Echo Soul Seekers

twenty-nine

Dace

When I’m ready to face her, I push through the door. Calling on all of my senses, just like Leftfoot taught me, to locate Daire in the throng. And the second I see her, everything stops.

The noise dims.

The light fades.

The room goes quiet and hazy except for the nimbus of soft golden light that surrounds her.

She’s beautiful.

I already knew that, of course. Yet seeing her now, with her hair tumbling over her shoulders, and her gaze burning on mine, I’m instantly transported to the day at the Enchanted Spring. Reminded of the way she looked lying beneath me, just after we …

I shake my head, check my pocket again to ensure that her gift is still there and make my way toward her. Covering more than half the room in just a handful of steps, only to watch her turn on her heel and bolt for the back door, as Lita steps before me and says, “This is for you.” She shoves a small, rectangular envelope into my hand. “Please keep in mind that it’s not from me. So, if it’s as lame as I think, don’t shoot the messenger. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She waves to someone across the room and leaves me flipping the envelope back and forth in my palm. It’s from Daire, that much I know. But since I can’t sense its contents, I’m reluctant to open it.

Is it some kind of official breakup letter?

Some change-of-heart memo that states: I know you think you broke up with me, but really I’m breaking up with you—?

Is that why she ran out the back door the second she saw me?

Or am I just being paranoid?

“Maybe you should open it and see,” Xotichl says, reading into my energy as she comes over to join me.

Of course, she’s right. No use standing here guessing. I slip a finger under the flap, and retrieve a heavy piece of cream-colored paper featuring a hand-scrawled map, which, though it doesn’t make any immediate sense, at least is not as bad as I imagined.

“Can I guess?” Xotichl asks, grinning when Auden comes up from behind her and plants a kiss on her cheek.

I hand her the map and stare down at my feet. I can’t watch them together. Their happiness makes me long for Daire so much it aches.

Xotichl screws her mouth to the side and runs her fingertips back and forth across the page. “Oh, it’s a map! Like a treasure hunt—how fun!” She returns it to me.

“How do you do that?” It’s not the first time I’ve asked such a thing.

But, like always, Xotichl just laughs as Auden jabs a thumb over his shoulder and says, “I think she went that way.”

I make for the door. Pushing past everyone who gets in my way, eager to be with Daire once again, see what she’s planned. When Phyre purposely inserts herself into my path and in a whispered voice says, “Hey, Dace.”

Her lips begin a slow curl as her gaze travels over me. But I don’t have time for this, and I’m quick to tell her as much. “Yeah, hey. Listen, I’m kind of in a hurry, so—” I start to move past her, but just like Leandro did in the alleyway, Phyre shadows me, insisting on having her say.

“Can’t you spare a few seconds for an old friend?” She cocks her head to the side, her eyes gleaming flirtatiously, but it’s wasted on me. Daire is my present. My future. Phyre is history. “It’s been such a long time.” She adopts the kind of timid demeanor that just doesn’t suit her. She’s not shy. Never has been. This is how she operates.

I mumble something incoherent and check my pocket again.

“So why do I get the feeling you’re trying to avoid me?” She places a hand on either hip, determined to keep me from where I most need to be.

I rub my lips together and glance all around. Seeing Lita glaring at me from halfway across the dance floor, Xotichl turning toward me with a curious tilt of her head, as Phyre stands before me, demanding an answer.

“Look—” I start, the words dissolving on my tongue the instant she steps closer. Gazing at me through a thick fringe of lashes, her catlike eyes tilting up at the sides. “A lot’s changed,” I finally manage. “Actually, no, scratch that—everything’s changed, and I think you should know that.” I meet her gaze straight on, hoping that’ll suffice. Let her down easy and work as my Get Out of Jail Free card, so I can get on with my night.

“You’re right.” She smiles, unfazed by my words, ignoring the determined expression I wear on my face. “A lot has changed. Including me.” She sort of swivels before me, encouraging her dress to sway around her legs in a way that’s meant to be enticing. Begging me to see her, appreciate her, in the way that I used to.

I turn away. Steadfastly refuse her. Wishing I could stomp out this tired old memory she insists on resurrecting.

