This time, the scene changed as quickly and completely as if I turned the channel on the television, and they were in the car. My heart sped up, knowing this was the part I had asked to be told about. Now, I was scared to get more than I wished for.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" Zach asked, buckling his seatbelt.

My mother pulled out of the garage once it was clasped—she was a stickler for safety, after all—and smirked. "I'm perfectly capable."

"Where are we going?" Zack looked out the window, letting the neighborhood pass before prompting her again as they exited the gated community. "Vavila? Are we going to your shop?"

"For a minute," she said. "I want to pick up something to keep Nora calm when we talk."

"You didn't have something at home?"

"Sure, but this is better and already prepared. Plus, I have an errand to run, so it's not like I left just for that."

"What errand?"

"Just... stuff." She shrugged, seeming nonchalant, though she twisted her grip on the steering wheel until her skin strained to cover her knuckles.

"Like...?"

My mother sighed. "I received a few texts and have a suspicion I want to confirm."

"Texts? From who?"

"I don't know, but I think I can find out. The language was familiar."

"Who do you think it was? What did they say?"

She darted her eyes to Zach and then back to the road, once again shifting her grip. "I'll tell you once I confirm who it is. I'd prefer proof over trusting my gut, and I don't want you thinking someone is doing something without proof."

"What did the texts say? Did someone threaten you?"

"No. Nobody threatened me."

"What did the texts say?"

"Just that the person knows I'm hiding something and scared, and..."

"What?"

"Whoever it is says it's wrong to keep Nora bound. They want that fixed."

"Do you think he's found her?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. She shoulder-checked and turned on her blinker, then took the car onto the acceleration ramp to merge onto the freeway that circled Briarville so she could get to her shop without need to drive through town—I knew the path well. "I suspect—it's the most obvious—but you know Devland. He's more likely to show up than send a message."

"You haven't spoken to him in years."

"Islene has, and I talk to her. She shares."

"Are you defending him?"

"What? No!"

"You could never think clearly when he was involved. That's how you wound up married instead of figuring out who killed—"

"Jacob?" My mother's lips pinched together, her eyes narrowing. "Are you seriously saying I let Devland cloud my judgment? I tried to figure it out! I wasn't strong enough."

"You could be. Go home. You can still fix it."

"No!" She slammed her hand against the steering wheel. "I could never, ever forget Jacob! I'm lucky I didn't die when he did. At least someone came along as a distraction, even if Devland is far from perfect. Without him, I wouldn't have Nora! Would you rather my family cease to exist when I'm gone?"

"That's not what I meant," Zach said, exhaling. "How can you expect to face him if you couldn't then?"

"We don't know that I'll have to face him at all," she said. "That's supposition at this point. Besides, I didn't have anyone to keep from him then."

"Well, he's stronger and you've grown weaker."

"He will not get to Nora!" she yelled, once again slamming her hand on top of the steering wheel. The car jerked and she quickly brought it back between the lines just in time to avoid oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. The driver leaned on its horn as it passed, and my mother worked to slow her breathing.

"You'll have to explain him to her," Zach finally said when it appeared my mother had calmed.

"I know."

"And what made you leave and assume a new name."

"I know. You think Nora will be mad I kept her from her father to avoid her falling into the 'more magic, more important' mentality? Please. He never would have let her be bound."

"If you went home, you'd be too strong for him to be a concern."

My mother's jaw ticked, and I recognized the this-conversation-is-over-or-else look as she glared at the roadway. My stomach flipped as they rounded a curve, reaching the last stretch of road before the tunnel the highway that main street turned into came into view.

"My only concern right now is telling Nora what she needs to know and keeping her safe. It is my only priority. I've done enough for everyone else."

"Vavila, you can't ignore—"

"Enough!" My mother lifted her hands. The car pulled to the right.

Before she could correct it again or Zach could respond, the driver's window smashed. Glass flew, cutting both their exposed skins with shallow gashes. Opal jumped to her feet in the backseat, barking. I watched in slow motion as my mom's expression went from angry to shocked.

One hand slammed against her neck as though she was slapping a mosquito.

"Vavila?"

She pulled her hand away and gripped the wheel, barely managing to keep the car on the road. her shock turned to confusion. She shook her head and blinked.

"Zach, I—"

"What was that?" Zach twisted in his seat to look behind, his brow furrowed. "Did a kid throw a rock at the car?"

"I..."

Zach turned, his frown turning to shock.

"Vavila!"

He reached over as her arms dropped, limp. She looked at him wide-eyed once, then blinked. The next time her eyes closed, it took longer to open. Her head fell to her shoulder as though her neck couldn't keep it up.

The scene switched focus.

Suddenly, I was looking out the car as though I was inside her head.

