He moved to her side, lowered his head. A second whirlwind surrounded them. Inside it, Marcus held Mom in his arms. Zach swallowed, struck by the anguish on his face, and his obvious love for her.
She opened her eyes, and the dread fisting his gut loosened.
Eric held on to Annie, whispering to her as she cried. Zach closed his eyes, fought back his own tears. He felt used up, and if Mom didn’t pull through—he couldn’t even finish that thought in his head.
“Hey, punk.” He looked at Annie. Somehow she got over here without a sound. “Don’t even say it. I haven’t lost all my ninja abilities.” She helped him sit, cradled the back of his head, the concern in her eyes lodging tears in his throat. “How are you?”
“Okay,” he whispered. His voice came out raw, and as ragged as he felt.
“Come here.” She held out her hand, and before his mind could tell him to man up, he curled into her embrace, needing the comfort, the warmth she always gave him. No matter how much he pissed her off. “She’ll be okay, Zach. We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure of that, for both of you.”
“Simon—”
“I know.” Annie closed her eyes, tears slipping down her face. “He was already—gone.”
“He saved Mom. The deck—” He tried to stand. His side screamed at him. Not as loudly as before, but enough that he knew he still had some recuperating ahead of him.
“Gone.” Annie glanced over at the knife, still sticking out of the ground. A pile of ash surrounded the blade, bits of gold spread through the grey. Power wrapped around the knife. It looked—stronger. Zach knew they would have to take care of it, find a nice, permanent warded box for it. “That’s the knife—”
“He used on me? Yeah. That was his mistake. If he hadn’t stabbed me with it, I never would have figured out it could destroy the deck. Do you think—” He forced it out, needing to know he wasn’t the only one holding on to hope. “Will Mom be okay?”
Annie sighed, tightened her embrace. “I think so. She’s got a soul now, and that counts for something. With the deck gone, we can lead her back to normal.”
“Annie.” She looked at him, the same fear that twisted through him in her eyes. “She’s never going to be normal again, is she?”
Annie let out a sigh. “No, sweetheart. But we’ll get her as close as we can.”
TEN
They took Simon home.
The priest who had replaced him helped Marcus move his body into the rectory, asking no questions. He simply shook Marcus’ hand, thanked him, and consoled the parishioners who gathered around, tears and shock on their faces. Marcus was thankful for the quiet acceptance. He knew there would be questions, but the priest assured him they could wait, until Simon had been put to rest. He belonged to the Church, and the Church would take care of him.
The next stop was for Claire.
Marcus carried her inside and settled her on to the bed, letting Eric and Annie deal with Zach.
He held her right hand, sitting on the side of the bed. She was unconscious, her body so cold he had to keep checking her breath to assure himself she still lived. She beat the monster, but it may have cost her everything.
Annie joined him. Seated in a chair on the opposite side of the bed, she rubbed Claire’s bare arm, her touch continuous, and gentle. She had cried on the cliff, but now she kept watch over Claire, brown eyes fierce and angry.
She looked up, and he finally spoke. “How is Zach?”
“Resting. He’ll heal, thanks to you.”
His quick thinking was the only reason Claire survived. She would not have been able to hold on to the ledge for long, not with two inches of iron buried in her side. Marcus pulled out the worst of the poison, but he could not heal what the tainted power of the deck had drawn out of her—the demon they thought long vanquished.
As if he heard, Zach’s quiet voice filtered into the room.
“Will she—” He stood in the doorway, left hand clutching the frame. Marcus saw the gleam of tears before Zach looked away. “Will she be okay?”
“Because of you, we will have the chance to find out.”
Annie pushed herself out of the chair. “You should be in bed.”
“I had to make sure . . .” His voice faded, and he lowered his head.
Annie moved to him and cupped his chin, lifting until he met her eyes. “You saved her life. Now she knows how much you care. That’s going to help. And thank you,” she pulled him forward and kissed him on the cheek, much to his mortification. “For saving her, and not getting dead doing it.”
Zach let out a watery laugh, wiping at his face. “I just didn’t want her to fall. I wasn’t thinking about me falling. Until now.”