“And I haven’t just changed on the outside,” she says, her determination proving to be a good match for my own. “The inside’s different as well. And I get the feeling you’re different too.”

I huff under my breath. Swipe a hand across my chin. This is ridiculous. Daire is out there somewhere, waiting for me in the freezing cold night, while I’m stuck inside this stupid club, trapped in a nightmare visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past.

I lift my gaze to meet hers. Determined to end this quickly and easily, I say, “Phyre, it’s good to see you. Really. But, I’m not sure what you’re after. We were kids when we—when you left. We’re not kids anymore.”

She inches closer, runs a purple painted nail from my shoulder to my elbow. The chill of her touch penetrating all the way through my heavy down jacket and the wool sweater beneath, leaving my skin pricked with cold. Her voice soft and lilting, she says, “Funny, I didn’t feel like a kid when I was with you.”

I flinch at her touch, aware of her sharp intake of breath as her hand falls back to her side. But I don’t feel badly. It’s all coming back to me now. The way she manipulates. Calculates. The wave of regret that washed over me the instant it was over.

“Are you well?” I figure I owe her the courtesy of asking.

She nods.

“And your dad—is he well too?”

“He gets by.” She shrugs, tilts her head from side to side.

“Okay then. I’m glad to hear it, but I really have to—”

“You really have to go. I know.” She stares at me for a long time. Too long. Her features darkening, she steps aside and says, “Don’t let me stop you.”

I push past her. Push into the night. Glad for the bite of frigid air blasting my hands, my face. Overcome with relief to finally be rid of her.

After a quick consult with the map, I navigate the path Daire outlined. Stopping before two long rows of glowing luminarias lighting either side of a trail that ultimately leads to the place where she stands huddled against the bitter night air.

When she sees me—when her eyes meet mine—it’s all I can do to keep from sprinting down the trail and taking her into my arms. But I force myself to walk it instead. Force myself to take the time to appreciate the stage that she’s set.

“Merry Christmas,” she says, once I’m standing before her. Her cheeks flushed and luminous, her eyes flickering with amusement. “I’m your not-so-Secret Santa.”

I smile. Content to just stand there and fill my eyes with the glorious sight of her.

Screw Cade.

Screw all the Richters.

This is all that matters.

This beautiful girl standing before me.

I’m hollow without her. Just barely existing. I know that now.

And while I know that what we’re doing is right—that this is the way it has to be until Cade is stopped—I also know that when this is over, there will be no more shutting her out of my life. The last few days without her were hell, with thoughts of her haunting me at every turn.

If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll find a way to make this work.

Or die trying, anyway.

I find her eyes once again. Realizing she’s waiting for me to react to her news, I say, “Oh, and I’m yours.”

“Really?” She cocks her head in a way that encourages a spray of curls to fall across her cheek. And it takes all of my strength not to pull her tightly to me and sink into the softness of her. “Well, actually, Lita drew your name, not me. But then she asked me to trade, so I did.”

“Lita pulled the same thing on me.” My eyes fix on her mouth—those soft inviting lips I ache to taste again and again. “I hear she puts her name in twice so she can spend the money on herself.”

“So the whole thing was rigged?” Daire grins in a way that’s infectious. “And here I thought it was fated.” Her eyes move over me, leaving a trail of warmth that starts at my head and wanders all the way to my feet.

“This is really beautiful.” My voice sounds hoarse, unused. “I can’t think of a better gift than to find you waiting at the end of a candlelit path.”

“I’m not your gift.” She smiles. “I’m not that poetic.”

“No?” I take another look around. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“This is your gift.” She hooks a thumb toward the chain-link fence at her back.

I squint, try to think of a reply, but its meaning is lost. So I go the jokey route and say, “I’m pretty sure you’ve gone way past the twenty-dollar limit. The permits alone—” My words halted by the finger she presses to my lips.

“Not the fence, silly—this.” She flicks the small golden lock that’s fixed to one of the links.

Still, I look at her. Not really getting it—but not caring either. My lips burn from her touch. It’s all I can think about.

“You probably don’t realize it, but today marks six weeks since we first got together. And, well, I wanted to observe it in some way. This is pretty much a first for me.”

