P.C. Cast - Burned

“Well, keep this in mind—Zo doesn’t like some dude saving her. She likes to take care of herself. Mostly, you just have to stand back and let her do her thing.”

Stark nodded solemnly. “I’ll remember that.”

“Okay. So. Let’s go after her.”

The two guys started walking toward the part of the grove where they’d last had a glimpse of Zoey.

“I’ll keep out of it while you say goodbye. I won’t let her see me till you’re gone,” Stark said.

Heath couldn’t trust his voice, so he just nodded.

“Tell me about that other stuff you said—the scary shit that’s trapping you in here.”

Heath cleared his throat, and said, “At first I thought it was Kalona, but weirdness happened today that makes me think it probably isn’t him. I mean, it was like that thing out there was helping me figure out how to save Zoey.”

“But stay here, right?”

“Yeah, right. That was kinda the point to the whole idea.”

“So Kalona told you how to be sure Zoey never leaves the Otherworld—never makes it back to her body,” Stark said. “Which is exactly what he’s supposed to do.”

“And he almost did that today by using me. Fucking asshole. Like it’s not bad enough he killed me!” Heath looked at Stark. “So that’s really why you’re here? I mean, I know you had to tell me I gotta get moving, but basically you’re here to kick Kalona’s ass so that Zoey really does make it home with you.”

“Yeah, it’s looking more and more like that’s what I’m here for.”

Heath snorted. “Good luck with kicking an immortal’s ass, dude.”

“I’ve been thinking about it, and all I really have to do is keep him away from Z long enough for her to get whole again. Then she can get out of here and back to her body, where Kalona can’t hurt her—or at least right now he can’t.”

“Nope. Sorry to mess up your plan, but if that was the deal, Zo wouldn’t need you to protect her.”

Stark gave him a question-mark look.

“It’s like this—Zo’s safe in the grove.” Heath pointed at the grove around them. “Bad shit can’t get in here. There’s something special about this place. It’s like everything magic about the earth down there came from this grove up here. It’s a version of Super Earth, a place of total peace. Can’t you feel it?”

“Yeah, Super Earth’s a good way to put it,” Stark said. “And I feel the peace part, too. I did from the beginning. It’s why I knew she’d stay here with you.”

“Yeah, she would. That’s why she needs you. ’Cause as long as she stays safe in here, she won’t go back to the real world. So, again, I say good luck with protecting her against Kalona. The asswipe killed me. Hope you do better than me. And if you do, kick his ass for me, and for Zo, too.”

“Will do. Hey, Heath, I want you to know something,” Stark said. “I wouldn’t be brave enough to do what you’re doing. I wouldn’t be able to leave her.”

Heath glanced at him and shrugged. “Yeah, well, I love her more than you do.”

“You’re doing the right thing, though. The honorable thing,” Stark said.

“You know, from where I’m standing right now, honor doesn’t mean shit. Love’s what works for me and Zo. It always has. It always will.”

They walked on silently, both lost in their own thoughts, and as they followed Zoey, Heath’s words replayed in Stark’s head, over and over, “Love’s what works for me and Zo. It always has. It always will,” until with jolt of surprise he got it—he really got it. It didn’t make what he was about to do any easier, but it did make it bearable.

They found her in a little clearing deep within the grove. She was walking around and around a tall evergreen that looked magnificent, but weirdly out of place among the rowans, hawthorns, and moss. The scent of the tree filled the area. They crept in, being careful to keep shrubs between them and Zoey’s line of vision. When Stark nodded and motioned to a man-sized clump of moss-covered rocks that was close enough to Zoey, but still under cover, Heath stopped there with him and took a deep breath, testing the air.

“That’s bizarre.” Heath kept his voice low so she wouldn’t hear him. “Wonder what a cedar tree is doing out here.”

“Cedar? That’s what that is?” Stark said.

“Yep. There’s a huge one between Zo’s old house and mine that looks almost exactly like that—smells totally the same, too.”

“It’s what Zoey’s grandma said to burn near me while I was here, in the Otherworld. Aphrodite brought a big bag of it. They lit it just before I left my body.” He looked at Heath. “The tree’s a good sign. It means we’re following the right path.”

Heath met Stark’s gaze a long time before he said, “I hope it is a good sign, but you gotta know that doesn’t make this any easier for me.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“Do you? ’Cause I’m getting ready to leave the only girl I’ve ever loved to you even though I know she needs me bad.”

“What do you want me to say to you, Heath? That I wish it didn’t have to be this way? I do. That I wish you weren’t dead and Zoey’s soul wasn’t shattered, and the worst thing I had to worry about was being jealous of you and that asshole, Erik? I do.”

“You don’t have to be jealous of Erik. Zo will never be with any guy very long who’s a possessive turd. Don’t let those kind of guys stress you.”

“If I get her back, whole and in her body, I’m not gonna ever let any other guy stress me again,” Stark said.

“When,” he said solemnly. Stark’s brow furrowed. Heath sighed and explained. “ When you get her back, not if. I’m not gonna leave her if you can’t be sure about what you’re doing.”

Stark nodded. “Okay, you’re right. When I get her back. I am sure I’m doing the right thing; we’re doing the right thing. It’s just that I know no matter what, it’s gonna end up hurting Zoey.”

“Yeah, I know.” Heath’s chin jerked in Zoey’s direction. “But nothing’s as bad as what’s happening to her right now.” Heath bowed his head for a moment and then slapped each of his shoulders, like he was banging against his football uniform’s shoulder pads. He shook himself, blew out a long breath, and then raised his head to meet Stark’s eyes one last time. “Make sure she knows I don’t want her to be all snot crying and freaked about me. Remind her for me that she’s seriously unattractive when she’s like that.”

“I will.”

“Oh, speaking of, you’d better get used to carrying around Kleenex in your pockets, ’cause I’m not even exaggerating. Zo’s snot cry is nasty.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll do it.”

Heath held out his hand to Stark. “Take care of her for me.”

Stark grasped his forearm. “Warrior to Warrior, I give you my Oath on it.”

“Good, ’cause I’m gonna hold you to your Oath next time I see you.”

Heath dropped Stark’s arm, drew another deep breath, and stepped away from their concealment. He tried not to think about what was going to happen.

Instead, he looked at Zoey and saw beyond the shadowlike thing she was becoming, and thought about the girl he’d loved since he was a kid. He could see the uneven bangs she’d cut for herself in fourth grade. He smiled, thinking of her tomboy time in middle school, when her knees had stayed bruised and scabby for months and months. Then there was the summer before her freshman year when he’d gone on vacation with his family for a month and left her gangly and awkward, but had come back to discover she’d turned into a young goddess. His young goddess.

“Hey, Zo,” he said as he caught up and fell into step with her restless, circular pacing.