THIRTY-FOUR

 

Adrenaline was still pumping through Jenny’s body as they sped down the mountain. She leaned forward in the seat.

“Drive around for a bit, Tiff, okay? Take a roundabout way to the cemetery or something. I want to make sure we’re not being followed.”

“The cemetery?” Nikolai asked. “Why are we going to the cemetery?”

She realized Nikolai knew nothing about her conversation with Morgan. Had no idea that the plan was for him to leave Stony Creek via the underground.

She turned to him while Tiffany drove. “It turns out that Morgan wasn’t really a spy for the Order. Well, she was, but only so she could help me if I needed it.”

Suspicion darkened Nikolai’s eyes. “I don’t understand.”

“She’s part of the underground,” Jenny said. “A big part. She took over for my mom after she died.”

“What does this have to do with the cemetery?” he asked.

They were off the mountain. Tiffany turned left, away from the cemetery, and Jenny gave her attention back to Nikolai.

“We haven’t found the book,” she said softly. “And even though the full moon will pass, it will come again. The Order will just keep looking for you.”

Understanding shadowed his eyes. “I have to leave you. Again.”

“Morgan says she can get you into the underground from Stony Creek. I don’t … ” Her throat closed and she had to wait a minute, forcing herself to continue. “I don’t want you to go, but I don’t see any other way. At least you won’t be in the bardo. We can keep looking for the book, trying to find a way for you to stay.”

He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve only just found you again.”

She buried her face in his chest, inhaling the scent of him, trying to memorize it. For a few minutes, she was almost able to convince herself that there was no world outside of the car. That she could stay in Nikolai’s arms while they drove and drove, the Order disappearing with the rest of the world beyond the windows.

“Jen?” Tiffany said from the front. “How long do you want me to wait to meet up with Morgan?”

Jenny lifted her head to look at Ben. “Anybody following us?”

“Not that I can see.”

She took a deep breath. “Head to the cemetery. But take that back road. The one that takes you past the field that runs behind the graveyard. I don’t want to risk the main entrance.”

“Will do,” she said.

Jenny pressed herself closer to Nikolai, wanting to stop the clock. Time was suddenly moving too fast. She had the sense of it, rushing and rushing to the moment when Nikolai would step away from her. She could already feel his absence like a cold wind.

“I see the field up ahead,” Tiffany said. “Where do you want me to park?”

“Still nobody behind us, Ben?”

Ben shook his head. “Not that I’ve seen.”

“Just pull off to the side of the road,” Jenny instructed, “as far into the long grass as you can without getting stuck.”

The car slowed, the passenger side dipping as the car hit the shoulder.

“Ready?” Nikolai whispered to her when Tiffany turned off the engine.

She shook her head, clinging to him. “No.”

“Me, either.” He kissed her head. “But we have to go.”

She nodded reluctantly, reaching for the door handle.

“I didn’t even know you could get to the cemetery through here,” Tiffany said when they were all out of the car.

“I’ve never tested the theory,” Jenny admitted. “But this field backs up to the graveyard and there’s no fence on that side, so we should be able to reach it.”

Nikolai held out a hand to Tiffany. “May I have the keys?”

Tiffany looked surprised by the request, but she handed him the keys. He went to the back of the car and opened the trunk, pulling out the duffel bag he’d packed earlier. He walked back to Jenny’s side and gave her the keys.

“But … I can’t take your car.”

He opened her palm and kissed it before placing the keys in her hands. Then he closed her fingers around them. “Take care of it—and the house—for me while I’m gone.”

She nodded, blinking back the tears that were already forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Let’s get off this road,” Ben said. “We’re too exposed here.”

They started off across the field. Jenny held tight to Nikolai’s hand. She looked back every couple of minutes, half expecting one of the Order’s cars to pull up behind the Audi, but no one came.

“Do you think Morgan’s already here?” Ben whispered as they stepped into the trees that acted as a border for the rear of the cemetery.

The answering voice came to them from a large granite monument carved in the shape of an angel. “I’m over here.” Morgan stepped out from behind the statue, relief visible on her face. “You all made it.”

Jenny nodded. “It was a close call, though. We don’t think they followed us, but they know we were there.”

Morgan nodded. “We better get moving then.”

She ushered them to the back corner of the cemetery, the beam of her flashlight bouncing off the ground as they walked. Jenny couldn’t help wondering where they were going, if she’d been right to trust Morgan or if she was leading them into some kind of trap. She’d laid everything out for Morgan. Brought Nikolai right to her.

“Here we are.” Morgan stopped at a massive rectangular mausoleum with elaborate angel statues standing guard at all four corners.

“Here?” Jenny whispered. “What are we doing here?”

“Just trust me,” Morgan said. She handed Tiffany the flashlight. “Hold this for me and point it at the lock, will you?”

