“It can take away the immortal blood inside me?”
“Yep. Short of Tristan dying, it’s the only way to kill the blood inside you. The fountain is what gave Tristan, Gabriel, and me immortal life, right? So, the fountain water can counteract any immortal elements it gave life to. Meaning, it can neutralize the immortal effects of Tristan’s blood inside your body, essentially making it the same as your own. Tristan’s blood would die inside you, and the curse would be lifted, releasing Gabriel from the curse allowing you to live, and freeing Tristan of the curse’s effects.”
“Okay.” Scarlet said, letting herself fill up with a tiny bit of hope. “So, if we find the fountain, I won’t die and Gabriel will be free to love whomever he wants.”
Nate nodded. “And Tristan won’t be in pain anymore.”
“Wait, what?” Scarlet pushed back from the counter. “Why is Tristan in pain?”
Nate rolled his eyes and dropped his spoon into the almost-empty cereal bowl. “Did they not tell you anything?”
Scarlet pursed her lips. “Apparently not. What’s wrong with Tristan?”
Nate sighed. “Because Tristan’s blood is inside you, he’s not whole. His body is constantly craving the missing piece of himself that lives in your heart. That’s how he’s connected to you. But that connection is physically painful for him. When he’s away from you, it hurts him. The more distance that’s between the two of you, the more pain he’s in.”
Scarlet sucked in a silent breath.
Great, so I cause him physical pain? No wonder he hates me.
“Is that why he couldn’t go to New York to find you? Because he couldn’t leave me?”
“Yep. Even if he tried to stay away from you, the pain would eventually become too much and he would end up tracking you down just so he could be close enough to not go crazy with pain.”
“But why would he try to stay away from me in the first place?”
Because he hates me?
“Because he doesn’t want you to die. The closer he is to you, the harder your heart beats for him. Part of your blood belongs to his body, and the piece of him living inside you is desperate to find him. So, your heart beats out of control as his immortal blood tries to tear free of your heart and jump back into his. Over time, your heart tears itself in half. When Tristan’s near you, that process speeds up. Essentially, his presence…kills you.”
Scarlet’s voice was barely above a whisper. “He makes me worse?”
Nate nodded. “In your earlier lives, it wasn’t such a problem, but lately…it’s seems the two of you are…more connected.” He paused and looked at Scarlet.
She couldn’t speak. Her chest felt tight…and sad.
Tristan was in pain when he was away from her, but hurt her heart when he was near her?
One brother suffered without love when she was dead. The other suffered in pain when she was alive.
Worst. Curse. Ever.
“Oh, by the way,” Nate pulled a small shiny object from the pocket of his pants, “I have something for you. I was going to just mail it to you but since I’m here….” He got up from the table and placed the small trinket in Scarlet’s hand.
It was a ring—but too large to fit on a finger. On one spot there was a tiny design but, aside from that, it was just a circle.
Scarlet stared at it for a moment. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” Nate said, frowning. “I thought maybe you would remember. You gave it to me in your last life and told me to keep it safe until you returned.”
Scarlet shook her head, completely confused. “But I didn’t tell you what it was?”
“Nope. I asked, but you said it was safer if I didn’t know.”
Scarlet scrunched her face. “Safer? Were we in danger or something?”
“Not that I know of. Although, you did seem freaked out. But, then again, you were really sick, so I just assumed you were worried about, you know, dying.”
Scarlet took in a shaky breath. It was crazy to think she’d lived several lives awaiting death. Planning for it, even.
But it was even crazier to think she could live several more lives the same way.
“Well…thanks for giving it back to me…I guess.” Scarlet looked at the shiny ring with puckered lips. She had no idea what it was.
“No problem.”
She looked at the immortal boy standing in front of her and tried to imagine living for five hundred years. It sounded exciting, but it also sounded…lonely. Maybe even empty.
Especially if you weren’t free to love whomever you wanted, or if a piece of your soul was trapped in a reincarnating girl.
The curse had been ruining lives for half a millennium.
“Nate.” Scarlet looked at him intently. “This curse needs to end. I don’t care what we have to do—we need to find that fountain.”
He smiled broadly and winked. “There’s the Scarlet I know and love. I like it when you get all empowered.”
“I’m not kidding.” Her eyes burned as she looked at him.
His smile fell. “Okay. Just relax, I know you’re not kidding.” He took a step forward and reached for her face.
Realizing her eyes were probably glowing, Scarlet moved her head away from Nate’s hands. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Let me see your eyes.” He walked closer to her and tipped her chin up so he could look directly at her irises. “Scarlet. You’re getting worse.”
“I know that,” she snapped.
“No. You don’t understand. Your eyes don’t usually get this bright until the very end. How often has this been happening?”
“I don’t know. Once a day, maybe?”
“Has your nose started bleeding yet?”
“What?”
“Your nose. Have you had any nosebleeds at all?”
Scarlet shook her head. “No. My nose is fine. I’m fine.”
He looked at her with genuine concern. “I don’t know why your condition is progressing so fast this time…something’s wrong. Something’s…different.”
