Dropping down on her knees, she struggled to get the tape off her mom's mouth.
Lucas, in all his wolf beauty, moved toward her. Her mom squirmed as if in fear of the wolf. Lucas brushed against Kylie's side, met her gaze briefly, then turned and left. Kylie remembered again what his grandmother had said. You are part of his quest, and he yours.
"Mom," Kylie said. "It's going to be okay." She finished pulling the tape from her mom's mouth.
Her mom's scream bounced off the walls.
"It's okay," Kylie said again. "It's okay. Now, be still so I can get the tape off of you."
As soon as Kylie took the tape off her mom's wrists, she grabbed Kylie and held her. Held her hard and long. "This is the worst dream I've ever had."
Kylie pulled back and debated what to say, but then just nodded and ripped the tape from her mom's ankles. Her mom curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth, as if just waiting to wake up.
Kylie looked back at the two bodies. She needed to call the police, didn't she? She glanced back at her mom and wondered how it would play out with her spouting out things about dreams and wolves.
Then Kylie remembered, she might have come here alone, but she had friends. She grabbed her phone and started punching in Burnett's number. Right before her finger hit the call button, another noise filled the room. A soft comforting sound. The sound of trickling water. The sound of the falls. The warm feeling, the sense of rightness, of justice, filled Kylie's chest.
The moment of peacefulness was shattered when her mom screamed again, her eyes focused on something behind Kylie.
"He ... What? How?" Her mom started scooting back.
Kylie swung around, grabbing her sword as she did, and praying it was her mom's panic talking.
She was wrong.
Chapter Forty-three
Standing before Kylie, fully manifested, was her father. Not just fully manifested but brighter than ever before. The sound of the falls grew louder. The hum of peaceful water.
"Daddy?" she whispered.
Hey, baby girl.
"Hey," she said.
He looked over her shoulder and frowned. Your mom's passed out.
Kylie glanced back. "She's had a hard night."
So have you. He motioned to the blood on her shirt.
"Just a flesh wound," she said, or was it more? She glanced down wondering if she'd only imagined it was small and now her father was here to take her with him.
Blood had soaked through her shirt, not a lot of blood, but enough that the peaceful feeling lessened and fear took its place. Oddly, it was not fear for herself, but fear that her death meant she'd let others down.
Or had her victory over John and Mario resolved that? And it was simply her time to go?
Glancing up, she stared at her father, her vision slightly blurred with tears. "Am I going to die? Are others going to suffer because-"
No, Kylie. He rushed to her. His hands holding her shoulders. His cold a comfort she welcomed. You have so much life to live, child. I'm not here to take you. I'm here to help you explain this to your mother.
She blinked. "Did the death angels give you more time on earth?"
Only a little more, but what they offered me was better. I have a place with them now.
It took Kylie a second to understand. "You're going to be a death angel?"
I will be after I help you this last time. But the beauty of it is that from now on, I will always be watching out for you. The wisdom you hear in your heart will be from me, daughter.
Tears filled her eyes again. She realized something he said about helping her explain this to her mom.
Kylie had been so intent on saving her mother, she hadn't even considered how she was going to explain it. "How am I ever going to get Mom to accept this?"
That is what I am here for. We will do it together.
Then Kylie recalled. "She could see you ... before she passed out."
Yes. She had always felt my presence, but I was granted enough energy so she may see me. He looked around, frowning at the dead bodies. But for now, call Burnett.
Kylie picked up the phone and redialed Burnett's number.
* * *"She is almost awake." Kylie's father appeared. Kylie, sitting in a chair beside the bed in the extra bedroom in John's house, looked up at her daddy.
Her mom had been out for almost four hours now.
Burnett and Holiday had shown up minutes after she'd called them. And he'd immediately called a crew to clean up the mess. The FRU were going to make it look like a code red, which was a car accident. How they would make being stabbed with swords appear to be a car accident, she didn't know.
She didn't want to know.
After a good long cry on Holiday's shoulder, Kylie explained what went down. She'd also told them about Daniel. Holiday was in awe that Kylie would have a personal connection with a death angel. Kylie had almost told her that she would have preferred to have had her dad with her in life, but this wasn't about choices and she reminded herself that she had much to be grateful for.
When she explained that Daniel was here to help her explain things to her mom, Burnett expressed concern that Kylie's mom couldn't handle the truth. Kylie was worried about the same thing. Yet when he suggested they bring Derek in to erase her mother's memory, Daniel had appeared and disagreed.
She needs to know the truth, Daniel had insisted. He hadn't given explanation; he didn't have to. Kylie had to trust her dad, even when her heart feared how her mom would take the news.
It was Holiday who pointed out that Kylie's mom wasn't just a normal human. Being a descendent of a Native American tribe had made her intuitive of supernatural powers.
So, with the help of Daniel, a future death angel, Kylie was about to tell her mother everything. And she wasn't looking forward to it.
Her mother opened her eyes. She focused on Kylie and then the words spilled from her mom's lips. "I had the worst dream." She sat up and looked around.
Kylie looked around as well, not knowing if Daniel was still visible. He wasn't. She supposed he'd show up when she needed him. But she felt pretty needy right now. Looking back at her mom, Kylie knew the moment when her mom realized they were at John's house. Her breath came short. "What are you doing here?"
Kylie took her mother's hand. "You were in trouble."
Her mom blinked, shook her head, and fell back against the pillows. "I'm still dreaming."
"No, Mom. It wasn't a dream."
"Yes, it was. It was awful, Kylie. At least parts of it were. You were fighting and-"
"It was awful. But it wasn't a dream." Kylie knew only one way to prove it. She pulled the collar of her shirt down and showed her mom the cut. It probably could have used some stitches, but Kylie had been too busy to worry about that. Of course, Holiday had seen the blood on Kylie's shirt and hadn't been happy until she searched the house for something to clean the wound.