“They’re also known to maim people to death and trample their mangled bodies,” Jace whispered frantically.
“If we take one more step backwards, you’ll be in a diaper.”
“Well, I’m this close to crapping my pants, so I really can’t complain.”
Stanley glanced at Jace out of the corner of his eye. Yeah, but if Lilah loses control in there, the kid might disappear forever. She’d never forgive herself… Or me. He took a deep breath, then turned his attention back to the moose, still poised to attack.
“I hate to say it, kid, but something tells me we’re better off taking our chances with Bullwinkle over here.”
As the bull lowered its head and dragged its hooves across the ground in a menacing show of aggression, Jace let out an audible gulp. He idly wondered how long it would take Frank and his mother to report him as a missing person – if he was lucky, it might only be two, maybe three days from now. But even then, would his body still be there? He felt his shoulders slump, then quickly straightened his back as a cold tingle cut across his spine.
Between the unstable time bubble and the aggravated moose, he didn’t have much confidence that there would be any part of him left to identify when the search party finally arrived.
Chapter 25
The Secret of the Huckleberry Bushes
“Who are you? What do you want?” Willow asked again, shaking her head as if trying to clear it. “Where’s my mother?”
Lilah stared at her wordlessly, completely at a loss. She had expected to find clues – an earring, a note, a scrap of clothing – but not this. This was the last thing she expected to find.
“I’m—” she swallowed. I’m what? I’m that baby who killed your cat – you know, the daughter you just abandoned? Never mind that I’m older than you, it’s a time bubble thing. Oh, and by the way, you’re actually dead. She clutched her chest tightly, trying to find the right words amid the torrent of nonsense churning through her mind.
Willow was rubbing her head as she gaped at her, waiting for a response.
Say something, Lilah – anything! She could disappear at any moment!
That jolted Lilah back to the moment. When she finally opened her mouth to speak, the words came out faster than her brain could piece them together. “I saw something strange when I was driving by, and I wanted to see if you needed help.”
“No, no, no…” Her young mother was craning her neck around anxiously, as though someone might jump out of the woods at any moment. “We have to hide,” she whispered, grabbing Lilah’s sleeve. She dragged her behind the thicket of huckleberry bushes, holding a finger to her lips as she crouched to the ground. “Cover your flashlight – there’s a man out there.”
“A man?” Lilah blinked, then did what she was told. “What man? Who is he?”
“I don’t know!” Willow whispered frantically. “My mother and I pulled over to help this hitchhiker – when we stopped to talk to her, she told us to run.” Her chest was heaving, and her entire body trembled as she spoke. “Then a man opened the car door and before I knew what was happening, he dragged my mother into the forest. I tried to chase after them; I was running and running in the darkness, trying to follow their voices. They were standing right over there!” She pointed at something past the edge of the time bubble, then rubbed her temples with both hands. “Everything feels so foggy now, like I fell asleep. But that can’t be…”
Lilah’s heart was racing. This is the answer to what happened that night. It wasn’t because of anything that I had done, it was… she swallowed. Someone worse.
“What happened next?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
“The man and my mother, they just… disappeared. And then you showed up. And now everything is quiet…” Fear suddenly replaced the confusion and disorientation that had been clouding her expression until that point. “Oh, God – what if he did something to her? What if she’s hurt…? Mom!” she yelled suddenly. “Mama!!”
Lilah had to hold back the tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. She felt as though she was going to be sick. As she clutched her stomach, Willow began to flicker, like she might disappear at any moment.
Keep it together, Lilah. She took a deep, steadying breath, trying to calm herself. It took great concentration to hold time steady, and she wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer if she lost focus.
“Mama!” Willow yelled again, rising to her feet. “Mama, are you alright? Please, answer me!” She turned to Lilah frantically. “Please! You have to help me find her!”
What the hell am I doing? I can’t fix this, Lilah thought to herself, hugging her chest tighter. I can’t go back in time and save her. I can only take snapshots. What good am I? What good is any of this?
“Mama!” Willow was hysterical now, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Mama, where are you?”
Marie’s voice echoed in Lilah’s mind. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but there’s a reason for your gift. Her adoptive mother had uttered those words beneath the maple tree just last month, but it seemed like ages ago. Lilah shook her head vigorously, trying to clear the smell of sulfur from her nose. Maybe there’s still a way to fix this.
She took another deep breath, then straightened her shoulders. “I’ll help you find your mother, Willow, I promise. Just… please try and calm down, okay? I’m gonna need you to tell me everything you can about what happened tonight. Can you do that?”
Willow stared at her as she wiped her face with the sleeve of her gray sweatshirt. “You said my name again. I don’t understand… how do you know who I am?”
Lilah faltered for a moment, then pulled the rattle from her pocket. “This… belonged to your daughter, right?”
Willow stared at the rattle with wide, frightened eyes. She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again. Her chin was trembling as she sifted through her back pocket, now empty.
“You were on your way home from dropping her off at the fire station… weren’t you?”
“How do you know that?” Willow whispered. “Did the shaman send you? Were you following us?”
Lilah’s stomach clenched at the mere mention of Mike Hastings. “No,” she muttered faintly, shaking her head. “I know that because… because that baby—” She swallowed. “Well, that baby was me.” She clicked the flashlight on again, shining the light on her face.
Willow’s eyes shone white all the way around her irises. “What?”
“My name is Lilah. I’m your daughter, sixteen years from – well, from now.”
“What – what is this?” Willow rasped, looking around wildly. “Is this some kind of sick joke? Are you trying to punish me?”
“I never meant to frighten you,” Lilah said, taking a step towards the girl. “And I’m so sorry for what happened to your cat. I… I would never hurt anything on purpose. I swear. I just can’t always control—”
“You know about the cat,” Willow whispered, clamping a hand over her mouth. “How do you know about the cat?”