“Thanks, beautiful. Just like that. Help me make you come.”
It didn’t take long. With one jolt of my hips, I got his fingers where I wanted them. He circled the nerve endings twice, and I exploded. I moaned his name and closed my eyes, letting myself really feel the moment. I usually had a hard time being in the present, but I forced my mind to stay right where it was, to not wander.
I came to a beautiful moment of stars crossing my eyes and the spicy, sweet taste of Malcolm’s lips kissing me over and over. Seconds later, he was deep inside of me. I cried out again, my last orgasm still riding me while the new one, thanks to the thrust of his erection inside of me, threatened to immediately bring the pleasure back on.
I held off. I wanted this to last, and when I came, he would, too. The muscles in his neck clenched while he kept his weight off me. I reached between us to feel his heart race beneath my fingertips. He was alive, and so was I.
My hips rose when he pushed inside of me—over and over until we both panted and moaned. Finally, I couldn’t hold it off anymore. I came hard around him, digging my fingers into his back and crying out.
Malcolm didn’t take long; with a long groan he filled me up before he collapsed for a second on top of me, his cock still throbbing inside my pussy.
“Ahabbak fi misr.”
I smiled against his shoulder. He’d move in a second, but I loved how his weight pressed on me right then. He wasn’t heavy yet. “Yeah, yeah. I know you love me. I love you too.”
I felt him smile against my neck. “You can’t let me fall asleep.”
“Sure I can.” I breathed in the smell of his sweat. I wanted to be able to remember this forever and ever. If I lived to be old—again—I needed to have the ability to close my eyes and feel this like I was still here. “I’ll get up. I want to help. Make sure there is nothing else to be done. Check on the kids. You stay here. Get up when Abbi does and come find me.”
He groaned. “I should say no. But I’m not going to.”
I kissed him on both his cheeks. “See you in a bit.”
“Not just yet. I get to hug you naked for a while.”
Okay, I wasn’t going to complain.
* * *
With my husband and baby both out cold, I wandered around the Other Space wondering if I’d ever see it again after today. Block sat by the waterfall looking down at it. I grinned. We were all drawn to the purple waves. I was glad I wasn’t the only one who had kind of missed it.
“Hey.” I walked over to him, and he turned toward me.
“Hi.” He pointed at the purple. “Patricia didn’t believe me that the waterfall was purple. She took one look, and I was afraid she was going to faint. She’s getting some food. You know, I always thought the Others made the food, but it kind of appears in the cafeteria area.”
“Magic to make disgusting, almost non-edible slush.”
He grinned. “I’m glad to bring her here. She’ll be safe.”
I spoke the words he didn’t say. “Even if we’re not.”
“Exactly. They won’t be able to get home, but they’ll be safe.”
I looked over in the distance where my kids flew a kite. The sight jarred me. Where had they gotten the kite? I took a deep breath. “Couple of thoughts. Number one, if we don’t take down The Master, then it’s all over anyway. There’ll be nothing for them to go back to. Number two, they might be able to go back. Victoria is here. My guess is, the longer she stays, the longer she recovers, the more her powers will return. She could get them back.”
Block kicked me lightly in the shin. “Good to see you mostly back in your headspace. Missed you this last bit. When Malcolm was gone, you and I were buddies.”
“We’ll always be friends. So come on, friend. Since we have the chance, I want to go look at the Others’ section. I haven’t really explored.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Can we?”
Wow, had we been conditioned during our years living here. “Who’s going to stop us?”
“Vicious monsters who jump out of the ground and eat our heads?”
I blinked as it took me a second to figure out he’d made a joke. “Are you half-kidding or full-on?”
He laughed, and we walked together. “I’m not sure, actually.”
Together, we walked the small path toward where the Others had lived. Their cabins had been bigger than ours. Even during the time I’d spent here alone with Michael, we hadn’t hung out back here. This was sacred space. I’d walked through once on my own and hurried on to the other side. The one time I’d snuck back when we’d lived here, I’d seen Michael’s true face. That was the day I’d learned they weren’t human, even though it would be a long time until I knew for sure what they were.
