Jena skidded around the door and then stopped, breathing heavily from the pain. Her one good eye skimmed across the mess in the room, finally landing on Rose, who lay on the floor. She was so still.
Jena tiptoed carefully through the wreckage. She didn’t want to reach Rose and find that she was dead. She wasn’t ready to face that. But there; a slight flutter in Rose’s chest. Jena went down on her knees, lowering her head to catch the faint rattle of breath against her cheek.
‘Oh, Gran. What did he do to you?’
Rose coughed, a smattering of blood spraying across her lips. Her eyes were rolled back in her head, only the whites showing.
‘I’m so sorry. I thought if we destroyed the watch, we’d kill this thing. I thought … I thought I could save you.’ Tears flowed as she brushed the hair off Rose’s face. It was so fine, so silky, so matted by blood.
‘I’m going to call an ambulance,’ Will said from the door. Jena didn’t turn to look at him, just nodded, sobbing silently, her shoulders bunched as if they could keep the pain in.
This was her fault. The rest might have been Rose’s, but this had been her plan, and it was her fault her grandmother was dying in front of her right now.
‘I’m going to get him, Gran. No matter what happens, I’m not going to stop fighting and I’m not going to let him ruin more lives. He’s not going to win. Ever. Do you hear me? Rose? Gran?’ Jena leaned down again, stroking Rose’s cheek and placing a kiss on her forehead.
The sorrow in her chest was a heavy weight, and she realised that in the time since she’d arrived, she hadn’t done anything to prepare herself for her grandmother’s eventual death. It had been a distant thing – and far less important at the time than finally getting the truth – and now it was right here before her, playing out like a slow-motion movie. The only movement was the shallow rise and fall of Rose’s chest, the flutter of her heart like a small bird stretching its wings.
Jena’s throat tightened and she slipped one hand into her grandmother’s, stroking her hair with the other. ‘All that time we wasted, such a pair of fools. I think it runs in the family. Stubborn women and stupid mistakes. I wish I’d done something you could be proud of, Gran, wish I’d finished high school, gone to uni, done more than waste my life.’ She swallowed hard, blinded by tears, and continued uttering small meaningless things, telling her the story of her life in a whisper until that tiny bird stopped fluttering. Rose let out a sigh and Jena held her breath, waiting, waiting for her to take another. But it didn’t come.
Jena heard Will at the doorway, and she turned to him. ‘She’s gone.’
‘I’m so sorry, Jena.’ He was propped against the wall, his face distraught. He looked as badly beaten as her, if not worse.
‘Everything she did, it was to try and protect me. And I was angry with her, so angry. I still hadn’t forgiven her and I can’t now. I can’t do anything.’
‘Not sure it helps, but I don’t think she needed your forgiveness. She just wanted your safety.’
Jena laughed, though it was more like a sob. ‘And I managed to screw that up too. Do you think he wanted to kill us?’ she asked. She closed her eyes and shook her head; maybe she didn’t want to know. Cade had still been part Cade when he’d attacked her, but the look on his face was one she would never forget.
‘I don’t know about you, but he wasn’t trying to kill me, just cause me pain.’ Will let out a choked laugh. ‘He actually thanked me for freeing him. I don’t think he knew …. The look on his face when he came towards me … I don’t think I’ve ever been more afraid.’ Will slid down the wall and rested his head against it, his eyes closed.
Jena let go of Rose’s hand, placing her grandmother’s cooling fingers over her chest, and crawled across the room to sit beside him. She leaned her head on his shoulder for comfort and they sat there like that in silence for a few minutes.
Everything was a mess. Everything. The room was a shambles, as if he’d been looking for something while he dealt to Rose. Jena’s hand went to her neck, felt the pounamu, still warm against her chest. Was that what he’d wanted? Was that what had saved her?
‘What are we going to tell them?’ Will asked, breaking her train of thought.
‘The truth, minus the bit about Cade being possessed. We can say he was using drugs, that when he went to town and stayed gone for a bit, he must have found something that messed with his head?’
‘Sounds fair. And the rest, we’re just honest about?’
Jena looked up at him. ‘He beat the crap out of both of us. He killed Rose. I don’t think we’re going to need another story. This is about as bad as it gets.’ Her nose burned and she couldn’t keep the tears in any longer.
She was still crying when the sirens came into earshot.