i

Lucas’ shoulders shake as he laughs, and he collapses at Marilyn’s knees, hand reaching for the tumbler in her hand. “She’s given you her present. Now, isn’t it time you gave her yours?”

“I don’t know.” Marilyn’s head rolls in Josh’s direction, passing the question to him. “Is it?”

I follow the glance, arching an eyebrow at him, and his lips break into a grin, his hand rubbing the side of his other arm shyly. He throws his eyes to the worn rug.

“I suppose.” He admits, and he turns his chin up to me. “Ready for a ride?”

I pucker my lips in a mock-disappointed frown. “You’re making me work for my present?”

“It’s worth it.” Lucas promises, clapping his hand on my knee.

Josh pushes himself to his feet, offering me his hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

I accept and allow him to pull me up with such ease. “Lemme me just grab some things first.”

I head down the hall to my makeshift room: a blanket fort in the kitchen, courtesy of Lucas. He kindly included the dining table in my modest establishment, but as much as I love pigging out on Captain Crunch in my hidey hole, the table sure as hell gets in the way. My toes catch the tree stump chairs all the time, and they do so now as I stumble into the fort.

I grab my phone off the pile of blankets and pillows serving as my bed and take extra care maneuvering back around the stumps. I jog down the hallway to the front door, quickly joining the trio already straddling their bikes, and I toss my leg over my seat, rolling my phone against my shoulder.

I exchange glances and a crooked smile with Josh under the cheshire cat’s moon, and we push off, racing down the rabbit hole, tracing well-familiar courses through the BMX-worthy challenge of the forest, tumbling back into the rest of Credence. Josh and Marilyn lead us through town, down a certain street I hadn’t travelled since leaving that once cursed place, and my chest tenses now as we breeze through the working district, the mammoth structure looming ahead in the distance. Where on earth are they taking me?

The old Greene mansion is all decked out for Christmas, and for once, the most environmentally-friendly city joins hands with the rest of the United States in offering up a sacrifice of light pollution — but all the lights here are LED, so even in sending beaming signals to the rest of the universe, Credence is still the greenest.

The mansion glows almost welcomingly in the cool winter night, and I smile as we cross the threshold, riding down the narrow winding path that leads around to the back. I can see figures inside, but surprisingly, they aren’t servants permanently bent over, scrubbing the tiles and polishing the silver. Instead, the figures (who were once the servants of the house) are celebrating Christmas with their families, everyone all crammed into the master hall, where the giant fourteen-foot Christmas tree normally locked away in a basement stands erect, glittering wrapping paper and stuffed stockings reflecting the radiant happiness shining on each of their faces.

Technically the mansion belongs to Josh — the entire corporation as well, but he has no interest in double G affairs. Most of the space is currently on loan to those who haven’t yet found their own places, but come next semester, Josh is going to begin renovating the place and converting it into the main building for the technical college he plans to have open by the time he, Marilyn, and I reach higher education. He has held more press conferences in the past month than Richard did in five years, and with each press release, Josh gives one more thing back to the people, donating to the city chunks of private land Richard had been locking away in storage, opening up new employment areas and encouraging new fields and expansion, directing Credence along the path Thomas could only have dreamed of, and inviting new business to partner with the city, too, uniting previously competitive brilliance.

The only part of the Greene legacy that Josh isn’t willing to share is his, the one he continues to carve out for himself every day, and as we navigate through the mansion’s backyard, cutting past the stables, we make our way in the direction of the cave he took me to that day. The cave that is going to become the next Greene headquarters, specializing in a particular skillset belonging to the second gift Credence has to offer the world (the first one obviously being their cell phone).

I call it the Phantom Cave, but Josh always grumbles a little when I do. I mean, come on, he’s practically asking for it! There’s a pond and a cave and technology and a super secret headquarters for a superhero. If I don’t compare him to Batman, I’m practically committing a crime against humanity.

Although I think his real issue with the name is that he’d rather be Tony Stark, and until he’s building himself a ridiculous tower to accompany the ridiculous mansion, I’m afraid he’s going to stay Bruce Wayne. And let’s get one thing straight: neither choice is a terrible one.