Even as I walked with Block, I wanted to turn around. “Do you have the need to run?”
“Yes. Wonder if this place has a spell on it.”
The witch who could tell me—my very best friend—had lost her ability to use her powers. I’d never be able to pay her back for that. She couldn’t tell me if we were walking around through spells. I took Block’s hand. “We’ll do this together. I’ve walked back here before. Clearly, I can. You can. We have to resist the urge to flee.”
“We’ll do it together. We’re both grown-ups.”
“Hey.” A voice caught our attention, and we turned around to see Chase catching up to us. “Are you two going over there? I keep thinking I want to and turning around.”
Block laughed. “We’re being supportive. We’re getting over there and staying there.”
“There’s got to be a spell.”
The three of us kept talking until we reached the Others’ section. I wanted to run away, like I always had. This was not going to be easy.
“There must have been a reason they didn’t want us here.” Block took an audible breath and walked toward the cliffs in the distance. “There’s a reason they did this.”
“Yeah, they wanted their privacy.” Chase snorted. There was a campfire in the center of the eight cabins, and Chase sat down next to it. “Well, they’re all gone. So I refuse to allow them their secrets.” He touched the dirt, letting it drift through his fingers. I watched as it floated through the air. This whole place, down to the dirt itself, was magical.
A voice sounded around us, a whisper of a memory, the way it had at the canyon that day with Michael. Choose.
I blinked. I remembered that sound. Michael had asked me to choose when I was nine. Did I want to be given a chance to fight evil? I’d said yes. I’d have done anything at that point to not be dead. Did I want to be dead? No. Fight? Sure.
I stood, and goosebumps assailed me. “You know they were basically us.”
Block turned around. “Except that we can’t do the things they do. I can’t stop someone from dying. Can you, Kendall? I mean, I know you had all that time to really develop your powers ...”
I shook my head, interrupting him. “I can’t stop death or regrow bodies.”
Actually, that was interesting. How could they do that stuff? I rubbed my eyes. When and how had they been able to do that?
“I’m slightly confused about how they did it.”
Chase picked up more dirt. “This burns my fingers.”
Choose. Do you choose?
Block pulled a face that looked like something smelled bad. “You guys hearing that, too?”
“Yes,” I answered as Chase nodded too. We were both experiencing whatever this was together. “I did choose. A long time ago. Over and over.”
The wind picked up, blowing the dirt through the air. It hit me in the eyes, and I rubbed them. Block coughed, and Chase batted it away. My eyes burned. The dirt was weird. I grabbed my neck as my throat threatened to close.
What the hell was happening? Chase fell to his knees, and Block hit the ground, not moving. The world spun. I tried to call out and failed.
* * *
Three men stood in front of me. I didn’t know who they were. They were big and tal
l and they had varying degrees of mean faces. I wanted my mom. And what had happened to my friend Malcolm? Where was he? I sniffed. There had been a tall man with a gun.
The man in the center with the scariest scowl stepped toward me. They were all dark haired with dark eyes. I didn’t know them. Who were they?
“Where is my mom?”
The tallest of the men stared down at me. “Kendall, you were very brave. You tried to save the boy with you, but you both died.”
I sucked in my breath. That was right. I had died. I didn’t want to, and I really didn’t want Malcolm to die. He needed me. No one fed him enough. I was the only person he could remember ever making him laugh.
“Can you be brave again? Can you choose to help me fight evil?”
I didn’t want to be dead. I wanted my mom. “Can I see my family again?”
“Maybe. Eventually. If you help me. Otherwise, you move on right now.”
The less angry man groaned. “She’s a baby. Be gentle.”