“It’s a first for me too.” I want so badly to kiss her, right here, right now. But something tells me to wait. There’s still more to say.

“Is that because you’re usually long gone by this point?” She chases the words with a grin, but it doesn’t take much to spot the vein of worry that pulses just underneath.

“That’s Cade’s game, not mine,” I say, hoping to convince her I will do whatever it takes to be with her—now and forever. I was a fool that night in my kitchen. I won’t be anymore.

She nods, takes a deep breath, and says, “Anyway, I wanted to do something special, and then I remembered this.”

She points to the lock again, but I still don’t get the significance.

“There’s a place in Paris with an old chain-link fence, much like this one.” She hooks her finger around one of the links and rattles it for emphasis—the move, along with her words, leaving me even more perplexed than before. “Only that fence, the one in Paris, is completely covered with locks. The entire thing is crammed chock full of locks of all kinds. And, well, it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Or at least it is once you realize what it is the locks symbolize.”

I look at her, clueless as to where this is going.

“It’s a fence for lovers.” Her voice softens. “It’s a place where couples go to declare their love for each other. As a show of devotion, they attach the lock to the fence, and then each person gets a key. If at any point one of them decides their feelings have changed, they’re free to use their key to remove the lock. But from the looks of that fence, it rarely happens.” She stares down at her feet, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. “So, I guess what I’m trying to say is—I’m declaring my love for you. And this lock, on this fence, is a symbol of that love. I love you, Dace Whitefeather, and whether we’re together or apart, it doesn’t change the essential truth. If there’s one thing I’ve discovered over the last few days, it’s that suppressing my love for you doesn’t make it go away or weaken it in the slightest.” Her lips lift, but her eyes suggest the tinge of sadness that dwells just under the surface. “I know what we’re up against, and I know you know too. But—” She takes a deep breath, and it’s all I can do to stand patiently before her, not crush my lips to hers. “But the thing is, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be together. And, well, I was hoping you feel the same. But in case you’re not on board…”

She dips inside her top, retrieving one of two long black cords with a small gold key attached to its end, which she’s quick to drape around my neck. Leaving it to lie against my chest, just like the one that she wears.

I pinch the key between my fingers. “I won’t use it.” My gaze burns on hers. “I will wear this for eternity. They’ll bury me in it.”

She bites her bottom lip, as her eyes go so bright and glittery, her cheeks so flushed and pink, I’m just about to kiss her. Just about to pull her into my arms and taste her in the way I could only dream about yesterday. When I remember I have something for her.

I place the small package into her hands, watching as she works the stone free of the red-and-green wrapping paper. “It’s a—”

“I know what it is.” She rubs her finger over the top, then flips it over and examines the back. “It’s your version of the lock and key.” She smiles at me.

“It’s also meant to protect you, keep you from harm. It’s an amulet. May I?”

I hook my finger around the soft buckskin pouch that hangs from her neck. Waiting for her to nod her consent before I loosen the string and open the top just wide enough to add the stone to her collection of talismans. My fingers lingering in the place where it lies. Finding it impossible to pull away now that I’ve touched her.

Mesmerized by the warmth of her skin meeting mine. The rhythm of her heart beating hard against my palm. Her breath coming soft and fast as she stands just before me. Looking so beautiful, so radiant—I draw her into my arms and cover her mouth with my own.

Aware of nothing more than the way her body melts and conforms against mine—the way she returns my kiss with an equal amount of desire and need. Allowing everything else to skew out of focus—Cade, Leandro, the Rabbit Hole—screw it all. This is all that I care about.

Daire.

In my arms.

Loving me and needing me as much as I love and need her.

She breaks the kiss, catching her breath as she says, “I’ve loved you since the first time you appeared in my dreams—long before I even heard of Enchantment.”

My eyes narrow, surprised by her words. Never once guessing that she had the dreams too.

“So you know how it ends?”

