Devils Roses 05 - Death

power can't take it back."
    I hug her hard and shake my head, "No. No, don’t feel bad. Lydia told me how it was before. My mom was dead and my sister, you saved her. This is better. Jaime didn’t die and Giselle and me never got sick. It's okay."
    She sniffles and wipes her eyes, "I never knew how much I would miss you. You don’t remember how much we love each other. You're the only sister I've ever had."
    Giselle jumps into the hug, "What about me? Were we close?"
    Ari stiffens and snorts, "Yeah." Her tone tells me otherwise but Giselle is clueless.
    Ari pulls back and wipes her face, "I'm sorry." She shakes her head, "I didn’t mean to lose it like that."
    "It's okay. I understand. I feel pretty close to losing it right now too."
    She glances at me and nods, "I know right. You must be freaking out."
    "Déjà vu. It's been brutal. Like I can't react the way I want to because the imprint of everything is in my brain still, so all of this is normal for me."
    Giselle nods, "I keep getting déjà vu too."
    Ari smirks, "Yeah. It's part of my thing." She turns and looks at the wall, "So this is the timeline. This is the series of events we have already concurred, even though you weren’t with us this time."
    There are two timelines. One is the old way and one is the new way. I can't believe how integral a part of the team I was in the old way. We go over it until I'm bored and Giselle is sleeping.

Chapter Ten

    "Miss Aimee, Mr. Marcus be in the yard, he be waiting on you to has a talk with him."
    I smile at the ghost and get up from the couch, "Thanks Annabelle."
    I shiver when I walk past her, she makes the air cool.
    The dark hallway feels foreboding. Marcus is one of the things I don’t trust. Not entirely.
    I open the porch door and try not to look like a ridiculous fan girl. He is handsome in a way that makes my knees turn to goo.
    "Aimee, my dear sweet Aimee. Now love. Have you gotten those fingers of yours under control?"
    I love his accent and his spooky seductive eyes. I nod, almost trancelike.
    "Well then, I have news. The boy you tried to kill, he's fine. Better than fine. He's one hundred and fifty percent."
    I sigh, "Oh, thank god. No one would tell me anything, except that he was here in the city."
    He grins, "Well he isn't here, here. He's in the city. You can flash me home if you like and see him for yourself."
    He puts a hand out. I take it nervously. "You should be cold. You’re dead."
    He laughs, "Dead isn’t what everyone thinks it is." He holds up his cell phone and nudges me, "Think of the place in the picture and wink.
    The house is a grand castle. It's crazy beautiful. I stare at it, lost in the massive size and beauty. I wink and we are standing outside the huge castle.
    "Where are we?"
    He looks confused, "Well, this is my home." He says it like I should have known that. I supposed I should have.
    "A castle? What country are we in?"
    He looks at me the way I look at Alise, "Did you bang your head this morning? The USA, we haven’t even left the city or the state. I live in Portland too." He walks through a giant archway into the massive front door.
    He's like a mean girl at school. He and Alise would be perfect for each other.
    I follow him in. A large man in a bowler hat is at the front door as I walk through it. He grins at me. I grin back. His bowler hat is awesome.
    "You look like the bad guy on James Bond." I say.
    His grin falls.
    I walk faster.
    I wink and catch up with Marcus. I topple from the uneasiness in my stomach. He grabs me in his arms. "Careful Aimee, I tend to read into things. A lot." I pull myself together and try not to look his way. I know he's looking at me. I also know my face is on fire.
    "S-s-sorry. The uhm winking thing still makes me sick."
    He nudges me, "You are a lot less fun than you used to be. You were really sort of, well, badass. I supposed that’s the way to say it." He says the word like he's never said it before.
    I glance at him, "Was I a slut?" The words come out before I can filter.
    He laughs, "No. Lord no. God I wish. You were uppity and annoying in a lot of ways, but very dependable and sort of bitchy."
    I smile, "Thanks. I needed that."
    Confusion crosses his brow. He has no idea how upset I have been getting.
    "You always wore high heeled boots and your hair was always long and down. You had a very bad tempter. Famous actually among the Roses for killing without conscious or mercy."
    Horror creeps across my face slowly, "What?"
    "Hated