Scarlet shrugged her way out of his hand and stepped back. “Okay, well. We can’t fix whatever’s different about me. So, we need to just focus on finding the fountain so this will all be over with.”
Slowly, Nate nodded, still looking at her eyes. “Okay.”
“We need to find the fountain of youth,” Scarlet repeated.
After a long moment he swallowed and gave her a weak smile. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
63
Gabriel sat next to Nate at the kitchen table and watched as he disassembled the Head Ghost. “How much time do you think we have?”
Nate’s eyes stayed on the black contraption. “Four weeks. Maybe five. Scarlet’s eyes are brighter than normal and I’m almost positive they flash more than she’s willing to admit. Her nose hasn’t started bleeding yet but…she’s sick.”
Gabriel’s eyes shot to Tristan, who sat across from him.
This is all his fault.
Tristan met Gabriel’s gaze but made no expression.
The drawing he’d seen on Scarlet’s body the other night had him worried. Her knowledge of the design implied she might already be lost to him—a thought that pierced his gut with sorrow.
He couldn’t lose her.
He’d spent centuries loving her, wanting her, taking care of her.
And it might have all been in vain.
The thought made his blood boil almost as much as it broke his heart.
Nate pulled the crystals off the band and set them on the table. “We should keep these somewhere safe. Somewhere separate from the Head Ghost.”
Gabriel nodded. “Should we hide them?”
“Nah, just put them somewhere you can get to easily, but not obvious. Like a candy dish, or a pill bottle.”
“A candy dish? Nate, we don’t want someone to accidently eat them.”
Tristan sighed. “I can just put them in my medicine cabinet.”
Nate
nodded. “Yeah, that’s good. Hopefully, Scarlet’s intruder doesn’t have any more Head Ghosts.”
Gabriel exhaled. “Do you think the guy came after her because he knows she’s dying?”
“Possibly.” Nate glanced at Tristan. “What else do you remember about the guy?”
Tristan shook his head. “Not much. He was big. Strong. Unusually strong. But his muscles were weird, and he smelled…weird. Not bad, but…potent.”
“Like what?” Nate didn’t look up from the Head Ghost.
Tristan shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“Cologne? Hair gel? Roses?”
“I don’t know, Nate. It’s not like I was sniffing his chest hair. I was too busy trying to keep him away from Scarlet.”
“How did he get away?” Gabriel asked.
“Beats me—I stabbed the guy.” Tristan shook his head.
Gabriel’s mouth droppefd open. “You stabbed him?”
Tristan shrugged.
“This isn’t the Wild West, Tristan, there are laws. You can’t just slice people up willy-nilly.”
“Willy-nilly? Really?” Tristan rolled his eyes. “He stabbed me first. And it’s not like I killed him—although I totally would have. He rolled down the stairs, got up, and just ran out the door. Like a knife to the gut was nothing more than a scratch.”
Nate looked up.
“Do…you think he’s immortal like us?” Gabriel furrowed his brow.
Tristan thought about it. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.” He shifted his weight. “Everything about him was…I don’t know. Just not human.”
Gabriel rubbed the side of his face. “Are you saying you believe in supernatural beings now? Like, werewolves? Or was the guy in Scarlet’s house more like a robot?”
Tristan squared his jaw at his twin. “I don’t know what he was. I just don’t think he was human. I can’t explain it. His eyes were…weird. And he moved…weird. I don’t know.”
Nate looked at Tristan. “Do you think there are other supernatural beings? Beings like us who are…more than human?”
Tristan looked uncomfortable. “You guys are making me feel like an idiot here. I’m not saying I believe in the boogieman or anything. I’m just saying we need to be careful. Just in case.”
Gabriel inhaled deeply. It wasn’t like Tristan to believe in the fantastic, or to even take supernatural possibilities seriously.
Unease trickled down Gabriel’s spine.
He really, really hoped Tristan wasn’t right.
64
Tristan waited until Gabriel left the cabin to be on night watch duty before seeking out Nate. He found him upstairs in his newly renovated cave. “Hey.” Tristan stood in the doorway and waited for Nate to pause his game.
“What’s up?” Nate turned around.
“We need to talk.” Tristan entered the room.
Nate rolled his eyes. “I hate our ‘talks’.”
Tristan sighed. “Trust me. So do I.” He leaned against the wall. “Have you been able to find any potential weapons?”
“No.”
Tristan pushed away from the wall. “I have a feeling you’re not really trying, Nate. Scarlet’s getting worse.”
“I’ve contacted anyone and everyone I know of who might be able to help us find the fountain. I’ve got websites, blogs, ads, and bounties dedicated to tracking it down. Gabriel’s looking over every ancient map he can find and you’ve been pouring over old ship logs and journals. We’re doing everything we can, Tristan.”
Tristan’s jaw tensed. “To find the fountain maybe. But not to help me find the right weapon.”
“I’m not going to help you kill yourself.”
“Oh, come on.”
“No way.”
Tristan groaned, “Please?”
“Don’t beg, dude. It’s lame.”
“So, what then? Are you just gonna let her die? Again?” His voice cracked and he immediately tried to get himself under control.
