The Hidden - Jessica Verday [98]
Caspian came closer to me. “He took you? Oh, love. Did he hurt you?”
My eyes slid away from his. “He was … his usual charming self.”
Caspian looked me over, his eyes narrowing. “What did he do?”
“He sort of used his fist to subdue me,” I admitted. “In the face.”
“Jeez,” Cacey said. “He really has gone off the deep end.”
Caspian glared at her.
“Later,” I said. “We don’t have much time.”
“Why?” Caspian asked suspiciously. “That’s what they keep saying. Does someone want to clue me in?”
“At midnight it’s November third,” I replied. I looked over at Cacey. “Vincent told me everything. About the original Revenants. About the fact that you were once all human. Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you lie?”
Kame held up one hand. “There were certain things we couldn’t tell you, Abbey.”
I turned to Uri. “You told me practically everything. Why didn’t you tell me about what would happen to Caspian? Was it really that hard? I had to find out from Vincent.”
“This was all new to us, Abbey,” Uri replied. “Vincent and Monty were the only ones authorized to tell you anything. We were just here to find Vincent and bring him back, to restore the balance.”
“Oh, come on. You had to have had some idea. All the signs were there. You might not have known the exact date, but you knew it was getting close.”
“Well, now you know, and that’s that,” Cacey said.
“There is a bigger issue to be dealt with here, Acacia,” Kame said. “You know that.”
I traded looks with Caspian. “What’s the bigger issue?”
“Vincent is your Revenant,” Kame replied. “That means he must help you cross over.”
“But he doesn’t want to do the job. So that means I’ll have to do it,” Monty said. “And I’m going to need the help of everyone.”
“Nothing needs to be done,” Caspian said. “We’ll just keep things the way they are.” He softened his tone. “November first will come around again next year, Astrid.”
I closed my eyes briefly, but that didn’t stop the tears from coming. “You don’t understand,” I told him. “All the recent changes lately, you losing your touch, falling into a deep sleep … it means something more. If I don’t complete you now, you’ll move on. Without me.”
Caspian looked around for one of the Revenants to tell him I was wrong.
The answer came from Cacey. “Your time is up, sweetie.”
He looked down at the ground, stunned disbelief written all over his face, and my tears came harder. I tried to push them away, scrubbed my hands across my face, but the tears just came faster. “Please,” I said. “Please. Just let me be with him.”
“It’s not up to us,” Cacey said. “That’s just the way it goes.”
“But you guys have powers. You have to be able to do something.”
Uri came over and put his arms around me, wrapping me in a protective embrace. Turning me away from the group, he whispered, “Abbey, you don’t understand. You don’t have to die. You get to live. Doesn’t that mean something to you? Anything?”
I gazed at Caspian. “Not without him.”
Uri let out a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t tell you this before, but my death hurt. It was painful, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
I shook my head stubbornly. “I don’t care. I don’t care if it hurts. Besides, Nikolas told me that his death was easy.”
“It’s different for everyone, that’s true, but don’t you see? Why would you want to give up all of this? I don’t get it.”
I wrapped my hand in his. “Think about Cacey. Acacia. Then tell me you still don’t get it.” A half smile stretched across his lips, then disappeared. “See?” I said. “You get it.”
Straightening my shoulders, I stepped away from him and moved to Caspian. “Love,” I whispered. “It’s okay. I’ve decided.”
His eyes were filled with anguish, and he put one hand up next to my cheek. “You can’t, Abbey. You can’t do this. You have to let me go. Just let me go.” Very purposefully he stepped away from me and turned his back, moving next to Sophie on the other side of the circle.
“Do it,” he said tersely. “Take me with you and let her stay.”
“Caspian.” I raised