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Grandma departed shortly after, but not before making me promise a dozen times I would follow behind her.
“I know how to find you now, Sadie,” she warned. “I’ll have no qualms in coming after you.”
“I know,” I sighed.
“Don’t be dramatic. You need your family as much as we need you. You know that,” she said. Taking me in her arms, she held me close and patted my head like she did so often when I was a small child. “Please don’t ever leave us again.”
I said nothing.
“Sadie, it’s only two weeks. You won’t back out if I leave, will you?” she questioned.
I shook my head. “No. I’ll come. I wouldn’t lie to you, Grandma.”
She released me, taking my hands in hers. “Your parents will be so happy. And I know Scott and Liv will be overjoyed you’ll be there for their special day.”
I grinned. “I am kind of excited about the wedding. I always liked Liv.”
“We all do.” She smiled warmly, then stepped back. “I’m leaving now. You have two hours before I show up or send someone after you.”
I nodded. “OK. I’ll be there.”
She left before I could ask where she would be, but I figured it wouldn’t take long to find them. I packed my belongings quickly—there weren’t many—and called Tessi and Melody to the workroom.
Placing my palms flat on the table, I looked at them sadly. “I have to leave for a couple of weeks.”
“Leave?” Tessi asked, confusion marring every inch of her porcelain face.
I nodded.
“What’s up?” Mel questioned.
“This has to do with the letter, doesn’t it?” Tessi said at the same time.
“What letter?” Mel squeaked.
I held my hand up to shush them. “I received a letter this morning from my family,” I directed at Mel. “And my brother is getting married next week, so I’m going to that. There are some other things to take care of, as well, but I’ll be back in two weeks.”
Mel waved her hand around at the map on the wall. “And what about these leads?”
“They’ll have to wait,” I said curtly.
“And if they disappear? Murder innocents?” she countered in her usual stubborn attitude.
“Then I guess they disappear and murder innocents!” I yelled. “You two are not equipped to battle these beings. You can’t take them on yourself. I’ve been doing this for years, you two only for half a year. Just sit still and wait for me to get back,” I growled. My patience was worn thin with the thought of what was to come.
How would my family react to seeing me? Would they forgive me? I knew my mother would cry, and my father would probably be angry at my leaving so abruptly and cloaking myself. Grandma may be his mother, but he didn’t have her temperament when it came to me. He was overprotective, often losing his temper when my headstrong personality reared its persistent head.
Forgiveness wasn’t his strong suit. Scott inherited that from him, so he would probably give me an earful. Santos would probably be the only one to not make a big deal of it; he’d simply ask me how I’d been and go on with his day.
Santos was Sebastian’s twin, and when Sebastian died, a part of Santos went with him. The cry he let out when Sebastian fell haunted me for years, replaying every night in my dreams. The battle had been devastating, with all of us losing someone, and the days that followed were the saddest of my life. Sebastian’s ashes were scattered in Grandma’s backyard, instantly producing a tree.
I couldn’t wait to see how it’d grown.
“Sadie!” Mel screamed, getting in my face.
Flicking my fingers, I sent an energy rush at her and pushed her back. “Don’t get that close.”
“You weren’t listening,” she grumbled. She shook off the magic, glaring at me the whole time.
“Then clap your hands or scream from over there. Do. Not. Invade. My. Space.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled.
Tessi rolled her eyes at us, then said, “Sadie, we can’t just abandon this. How about we do what we can and leave the rest for when you come back?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want you putting yourselves in danger.”
“You do it every day,” she pointed out.
“That’s different.”
She turned her lips up. “Not really.”
Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply and forced myself to calm down. “Listen, this place is cloaked. No one can find you here. Keep low and you’ll be fine.”
“Cloaked?” Mel squeaked. “How long has this place been cloaked?”
Tessi looked at me curiously, then back to Mel. “You didn’t know? I could feel it the moment I stepped through the door.”
She shook her head. “I had no idea.”
“I always stay cloaked,” I explained. “I can’t have anyone trying to find me after I kill a lover or family member.”
Mel squinted as she studied me. “Ok…but there’s more. You aren’t telling us everything.”
“Yes, I am,” I lied. I hated she could read me so well.
Her eyes showed she disagreed, but she didn’t fight me on it. I finished reassuring them I would return in two weeks. The people in my life didn’t seem to trust me when I spoke of leaving, something that didn’t sit well with me. I was trustworthy before, but I’d changed. When had I become a person no one could believe? My word was everything, and never before had I been faced with this issue.
What had become of the Sadie Tabors I once was? Had she really modified everything about herself over losing a few people in her life? Change was difficult, but it wasn’t something to lose yourself over.
Could I find my way back?
I bid goodbye to Tessi and Mel, leaving through the front door though my intended travel wasn’t something I could do in the open. I cast a few spells on the apartment: one to strengthen the cloak, one to stall any leads from showing up, and one to alert me if danger arose for either of my friends.