Nate sighed. “I’m not sure what the right thing to do is.”
“The right thing is to save her life.”
“At the cost of yours? Uh-uh. I don’t think so, dude. Gabriel would kill me. And then Scarlet would kill me. And they could just keep on killing me over and over again because I don’t ever die. Do you know how much that would suck?”
“Think about this.” Tristan took a step toward him. “That very thing you just mentioned…dying over and over again? That’s what Scarlet’s been doing—for five hundred years.”
Silence fell between them.
“You don’t have to do it for me,” Tristan sighed, “but …could you just…do it for her?”
Nate hesitated before shaking his head. “I can’t help you find a way to kill yourself. It feels…wrong.”
Tristan clenched his jaw and moved to leave.
“Hey.” Nate said.
Tristan turned around.
“Gabriel said you’re in more pain this time? That you can’t even sleep?”
Tristan shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
Nate narrowed his eyes. “It’s not just you. Scarlet’s illness is accelerating faster than it should. What changed?” He squared his jaw. “What happened in her last life?”
Tristan tried to look innocent.
No such luck.
“Don’t play with me, man. I know how the curse works, and I know she shouldn’t be as connected to you as she is, all of a sudden. What happened?”
Tristan looked around the room as he exhaled. “Let’s just say…I didn’t practice very much…self-control last time.”
Nate nodded. “Is that why she died so early?”
“I don’t know.” Tristan swallowed. “But I think it’s why she ran away.” His chest felt hollow as he thought about the last time Scarlet died.
Nate shook his head and closed his eyes. “You are one tortured soul, man.”
“Then why don’t you help this tortured soul out and find a way to kill me.”
Nate looked at him apologetically. “Nope. If you want to die, you’re on your own.”
Knowing he wouldn’t be able to change Nate’s mind, Tristan uncrossed his arms. “Fine.”
He left the room, memories chasing after him with their guilt and sorrow.
As he descended the stairs his hands began to shake.
65
Gabriel yawned as he looked out his windshield at Scarlet’s house. He wasn’t thrilled with the stakeout plan, but Scarlet insisted she stay in her own house with Heather—even if that was stupid and could potentially get her killed.
He turned on the radio and searched through channels, all while keeping his eyes on Scarlet’s front door. There was a full moon out, shining brightly on the dark neighborhood street, and casting soft shadows against the dense forest just behind her house.
It was quiet.
And boring.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Gabriel jumped as someone pounded on his car window.
Upon seeing the knocker, he sighed and rolled his window down.
“What are you doing here?”
Tristan nodded. “We need to switch out.”
“Tonight is my night to watch. You watched last night.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t sleep. So, you might as well go back to the cabin and get some rest. I’ll stay here.”
“You can’t sleep…at all?”
Tristan said nothing.
“Dude, that’s weird. You should be able to sleep. We don’t live that far away from her.”
“I know, Gabe. I don’t know what’s going on but I do know there’s no way I’m going back to the cabin tonight. So, you can hang out here with me all evening. Or you can go home and get your beauty rest.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “My beauty rest? Real—“
“Shhh!” Tristan pointed to Scarlet’s house and panic immediately filled Gabriel.
A male figure was creeping up from the woods, making his way to the edge of Scarlet’s house.
; “Is that the guy?” Gabriel asked, squinting into the night.
“Definitely.”
Gabriel quietly opened his car door and got out as Tristan stepped away. The twins hid in the nearby shadows, watching the intruder make his way back to the front door.
Gabriel whispered. “Let’s go!”
Tristan hesitated. “No.”
“No?”
“No. Let’s scare him off, and then follow him back to wherever he came from.”
“Follow him? Are you crazy?” Gabriel made a face of disbelief.
“Maybe. But we want to know what he’s after, right? So, let’s follow him.”
“And how, exactly, are we going to scare him off?”
Tristan looked around. “I have a plan.” He picked up a rock and sent it flying through the night air, where it landed on Scarlet’s porch with a thud.
Gabriel dropped his head to the side. “Throwing rocks? That’s your big plan?”
The figure paused, looking around.
Tristan threw a second rock, this time hitting the stranger’s back.
Clearly spooked, the figure shuffled off the porch and started creeping back toward the forest.
“Nope,” Tristan said, leaving the shadows. “My plan is in my trunk.”
“You have a “trunk” plan?”
Gabriel left his hiding place and headed to Tristan’s black car, watching the assailant reach the edge of the woods. “If we’re going to follow him, we need to go now. He’s getting away.”
Tristan looked at the stranger casually. “No, he’s not. That cluster of trees is pretty much a dead end. He’s either got a place somewhere nearby, or he lives in a tent. We’ll track him.”
“We’ll track him? With what? Our noses?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, we’ll follow his footprints.”
Gabriel, angry the stranger was getting away, shook his head. “Brilliant. We’ll throw rocks at him and then we’ll play Sherlock Holmes in the woods.”
“He’s not going to get away. I know you haven’t had to kill your food for a century now, but you’re a hunter, Gabriel. We both are. So, we can do this. Remember when we used to do this for survival?”