Page 51 of A Deeper Blue
“Um, thanks for coming to help me,” she said. “How areyoufeeling? Traveling that fast isn’t exactly easy.”
“Honestly, I was in such a hurry to get to you, I didn’t notice. I just ran. I’m a little tired, but it’s fine.”
Scarlet hesitated, and Azure glanced over at her sister when the pause had gone on too long.
“What?”
“I’m not sure if… I don’t know… Liam says…”
“Scarlet, whatever it is, just spit it out,” said Azure. “What does Liam want now? Everyone to come for summer break with his pack?”
Scarlet laughed. “Well, I’m sure he would like that. They get so happy when they can have everyone they like in one place. But no, that hasn’t come up. I was going to say that… Well, Liam said that when we were traveling, he saw Mom.”
Azure attempted to form a question but just ended up with a confused noise.
“I was running and trying to hold the stuff and hold onto him and to you, and I just went. But Liam was right behind me, and he said he saw her. He said she was holding back branches for me.”
Scarlet’s eyes welled up, and her voice broke on the last part of the sentence.
Azure grabbed Scarlet’s hand and squeezed it tight.
“I know you’ve always said that she loved us,” said Scarlet, squeezing back, “but by the time she got to me, it always seemed like she was too tired or too crazy to make an effort.”
“She was living in chronic pain,” said Azure. “So many humans, so many signals in the air. It wasn’t that she didn’t love us. She had just reached her limit.”
“I know,” said Scarlet wiping away a tear. “But it always felt likeIwas her limit. Like I was the one. Like if she’d stopped with you and Ochre, she could have stayed here with you.”
“No!” snapped Azure, desperate to reassure her younger sister. “No! That is not it. She loved you.”
Scarlet nodded, but her face still didn’t look convinced. “I know. In my head, I know that. But it doesn’t always feel like that. Only, I mean… she was there. Liam saw her. He’s only seen the one picture of her at Grandma’s, but still, the nose does not lie. He said someone else was there in the in-between woods.”
“Then I’m sure it was her. Because honestly, going that fast should have put you flat on your back. You should be exhausted. Not a little bit tired.”
Scarlet chuckled, but her face quickly grew serious. “Do you think it could have been her? Is there any way you can… you know, check?” She touched the center of her forehead to indicate the second sight.
“It doesn’t work like that,” said Azure. Scarlet nodded, looking dejected, and Azure felt her customary flare of rage at her parents. She hated that Scarlet doubted that she had been a loved and treasured child. Azure had tried to love her brother and sister and fill the hole their mother had left, but it was never enough. Azure looked around the room and saw that the table by the door was still set with condiments. She was tired, but she might still be able to do a little something.
“Go grab that salt shaker off the table,” ordered Azure. Scarlet looked confused. “The second sight isn’t omniscient. I see the future, not the past. But there are other forms of magic.”
Scarlet inhaled excitedly and leapt up to snatch the salt shaker from the table.
“What do we do?” asked Scarlet, her eyes sparkling.
“Ouija board shit,” said Azure. “OK, take a pinch of salt in your palm. No, more than that. We have to be able to see it.”
“Well, that’s a whole handful, not a pinch,” objected Scarlet.
“Just hold the damn salt,” said Azure. “OK, hold a picture of Mom in your head.” She reached out and cupped her hand under Scarlet’s.
“First came Red, then came Yellow, then came Blue,” said Azure.
“That’s backwards,” whispered Scarlet.
“Who’s doing this spell, you or me? Shh your face. Red, Yellow, Blue, three from one, one from you. Were you here?”
The silence in the sunroom stretched on, and outside, Azure could hear Rafe and Liam growling. Just when Azure was about to think that her magic had completely failed her, the salt rose out of Scarlet’s hand in a spiral. Scarlet made an excited squeak as the salt became a wavering curtain and formed into a picture of their mother, holding back branches. Azure felt tears spark in her eyes. Aderyn looked so beamingly proud as salt Scarlet rushed past. Then Azure’s concentration failed, and the salt scene exploded outward in a puff that coated both of them.
“Yeah,” said Azure, wiping salt off her lips and face. “That was her.”