We continue past the pond and the cave, whose entrance is currently submerged, and we toe the line of the Greene property, riding across the field to open land claimed only by mother nature. While the age old question of “Are we there yet?” burns on my tongue, the unbelievable sense of freedom and the exhilarated giggles rattling in my chest keep my voice quiet, my eyes closing to focus my breath on the freshness of the crispy, clean air.

“Here we are!” Josh shouts over his shoulder as he rounds a curve of a raised hill, and curiosity pricks at my senses excitedly.

We slow as we circle the mound, and my jaw unhinges with pleasantly surprised awe as I take in the hobbit hole.

“What is this?” I quietly probe, slanting my bike in the grass, and, shaking my head, I approach the front door, roundly familiar.

“Your very own house.” Lucas beams, clasping hands with Marilyn, who crinkles her nose at me encouragingly.

“Go inside!” She grins.

Josh eases open the door. “My original plans were for it to be my future home, but once you showed up, I knew part of it would go to you.”

“Part of it?” My eyebrow quirked at him, a crooked smile curling my lips, and I stepped inside.

“Yeah, we’re kinda sharing it. For now, anyway.” Josh winces, searching my face for reassurance, and I roll my eyes, throwing my arms around his neck.

“It’s perfect.” I whisper into his ear.

“Your half isn’t completely furnished yet.” Marilyn confesses as Lucas motions for her to come inside, and he follows suit, closing the door behind him.

“I’m still working on making you your own kitchen table and matching tree stump chairs.” Lucas’ eyes glint with mischief.

“So I can stub my toes on my own shit?” I prod teasingly, and he laughs.

“Luke and I actually drafted up the floorplans together.” Josh slides his gaze to the skinny drug dealer. “Turns out he’s a hell of an architect.”

Lucas shrugs, grinning down as Marilyn beams proudly up at him, and he taps her nose. “Yeah, well...I have a fantastic business partner.”

He meets Josh’s gaze and smiles, and Josh’s face flushes a little, an embarrassed pink tinging his cheeks. Turning to me, he adds, “Oh, and...I won’t be alone.”

“Naturally.” I wink at him.

“Okay.” Marilyn tugs on my arm. “I have to show you your room. I totally maybe might have had some input.”

I throw a wary glance to the guys, and Lucas shrugs, Josh throwing up his palms in surrender. “Oh god, what have you done?”

Marilyn’s brown eyes loop over in a roll, and she groans. “Please, Ana, what do you think I’d want your room to have?”

She drags me to a wall of colored beads and pulls me through them into a cozy bedroom. I stop short just inside the doorway, lips parting in another impressed smile, and I shake my head appreciatively at the decor. Marilyn got the color schemes and patterns one hundred percent correct.

“It’s perfect.” I congratulate her, and she gives me a look.

“Yeah, yeah, but this is what I wanted you to see.” She motions to the rather large window with panes and shutters that swing out. “See? Now you can smoke inside and ash out the window.”

I chuckle. “Very resourceful. I never would’ve thought of that.”

“Exactly.” She raises her eyebrows at me, a curve to her lips, and she withdraws a pack of cigarettes. “Celebratory smoke?”

I hand her my open palm. “Hell yeah.”

Lucas parts the bead curtain behind me and pokes his head inside.

“What’s the password?” I fake-growl, spreading my arms in the doorway.

He reaches under my armpits and grabs me, lifting me off my feet, and I squeal uncontrollably at the tickling. His shoulders shake with laughter as he sets me aside, and he looks me in the eye.

“You’ll have to try harder.” He dares.

Josh folds his arms as he leans against the wall, several low chuckles escaping his lips. “So what do you think? Acceptable?”

I turn away from Lucas as he swoops Marilyn into a back-bending kiss, and I grin at Josh. “You really know how to make a girl happy.”

“Never thought I’d hear that.” He points at me.

