Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Kellan

Josephine stood quietly between the bed and the window, watching her mother. Her familiar green eyes made my skin crawl. I slipped into my jeans and t-shirt, while Josephine continued to glare.

"Josephine," I whispered.

She turned toward me with an ashen face. "I don't want to go out there."

I walked over and cupped my hands around her face. There was so much fear in her eyes that it wrecked me inside. I couldn't imagine waking up and realizing that your mother is evil and not who she says she was.

"If we don't, she'll just come inside, Josephine. She's not going to go away. We'll go out together and figure this out."

She closed her eyes, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Don't cry," I whispered. "I won't let her take you."

I had no idea how I would stop her. If she was Deidamia's sister, then her powers and her origins could be limitless. There was no way to figure it out without confronting her.

Josephine wiped her cheek and took a deep breath. "Okay," she whispered.

I looked down at her long T-shirt and grabbed a pair of my sweats from a nearby chest of drawers. "Put these on."

She slid into my sweats and tied the band tightly to keep them up. "Are you ready?" I asked.

Josephine nodded swiftly and followed me down the hallway. Fern and Ernest were both asleep on the couch, the moonlight brightening the room enough to see their sleeping faces.

I prayed they heard if something went wrong.

Her mother stood in the middle of my backyard. The sound of a portal was nearby but not close enough to hear its power from inside the house.

She wore a similar robe to Deidamia, but she didn't have the horns.

Josephine tightened her fingers around mine and halted several yards from her. "That's the greeting your mother gets? You get a new man, and all of a sudden, you're too good to greet me?"

Josephine didn't answer. I wasn't sure if she was attempting to hide her anger or couldn't get the nerve to speak. "What do you want?" I asked, breaking their awkward silence.

Her gaze shifted toward mine. "Ah, the hero. I knew when my husband hired you that it was a bad idea. Especially after my daughter confided in me what she wanted in a man." She snorted. "She has no idea what she's capable of. She doesn't need a man; she wants one."

Josephine looked completely lost, but I understood. Josephine had powers. She just didn't know how to use them. "Can you get to the point? What do you need from us?"

"Funny you should ask," she said, appearing inches in front of us. Josephine jumped backward, away from her mother. "I need the spindle," she spat.

"So, your sister beat you, did she?" I asked. "I guess you're not as strong as you thought you were."

"Careful," she said. "You're already cursed to live in this land forever. One snap and I'll take Josephine from that picture. I haven't practiced—"

"What are you?" Josephine blurted out. "You're coming here demanding things out of me, but I'm not doing anything until you tell me what the hell you are."

Her green gaze lowered to Josephine. "I'm Deidamia's sister. I'm from that realm."

"Why are you here? How did you get here?"

She shifted in the moonlight, and it brightened her face. She looked into the distance as if remembering something for the first time in a long time. "When Mother found out that Father knew about her affair, she planned for all of us to come to Earth. However, she got me here, and before she could bring Deidamia, our father killed her. I was taken in by a couple and raised here in Louisiana."

Josephine let go of my hand and folded her arms over her chest. "Do you eat people too? How have you lived this long?"

She sighed as if irritated by the questions. "A woman I met in the bayou noticed there was something inside of me that looked familiar to her. She showed me how to claim my immortality in a way that didn't require me to feed off people. I've bounced around the state for hundreds of years. When I met your father, I knew I could fit in nicely with him. He was my fourth husband and the best by far."

"Why take the spindle, then?" I asked. "Why do you need it if you have immortality?"

She smiled. "The spindle doesn't just grant you eternal life, Little Ones."

She took a step forward and hovered over Josephine in a way that screamed dominance. There was no motherly touch or compassion. She'd been wearing a mask Josephine's entire life.

"What do you need it for?" she asked.

"I think our game of twenty questions is up, Honey Dew. Let's focus on getting the spindle back. I need your help."

I grabbed Josephine's hand and pulled her behind me. "Why? If you have powers, why do you need the spindle? Can't you get it yourself? You"ve done it before."

"Once because her guard was down. Now she knows I'm coming for it. I can't, and won't, do it alone."

"I need your little misfit friends as well," she said, glancing over her shoulder toward the forest. "Get your belongings. We're leaving."

"No." Josephine's voice sliced through the air. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I can't trust you. Who is to say you won't toss us to Deidamia? I don't trust you anymore. Does Dad know? Does he have a clue that you put us all in danger for a spindle?"

A green hue seeped from her as her body stiffened at the disobedience. "You have your little boyfriend, and now you think you're too good for me?" she asked. "You ruined this for me, and you're going to fix it. I'm not asking, Josephine. I'm telling you."

"Why would we help you?" I asked, stepping closer to her.

"Because you of all people know what my sister is capable of. I'm not too far behind her. I love my daughter, but I'll rip this little relationship to shreds if you don't do what I ask of you both."

"We're bound," Josie said. "You can try to tear us apart, but you can't. It's fate. Remember that storybook you read to me?"

