Fate Changer (The Lost Witch Trilogy #3) (9 page)

Agnes stared back at her unblinking as Gretchen sat down next to her. “I had a dream last night. Lash and Zane were throwing a body into the ocean. Zane was hurt and Lash is at the end of his strength. But they were alive.
Hurt
but alive. They’re both going to need your skills.”

Gretchen shook her head. “It’s too much for her Mom. I’ll take Lash to Race. He’ll heal Lash so she has some power left for the memorial service. If Charles tries anything, she’ll need to be at her strongest, not her weakest.”

Agnes frowned and looked away. “Race isn’t someone we can depend on for help anymore Gretchen. You know that. And Lash kick him out. He’s not very fond of our boys anymore.”

Gretchen whisked away her mother’s words with her hands as if they were annoying flies. “He’s a healer Mom. End of story. When do you think they’ll show up?” she asked looking out the window for the hundredth time that morning.

Agnes shook her head. “That I don’t know. I just know they’re alive and right now, that’s all that matters.”

Sarah was so filled with relief at hearing that Zane was alive that she couldn’t talk for a few minutes. She sniffed and wiped her eyes under the fall of her hair before looking up.

Agnes smiled sadly at her and shook her head. “There’s no reason to hide your emotions from us. We love him too.”

Gretchen sighed unhappily. “Well, I’m going to drive into town and talk to Race about helping Lash. Maybe if he has a heads up he’ll be more open to it.”

Agnes didn’t say anything as Gretchen grabbed her purse and the car keys and walked out the front door. As soon as she heard the door shut, she shook her head.

“It’s hard to love someone who makes wrong choices. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, least of all my own daughter.”

Sarah winced and nodded. As she stood up to take her empty plate to the sink, she felt a wave of energy wash over her as if the sun had just broken through the clouds. She set her plate back down on the table and looked at Agnes with a faint smile.

“I think they’re close,” she whispered.

Agnes closed her eyes and opened them a second later. “I can’t feel it, but I trust you.”

Sarah ran her hands through her hair, feeling more and more electricity dance along her nerve endings. “He’s close, I can feel him” she whispered, walking to the front door, and then the back door. She shoved her hands in her pockets, knowing they were going to start glowing any second.”

“Honey, you better calm down before you set the house on fire,” Agnes said with a grin.

Sarah laughed in embarrassment. “I can’t control it when it’s like this,”

The front door whipped open and Sarah and Agnes gasped in surprise as Lash half carried, half-dragged Zane into the house and slammed the door with his foot.

Sarah’s mouth fell open in horror. Lash was covered in blood and dirt and he looked crazed. Zane was unconscious, hanging limply from Lash’s arm. Agnes and Sarah ran to Lash and pulled Zane away from him. Agnes felt his forehead and closed her eyes.

“Sarah, let’s get Zane on the couch. You work on him and I’ll look after Lash. Hurry now,” she commanded, sounding calm and competent.

Sarah groaned not at the weight in her arms, but at all the damage Mason had done to Zane. She felt tears running down her cheeks and more energy whip through her system, gearing up for what she’d have to do in order to heal him. The connection she had with Zane was so deep and strong, that her energy was instinctively trying to reach out to him already.

Lash tried to talk, but only mumbled a few sounds before he fell to his knees, resting his head on his chest. Agnes squawked in concern and rushed back to Lash, leaving Zane to Sarah. Sarah lifted Zane’s feet onto the couch and put a pillow under his head. She grimaced at all the blood and dirt he was getting on her father’s couch.

She felt her energy swell up inside her and so she put both of her hands on the side of Zane’s head and rested her forehead against his just as the first wave of power left her and surrounded him. She groaned at the rushing feeling and gasped when the power roared through her and into Zane. It was stretching her to her limits as she attempted to contain it and hoped she didn’t hurt Zane in the process of trying to help him. She felt her power settle and she dove in, following all the power trails throughout his body, pausing here to push a rib back into place, pausing again when she felt the internal injury to his kidneys and liver. Mason had tried as hard as he could to kill Zane. It was a miracle he wasn’t dead. She paused at his heart, feeling the strain and did her best to ease it. She moved up to his throat and felt a small bone click back into place slowly and breathed a sigh of relief. She moved towards his spine and back and felt all the disks that had slipped.