She shakes her head, allowing her hair to spring into her face, making her even more irresistible. “No. I know how the dream ends. But that’s not how we end. Dace, I was thinking, can’t we give ourselves this night? I know we can’t be together full time, or at least not until after Cade is defeated. Still, I was thinking maybe we could give ourselves this one gift—this one night—just you and me. Tomorrow we’ll separate and do what we have to. But tonight … well, I guess I need something to go on. Something to carry me through. Something to ease the ache of loneliness and pain that comes from missing you.”

I kiss her again. Fully. Deeply. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

Love is meant to be shared—not hoarded. That’s the whole point of it.

No wonder there are so many love songs on the radio. It’s a never-ending attempt by artists to describe the indescribable.

Somewhere inside the Rabbit Hole a party rages.

Somewhere inside that club Epitaph rocks the stage, while Xotichl waits for me to return so she can lead me to the vortex.

Somewhere among the crowd Leandro roots for my dark side, as Phyre pokes through the embers of a passion that died long ago.

But none of that matters right now.

Because Daire and I are together.

As we should be.

As we’re meant to be.

And when I bundle her into the crook of my arm and usher her into my truck, I watch as she snuffs out the candles lining the path with merely a nod of her head.

Leaving no doubt she’s right.

We’ll get through this. The prophecy doesn’t define us.

Tonight we’ll give ourselves the gift of each other.

Tomorrow will come soon enough.

* * *

I wake to the sight of Daire sleeping beside me. Her breath soft and even, her skin fair and gleaming under the slant of light that seeps in from the window. And as much as I long to touch her, fill my fingers with the promise of her—I climb out of bed and leave her to slumber.

I pull on the jeans I’d left on the floor and swipe a clean T-shirt from the laundry basket and yank it over my head. Chasing it with a gray sweater culled from the back of a chair, I look around my place for the first time in days, horrified by the colossal mess that it is.

The last week has been chaotic at best. And because of it, my apartment is trashed. While Daire and I were a little too preoccupied last night for her to really take notice, there’s no doubt she’ll notice now. There’s no place to hide under the harsh glare of daylight.

I hit the kitchen first, determined to deal with the pile of dirty dishes crowding the sink. Not getting very far before there’s a knock at the door and I open it to find Xotichl and Auden loaded down with pink boxes and white bags embossed with the logo of Nana’s bakery, one of the few places in Enchantment that’s not owned and operated by the Richters, which means the bread is pure heaven.

“We bring sustenance.” Xotichl finds her way past me as Auden follows and plunks the bags on the small kitchen table. “But we’re counting on you for the coffee, so please don’t disappoint us. You’re not the only one who had a late night. I’m desperately in need of my morning fix.”

“That’s the one thing I do have.” I return to the sink, working the scrubber side of the sponge over the stubborn film of crud on the bottom of the coffeepot. “Just, uh—give me a second and we’re good to go.”

Xotichl stands in the middle of my living room, head swiveling from side to side, as though she doesn’t know where to sit, even though this is hardly her and Auden’s first visit.

“Something wrong?” I watch as Auden tears off a piece of bread, plops it into his mouth, and shoots me a guilty look, while Xotichl stays rooted in place, nose pitched high, face scrunched in disapproval.

“Dace—this place feels like a mess. Like a serious, chaotic mess.”

“That’s because it is,” Auden says. Looking at me when he adds, “Sorry, bro, but I can’t let you continue like this. Clutter makes for bad energy. You should know that.”

“Funny—I didn’t even notice the clutter ’til you just now mentioned it. How’d you manage to slip that past me?” Daire stands in the doorway, looking adorable in one of my old, red flannel shirts that falls halfway to her knees.

“Lots of things go unnoticed in the night, but surely you notice now?” Xotichl says, unable to find a place to sit until Auden clears a space off the couch and guides her to it.

“Nope. I’m focused solely on breakfast.” Daire veers past me, teasing a finger along my spine as she makes her way to the table where Auden’s arranged a pile of freshly baked rolls, danishes, and fat loaves of oven-warmed bread. “I’m famished.” She bites into a roll, closing her eyes to savor the flavor. Lids fluttering open when she says, “So, how’d you guys know I’d be here?” She wanders into the living room and perches on the arm of the sofa, next to Xotichl.

