Chapter 71 The Tarnished Ring
Chapter 71 The Tarnished Ring
Kevin and Shayne carried several bags of salty snacks and a bowl of fruit to the kitchen table. They were arranging them as Brian came down carrying the first stack of journals and a plain white envelope. He quickly disappeared and brought down a second than finally a third stack of books.
He picked up the envelope and handed it to her. She inspected it closely and noticed that it had the current date on it written in her Grandma Rachel’s handwriting. Brian began to rearrange the books on the table while Shayne clutched the envelope to her chest.
“Where did this come from?” She asked Brian as she began to open it. She carefully lifted the flap wondering if her grandmother had somehow managed to hide some sort of healing magic inside it.
“It was in the safe in your grandmother’s bedroom. She slipped me the combination on the night of the accident before she disappeared. She told me I would know when it was the right time to open it. It occurred to me that maybe she hid the answer there for you.” He explained. Brian held his hands up in surrender and she knew he was asking that she not be angry at him for not speaking up sooner.
Shayne unfolded the letter. It was thick heavy paper that was hard to crease. With a single glance, she noticed how alarmingly short it was. The length gave her no hope that she would find a way to save Jeffrey in it a contents. Instead, she ran her fingers over the quickly scrawled words. Just seeing them set off the ache in her heart as she missed her grandmother.
"Remember the future to save the past, you must reforge what was broken.” Shayne read aloud. Her heart sank. She couldn’t believe it was just another riddle.
Why couldn’t her grandmother just do something the easy way? Wasn’t it bad enough that her new husband’s life was on the line? Now she had another stupid clue that didn’t make any sense. Suddenly Shayne was furious!
She crushed the paper in her hands and let out and angry shriek. She got up from the table and began to stomp around the room wildly while Kevin and Brian looked at her like she had lost her mind.
“That’s all she has to say! All this! Everything and all she says is that nonsense!” She yelled in frustration. Angry tears ran down her face. “I need help, real help and she sends me riddles. Doesn’t she know this isn’t a game, its life or death!”
Kevin caught her and pulled her to his chest. “Calm down, The storm hasn’t let up yet. You are going to blow us all to kingdom come.” He scolded her.
She began to try to slow her breathing. “We’ve got you. Calm down. We will figure this out, as long as we approach it with a clear head.” Kevin said as he rubbed her back like he was soothing a small child.
She appreciated what he was trying to do but part of her just wanted to punch him. She wanted to hit and kick and scream till everyone felt as bad as she did. She has been bottling up her grief and fear for days. It was spilling out of her and the storm outside was swirling almost out of control. She could hear the thunder and see the flashes of purple lightning through the outline of the curtains.
Shayne pulled out of his arms and sat down at the table. She focused on grounding herself as she unwrinkled the letter and tried to smooth out the crinkles.
She sat and stared at the paper for a long time before she spoke. Silent tears poured down her face.
“Please don’t love me. Nothing good comes from loving me. Loving me gets people killed,” she whispered. “You should both leave and get as far away from me as possible.”
“Shayne, that’s not true.” Brian protested. His voice was cracking and she felt bad that she had upset him. She cared about Brian and Kevin, so much she couldn’t stand the thought of them being hurt.
“Everyone I love dies.” She choked out. “My parents, my grandparents, and now my husband.” She said sorrowfully. “I can’t be responsible for more deaths. I don’t think I can survive losing Jeffrey, but I definitely couldn’t stand it if I lost the two of you as well. You guys are my best friends now.”
“Shayne, do you know how crazy that sounds? You talk like you think you are a jinx.” Brian disagreed. He crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his eyes on her.
“You didn’t cause this curse on your family, but you are the one who broke it.” Kevin reminded her. “Glennys said that your children and their children are now free.”
“At the expense of Jeffrey ‘s life,” Shayne wailed. “How is more loss really balance?” She begged the walls of the dining room as she lowered her head to the table. She felt like all of the fight was draining out of her. Her heart felt so heavy.
“Several times now you have been told to repair what was broken. Even your grandmother mentioned it to us. The sorceress mentioned the unbroken chain, and now your grandmother has said something must be reforged. That’s where the answer lies. I think you have to fix the locket.” Kevin said speculatively. “It’s what started this mess.”
“Kevin, I think you are right. I just don’t know how…. My grandmother saved my life that way, and it could be possible to do the same for Jeffrey, if I only knew how.” Shayne said as she thought aloud.
She picked up one of the journals and laid it down in front of her. “The answer has to be here,” she said as she gestured towards the journals. “Because it’s certainly not in here.” She said as she pointed to her head.
Kevin and Brian each grabbed a book and sat down beside her. She hand each of them a bag of chips and a can of soda. “Thanks guys,” she said.