The corners of her mouth rose into a sinister smile. "Why yes, I do, Josephine. And I know that your little boyfriend holds the key to beating my sister."

"So you can take her place?" I asked.

She scoffed. "As if I would leave my home here to go live in that run-down realm. Being sent to Earth was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was a shame that Deidamia wasn't sent with me."

"And you never tried to save her?" Josephine asked. "You let her be abused by her stepmother while you were taken care of here?"

"By the time I could use my magic to transport realms, it was too late." She bent down to Josephine"s level, and I watched the evil twirl in her eyes. "Do you think you're better than me, Josephine? You've always been so nave. Your father spoiled you."

"You didn't stop him," she countered. "At least I'm not living in this pretend world, feigning to be something I'm not. At least I'm not a monster."

She cackled, and it echoed around us. "You were born of me, Josephine. You have our blood. You're no better than either of us. You take what you want, and you always have. You broke that poor boy's heart on video, and didn't care that you ruined his life—"

"I won't pretend to be happy," Josephine yelled. "At least I'm not pretending with Kellan. I love him. I never loved Jacob."

Her mother's eyes shifted toward mine and held. There was so much emotion in them that I couldn't pinpoint which one was winning. "Kellan still loves his first wife, Josephine. You're stupid to think that you could make him happy."

I squeezed Josephine's hand, my heart pounding at the fact she said she loved me. It hammered in my ears like a lullaby. "She's trying to get you to doubt yourself," I whispered.

"Go ahead," she taunted. "Listen to him because he's been screwing you. Because he's happy to have someone he can push around. Go ahead, Josephine. Listen to your big, strong—"

Josephine's scream ripped through the midnight air as she lunged at her mother. The strength behind it startled me. She fell back onto her back as Josephine landed on top of her, and struck her across the face.

The hair on the back of my neck stood as I grabbed Josephine's waist and hauled her toward my chest. The back door to my house opened, and Ernest stepped out onto the porch.

Her mother stood up casually. Wiping the blood from her face, she chuckled. "Josephine. Your father and I taught you better than to strike your mother."

"You're not my mother," Josie shouted, kicking out at her.

I swung her around, putting my back to her mother, and braced my palms against her shoulders. "You have to stop," I said softly. "We need to keep ourselves together."

Josephine's face contorted into hatred.

"Is everything okay?" Ernest asked.

I looked over at him, going to signal for him to stay back when my body stiffened. I watched as Ernest and Josephine's eyes grew and I was lifted from the ground.

An invisible rope wrapped around me, keeping my arms tight to my sides and my feet dangling in the air. "You have two seconds to get your belongings together, or I hurt your boyfriend, Josephine."

Ernest stepped down the back steps as breath leaked from me. I attempted to breathe to no avail.

"Josephine," Ernest said. "Go get Fern. Grab us some supplies."

Josephine spun around. "I'm not helping her—"

"Do it," he snapped.

His wise gaze settled on Josephine with a silent plea on his face. She reluctantly walked into the house to get Fern, while Ernest stepped closer to us. "We need his help to beat your sister. Him being dead won't do any of us any good."

Her mother snarled and tossed me to the ground. I gasped for breath and dug the heels of my boots into the dirt. "What's your name?" Ernest asked.

She eyed Ernest suspiciously. "Delilah."

Ernest stroked his long white beard while I climbed to my feet. "What do you plan to do with the spindle?"

She tossed the skirt of her robe back dramatically. "I'm finished with the twenty questions," she said. "Bring the girls out now."

Ernest stepped up the steps carefully, and as calmly as he spoke, he turned and zapped Delilah with a beam of golden light.

It hit her square in the chest, sending her back into the trunk of a giant magnolia tree. She struggled against his magic mercilessly and laughed as his power began to waver.

I couldn't leave Ernest there to fight her alone. He didn't look like he would make it. It would be a death wish.

"Ernest," I said, reaching forward. "Stop."

"Go," he hissed. "Go now."

"I can't leave you here," I said. "We have nowhere to go. We have to help her. We can't run forever."

Ernest kept his gaze on Delilah for several minutes before he dropped his magic and fell to the ground. Delilah hopped up and dusted off her clothing.

I stood in front of him, daring her to touch him. "If you hurt him, we won't go," I said. "Kill me, and Josephine won't help you at all. You know it. Leave him be."

Delilah's eyes flashed from green to red, and she chuckled humorlessly. "You all are beginning to grow on my nerves," she said under her breath. "Josephine!" she shouted. "Come out now. I'm growing impatient."

I waited several seconds before the backdoor opened and they walked outside. They both held a bag over their shoulder. Josephine stared at me as she descended the steps. "Are you okay?" she mouthed.

I nodded and offered Ernest my hand.

He climbed to his feet and dusted off his hands.

"The portal is this way," Delilah said. "Follow me. If anyone decides to run, I'll hunt you down and show no mercy. I don't need everyone to get the spindle back. Remember that."

Josephine looked up at me once her mother began walking toward the portal. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

The moonlight hit her vibrant blue eyes.

"What are you going to do?"

She started after her mother without another word.