The End of Magic (The Witches of Echo Park #3)(77)

       
         
       
        
She had to agree with Lyse . . . there was no way that squat wooden building ahead of them could be the Red Chapel.

"Remember, the dreamlands can be misleading," Eleanora said. "Things aren't always as they seem."

The Red Chapel truly was nothing to look at it. Merely a small wooden square on a patch of green grass, a sprawling purple lake stretching out behind it. Daniela didn't know what she'd expected, but it was not this. Maybe something grandiose to match the larger-than-life name? Instead, she found herself underwhelmed.

Niamh, on the other hand, had relaxed visibly when she'd caught sight of the place. Whatever she'd been expecting to see, it was obviously not this small wooden box.

Hessika slowed their speed as they got closer. Daniela felt Dev's nervousness grow as they neared the building, her sense of excitement building, too.

"They're inside," she said to Daniela, her voice shaking. "I can't believe I'm going to see them again."

Daniela patted Dev's shoulder, the leather fabric of her gloves separating her touch from Dev's skin-but even this small gesture alarmed Dev.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Dev asked, a spike of fear punctuating her words.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Daniela whispered, putting her lips as close to Dev's ear as she dared. "I think it's done. I think I don't have to use the gloves anymore."

Dev looked startled.

"Wait. You're kidding! How is that even possible?"

"It's the creature inside me . . . I think it protects me. I think it consumes the energy I take in when I touch someone. I think it's using me," Daniela continued, keeping her voice low for Dev's ears only. "But I'm using it, too."

Dev shook her head, her focus wholly on Daniela.

"Are you going to tell the others?" she asked.

"Soon," Daniela said. "Let's get the girls first and I'll do a little testing. See if I'm right about this."

"Just be careful," Dev said, seemingly satisfied by Daniela's answer. "We've already lost Arrabelle and Evan. We can't lose you, too."

Daniela didn't have the heart to tell Dev that she didn't care what happened to herself anymore. If she died, it didn't really matter. She just wanted to destroy Desmond Delay and The Flood, and then she could cease to exist forever and that would be fine by her. 

Thankfully, their talk was cut short when the boat finally came to a stop. They touched down on the edge of the grass and as soon as they'd all disembarked, the boat began to fall apart, leaving a mess of timber and twine behind.

Dev, followed by Eleanora, went straight to the front door and pushed her way in. She was eager to see the girls.

"That was well done, ma belle," Hessika said to Niamh.

"I'm so tired," Niamh said. "I feel like I could sleep for ages-"

She didn't finish her thought because her eyes rolled up into her head and she crumpled forward. Daniela was closest to her and, without thinking, she reached out and caught Niamh around the waist before she could hit the ground.

"Daniela! No!" Lyse cried, racing toward them.

"It's okay," Daniela said, as she set the girl down in the grass, careful to keep the back of her head from hitting the ground. "I think it's all right now."

Lyse knelt down in the grass beside her. Hessika joined them, but at remove.

"Are you sure?" she asked, concern rife in her blue eyes.

"It was Niamh," Daniela said. "What she did when she healed me? The creature she put inside me . . . it protects me."

Lyse was thunderstruck by this revelation.

"No . . . that's amazing . . . and wonderfully insane."

Daniela didn't tell Lyse the worrying part. The creature wanted something from her and she didn't know what. She was sure it would let her know its demands soon, but for now it was protecting her from empathic brain circuitry overload and she was thankful for that.

"It just means I don't need these anymore," Daniela said, and she removed the gloves from her hands and set them on the ground. "It's pretty damn freeing."

Niamh took that moment to open her eyes. She looked first at Hessika, who nodded, and then she turned her gaze to Daniela.

"So sorry," she murmured, and sat up. She was groggy and wiped out, shaky from all the emotional and physical exertion of getting them to the Red Chapel.

"Just sit there for a moment," Daniela said to her. "You've worn yourself out."

Niamh couldn't argue with that. Instead, she took Daniela's advice and pulled her knees to her chest, resting her head on her arms. She closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, disappearing into her own head.