Beautiful Redemption Read online

  Which, sometimes, it did.

  “There has to be a way, right?” John asked. “Maybe in one of these scrolls or one of these old books—”

  Ridley unscrewed the top of her nail polish bottle, wrinkling her nose. “Goody. Old books.”

  “Try to have a bit more respect, Ridley. A book is the reason the children in the Duchannes family suffered for generations.” Marian was referring to our curse.

  Rid crossed her arms, pouting. “Whatever.”

  Marian swiped the bottle out of her hand. “Another thing I don’t allow in my library.” It clattered to the bottom of the trash can.

  Ridley glared, but she didn’t say a word.

  “Dr. Ashcroft, have you ever delivered a book to the Otherworld?” Liv asked.

  Marian shook her head. “I can’t say that I have.”

  “Maybe Carlton Eaton could just run it on over.” Link looked hopeful. “You could wrap it up in one a those brown paper packages, like you do for my mom’s books. And, you know, circulate it or somethin’.”

  Marian sighed. “I’m afraid not, Wesley.” Even Carlton Eaton, who had his nose in every letter in town in both the Mortal and Caster worlds, couldn’t make a delivery like that.

  Frustrated, Liv flipped through her little red notebook. “There has to be a way. What were the odds you could get the Book from Abraham at all? And now that we have it, we’re just going to give up?” She pulled the pencil from behind her ear, scribbling and mumbling to herself. “The laws of quantum physics must allow for this sort of eventuality….”

  I didn’t know anything about the laws of quantum physics, but I knew one thing. “The stone from my charm necklace disappeared when I left it for Ethan. Why would the Book be any different?”

  I know you took it, Ethan. Why couldn’t you take the Book, too?

  I realized Uncle Macon could probably hear me, and I tried to stop.

  It was no use. I couldn’t stop Kelting any more than I could stop the words that strung themselves together, waiting for me to write them down somewhere.

  laws of physics

  laws of love

  of time and space

  and the (in)between place

  (in)between you and me

  and where we are

  lost and looking

  looking and lost

  “Maybe the Book’s too heavy,” Link offered. “That little black rock wasn’t any bigger than a quarter.”

  “I’m not sure that’s the reason, Wesley. Though anything is possible,” Marian said.

  “Or impossible.” Ridley pushed her sunglasses back into place and stuck out her red tongue.

  “So why can’t it make the jump?” John asked.

  Marian glanced at Liv’s notes, considering the question. “The Book of Moons is a powerful supernatural object. No one really understands the scope of its power. Not the Keepers or the Casters.”

  “And if the origin of its magic is in the Caster world, it could be deeply rooted here,” Liv said. “The way a tree is rooted to a particular spot.”

  “Are you saying the Book doesn’t want to cross over?” John asked.

  Liv tucked the pencil behind her ear. “I’m saying maybe it can’t.”

  “Or shouldn’t.” Uncle Macon’s tone grew more serious.

  Ridley slid to the floor and stretched out her long legs. “This is so messed up. I risked my life, and now we’re stuck with that thing. Maybe we need to hit the Tunnels and see if any of the other bad guys know the answer. You know—Team Dark.”

  Liv crossed her arms over her EDISON DIDN’T INVENT THE LIGHTBULB T-shirt. “You want to take The Book of Moons to a Dark Caster bar?”

  “You have a better idea?” Rid asked.

  “I think I do.” Marian slipped her red wool jacket on.

  Liv scrambled after her. “Where are you going?”

  “To see someone who knows a great deal about not just that book but a world that defies the physics of both the Caster and Mortal worlds. Someone who just may have the answers we need.”

  My uncle nodded. “An excellent idea.”

  There was only one person who fit that description.

  Someone who loved Ethan as much as I did. Someone who would do anything for him, even rip a hole in the universe.

  CHAPTER 27

  The Cracks in Everything

  Now, don’t you tell me you’re thinkin’ a settin’ foot on my front walkway, you hear?” Amma refused to let Ridley anywhere near Wate’s Landing. She said so in about fifteen different ways in the first conversation we unsuccessfully tried to have with her.