If Zane had gone to the hospital, they’d be hard-pressed to know where to start with him. She groaned in pain as she felt Zane awake from his unconsciousness. Now she could feel everything he was feeling and it was pure agony, but at the same time, she was now guided more clearly to the places she needed to heal the most. His broken ankle was the worst injury he had and she spent so much time and energy there, that she barely noticed when he lifted a hand to run down her hair. She refused to stop until all the ligaments, tendons and bones were perfectly aligned. She sighed in relief as she felt the last seam come together and she laid her head on Zane’s chest.

She felt her power hum over Zane’s body before lifting and fading back. He was achy and exhausted but he was alive, he was whole and he was here. That’s all she could ask for.

“I told you everything would be fine,” Zane whispered, his voice sounding weak and thready.

Sarah smiled and would have pinched him, but thought better of it. “Your definition of fine needs a lot of work, Gorgeous.”

Zane laughed, but sounded more like he was wheezing. “I need to eat something and then I need to sleep. Next to you.”

Sarah stood up immediately but frowned when she wobbled on her feet. She needed a little nap too. She pushed her weariness away and rummaged through the cupboards, finally settling on a protein shake. He’d be able to drink it through a straw and he wouldn’t have to move.

She stood by and watched him drink the entire thing, ignoring his complaints and then helped him up. She gagged at all the blood though and tried not to get too much of it on her hands as she helped him walk down the hall.

“Sorry, let’s detour to the bathroom first so I can rinse off,” Zane muttered, glancing down at his torn shirt and muddy pants.

Sarah agreed silently and opened the door to the bathroom with her foot. Zane sat on the toilet seat as she turned the water on and grabbed a towel for him. “Yell when you’re done,” she said and shut the door, hurrying down the hallway to check on Agnes and Lash.

She reached the front room and realized that no one was there. They had left. She closed her eyes and frowned, realizing Teresa and Charlie must have gone too. She had been so focused on Zane, she had been unaware of anything else going on. She looked down and noticed a bloody smear on the tile entryway and could feel the last energy print of Agnes. She had taken Lash to Race. Sarah frowned, but was relieved at the same time. She didn’t have the energy to heal a skinned knee let alone someone who looked like they’d just survived a night in a meat grinder.

She winced at her last image of Lash and hoped her father had a little compassion left for him in his heart.
If he did anything to hurt Lash when he was at his weakest, he’d have her to deal with,
she thought darkly.

She hurried back down the hallway and waited a few more minutes until she heard the water turn off. She rushed to the office, where Zane’s clothes were and grabbed some sweats and a t-shirt for him to change into. She glanced at the clock and groaned. They only had two hours until her grandmother’s memorial service. That wouldn’t give them much time to rest. It wouldn’t be enough if Charles decided to pull something, but they didn’t have a choice. She refused to stay home. She would honor her grandmother’s memory no matter what. Zane on the other hand, might just have to miss the service.

When Zane finished changing, he grabbed her hand and instead of heading for the blow up mattress on the floor in the office, headed for his grandmother’s bed, a nice comfortable queen with a surplus of pillows and soft sheets. Sarah raised her eyebrow at Zane, but gave in as he looked at her pleadingly.

“If I only have a little while to rest, I want quality. The air mattress and the couch cannot be described as comfortable.”

Sarah agreed heartily and lay down next to Zane, wrapping her arms around him. She sent a few waves of energy into Zane’s body, urging him to relax and sleep and heal. He sighed happily and immediately fell asleep. She closed her eyes but instead of sleeping, she concentrated on soothing and calming his body and spirit. She couldn’t imagine what he’d been through, but from Agnes’s dream, she had a good idea.

Sarah kissed Zane’s shoulder softly and then did something she’d never done before. She dove into his mind. She had to know what had happened last night. She frowned as she moved to the front of Zane’s mind. He was already fast asleep thanks to her soothing energy and the fact that he was just plain exhausted. Zane’s mind during REM stage was full of energy and light. But she wanted more. She wanted to know.

Sarah attempted to use her power differently. She touched her head to Zane’s and then commanded him to show her what had happened. Instead of Zane talking out loud, she was able to see his memories. Little flashes of thoughts and ideas and then bright 3-D pictures of the night before.

