Page 32 of Dead Wrong

Relief poured over me like a rainstorm, soaking into my skin. I reached for her, my hands cupping her face as if I needed to touch her to prove to myself that she was real. She was here.

“You’re alive,” I whispered, afraid that speaking too loudly may shatter this new reality. My fingers found warm flesh as Lynette leaned into my touch. “Or we’re both dead. Either way, it’s good to see you.”

“You had it right the first time,” she said, lowering herself onto the edge of the cot, though her posture remained tensed, like she was expecting to leap away at any moment. “Are you happy to see me, Brother?”

“I’m relieved,” I admitted, a tangible tightness in my chest loosening with every breath in her presence.

“Bastien is here, too,” she continued. “He’s over in the infirmary, causing a lot of problems while they stitch him up.”

“Okay.”

Lynette raised a brow at me, a curiosity behind her eyes. “Does that news not please you? What’s wrong with you, little brother? Other than the obvious, of course.”

I leaned back on the pillow, my head cradled in its soft down. “I don’t know who I am right now, Lenny. My mind is in shambles, and I can only make sense of pieces here and there.”

“Right.” She nodded to herself. “Bastien mentioned there may be some lingering side effects. How much do you remember right now, exactly?”

“Not much,” I answered, running a hand along the ache in my chest and stuttering when my hand passed over the vacant space where the gem had been embedded. “Everything before Bastien revived me is still hazy. I’ll get glimpses, but it’s hard to keep it all in order.”

Another nod from my sister, and I could tell the cogs in her head were turning. She avoided looking me in the eye. “Don’t fret, Tobi. I’m sure your memories will be back soon. Till then, you can enjoy the bliss of a clean slate. No one from our family has had such a privilege in a long, long time.”

She smiled, but there was something else. She was holding something back from me. That much was clear. A warmth swelled in my chest at the thought of my connection with her surviving the end of my first life. She was still my sister, even if I was only a portion of her brother in return.

“What’s happened, Lenny?” I asked, my voice breaking.

Exhaustion had taken its toll on my body. My muscles ached, my pulse hammered erratically, and a buzzing sensation writhed under my scalp like an infestation of insects. But I was alive. And Lenny was here, her flesh warm against mine. We’d made it, somehow.

“There’s not enough time to explain,” Lynette replied, pulling a golden watch from her pocket, the face opening on a hinge. “I have to run, Tobi. But I’ll be back soon, I promise. Rest and recuperate, brother of mine. We will speak when I return. I want your wits as sharp as your tongue.”

My pulse spiked as she slipped from the cot.

“Lenny, wait,” I pleaded, but she was already across the tent, pulling a flap of fabric back before disappearing through it. I collapsed back onto the cot with a sigh, pressing the heel of my hands into the sockets of my eyes.

Lynette was alive. I had that much to celebrate. But what did it mean for me? Would Bastien now make good on his promise to return me to the grave? And what of the gem that was supposedly keeping me alive? I pawed at the spot on my chest once more, wincing at the tenderness of the flesh. Unfastening my shirt, I observed the ring of scarred skin across my chest, the center of which was fiery red and hot to the touch. If the gem was removed then how was I still drawing breath?

More mysteries that weren’t adding up to any sum of coherency.

As I lay there, stewing in my thoughts, the sounds of my surroundings seeped in through the walls of the tent.

From the direction that Lynette exited, I could make out the faint sounds of laughter. Conversations layered over one another like a symphony in rebellion, each melody playing over the other till none could be differentiated.

After a moment of effort, I detangled myself from the scratchy blanket, investigating the binding around my ankles. Rings of crackling blue light wrapped around both, fastening them together. I would be able to stand as it were, but without release from the magic that bound me, there was no way for me to make an escape.

But why was I thinking of escaping? Lynette was here. Wherever ‘here’ was. She was safe. And with that knowledge, I should feel at peace with my imminent return to the earth. It was the way things were meant to be.

And yet, I struggled against the thought as if it were the bindings themselves. How had I died? Was I going to be able to rest without that knowledge?

A voice drew my attention, closer to the tent than the rest of the din.

“Let me through, godsdammit!”

The flapping of fabric filled the tent again as Bastien strode through the entrance, his attention locked directly on me.

I recoiled into the padding of the cot. Bastien had come for me, which could only mean one thing—he was ready to make good on his promise. He was coming to put me back into the ground.

Instinct took over. I had to run.

Swinging my legs over the edge of the cot, I struggled to my feet, but Bastien was quick, and in two steps, he was upon me, hands firmly on my shoulders, preventing me from moving any further. He leaned down over me, and for just a moment, I feared he was going to bite me, flashing teeth like a ravenous wolf, but then Bastien’s lips were on mine, the heat of them against my skin enough to cause me to shiver.

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