“There’s nothing about this that is ever going to be gentle. I’m not going to start now,” he shouted in return. I hated when people fought. I didn’t even know these two people, and I didn’t want them upset. What could I say to make it stop?
I touched the mean man’s arm. “Please don’t be mad.”
“We’re not,” the middle one answered. “Get to it.”
“Do you want to fight monsters with us?”
I really didn’t. I didn’t like monsters. I saw too many of them. They were everywhere. One had been attacking Malcolm for so long it practically killed him. My mom had made it go away. “What about Malcolm?”
The three men looked at each other. “You want him?”
“I do.” In that second I wanted him more than anything in the whole world, more even than anything I’d ever hoped for on Christmas morning.
“That can be arranged.”
* * *
I gasped for air, catching myself right before I hit the ground. Air was hard to get into my lungs, and I panted, trying to make the air do what it was supposed to be. I lifted my head to see Chase rolling around on the ground. His lips were blue. I reached for him, even though I didn’t know what I would do. His color improved after a moment. A distance away, Block moaned.
I don’t know how long all of us stayed like that, but eventually Chase sat up. “What the hell was that? Because I don’t want to do it again.”
Block spoke from where he continued to lay on the ground. “The sands of time. Or maybe the dirt. I remember reading about it with Rafael. We can temporary re-inhabit our bodies from various times. Mine was apparently the time my father burned me. The first time.”
Chase blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry Block. That sucks. I was on the boat with Mary when it blew up.”
“I was in the moment of choice with the Others.” They’d both seen their most painful moments. I guessed I should be grateful. “I was in my body, but I felt like I was nine.” I rolled over until I could stand. My body ached. “It wasn’t watching; it was living.”
Block followed suit, and soon all three of us were standing again. I bent over to hold my knees. “That sucked. I’ve died and come back to life in the Shadow Dimension over and over. This hurt more.”
Chase groaned. “The shit that happens to you.”
“I was in my body too,” Block interjected, “not able to remember I wasn’t a child. But somehow, we’re supposed to be able to do it. Like lucid dreaming. You could even talk to people knowing what you know now. That dirt—or sand, or whatever—that’s one of the reasons, I imagine, they didn’t want us back here. Wouldn’t do to go back and warn someone around you you’re about to die.”
I turned toward him slowly. “Is it possible to change the past? Or has what happened … taken place?”
Chase threw his hands in the air. “Above my pay grade.”
“Not okay. You’re as smart as the rest of us and then some. We’re all in this together. These are important questions. We have to fight The Master. I can kill him. But he could still beat us. If I could somehow keep moving back and forth through time, or if you could—or Malcolm—that would be very helpful.”
“Yeah, well.” Chase laughed. “This doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. I don’t know about you, but I’m not doing that again.”
The need to run filled me, and I planted my feet firmly on the ground. I wasn’t going to give in to the urge, and I had to believe eventually the desire to do so would pass. Or I’d learn to ignore it.
“I want to see what else is hanging out around here in Other Space. Go, get everyone, Chase. Block and I will continue to look. I think we need a really big dig into their stuff.”
Block rolled his eyes. “Why does Chase get the break?”
“He’s not as tough as you.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “I should argue, but if it gives me a break from this pain, I’ll take it. Okay, I’m a wimp.”
* * *
I ran the dirt through my hands, all eyes on me. We’d spent some time going through Rafael’s cabin. He seemed like the logical choice since he had been the one most invested in magic. Victoria stood with a hand on her hip.
“I can actually feel the magic in that stuff, and I am at low, low power.”
Henry had their son balanced on his hip. “It’s a good sign you can feel it at all. For me, I just want to run.”
“I don’t want to run,” Dexter interrupted into our conversation, drawing all eyes to him. This was really unusual. He didn’t talk in situations like this. My middle son was happy but quiet. “I want to listen.”
I stared at him; his eyes weren’t dilated. He wasn’t having a vision. Logan approached Dexter and kneeled down. Like my son, both he and Peter had visions. Ross sometimes did too, although his main power seemed to be to clear ghosts.