Sarah’s body tensed up as Zane’s mind went through the events of last night. She saw Zane and Lash walking through the town to a newer home on the outskirts of town surrounded by a few acres of land. She could see Lash turning to talk to Zane and Lash’s words entered her thoughts,
Stay here. I’ll see if I can get him to come outside
.

Sarah winced as a stream of adrenaline whipped through Zane’s sleeping body as he slept and she automatically sent calming warmth to ease the memories he was having. She gently pushed the hair off his forehead and then reconnected. Zane’s memories jumped back to the house and she could now see Lash standing outside with Mason walking toward them.

Sarah winced and didn’t know if she wanted to see what happened next, but knew that she needed to understand. She could see Zane move forward to stand next to Lash and put his hand on his back. In Zane’s memories, Lash was calm as Mason stood there laughing at them.

Zane fidgeted, moving his legs restlessly and she held him closer in her arms. And then a bright electric memory jumped forward and she could see Lash and Mason fighting and then falling to the ground, wrestling and then they were up again, both breathing hard and staring each other down. And then Mason was rising in the air, shrieking and furious.

Sarah bit her lip as Zane’s thoughts focused on Lash and how battered he was. She could feel the anger course through Zane’s body and she shuddered in reaction to it. Mason’s body was flung on the ground while Zane checked to see if Lash was okay. Mason then attacked Zane from behind, using every technique he could to try and kill Zane. She could feel the suffocating, terrifying feeling of being choked and knew that’s what had broken the bone in Zane’s neck. She moaned softly and then relaxed as the memory changed and they were both standing over Mason’s body.

Lash and Zane were battered and bloody now but so was Mason. Mason, in Zane’s memory was grinning up at them. Unrepentant, uncaring and ready to keep fighting. She could feel the doubt in Zane’s mind and the weariness and then the resolve. She couldn’t hear what Mason said, but she could feel Zane’s reaction to whatever it was because all of a sudden, Zane was filled with incredible power fueled by rage and Mason was lifted up, screeching and cursing.

Sarah’s arms tightened around Zane’s body as she could see Mason being pulled in opposite directions by Zane’s control over his body. And then she could see Lash shaking his head and feel Zane’s acquiescence. Mason’s body lowered to the ground and Zane stepped back, allowing Lash to step forward. Lash walked toward his father and she knew Lash was going to kill him. As he knelt down by Mason, Mason reared up and grabbed Lash in both arms, twisting him and then grabbing a knife from his back pocket. She could feel Zane’s surprised horror as Mason raised his hand to bring the blade down on his son’s chest.

She could feel Zane screaming in his mind as he jumped on Mason’s back, using his body and power to subdue him and grab the knife. He wasn’t fast enough and Mason stabbed Lash. Sarah felt more than heard Lash’s scream of pain. She whimpered softly as she attempted to soothe Zane as he lay in her arms. She could see Lash’s face through Zane’s memory and she knew she’d never forget it. He was in agony.

Zane struggled with Mason, trying to get him away from Lash when Mason did some kind of strange karate move and that’s when Zane’s ankle was broken cleanly in two. The memory made Zane’s whole body quiver and stiffen and it took her a few minutes to ease his body and mind. But she couldn’t stop. She had to know the rest. She had to know how Mason died. Mason took advantage of Zane’s agony and used his knife to stab Zane in the kidney and his liver. Sarah felt like screaming at the pain and almost pulled out.

Zane was now crumpled on his side, groaning in anguish as Mason laughed at the two boys on the ground. Mason picked up his knife, twirling it in the air before turning toward Lash. As he walked purposefully toward his son, Sarah shook her head in fear. He meant to kill him. Lash pushed up to his knees, watching his father carefully as he gasped for air and held his chest with his hand. He glanced at Zane but then straightened his shoulders before launching himself at Mason, taking him by surprise.

Zane crawled forward screaming in pain and then reached a hand out to grab onto Mason’s leg. As soon as he grabbed hold, Mason let out a shriek and let go of the knife he had just stabbed Lash in the back with. Zane closed his eyes as Mason continued to scream. Lash pushed away from Mason and crawled to Zane, watching silently as Mason’s eyes shut and blood began to pour from his mouth. Lash’s eyes widened in horror at what he was seeing but said nothing as Mason fell to his knees and stopped screaming as more blood poured out of his ears and down his arms. By the time he fell to his side dead, he was covered in so much blood he wasn’t recognizable.