  “Mmmm-nnnnnnn. No Dark Casters are comin’ into this house while I’m here on this sweet earth. Or after I leave it. No, sir. No, ma’am. No how.”

  She agreed to meet us at Greenbrier instead.

  Uncle Macon hung back. “It’s better this way. Amarie and I haven’t seen each other since the night… it happened,” he explained. “I’m not sure this is the right moment.”

  “So what you’re saying is that you’re scared of her, too?” Ridley eyed him with new interest. “Imagine that.”

  “I’ll be at Ravenwood if you need me,” he said, giving Ridley a withering stare.

  “Imagine that.” I smiled.

  The rest of us waited inside the crumbling wall of the old graveyard. I resisted the urge to wander over to Ethan’s plot, though I felt the familiar pull, the longing to be with him there. I believed, with all my heart, that there was a way to get Ethan back, and I wasn’t going to stop trying until I found it.

  Amma was hopeful, too, but I had seen the fear and doubt in her eyes. She had already lost him twice. Every time I took her another crossword puzzle, she was desperate to get him back.

  I think Amma wasn’t about to let herself believe in anything she could stand to lose again.

  With the Book, though, we were one step closer.

  Ridley was leaning against a tree, a safe distance from the hole in the stone wall. I knew she was just as afraid of Amma as Uncle Macon was, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

  “Don’t say anything to her when she gets here,” Link warned Ridley. “You know how she gets about that book.”

  Ridley rolled her eyes. “I thought Abraham was a pain. Amma’s even worse.”

  I saw a black orthopedic lace-up step through the opening.

  “Worse than what?” Amma demanded. “Worse than your manners?” She looked Ridley up and down. “Or your taste in clothes?”

  She was wearing a yellow dress, all sunlight and sweetness, which didn’t match her expression. Her grayish-black hair was twisted into a neat bun, and she was carrying a patterned quilting bag. I’d been around long enough to know there weren’t any quilting supplies inside.

  “Or a stitch worse than the girl who gets pulled outta Hell only to walk back into the fire on her own?” Amma watched Ridley carefully.

  Ridley didn’t take off her sunglasses, but I could see the shame anyway. I knew her too well. There was something about Amma that made you feel completely awful if you disappointed her—even if you were a Siren with no ties to her.

  “That’s not what happened,” Ridley said quietly.

  Amma dropped her bag on the ground. “Isn’t it, then? I have it on good authority that you had a chance to be on the right side a wrong for once, and you gave it up. Did I miss somethin’ in the fine print?”

  Ridley shifted nervously. “It’s not that simple.”

  Amma sniffed. “You go on tellin’ yourself that if it helps you sleep at night, but don’t try to sell it to me, because I’m not buyin’ it.” Amma pointed to the lollipop in Ridley’s hand. “And all that sugar will rot those teeth right outta your head, Caster or no Caster.”

  Link laughed nervously.

  Amma focused her eagle eye on him. “What’re you laughin’ about, Wesley Lincoln? You’re knee deep in more trouble than the day I caught you in my basement when you were nine years old.”

  Link’s face reddened.
“It sorta finds me, ma’am.”

  “You know you go lookin’ for it, sure as the sun shines the same on the saints as it does on the sinners.” She glanced at each of us. “So what is it this time? And it better not have anythin’ to do with destroyin’ the balance a the universe.”

  “All saints, ma’am. No sinners.” Link backed away an inch or two, looking at me for help.

  “Spit it out. I’ve got Aunt Mercy and Aunt Grace at the house, and I can’t leave them alone with Thelma for too long, or the three a them will order everything that comes on the shoppin’ channel.” Amma rarely called Ethan’s great-aunts “the Sisters” anymore, now that one of them was gone.

  But now it was Marian who walked over and took Amma’s arm reassuringly. “It’s about The Book of Moons.”

  “We have it,” I blurted out.

  Liv stepped aside, revealing The Book of Moons lying on the ground behind her. Amma’s eyes widened. “Do I wanna know how you got it?”