Morgan pulled a familiar key ring from her pocket. Jenny recognized it from all the times she’d helped Morgan at the cemetery, but she’d had no idea Morgan possessed keys to the mausoleums.

Choosing one of the keys, Morgan bent forward, slipping it into the lock. It sprang open. Jenny held her breath when Morgan opened the door to the crypt. She expected it to squeak, probably because she’d seen too many scary movies, but the enormous iron door swung open without a sound.

Morgan waved them in. “Hurry. We need to get out of sight.”

She followed them in, shutting the door. Morgan took the flashlight back from Tiffany and waved it around the enclosed space. The light ricocheted off the walls.

“Hamish?” Morgan whispered. “Are you here?”

A second later, an older man in a bowler cap and tweed pants stepped into the flashlight beam, his face eerily distorted by the flashlight.

“Right here. I wanted to make sure it was safe.”

Jenny heard relief in Morgan’s exhale. “Come here, Jenny. Bring Nikolai.”

Jenny stepped forward, her hand clammy in Nikolai’s. She didn’t know what she’d expected when sending Nikolai away with the underground, but it hadn’t been a hand-off in a creepy mausoleum.

“This is Hamish, Jenny,” Morgan said gently. “We’ve worked together many times. He’s the one who will take Nikolai to the first stop. After that, he’ll transfer Nikolai twice more to other members of the underground, just to be sure the trail is cold for the Order. You’ll have to send messages through me until we know it’s safe. Do you understand?”

Jenny nodded, then shook her head. “Yes. I mean, not really. Why are we meeting here? And how will I know Nikolai is safe?”

Morgan shone a light on the far wall of the mausoleum. A door hung open, built right into the granite. When Jenny leaned in for a closer look, she saw that torches lit the walls on either side of a staircase leading downward.

“This is the gateway from Stony Creek to the rest of the underground,” Morgan explained. “I’m the only one with a key. As for knowing Nikolai is safe, I think it’s a good bet that he’d be safer anywhere but here in Stony Creek.”

She was right. The Order had already gotten Nikolai once. If he stayed in Stony Creek, it was only a matter of time before he was discovered again. They would have to find the book, and Nikolai would have to stay away until they did.

Jenny nodded. “So now what do we do?”

“Now you say goodbye,” Morgan said simply.

Jenny’s heart felt like lead in her chest as Nikolai pulled his hand away. He approached Tiffany, said thank you, and extended a hand to Ben.

“Thank you, Ben. Will you look after Jenny while I’m gone?”

Ben shook Nikolai’s hand. Jenny couldn’t read the expression on his face. “I will.”

Nikolai turned to Jenny. He took her hand, putting a few feet between them and everyone else by pulling her toward the staircase.

He rubbed her shoulders. “You’ll have to take care of yourself while I’m gone, too.”

She wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself to his chest. “I don’t want you to go.”

“This is the only way to protect what we have,” he said, smoothing her hair. “It’ll buy us some time. Time to find the book and figure all this out. And who knows? Maybe someone in the underground will remember your mother, have some idea where she hid the book.”

“What will I do without you? I don’t think I was even breathing before.” It was true, she realized. She’d been going through the motions, living life with the imprint of Nikolai on her heart.

His smile was sad. “You’re stronger than you know.” He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “You’ll go on as before. You’ll watch over the house for me and learn about your mother and the gifts she may have given you. And someday, before you know it, I’ll be back.”

She saw the love in his eyes. The resolve.

He slid his hands into her hair, lifting her mouth to his. His kiss was both gentle and ferocious. A promise and a declaration.

“You are mine.” He spoke against her lips. “You always have been. You always will be.”

She breathed in the scent of him, that musky, bitter scent that made her think of cold winter days and evergreens. Clinging to him, she gripped his shirt in her hands, his body pressed against hers until she couldn’t tell where he ended and she began.

When he pulled away, he brushed his thumb against her cheek. She didn’t even know she was crying.

“Don’t,” he said gruffly. “Please, don’t cry.”

She leaned her forehead against his chest and swallowed hard against the panic of his leaving.

“I’ll be okay,” she said. “I’ll miss you like crazy, but I’ll be okay.”

The man named Hamish appeared at Nikolai’s shoulder. “It’s getting late. We should be going.”

Hamish made his way discreetly to the staircase, waiting there for Nikolai.

  Nikolai smoothed the hair back from Jenny’s face. Then he touched his hand to his lips and pressed his fingers against the skin of her collarbone. She had a flash of him in the concrete room, lying next to her, his eyes glassy as he pressed a hand to her neck to stop the bleeding.

She had to put a fist to her mouth to fight a sob as he headed for the open door. He was at the top of the stairs when he looked back, the torchlight reflecting in the green pool of his eyes.

“I love you, Jenny. And I’ll always find you.”

Then he was gone.