The tunnel rushed toward the car, the cement meridian growing closer and closer—bigger. Zach grabbed the wheel. It jerked too far left. At the same time, My mother must have twitched or tied to press the brake and hit the gas instead. The car sprinted forward faster.

Dots of darkness erupted across the image, sporadically going black as though blinking the scene in and out of sight.

Metal screeched and crumpled.

Opal flew past between the seats, another spot of darkness that hit the windshield and then disappeared out the car. The yelp as she hit pavement would remain engraved in my mind, and I hoped her death was instant.

The scene blinked off.

It came back on, once again from a different angle, and I could see everything around the car. The vehicle was wrapped around the center cement, and Opal... I knew she would never get up from her resting place on the asphalt at the entrance of the tunnel a few meters from the car.

I wanted to be inside again and hoped to hear any last words my mother had to share.

My eyes flicked back, drawn to the crash as a light flashed, blinding the entire room as it shone out from the screen.

Suddenly, I was looking into the car from the driver's window.

The light faded slowly, stars twinkling across my vision. My mother slumped over the steering wheel, her back moving with the effort of shallow irregular breaths as she struggled to live. Something from the back of the vehicle impaled Zach from behind, protruding from the front of his chest. There was no sign of life. No movement, no breathing, no struggle.

Just death and the light that shimmered over his entire body like a film coating him from head to toe.

From Zach's immobile form, the light that appeared like pure white particles—not dissimilar to ash—began to rise and reshape. A moment later, Zach appeared outside the car, nearly blinding. His body remained unmoving but his spirit—if that's what the white flame ghost-like silhouette was—came around to the driver's side. With no effort, he pulled the door from its hinges and pulled my mother out. Red flared within the flames, then faded back to white as he laid her on the cement. Zach reached out and grabbed something from her neck, bringing it to his nose to sniff.

"Devil's Breath." His nose wrinkled and he threw the dart away from him into the trees.

My mother's eyes fluttered, then opened.

I couldn't see pain, just acceptance.

Resignation.

She knew her fate.

I watched, holding my breath for the inevitable, all the while hoping the outcome I knew I would see could somehow be changed. My mother's eyes—one green, one blue—began to fill as though the purple ring around the normal color was bleeding inward. Her entire eye turned purple.

"Protect... Nora," she wheezed, blood trickling out of her mouth. "Guide... truth."

"Shh."

A small smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you. Always helping, Zach." She coughed, forming pink bubbles of spittle. "Help Nora now... Please."

"You can."

"No." She coughed again, then sucked in a deeper breath as though fortifying herself to speak. "Leave me. Doing anything else puts the family secrets in danger. Community... more... important."

"Vavila..."

"Promise."

Zach nodded, but didn't utter a word.

My mother smiled again, showing the red stains on her otherwise pearly white teeth. The purple in her gaze lost its color as she stared at Zach, turning to a light gray.

Hazy.

Fog.

My stomach clenched as her body shuddered, then stilled.

Zach should have given her light, fueled her soul. Recharged it. I know in that moment hers was gone and her body was a shell. Whatever spirit or magic—and every other little thing that made my mother who she was—drained away like someone syphoned it out.

Is that how the necklace got its power?

Her magic was taken when she died and coalesced to fit within the amulet that saved my life.

I can't let that go to waste.

I turned to Zach wiping a tear from my cheek. "She knew, didn't she? All along? She knew. She did nothing to stop it! My mother didn't have to die! Why? Why couldn't she help herself? Why couldn't you save her?"

My eyes flicked back to the wall.

Zach left my mother and went to Opal. He put his hands in her body. When he stood, Opal's spirit detached from her bloody remains but remained still in his arms. With one last pained look at my mother—I couldn't understand why he couldn't help her—he began walking away and sirens began to blare, consistently getting louder.

I wished I could have seen her spirit leave to be a part of nature.

Mid-stride ten steps later, Zach's white flame flared.

In the next step, Zach and Opal faded from sight.

The screen panned back to my mother, but she was already gone and no movement was left to see. A flicker from the bushes caught my eye, and I watched, waiting to see what it was. I squinted, thinking I saw a flash of a baseball cap.

Was someone watching?

Did they throw the dart?

Murderer.

This wasn't an accident at all.

The screen went black and the lights in the room flickered on.

A/N: Well, well. This scene was difficult to write, and I'm sure it is in need of some revisions. Vavila was a cool mom (in my mind), and I was sad that she had to die as a catalyst for Nora to start embracing who she is. What do you think? Who do you think was texting her?

On another note, Happy Easter Sunday!!! In my family, it is an excuse for turkey and ham and a whole lot of side dishes - in other words, we put ourselves into a food coma :) What about you? Do you have a big dinner with family on Easter? What's your favorite dish for the holiday?