“Dace stood me up.” Xotichl nods her head in my direction as Auden laughs. “I was going to show him the vortex, but then when he didn’t show and you never returned … well, let’s just say that as far as mysteries go, this one was easy to solve.”

“Sorry,” I mutter, checking on the coffeemaker. “I should’ve called.”

“No worries.” Xotichl shrugs. “It’s not like it’s going anywhere.”

“Though you did miss the excitement.” Auden makes for the table, filching a danish this time. “Cade showed.”

Daire and I exchange a look.

A look Auden catches when he says, “Yeah, I know all about it. Demons—vortexes—multiple worlds—the Richters are evil beasts out to dominate Enchantment…” His cheeks fill as he takes another bite of pastry. Covering his mouth as he adds, “I’m all up to speed.”

“So, what happened?” I reach into the cupboard, searching for mugs that aren’t chipped. But not finding any, I’m forced to settle on four that bear the least amount of damage and wear.

“Yeah, and is Lita okay?” Daire crosses her legs, distracting me with a quick glimpse of thigh I try hard not to stare at.

“Lita’s fine,” Xotichl says. “In fact, she’s more than fine. I think she spent over an hour working the mistletoe line, giving away free, one-time-only Christmas kisses just to annoy him.”

“And did it?” Daire’s face lights up at the thought.

“Not in the way that she hoped,” Xotichl says. “Cade’s beyond jealousy. Though I do think it bugged him that he couldn’t control her in the way that he used to. He’s pretty much a control freak.”

“So—that’s it? Cade showed up, Lita kissed a bunch of guys she’s known all her life, and the party ended normally?” I distribute mugs filled with coffee while apologizing for the clumpy sugar and lack of milk.

“Pretty much,” Auden says, sitting beside Xotichl and clasping her hand in his. “Though he asked about you—about both of you.”

“And?” Daire peers at him from over the rim of her mug.

“And—nothing,” Xotichl says. “I blew him off. Said I hadn’t seen you.”

“But it was weird,” Auden says. “He actually looked pretty happy about that.”

“Yeah, he would.” I exchange another look with Daire.

“And then what?” Daire leans against my chest when I move to stand behind her. “Did he stay—leave—what happened?”

“Actually, it was weird. He pretty much spent the rest of the time talking with Phyre.” Xotichl takes a long grateful sip of her coffee.

“What’d they talk about?” I rub Daire’s shoulders, noticing the way they stiffen at the mention of Phyre’s name. Leaving me to wonder how much she knows—versus what she might’ve guessed on her own.

“I don’t know,” Xotichl says. “I wasn’t close enough to hear. But the energy they had going between them was certainly weird.”

“Weird how?” Daire leans forward, her voice sounding worried.

“Frenetic. Off. Kind of murky and gray-brown in color.”

“You could see it?” Daire asks. “I thought that only worked with music?”

Xotichl shakes her head, takes another sip of coffee. “Paloma is teaching me to see the color in all forms of energy. Music was just the gateway.”

“Speaking of—” Daire grabs hold of my wrist and consults my watch. “I should get dressed and head back. I’m supposed to meet up with Jennika, so we can spend some quality mother-daughter time together.”

“I’ll drive you, if you want,” Auden says. “I’m heading that way.”

“And I figured I’d stick around and finally show Dace where the Rabbit Hole vortex is located.”

“I don’t want you going there.” Daire pauses on her way to the bedroom, her words directed at Xotichl.

“I figured as much,” Xotichl says. “But I’m not sure that’ll stop me.”

“Seriously,” Daire says, refusing to give in so easily. “It’s totally corrupt. It’s too dangerous. Dace—promise me you won’t let her go with you. In fact, promise me neither of you will go.”

I swipe a hand over my chin, purposely ignoring that last bit. “Have you ever tried to keep Xotichl from doing what she’s determined to do?”

“I have.” Auden raises a hand. “It’s not pretty. My flower is a stubborn one.”

Daire shoots me a warning look, but all I can do is shrug in response.

I’m going in.

Without Xotichl.

Without Daire.

Without anyone.

Last night clinched it. Now that I’ve been with her again, I don’t ever want to be without her.

I’m going to confront the prophecy and see that it’s done.

And by the time I’m finished, Cade will be dead.