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  She could only imagine the chaos that must have ensued the second Samantha lifted her nefarious spell. At first, she’d been worried that Devon’s miraculous breakthrough had been limited to him alone. But the second they left the little ghost town and got back into reception, his phone had exploded with a slew of frantic texts.

  Are you with her?

  Is she alright?

  Why isn’t she answering her phone?

  Where are you guys?

  Dev, if you don’t write back, I’m going to shock you to death.

  Even Kraigan had gotten in on the action. In his own Kraigan way.

  Think you could pick up some crisps on the way back?

  Yes, the spell had apparently lifted for everyone, and they seemed rather anxious to make sure she was alright. Case in point: The second the group caught sight of the car, the doors burst open and everyone inside went spilling out onto the front porch.

  “They must’ve been waiting by the window,” Rae murmured.

  Devon glanced up as he put the car into park. “Jules probably just told them.”

  She nodded silently, but made no move to unbuckle her belt. As crazy as it sounded, as hard as she’d been trying to get back into that house, she suddenly found herself nervous to be there.

  “Hey,” Devon reached over and squeezed her hand, “you okay?”

  “Yeah. F-Fine.”

  The door locks went up and the headlights snapped off at the same time, blanketing the car in sudden, protective darkness. Rae looked up in alarm to see Devon steadily gazing back at. Giving her a moment of privacy. A moment to collect herself before the rest of the gang closed in.

  “Sweetheart, it’s me.” His eyes gentled with a warm smile. “You don’t need to be brave.”

  She stared at him for a moment before turning back to the house with a shaky sigh. The people gathered on the steps were hovering there uncertainly. Unsure whether to run out and meet them, or to give them a moment of space. Space wasn’t a term they were very familiar with, given the surreal circumstances that had repeatedly thrust them together. It caught them a little off-guard.

  “It’s just, the last time I saw any of them…” The heartbreaking image swam before her eyes, and she sucked in a quick breath. “I…I thought it might actually be for the last time, you know?”

  A wave of emotion crashed over her, and before she knew it she began to cry.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa—hey!”

  There was a rustle of fabric, and then she was in Devon’s arms. Thankfully, he had opted to go to her, instead of risking further damage to her leg. “You’re here now. You’re safe. You’re home.” He kissed the top of her head with that same scarcely-controlled desperation as back in London. Like he was terrified that, if he let her go for even an instant, she could disappear forever. “I won’t ever let anyone take you away again. I promise.”

  She nodded quickly, making a valiant effort to wipe her eyes. But the longer she stared out at the house, the more the tears kept coming. “You just have no idea,” she whispered, “no idea what it was like to suddenly have no family. To think it was forever. To have no home.”

  His body stiffened slightly, and he hung his head. “…I have some idea.”

  She twisted around to see him, staring with a curious frown.

  His skin had gone pale silver in the moonlight, and he had trouble meeting her eyes. “It’s absolutely no equivalent, I know that, but…I felt the exact same way when you were gone. Like I didn’t have a family. Like I didn’t have a home.” He looked up with a sudden rush of feeling, and kissed the back of her hand. “You are those things for me. Without you…I was lost.”

  The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Long enough that the air in the car started to chill back down. Long enough for Rae’s tears to stop. Long enough for them both to catch their breath. Finally, when she felt like she was able, she managed a small smile. “Good thing I’m back, then.”

  Devon pulled in a deep breath, and managed to smile in return. “Good thing you’re back.”

  * * *

  Rae’s reunion with the rest of her family wasn’t exactly the effusive affair she’d been expecting. Instead it was quiet, teary-eyed, and subdued.

  Julian and Molly pulled her in for a long, silent embrace, wrapping their arms around her as tightly as they would go. Their foreheads touched in the middle as they huddled together. Oblivious to the pain. Immune to the cold. It was an embrace that probably would have gone on forever if Beth hadn’t managed to pry her away.

