“We have to stop them.”
“We agree,” Grey said. “We just need to think everything through.”
He was right. We had time to discuss the necessity of revealing the Urbat and Werewolf races to the humans. I held in a sigh and contented myself with his “maybe.”
“Fine. But we need to plan our next stop. I’m not sure if traveling together is a good thing or not, but in case we get separated, we should have a place picked ahead of time.”
Michelle used her phone to find another hotel a day’s drive east of where we were. We all agreed on it, and she made the reservations.
Charlene excused herself and promised to bring back something to eat. When she and Thomas returned, they had one of the turkeys and several containers of the meal they’d been working on before we left the Compound.
Everyone piled food on the plates she brought. I sought her out. “I’m really sorry you didn’t get to have your nice meal.”
“No, Bethi. What we’re doing now is much more important. For years, I’ve felt a...itch, I guess you’d say. Like I was supposed to be doing something, but I never could figure out what. The itch is gone now. I know what we’re doing is right.”
She lifted her arms and offered a hug. I went in willingly and fell into the abyss.
“Do you have Courage?” the Taupe Lady whispered from the black.
“No. They have her. But I hope to change that.”
“You must have Courage,” she answered. A cool hand caressed my face and, for the first time in months, I felt completely at ease and free of the terror and desperation.
“Unite,” she whispered. “Before it’s too late.”
Someone tapped my cheek, and I struggled to stay under, but the Taupe Lady had already faded taking the serenity with her.
I lay on the ground looking up at the bottoms of everyone’s plates. “Go. Away,” I mumbled. I couldn’t even sit up. It would kill my stomach.
“What happened?” Thomas asked. I turned my head and saw Charlene lying next to me.
“She really shouldn’t touch any of us too much,” I muttered. “We drain her.” He frowned at me, but Charlene opened her eyes forestalling whatever he’d been about to say.
“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “Just takes me a bit to pull it all back in.” She turned and looked at me. “What happens when we do that? Besides draining me.”
“Our abilities flare. Gabby’s lights ignite with no effort on her part.” Gabby’s fork hit her plate in shock. “Oh, sorry,” I apologized. “The dreams are chaotic and usually painful rather than helpful, but I have actually learned a bit about us. I didn’t mean to say something you’d rather I didn’t.”
“No,” she assured me. “It just keeps surprising me how much you know.”
“And yet there’s so much I don’t.”
“Do you need help up?” Luke sat on his heels beside me. He already knew the answer, but I liked that he asked first. I nodded, and he slid an arm behind my back.
Luke helped me stand then walked me to the table to a chair. I felt fine. Gabby followed and sat with me while Luke went to fix me a plate. Nana, Jim, and the two boys stormed the room looking for food. Emmitt caught one of the boys mid-run and lifted him into the air.
“They have a waffle maker,” the boy said with a smile, wrapping his arms around Emmitt’s neck.
“Really?” Emmitt looked very interested. “We’ll have to beat Jim down there, then. Will you come wake us up in the morning?”
The boy nodded and started the put-me-down wiggle.
Gabby distracted me from watching the happy family. “Could we ride together tomorrow?” she asked.
Luke walked over with a heaping plate. My stomach cheered for both of them, plate and man.
“Sure,” I said to Gabby. “But I’m not much fun. I tend to fall asleep all the time.”
“Maybe conversation will help,” she offered.
I shrugged and bit into a forkful of stuffing heaven. But as I tasted it, I thought of home and had a hard time swallowing. I really wanted to call my mom. She had to be beyond crazy with worry by now. But I was too afraid I’d find out they had her, too afraid of what I’d do to try to help her. I knew I should wait until we exposed the Urbat to give her a call. My eyes fell on Nana who was speaking to Charlene. Charlene’s color was coming back. She and Thomas sat on the edge of the bed eating together.
“Nana?”
She turned her head to look at me.
“Would you call my mom and let her know I’m okay?” My throat felt tight.
The room grew quiet.
“I ran away to try to save her. I don’t know if it worked. I can’t know if it worked,” I stopped to swallow hard. “At least not until we take away their advantage. But thinking of her alone,” I looked down at my Thanksgiving meal. “I just want her to know that I’m okay if she’s still there.”
Nana moved to me and squeezed my shoulder gently. “Of course, Bethi.”
Jim brought over a piece of paper and pencil. I wrote the number down, hesitated, and then wrote another before I handed it to Nana. “The first one is my mom’s. The second one is a friend, Dani, in case my mom doesn’t answer. Find out what you can. But don’t tell me. Whether you reach her or not, don’t tell me.”
She nodded slowly, sad understanding filling her eyes. I couldn’t know. I had to stay strong. I didn’t think I had much left in me.
“I’m not hungry anymore,” I said quietly, pushing my plate back.
“Bethi, you need to eat,” Luke insisted.
“I just want to go to my room.” I stood, and he followed.
He didn’t put up too much of a fight about sharing a bed when we got to the room. He even pulled back the covers and took off his shirt.
I ducked into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. By then, I was ready to sleep. He watched me cross the room, and held out an arm to welcome me.
“How are the stitches?” he asked.
“Fine,” I murmured closing my eyes.
I woke with a stretch followed by a wince when the stitches reminded me I couldn’t stretch too far. Luke’s warm hand covered my stomach through my shirt; and I sighed, not opening my eyes. I’d experienced one of the best nights. I’d slept through without interruption for—I lifted my head from his chest to look at the alarm clock—fourteen hours.
“You must be starving,” I said, lying back down.
“Your arm was looking good about six hours ago.”
“I bet.” I wasn’t ready to get up yet. I sighed and closed my eyes again.
His stomach growled. I laughed and managed to sit up. “You win. We’ll go feed you.”
“You, too,” he said sitting up with too much energy. “All you ate yesterday was a sandwich.”
“Not true. I had a plate of pie, too.”
I picked out clothes while he used the bathroom. He came out showered, fresh, and ready to eat. I shook my head and indulged in a quick shower, careful not to let the scabs around the stitches get too wet. It felt good to be so clean. When I wiped the steam from the mirror, I cringed. I hadn’t been paying attention to myself. The circles under my eyes were dark again. I used the hotel hair drier and brushed my hair until it was dry and then dressed.
Luke sat on a made bed waiting for me when I opened the door.
“Feed me,” I begged.
He couldn’t hide the worry that passed over his face. Standing, he threaded his fingers through mine and led me out of the room. My bag was slung over his shoulder.
We met everyone in the breakfast area. Michelle and Emmitt couldn’t stop looking at or touching each other. Long looks followed by a quick kiss, a hug, or just a shoulder brush. I shook my head. I wasn’t the only one. I caught Gabby’s look, too. She grinned at me as Luke led me to the counter laid out with food.