Tessi would probably sense the magic, but I prayed she wouldn’t rat me out to Mel. Melody was hardheaded and acted before she thought. I didn’t want to think of what would happen if she dove into a fight without preparation.
Forcing the thoughts from my mind, I slipped back inside and backed my way down the hall and into the storage closet. Closing my eyes and lowering my head, I focused on Grandma’s house in Tennessee. I could see it, smell the flowers and all the herbs in her kitchen. I jerked as the magic pulled me into the transportation.
Moving faster than one could imagine, my feet landed with a soft thump right outside her front door. I adjusted the bag on my shoulder and after my insides stopped spinning, I knocked.
The door flew open, surprising me enough to make me jump back. He stood there, staring at me with wide eyes so similar to my own. He looked older, more mature, more like Scott. His hair was longer than it was back then, curling around his ears and the base of his neck. His face held scruff where hair refused to grow before. He was at least a couple of inches taller, making me feel smaller than ever.
“Sadie?”
“Santos,” I said, grinning.
He pulled me in the door, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tightly. “I’ve missed you, sis.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” I said, my voice muffled by his chest. Beating my hand on him, I squealed, “I can’t breathe!”
He released me, his face glowing with happiness. His dimples punctured his cheeks, reminding me so much of Sebastian. His dimples had been always present. “I can’t believe you’re back.” He said it so simply, yet it hit me right in the heart.
“Heard there’s a wedding to attend,” I joked. I pushed the door shut behind me and dropped my bag on the floor.
He looked at me exasperated. “Is there ever! All anyone does is worry about that damned wedding.”
Shocked, I stared at him. “Did you just curse?” The Santos I gre
w up with was a goody-goody. He would have never said a bad-to-him word.
He shrugged. “I’ve grown up, Sadie. I’m twenty-three now.”
His words made me realize how much I’d missed while being gone. My confidence wavered each second I was here. I missed Charleston. I nodded in acknowledgement of his words, but wasn’t sure what to say about it. “Where is everyone?” I asked instead.
“They don’t hang out here anymore,” he said, making his way to the kitchen.
I followed.
“This place was supposed to be shared by us all, but Scott’s been saving up for a house for him and Liv and you left, so I’ve been living here. I take care of Grandma’s library and stuff, plus I’m close to him.” He looked out the window then and my own gaze followed.
Sebastian’s tree was huge, leaves branching out and budding all over. It’d grown exponentially since I’d been here last, now standing at least ten feet tall. “Sebastian,” I whispered.
Santos smiled sadly. “I miss him a lot.”
Placing my hand on his bicep, I squeezed in comfort. “I do, too. Part of the reason I left.”
He looked at me with misty eyes. “We missed you. We needed you.”
I nodded curtly. “I know.”
He didn’t ask anything else about my departure after that. Santos was still Santos, even if some small things had changed. He fixed me a glass of tea, directing me to sit at the table we’d created so many childhood memories at. We chatted randomly, but Sebastian’s tree stayed on my mind.
“Dating anyone?” he asked, conjuring some chocolate chip cookies on a plate in front of us.
Taking one, I bit into the chewy deliciousness and shook my head. “You?”
His grin said it all.
“Who?” I teased. Kicking his shin under the table, I goaded him to tell me.
“His name is Jackson. I met him at school,” he told me.
Santos started college just before I left, majoring in engineering. He’d never revealed to me he was interested in men, but it didn’t come as a surprise. In school he’d always worried about studying, never interested in dating anyone. He wasn’t picked on thanks to our brothers, but I’d always felt he was hiding something from us.
“When can I meet him? Is he hot?” I asked.
He blushed, actually blushed, and said, “Yes! He’s tall, blonde, and has eyes that could pierce your soul.”
I was happy to see him happy. “Does he know what you are?”
He nodded vigorously. “I told him on our year anniversary!”
“Wow,” I said. “How long have you been together?”
“Going on three,” he said with a smile.
“Wow,” was all I could say. I was ecstatic for him, for Scott, but it was bittersweet. I couldn’t help but wonder—what if Aiden had stayed around?
What would have become of us?
“We’ll talk more soon, ok?” I said, standing. “I want to go see the tree.”
He nodded in understanding. “Go. It helps me.”
Slipping out the back door, I breathed deeply as I took in the air around me. It was the same. Grandma’s flowers still grew all around, the yard was still large and open. We’d grown up here, trained here, mourned here. Walking to the tree, I laid my hand on the bark, feeling the energy swirl under my palm.
“Sebastian,” I whispered. My voice carried in the wind, seemingly hugging the wood. “I miss you.”
Sinking to the ground, I leaned against the trunk. I sat there for a long time, the sun soaking in my skin as I visited with my brother. He’d been evil in his last days and it wasn’t something I’d been comfortable with, but he was still my flesh and blood. My older brother. My one-time protector.
The sun was setting when I finally opened my eyes, stood, and stretched. I heard the back door open and turned.
Gasping, I clenched my fists at my side.