  Mother and daughter came together as if no one else was there, as if no one else was watching. Their dark hair flew up around them in the winter breeze, and soon the tears spilling down Beth’s cheeks were spilling down Rae’s as well.

  When Beth finally released her, she pulled back only far enough to look her daughter up and down, keeping a firm grip on her wrists the whole time. Her expression was so devastating that Rae wanted to gather her up once more, but a part of Beth was past being consoled. “Sweetheart, I’m so…”

  Rae shook her head quickly. “Mom, it wasn’t your fault.”

  Another flood of tears rushed down Beth’s face, and Devon slipped his arm around her in a supportive hug. “I’m just…” her voice broke off with a sob, “I should have known!”

  “There was no way to know,” Rae said soothingly. She and Devon exchanged a quick, knowing glance. No. They would never tell her there actually was a way to break through. “There was nothing you could have done.”

  It was as heartfelt as could be, but still, the sentiment didn’t exactly go over well with anyone in the group. These were the kinds of people used to achieving the impossible. Accustomed to facing that one in a million chance, still knowing they would succeed.

  Nothing you could have done wasn’t playing out any better than the concept of space.

  Rae glanced around the circle, at each of their faces. Each one painfully drawn with identical expressions of anger and grief. Each one at a complete loss as to what to say.

  At first, she was surprised to see her father there as well. Not locked in chains in the basement. But at the same time, she kind of expected it. She had seen firsthand that, when his daughter was in trouble, there was no restraining a man like Simon Kerrigan.

  “Hey, it’s not so bad!” She tried to lighten the mood. “At least none of you tried to kill me.”

  Oh wait…

  There was a compulsive movement at the edge of the circle as Gabriel bowed his head in shame. He and Angel were standing a bit on the periphery of the group. As if, when it came to family reunions, they were still unsure as to whether they would be included. His entire body had flinched upon hearing the words, like he’d been slapped in the face, and he couldn’t meet her eyes.

  “Oh, no! That’s not what I meant!” Rae clarified quickly, taking an automatic step towards him. “You were only doing what you thought you had to—to protect the rest of the group.”

  He looked absolutely stricken, and kept his eyes locked on the ground.

  Just stop talking, Kerrigan. You’re not helping.

  But Rae couldn’t. The looks on those faces were breaking her heart, and she tried again, only vaguely aware that all of her attempts to make things better were blowing up in her face. “At any rate, that’s nothing! Devon almost choked the life out of me just an hour or so ago!”

  Abort! Abort! Abort!

  This time it was Simon who took a compulsive step forward, glaring down at his future son-in-law like he was prepared to strangle him on the spot. Julian’s eyes flashed preemptively white, making sure that no such attacks were likely to happen in the future, and Molly—ever the faithful best friend—shot a bolt of lightning right into Devon’s side.

  He doubled over with a painful gasp, catching himself only by the tips of his fingers. Rae’s mouth fell open in dismay, but he held up a silencing hand. “It’s okay,” he panted, getting painfully to his feet, “I definitely deserved that.”

&n
bsp; “No, you didn’t! Molls, what have we said about—”

  “Tell me that you got her.”

  The group fell absolutely silent as Beth stepped forward. If Rae had thought that her father looked dangerous, the look in her mother’s eyes promised certain death. “Tell me that you got the horrible person who did this.”

  Like a deadly little tennis match, everyone’s eyes shot back to Rae.

  The last few days flashed through her mind like a bad dream. From waking up on the hill, unrecognized by everyone she loved, to being exiled from this very house. Her miserable job at the diner, her terrifying visit to Guilder, waking up in the hospital with only Devon by her side.

  Right down to the showdown at Elias’ old house. The crumbling plaster and rain-soaked walls. The little girl sitting in the backyard, her hands covered in mud. The look of indescribable hatred in her eyes as she stood over Rae’s fallen body, screaming aloud for her death.

  “No,” she said in a quiet voice, “we didn’t get her. She…she got away.”