“You’re not feeling like you want to run away? Because I do. So does Peter.”
Dexter shook his head. “I haven’t had a vision since I got here. This whole place is peaceful. Like someone wrapped me up in a big hug.”
“Really?” Logan looked up at me, and I shook my head. I had no answers.
Molly put her hand on Dexter. “I feel the same way. Like I can take a deep breath. I can’t feel any ghosts.”
“Or demons,” Grayson added. “This place is free from pain.”
“Jack’s been calm,” Victoria added.
Malcolm kissed our daughter’s head from where she slept snuggled in a sling and pressed to his chest. “Abbi has been calm. She’s sleeping really well.”
“This place, where you all were”—Levi stood and pulled Molly into his arms—“it was meant for children. You were raised here, pretty much. Maybe it takes a child to really live here. And they kept you out of this place, out of this area, because they knew it would be harder on you as you got older. For what its worth, I want to run as fast as I can back to the cliffs.”
“He’s right.” Block nodded. “The Others went looking for children.”
“Look, regardless of how we’re all feeling, we have a situation. The Others were basically us. They started out from a different dimension. That’s fine. I lived with all different kinds of other creatures for a long time. Even ones with horns and tails. When it comes down to it, our powers are not that different.” I hated giving speeches. When had it become something I did regularly? When this was over, I wasn’t going to give any more talks or suggestions. Let someone else pontificate. “They were able to grow us back to life, to stop us from moving on; they did it many times.”
“Well,” Victoria shrugged. “That would be because of the Phoenix. No one thought to bring it here.”
“You’re right.” Why had we left it behind? “We need to see what we can do with it here.”
Chase stood. “I’ll go get it.”
“Don’t go alone.”
He winked at me. “Sure, Mom. Come on, Ross. Let’s go get the Phoenix.”
“In the meantime”—I looked aroun
d. What I was about to ask of all of them was really unreasonable—“I need everyone to try to do what I did before, which is to let the dirt take you on a journey. Not the kids, obviously, and not you brave souls who are walking this with us and can’t use powers. But the rest of us. We need to see if any of us can do the cognizant memory travels where you can actually stay in your adult head while in your childhood memories.”
Henry sighed. “You said it hurt.”
“A whole lot. Like you’re dying, which we all know is no fun whatsoever.”
Victoria’s husband grinned. “Great. Sounds like fun.” He handed Victoria the baby. “Take Jack and go with the others, babe. We have to all put ourselves through terrible pain for a while.”
She took the baby. “Have fun guys. Not up for it yet. Come on, everyone. Let’s throw rocks into the water. Sometimes they vanish before they hit the water. None of us have ever known why.”
Grayson nudged me. “It’s obviously magic.” He stopped moving. “Mom, I could do it. I’m old enough. I have power.”
Levi sucked in his breath. “No way. You’re not anywhere near old enough to do this. Kendall?”
I walked to my son, then put my hand beneath his chin. “You are so brave. You never cease to amaze me.”
“Let him do it, Kendall.” Malcolm’s voice rang out, and both Levi and I whirled around. “You were younger than him when you died. You lived here and got the crap beaten out of you when you were younger than he is now. The boy is trying to step up.”
Levi closed his eyes. “Shit.”
I wanted to yell at Malcolm, and planned to, except Levi’s reaction stopped me short. “You’re not seriously considering what Malcolm said.”
My ex opened his eyes. “He’s old enough to say if he wants to try. You didn’t die. It hurt, but you lived through it. Are you sure, Gray? You weren’t saying you wanted to because you knew we’d say no?”
“It’s time, Dad. I know it.” Grayson held Levi’s gaze. I’d never been so proud of him. The boy wanted to be a man. He wasn’t quite ready for it. But he was old enough to start taking steps. If this was going to be his life, we had to let him live it. Or begin to, anyway.