Cursed by the Fountain of Youth

Chapter 37

Nick's his heart raced. Fae looked from Nick's face down to the blood soaking his shirt and then over to Lafayette. Rage darkened her features.

Nick's heart skipped a beat when he heard Fae's voice in his head.

Bring Lafayette to me.

No! he screamed, answering her in his own head, not knowing if she could even hear him.

I know what to do, Nick, she answered. I'll be fine. Trust me.

Lafayette clamped his hand down on Nick's shoulder. "Say your goodbyes. I've got things to do."

Nick grabbed Lafayette's hand and pulled him forward. Lafayette must have anticipated the move. The next thing Nick knew, he lay on his back staring up at the blue sky.

"Nice try, agent. But I've heard that Fae has learned to control her power to give and take life. I won't be going near that well while she's still awake."

Lafayette knelt beside Nick, grabbed his hair, and wrenched his head back—exposing his neck. Lafayette pressed a blade against Nick's skin. He could feel the blade prick him as warm blood dripped down his neck. Water splashed in the background. "Now, Nick Chase, this time it reallyis time for you to die."

"Lafayette." A hollow voice spoke like a whisper of wind.

Nick looked up to see a glowing figure hovering in the air just above them. Her black dress floated like ghostly tendrils, and she glared in hatred at Lafayette.

"You thought killing me would be the end?" she said. "You're a fool, Lafayette."

"Lavinia," he gasped, his eyes wide as he dropped his blade. "No, it can't be."

Dark clouds billowed above and darkened the sun as she grew and expanded. She had to be at least fifteen feet tall! Her face transformed from beautiful to grotesque. Just the sight of her could give a grown man nightmares!

"You not only severed my head from my body," she continued, "you allowed my flesh to be devoured. While I was still alive!"

Nick covered his ears. Her voice bellowed so loud he thought his eardrums might burst.

"Now, you will get what you deserve. Death. But as the saying goes, 'Death is only the beginning.' For you, my dear Lafayette, I will make your eternal existence an unending nightmare from which there is no escape."

Lafayette turned and ran. He'd only made it two steps before he was swept off the ground by an unseen force. He screamed and flailed as he floated above the well. Fae pulled herself up and reached for him.

"Please," he wailed, "let me go!"

"As you wish," Lavinia said as she dropped him into Fae's arms. "See you on the other side."

Lafayette and Fae sank down. He surfaced again quickly, coughing and sputtering, clawing at the side of the well. He splashed down again.

Nick grabbed the knife still embedded in his stomach and yanked it out. He felt immediate relief. Ignoring the lingering pain, he rushed to the well and reached down to pull Lafayette from the water. He didn't want this man anywhere close to Fae. When Lafayette looked up, Nick was shocked to see his face. It aged right in front of his eyes—the twenty-two-year-old man who had faced him just moments before now looked deep into his forties, and growing older. Fifty. Sixty. Seventy. And then it stopped.

Lafayette gasped. "She stopped. Oh, please, Fontaine, no more."

Nick hauled him from the water as Lavinia screamed at their backs. He shoved Lafayette face down on the ground and slapped handcuffs on him.