  Much to her surprise, it was Kraigan who stepped forward. His hands balled into fists and he fixed his customary glare not on his sister, but on the man standing by her side.

  “How the hell could you let that happen?!” he demanded, giving Devon a fierce shove. “The girl has no active powers! How the hell could you let her get away?!”

  Rae tried to step in between them, but with her leg in the state it was in she wasn’t having much luck. At any rate, Devon could take care of himself.

  “It wasn’t as simple as all that,” he said quietly, defensive, but making no move to strike back. “You felt her influence, Kraigan. She doesn’t need active powers to win a fight.”

  “So, what happened, then?” Angel spoke up for the first time, ignoring the argument entirely as she fixed her inquisitive eyes on Rae. “How did you get away? How do we recognize you now?”

  Well aware that her mother’s fragile mental state hung in the balance, Rae decided to keep things as vague as possible. “We got lucky. Cornered her in her old family home. Had a little…talk.”

  She hoped that would suffice. At least for now.

  But Beth wasn’t having it.

  “A little talk that ended up breaking your leg?” she asked in a dangerous tone.

  Rae shook her head quickly, eager to get out the facts. “Oh no, that was a few days before. I got hit by a taxi.”

  Okay, seriously? What the freakin’ heck is wrong with me?

  The rest of the group took a quick step back as Beth’s hands began to glow. Her chest rose and fell with quick, uneven breaths as little flames started winding their way up her arms. “I’m going to kill her,” she murmured, locking her eyes on the horizon. “I’m going to go out there right now, track her down, and kill her.”

  When most people’s mothers said that, it was an exaggeration. Not so much with Beth.

  “Mom, that’s a little premature,” Rae tried to temper her. “We have no idea where she took off to, and Julian isn’t able to track her—”

  But Beth wasn’t the only one demanding blood.

  “Your mother’s right.” Simon positioned himself by Beth’s side. He alone was the only one who seemed completely unfazed by the violent flames dancing off her body, and not only was Beth unsurprised by his show of allegiance but she seemed to welcome the help. “We need to finish this. Once and for all. Before she has a chance to regroup. Before she has a chance to come back.”

  For the first time in Rae’s entire life, her parents were standing together. Their faces were set, their minds were made up, and for a split second she got a glimpse of what life might have been like were it not for the series of tragedies that had torn the Kerrigan family apart.

  Perhaps it was this sudden digression of roles, the child against the parents, that shaped the next words that came out of Rae’s mouth. Because, considering her rather vast skill set and the fact that she was trying to stop them from committing a homicide, they were rather childish indeed.

  “Ow…my leg hurts…”

  Chapter 2

  “I can’t believe that worked,” Rae whispered as she was carried into the house, “again!”

  Thanks to the gang’s unfortunate tendency towards death and dismemberment, they happened to have some vials of morphine preemptively stored beneath the bathroom sink. Luke had raced inside to get one, and ever since Rae was feeling a lot better about her situation.

  She also was having a great deal of trouble holding her tongue. Devon was so handsome beside her. So gullible. So… “I’m serious, babe! I thought it was crazy enough that it worked on you!” Her head fell back with a chemical-induced grin. “But you always were a big softie…”

  Angel shot them a wicked grin as she walked by. “Don’t worry, Dev. I hear it happens to a lot of people.”

  Rae burst into uncontrollable giggles.

  Devon rolled his eyes. “Keep walking, blondie. We’ll talk about your little gun collection in a bit.”

  “Oh, crap—that’s right!” Rae clapped her hands over her mouth with a theatric gasp of surprise. “The secret one behind the picture in your room!”

  Angel’s face froze, while Julian glanced over from across the steps.

  “Don’t worry,” Rae lowered her voice to a deafening whisper, one that was as gravely serious as the drugs would allow, “it can be our little secret.”

  Devon’s lips twitched up in a vengeful grin, while Angel’s face soured.