  Link jumped in. “Nope. I mean no, ma’am, you sure don’t.”

  “The fact remains we have it now,” Marian said.

  “But we can’t get it to Ethan—” I heard the desperation in my voice.

  Amma shook her head and approached the Book, circling it like she didn’t want to get too close. “ ’Course you can’t. This book is too powerful for one world. If you want to send it from the world a the livin’ to the world a the dead, we’ll need the power a both worlds to send it.”

  I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I only cared about one thing. “Will you help us?”

  “Not my help you need. You need help on the receivin’ end.”

  Liv inched closer to Amma. “We left the Book for Ethan, but he didn’t take it.”

  She sniffed. “Hmm. Ethan’s not strong enough to carry that kinda weight across. He probably doesn’t even know how.”

  “But there is someone strong enough,” Marian coaxed. “Perhaps more than one someone.” She was talking about the Greats.

  The question was, would Amma call them?

  I bit my lip.

  Please say yes.

  “Figured if you were callin’, you were lookin’ to test out just how far crazy will go.” Amma opened the quilting bag and took out a shot glass and a bottle of Wild Turkey. “So I came prepared.” She poured a shot and pointed to me. “You’re gonna have to help, though. We need the power a both worlds, don’t forget.”

  I nodded. “I’ll do whatever I need to.”

  Amma nodded in the direction of Ravenwood. “You can start by gatherin’ up the rest a your kin. You don’t have the kinda power we need on your own.”

  “Rid is here, and John can help, too. He’s half Caster.”

  Amma shook her head. “If you want that book to cross, you’re gonna have to go get the rest a them.”

  “They’re in Barbados.”

  “Actually, they returned a few hours ago,” Marian said. “Reece stopped by the library earlier tonight. She said your grandmother wasn’t fond of the humidity.”

  I tried not to smile. What my grandmother wasn’t fond of was missing all the action, and Reece wasn’t much better. With every Caster power in my extended family, I was certain they knew something was going on.

  “I could ask them. But they might be tired from all the travel.” I was worried enough that Uncle M was going to change his mind about all this. Adding the rest of my family into the mix fell somewhere between risky and idiotic.

  Amma crossed her arms, as determined as I’d ever seen her. “What I know is that this book isn’t going anywhere without them.”

  There was no use arguing with her. I had watched Ethan try to talk her down when her mind was made up, and he rarely succeeded. And Amma loved him more than anyone in the world. I didn’t stand a chance.

  Ridley nodded at me. “I’ll go with you for backup.”

  “Your mom will freak if you just show up. I’m going to have to tell her you’re back. And I should probably tell them that you’ve—” I hesitated. It wasn’t going to be easy for anyone in my family to deal with the fact that Ridley ran back to Sarafine for her Dark Caster powers. “Changed.”

  Link looked away.

  That wasn’t the worst of it. “It’s going to be hard enough to explain to Gramma why I have the Book.”

  Rid slung her arm over my shoulder. “Don’t you know that the best way to distract someone from bad news is to give them some worse news?” She smiled, leading me toward Ravenwood. “News doesn’t get much worse than me.”

  Link shook his head. “No kidding.”

  Ridley spun around and pushed her sunglasses up. “Zip it, Shrinky Dink. Or I’ll make you want to rip into your mother’s room and tell her you’re becoming a Methodist.”

  “Your powers don’t work on me anymore, Babe.”

  Ridley blew him a sticky pink kiss. “Try me.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Caster Catfight

  I opened the front door, and the air inside the house seemed to move. No—it was moving. Hundreds of butterflies fluttered through the air while others rested on the delicate antique furniture Uncle Macon had spent years collecting.

  Butterflies.

  What was I doing to Ravenwood?

  A tiny green butterfly with streaks of gold across its wings landed on the bottom of the banister.

  “Macon?” Gramma’s voice called from the second floor. “Is that you?”

  “No, Gramma. It’s me. Lena.”

  She swept down the stairs in a high-neck white blouse, her hair gathered neatly in a bun and her lace-up boots peeking out from under her long skirt. Against the perfectly restored flying staircase, she looked like a Southern belle right out of an old movie.

