Page 78 of All My Witches
“I guessso.”
The rest of the trip took only five minutes. By the time we hit a cabin – one that wasn’t much different from the one we were at previously – I started to get a feeling for what we were up against. The landscape, which had been lush and full of color only moments before, was now covered with a powdery substance that couldn’t exactly be described assnow.
“What is this?” Landon leaned over and ran his fingers through the substance. “It’s not even wet. It’s like … laundry detergent flakes or something. In fact … .” He lifted his fingers to his nose and sniffed. “It smells like laundrydetergent.”
“And it’s not cold,” Thistle noted, lifting her head to the sky. “It feels exactly the same as it did before, only there’ssnow.”
“Where else would Aunt Tillie hole up to make snow sharks?” Iasked.
Landon dropped the fake snow on the ground and made a face. “Are sharks going to hop up out of this stuff and try to eatus?”
“That might be fun,” Thistle said, staring into the white fluff. “At least this stupid story would go out with abang.”
“Do you think this is it?” Marcus was hopeful. “Is this theend?”
I nodded. “This is the big finale. What else has she been building toward if notthis?”
“Then let’s get this done.” Marcus was more determined than I’d ever seen him. “I’m so ready to gethome.”
“You realize we’re probably still going to wake up with hangovers, right?” Thistleprodded.
“I don’t care.” Marcus was firm. “A hangover is better than this. I’m ready to bedone.”
“Then let’s be done,” a woman announced as she strolled out of the bushes to our right. Because they were barren and provided minimal cover, I had trouble believing she’d been there the entire time. Of course, that hardly matterednow.
When she turned, when her gaze landed on me and then Landon, I realized we weren’t quite yet done with thedrama.
“Oh, crap!” I made a face as I shook my head. “Why are youback?”
Eden offered me a chilly smile before her expression warmed and she focused on Landon. “It’s been a long time,Jericho.”
“It has,” Landon agreed. “It’s been, like, threehours.”
“It’s been three years,” Eden corrected, her temper flashing. “I mean … I spent one year locked in a cave with a mountain man who turned out to have a heart of gold before he died, another year working as a waitress on an island after a bout of amnesia and then another full year dealing with the aftermath of my return from thedead.
“Speaking of that, shouldn’t you be surprised to see me?” she continued. “The last time we interacted was the day before I fell from a bridge and it was assumed I’d died in the water below. It should’ve been a traumatic experience foryou.”
“Oh, right.” Landon slid me a sidelong look before making the universal “she’s loopy” sign and twirling his finger close to his ear. “I was totally gutted about that. I felt terrible about yourdeath.”
“Yes, and this is supposed to be our big reunion,” Eden said. “You’re supposed to take one look at me, fall to your knees, burst into tears andpropose.”
Landon raised an eyebrow. “And who told youthat?”
“Um … the script.” Eden made a face. “The only reason I came back was to make sure I was billed as the leading lady.Geez.”
“Aunt Tillie’s world is starting to fall apart,” I noted. “This happened in the fairytale world, too. The actors became real and the bleeding was pronounced at theend.”
“That’s music to my ears,” Landon said. “But we still have to get through this scene. We still have to get our hands on AuntTillie.”
“Why do you think I’m here?” Eden asked. “I’m the one who is going to catchher.”
“In a weird way it makes sense,” Clove offered. “She was one of the first people we saw. We’ve come full circle. Now she’s here at theend.”
“Let’s hope this really is the end,” Sam said. “I can’t take much more ofthis.”
“None of us can,” Landon said. “Trust me. The last thing I wanted to see was this crazy chick.” He gestured toward Eden. “But we’re here. If we work together, we’ll get home. We need to believe in that and refrain from fighting from here onout.”
“That sounds like absolutely no fun,” Thistle complained. “In fact … .” She didn’t get a chance to finish what she was saying because Eden picked that moment to lash out and smack Landon across theface.