  “Thanks, Rae.” She sighed softly as Julian headed their way. “For so many things…”

  As the quarreling couple vanished inside the house, Rae twisted around to look over Devon’s shoulder at the stoic faces following them up the front steps. Her mother’s hands had yet to return to their normal color, and judging by the way her fiancé kept angling his body she was willing to bet he was keeping a close eye on her father.

  She remembered the look on Simon’s face with a shiver. The way every spark of light had left his eyes when he’d found out that Devon had, once again, tried to kill his only daughter.

  I’d keep a close eye on him, too…

  Spurred on by the sea of chemicals flooding her system, she called out with a wide, reconciliatory smile. “Dad! Hey, Dad? Come here!”

  Every single mouth dropped open in shock. Even Beth broke out of her vengeful trance long enough to look surprised. Devon’s body stiffened in alarm, and Simon was staring at her like he still found it hard to believe that title could possible apply to him.

  “DAD!” She squawked it out as loud as she could manage, waving wildly to get his attention.

  A slow smile began spreading up the side of Simon’s face, and he jogged ahead to meet them.

  Devon, on the other hand, went pale as a sheet. “Rae, what are you doing?” he whispered urgently.

  She patted his chest with supreme confidence. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ve got this.”

  He looked like he was about to say something more, but at that moment Simon caught up with them, and he fell instantly silent, doing his best not to meet the man’s eyes.

  “You called?” Simon asked with a wry grin.

  “Yes.” Rae swiveled around with as much dignity as she could muster, folding her hands diplomatically in her lap. “I think the time has come for the two of you to bury the hatchet.”

  “This can’t be happening…” Devon muttered frantically before raising his voice. “Please don’t listen to a thing she says.”

  “Hatchet?” Simon cocked his head to the side with that same amused grin. “I wasn’t aware we had a hatchet to bury. Besides the fact that everyone is honor-bound to hate me, of course.”

  “Quite right,” Rae nodded soundly, “but this goes a bit deeper, I think.”

  Devon’s fingers dug sharply into her side. “Rae, if you love me at all, you’ll shut up—”

  “I’m talking about all those times he’s tried to kill me in the past, and how you’ve done everything within your power, even from death, to
ruin my life.” A sudden realization popped into her head, and she burst out laughing once more. “Except, you were never really dead, were you?!”

  Devon looked like he was about to be sick.

  “She’s high, Mr. Kerrigan.”

  “Well, that’s alright.” Simon looked her over with both curiosity and affection. “She’s much more forthcoming this way. We should give her drugs more often.”

  “Simon,” Beth said sharply, just a few steps behind.

  “Seriously, Mr. Kerrigan,” Devon backed swiftly towards the door, “there’s no hatchet.”

  Rae looked up in confusion.

  “But you just told me the other week that he was an unredeemable psychopath and you wished he’d never come back into our lives.”

  What little color was left in Devon’s skin drained right out. “…I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.”

  Rae stroked the side of his face, and burst out giggling. “You said it right before you ripped through that negligée that Molly bought me—”

  Devon lowered his voice, probably wishing the ground would simply swallow him whole. “I’m going to strangle you—”

  A heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he fell silent at once.

  “Oh, I think it’s a little early for you to be making that joke, isn’t it?” Simon offered him a dangerous smile before turning back to his daughter. “And to be fair, Devon might have had a point. About me, that is.”

  Rae stared back with wide eyes, studying the face of the man who was supposed to have raised her. “You’re very…tall.”

  Devon’s eyes snapped shut with a wince. “Please tell me this isn’t happening…”

  Beth gave him a sympathetic smile as she walked past. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ve all said it at some point or another. I myself make sure to say it at least once a week.”

  “Is that right?” Simon gave her a little smile. “At least once a week?”

  “Sometimes twice.”

  Cold words, but it sounded like Beth’s heart wasn’t really in them. In fact, Rae could have sworn that she said them with a ghost of a smile.