  She glanced at the butterflies flitting around the room and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad to see you’re in a good mood.”

  Gramma knew Ravenwood’s interior constantly changed to mirror my moods. To her, a room full of butterflies meant happiness. But for me, it meant something entirely different—something I had been clinging to tightly.

  Hope, borne on green and gold wings. Dark and Light, like I had become the night of my Claiming.

  I touched the wire Christmas tree star on my charm necklace. I had to focus. Everything had come down to this. Ethan was out there somewhere, and there was a chance we could bring him home. I just had to convince my family to lend their powers to us.

  “Gramma, I need your help with something.”

  “Of course, sweetheart.”

  She wouldn’t be saying that if she knew what I was about to tell her. “What if I told you I found The Book of Moons?”

  Gramma froze. “Why would you ask me something like that, Lena? Do you know where it is?”

  I nodded.

  She gathered her skirt, rushing toward the stairs. “We have to tell Macon. The sooner we get that book back to the Lunae Libri, the better.”

  “We can’t.”

  Gramma turned around slowly, her eyes looking right through me. “Start explaining, young lady. And you can start by telling me how you found The Book of Moons.”

  Ridley stepped out from behind a marble column. “I helped her.”

  For one long moment, I held my breath, until it became clear Ravenwood wasn’t about to fall to the ground.

  “How did you get in here?” Gramma’s voice was as controlled as Ridley’s, maybe more. She’d been around a long time, and it would take more than my Dark-again cousin to throw her.

  “Lena let me in.”

  There was a flicker of disappointment in my grandmother’s eyes. “I see you’re wearing your sunglasses again.”

  “It was kind of a self-preservation thing.” Ridley bit her lip nervously. “The world’s a dangerous place.”

  It was something my grandmother said to us all the time when we were kids—particularly to Ridley. I remembered something else she said, something that might delay the confession of the Abraham story long enough for me to get the Book to Ethan.

>   “Gramma, do you remember the deal you made with Ridley the first time she went to a party?”

  She looked at me blankly. “I’m not sure I do.”

  “You told her not to get in a car with anyone who had been drinking.”

  “Certainly good advice, but I’m not sure how it relates to this situation.”

  “You told Rid that if she called and said her ride was drinking, you would send someone to pick her up, no questions asked.” I saw a hint of recognition pass across her face. “You said she wouldn’t get in trouble, no matter where she was or what she did.”

  Ridley leaned against the column awkwardly. “Yeah. It was like a Get Out of Jail Free card. I definitely needed one of those recently.”

  “Is this conversation going to explain why you two are in possession of the most dangerous book in the Caster or Mortal world?” Gramma looked skeptically from my cousin to me.

  “I’m calling to tell you my ride has been drinking,” I blurted out.

  “Pardon me?”

  “I need you to trust me and do something without asking any questions. Something for Ethan.”

  “Lena, Ethan is—”

  I held up my hand. “Don’t say it. We both know people can communicate from the other side. Ethan sent me a message. And I need your help.”

  “She’s telling the truth. At least she thinks she is, for what it’s worth.” Reece was standing in the darkened doorway to the dining room. I hadn’t even seen her, but she had obviously seen me. It only took a Sybil one look at your face to read it, and Reece was among the best. Finally, it was working to my advantage.

  “Even if you are telling the truth, you are asking for more than just a little faith. And no matter how much I love you, I can’t help you use—”

  “We aren’t trying to use The Book of Moons.” I wondered if she would believe me. “We’re trying to send it to Ethan.”

  The room was silent, and I waited for her to say something. “What would lead you to believe that’s possible?”

  I explained the messages Ethan had been leaving in the crosswords, but I left out the part about how we actually got our hands on The Book of Moons, invoking the “my ride is drunk” clause. I wouldn’t get away with it forever. Eventually, Gramma would insist on an explanation. But I didn’t need forever—just tonight. After we sent the Book to Ethan, Gramma could interrogate me all she wanted.