And then another.
Zale grabs me by the hand, and that electric touch gives me life. We run together toward the end of the boardwalk. Toward the little flatboat he has waiting there. I freeze at the edge. Standing over the flooded-out gator pond. I’m looking for the black trunk. But it’s already vanished.
Elora is already gone.
Taken away from me first by Evie.
And then again by Hart.
And finally by Elizabeth.
Zale squeezes my hand. We’re standing on the boardwalk in fast-moving water up to our knees.
We’re standing in the middle of the river.
And, just for a second, I hear a musical laugh carried on the rain like a zydeco waltz. I finally let myself look over my shoulder, but there’s only dark water.
I know she’s there, though. I can feel her. Right behind me.
And I know I’m strong enough to face the storm.
So I let Zale help me into the tiny boat, and then he yells at me to get down. I hunker in the bottom and close my eyes tight. I hear the engine roar to life, and then we’re moving.
And it takes me a minute to realize.
I don’t feel the rain any more.
And I can’t feel the wind.
Not even enough wind to move the hair on the top of my head.
When the boat stops, we’re bobbing on gentle little swells. Everything is peaceful. Quiet. And I start to sit up.
But then I catch a glimpse of towering waves. Jagged lightning. A dark and violent sky.
Zale takes my face in his hands.
“Whatever you do, don’t look at the storm.” He wraps me in his arms, and I feel him surge through me. More powerful than ever. “You’re safe. I promise. Just keep your eyes on mine.”
But I couldn’t look way from those fire-and-ice blues, even if I wanted to.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, Grey.” His ocean-deep voice settles over me like a quilt.
“You didn’t,” I whisper.
And the world is perfectly calm when he kisses me.
After, though . . . somewhere in my mind . . . I see a massive wall of water slam into La Cachette. It finds the hiding place and swallows it whole in one big gulp.
Like a sea monster.
And Zale holds me tight as I scream.
We never went back. After Elizabeth.
No one did. Except maybe Willie Nelson.
La Cachette is under thirty feet of water now. It’s a permanent part of the river, and the Summer Children are scattered.
Six of us alive.
And six of us dead.
I never went back up to Little Rock, either. Dad drove my stuff down to Shreveport and Honey and I set up shop in New Orleans. We have a little bookstore on Royal Street. The Grey Rose. I’m a student at Tulane, too, and that keeps me pretty busy, but I help out as much as I can.
Full-time college student.
Part-time psychic.
It’s a strange life, and I love it. But my soul is still wet.
So tonight, I follow St. Ann Street all the way down to the park, where I can stand above the Mighty Mississippi.
And I face south.
Toward La Cachette.
I touch the blue pearl hanging around my neck. Spin Elora’s ring on my finger.
Three times.
Like making a wish.
And I long for the slow roll of the tides beneath my feet.
The crackle of electricity in the air.
But I’m nineteen now. And it’s been two summers.
I find a spot to sit. An empty bench in a crowded city. If I close my eyes and breathe in the river, I can almost imagine myself home.
It’s strange to think that the water flowing by below me will eventually make its way down to the hiding place. It will slip over the polished skeleton of the boardwalk. And the bones of the Mystic Rose.
It will wash over what’s left of Hart.
And Evie.
Whatever remains of Elora.
Dempsey Fontenot.
And Aeron.
I murmur their names to the river.
Spark their memories like a candle.
Because we were all flames lit from the same match.
And I’m the only one still burning.
So much has changed. It’s like Zale said. I’ve had to go on living in a completely different way. But I do know for sure now that there is magic in me. Not the kind my mama had. That beautiful, terrible power. But the kind that comes from walking through a storm.
And making it out the other side still breathing.
It’s getting late and the sun is sinking. I should be heading home for dinner. I stand up to go, but something stops me.
A sudden change in the air.
It hums and snaps like a living thing. Dances against my skin. I hear the echo of my name. Ocean-deep. And, when I turn around, those fire-and-ice eyes stop my heart from beating. Zale grins at me. Holds out his hand. And I whisper the words out loud.