to life however…hurts like a freakin’ freight train running you over. Electric hooks pulled me out of that floating void. My body—the one I couldn’t see, anyway—spasmed. Hot electric currents zinged through my veins. My blood sizzled beneath my skin. I screamed, maybe. Not too sure. Too much pain. I had to punch the jerk who thought bringing me back to life was a good idea.
Sparks from a warm hand on my cheek woke me. I opened my eyes, blinking slowly to clear my hazy vision of a dark figure sitting at my bedside. The corners of Dillan’s cobalt-blue eyes crinkled. His lips parted slightly as he smiled. The warmth from his hand on my cheek quickly spread all over my body, pushing away my memory of the pain. He wore a sexy black suit with a crisp white shirt and a slim black tie. The guy cleaned up nice.
“We should really find out where the electric shocks are coming from,” I said sleepily.
He chuckled. “We can do that.”
I ran my fingers through his tousled hair. “No faux-hawk today?”
He brought my hand to his cheek then kissed the center of my palm. My lips pulled up into a slow smile.
“How are you?” he whispered. His voice was so gentle that I almost didn’t recognize it. He was being extra nice today.
“I had a dream” was my answer to his question.
“What about?” He tilted his head to the side, not once losing his smile.
“That I died and I was brought back to life.”
His expression turned thoughtful for a second. “I wish,” he said, alternating kisses on each cheek, “you didn’t have to suffer that pain.”
I flushed. My proof of life. “Is it time?”
He dipped his chin once. “David and Caroline will meet us there.”
“I guess the nap’s over.” I already wore a black silk blouse, a balloon skirt, and wedge boots before I shut my eyes for a second. “Do I look as tired as I feel?”
His eyes softened, and he twirled a curl that fell over my forehead. “We don’t have to go. They’ll understand.”
Hard to believe that only a week ago I’d died. Like literally meeting my maker kind of died. Then I woke up in my room two days later with Grams sleeping on a chair by my bed. At first I thought it was a weird version of heaven.
I sat up and kissed Dillan. Just a quick peck. More time for Pop Rock kisses later. I had time now. No more death visions. And the best part, I wasn’t a target anymore. It was back to a normal life for me.
“Let’s go,” I said.
…
My official story for missing a week of school was a nasty case of the flu. Lame, but believable. The day I woke up, Grams told me Dillan had come to sit with me every day since he brought me home unconscious from Greenwood. When he’d arrived for his visit, and he saw me up, Grams had to tap him on the shoulder just to get him out of his daze.
Since then we hadn’t talked much. We still had to figure out what to call our relationship. Dillan did just kill me, so I decided I’d wait to have the talk. Last thing I needed was to freak him out any more than I already had. I eyed him in the car now. He looked calm, but he could be faking it for my sake.
Penny called several times during the week to check up on me. I still couldn’t shake how bizarre she’d acted under Ormand’s control. But I worried for nothing. The second we started talking on the phone, it was like nothing happened. She even came to visit me when I wasn’t “contagious” anymore, bringing over my homework and filling me in on everything I’d missed.
The way Dillan and the others covered up Bowen’s and Ormand’s deaths was by burning down the bookstore. Official story was Bowen ran into the store to save Ormand but they never made it out alive.
“What’s the real story?” I asked Dillan, smoothing over imaginary wrinkles on my skirt.
“Are you sure you want to know?” He gave me a sidelong glance. I didn’t miss the knot his eyebrows coming together made. He was trying to be careful. I didn’t need that shit.
“I want to know.”
He sighed. “We cornered Ormand and he burned himself to death by casting a spell.”
In the back of my mind something told me that wasn’t what happened, but I was dead at the time so how should I know? I didn’t worry about it. I was just glad the craziness was over. I reached over and squeezed his hand. He brought it up to his lips. A hot flush spread over my cheeks. A feeling, until recently, I thought I’d never experience again.
The GT eased into one of the only available slots left in Greenwood’s parking lot. It seemed like everyone in town had turned up to pay their respects to the swimming star, now turned town hero. I smiled at that. Even after what happened, Bowen still deserved to be remembered in a positive light. He was as much a victim in all of this as we all were.