Page 94 of Morning's Light

Karsia shrugged. “Have it your way.” She shifted into reverse and began to back up.

Aisanna held her hands in front of her to stop the motion. “Stop! We’re coming.”

Astix gave her a look. “She was going to leave us here.”

“Did you think she wouldn’t? Surprised the hell out of me.”

They hurried around to the other side and opened the door. The interior was worn, with duct tape holding the seat together in several places. A limp air freshener hung from the rearview mirror, though its presence made no difference. The truck stank of spilled beer, mud, and stale cigarette smoke.

Aisanna scooted over to make room for Astix, and together they pulled away, dust and smoke from the tailpipe marking their escape.

Karsia stared into the distance as though she would rather be anywhere else. Occasionally, she lifted her face to the sky and scented the air like a predator.

“Oh, yes. This is it.” She hung her arm out the broken window and slouched. “This is the good stuff.”

“I can’t believe we stole a truck,” Astix moaned. “That’s like…what do they call it…grand theft auto?” She let her head drop back to the seat.

“It’s fine,” Karsia assured them. “And don’t mention it again. I have no qualms about pulling over and leaving you on the side of the road.”

“My lips are zipped.” Astix mimed turning a key in a lock and throwing it away.

“Did we really do it?” Aisanna wondered aloud. “Did you really take care of Darkness? Is she gone?”

Karsia laughed, the sound wrong. Off and discordant. “She’s not gone, you assholes.” She clicked on the blinker and turned sharply to the left. “She’s sitting right beside you.”

**

It took several hours to make the trip back to Lake Forest. Karsia knew the way instinctively, driving the old pickup down winding backroads until the scenery began to feel familiar.

A tense, heavy silence filled the air between them. Aisanna stole glances at her sister, the physical presence of their enemy sitting in the driver’s seat, watching the play of light on the cold planes of her face.

There was something alien lurking beneath those familiar eyes, a presence beneath the skin.

She refrained from asking any more questions, or offering quasi-answers they all knew were nothing but empty words. Something happened back in the cavern, something none of them had expected. The course in front of them, leading up to the eclipse, had been altered in some fundamental way. Now, instead of finding a way to help their brother escape the Claddium, finding a way to locate the Harbinger witch, finding a way to stop Darkness, they were lost. And two Cavaldi siblings down.

Karsia had sacrificed herself. If Aisanna weren’t so afraid of the consequences, she would strangle the girl. It was supposed to be her, she mused, her brow furrowed and her brain chewing away at this new wrinkle. But instead of finding a bright point to renew their hope, she could only fit things together into this bleak picture.

They were nearing home. Houses gave way to mansions, the expanses between their gated properties much larger as a reflection of affluence.

Aisanna let out the breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. Home equaled safety, even with the wolf still knocking at the back door. They were alive, and that was what mattered. So what if Karsia stole a vehicle and kept her desire to kill them on a tight leash?

“I hope you two are happy,” Karsia drawled, sneering at the houses, at the cozy glow coming from inside as dawn approached. “You’re home now. I couldn’t get you back to the cabin because of the goddamn wards.” She pulled the stolen truck into the drive, tires spinning purposely on loose gravel, then came to an abrupt stop in front. She let the engine stall with a final death chug. “Unless you want the Claddium here, I suggest you hurry your asses up and get inside quickly.”

“Thank you for getting us here in one piece.” Aisanna lifted her hand with the intention of patting her sister’s shoulder, but stopped a hairsbreadth away and let it drop.

“You should thank me,” Karsia said, her normally high, sweet voice dropping several octaves. “There were many other options. Places to go, people calling out to me. I shouldn’t be here.”

She stared wistfully out the window with pupils devoid of color. Dark black ringed with a faint line of gold. “Home. Yeah right,” she muttered.

Astix held her tongue and vacated the stifling confines of the vehicle. Aisanna followed her slowly, working around her injured arm. Karsia stalked to the door, intending to throw it open, a scowl marring her features.

She was beaten to the punch by Varvara. The wood, steel, and glass main entrance slammed into stone when she flung it open, staring at them with overly large eyes. “Where the hell have you been? No one is answering their phone and I’ve had several calls from the damn Claddium saying you attacked two of their chair heads!” There it was. The ear-splitting soprano. “Aisanna, please tell me you didn’t send poisonous vines after Orestes Voltaire and Zelda Vuur!”

Aisanna shook her head, cradling her arm close. “I can’t tell you that, Mom. But it wasn’t my fault.”

Astix stalked past them and into the house, pausing only to give her mother a swift kiss on the cheek. “I need a drink.”

“It wasn’t your fault?” Varvara continued, staring first down the hall after one daughter, then swiveling back to the other two. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

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