“Come on!” Lucas grabs us by our elbows and steers us back out of the room, Marilyn clinging to his back. “There’s a bottle, or three, in the kitchen, and they have our names on them.”

“Hey, no smoking in the house.” Josh frowns at the lit cigarette in Marilyn’s fingers, and she grunts in dissatisfaction, sliding off Lucas’ back and retreating to my room.

I waggle my eyebrows at Josh as I slide the one in hand behind my ear. “No smoking in your house, but my house is okay.”

Josh tousles my hair, knocking the cigarette out, and he catches it with his other hand. Tucking it behind his own ear, he guides me into the kitchen. “Rules of the house later. Let’s celebrate while it’s still Christmas and Lucas still knows his name.”

Lucas shoots a glare at him, uncapping the vodka. “I resent that.”

“Don’t make mine too strong.” I warn him, peering around the rest of the house and wandering out of the kitchen.

“The big man finally giving in?” I hear Lucas tease Josh, who sighs, and I can hear his eyes roll as he probably shrugs, relenting.

“Since it would bring you so much pleasure.” Josh acquiesces.

“Woohoo!” Lucas yelps. “Josh is getting drunk tonight!”

“Oh god.” Josh’s grumble echoes down the hallway, and I snicker, shaking my head. He might just regret that come tomorrow.

I stop in the doorway to what I assume is Josh’s bedroom, and I draw in a deep breath, the moonlight slanting in through the window delicately displaying his own modest residence. It’s so different, seeing him living here, in the trademark hobbit hole of Credence, rather than that mansion, and a smile leaps to my lips, not a doubt in my mind that he easily belongs in this world though he wears the other so well.

I glance back down the hallway as Josh pads in my direction, two glasses in hand. He extends one, passing off the liquor and curling his fingers around his own.

“Not quite a mansion, is it?” I bring the rim of the cup to my lips, the stinging smell of the alcohol filling my nose.

He chuckles and studies the drink in his hand. “It’s mansion enough.”

“So are you really meeting with the Secretary of Defense and the President?” I take a sip, the liquid slithering down my throat with its familiar burn.

He nods, tasting the vodka with a hint of grenadine, tongue and lips contorting with the exploration, and a slight shudder rolls down his spine. “In two days, actually.”

“What for?” I narrow my eyes at him.

“Between Greene & Greener and The Phantom, I figured I might have some things of interest to discuss with them.” His lips twitch with a smile, an excited gleam to his eyes.

I lean away from him, with a crooked smile on my lips, and I study him. “Joshua Greene, are you committing to The Phantom?”

He shrugs happily and takes another sip. “I told you it’s the need I fill perfectly.”

I snicker into my glass, giggling.

He rolls his eyes, and I add, “Besides, knowing the government, they’re only holding audience with you because they’ve been awaiting this moment for years or something. There’s no way they didn’t know about all of this.”

“Pessimist.” He playfully jabs.

Marilyn leans out of the kitchen. “You two coming or what? We gotta get our drink on!”

“Actually,” I counter, reaching up to retrieve the cigarette behind Josh’s ear, “there’s someone I really wanna talk to.”

Josh’s brilliant green eyes soften with understanding, and he nods. “Of course.”

I glance back at Marilyn who smiles. “Say hi to Miracle for me!”

Handing the glass back to Josh, I brush past him and head for the door. I throw a grateful smile at Lucas and Marilyn standing in the kitchen and ease the door open, shutting it behind me as I step outside. Stuffing the cigarette between my lips and sliding a lighter out of my back pocket, I light the smoke and take a puff, approaching the two figures at the fringe of the warm glow cast by the hobbit hole I can now call my own.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Thomas turns to me, motioning to the structure. “They still have to put in the windmill, of course, but it’s not half bad.”

I take a drag, admiring the pride beaming on his face. “Your son’s not half bad.”

He drops his gaze to hide the wide smile overtaking his lips. “No. No, he’s not.”

I turn to Miracle, still sporting that twisting bohemian skirt, and today she’s floating above the land, her eyes at mine. I offer her the cigarette, and she accepts, Thomas bowing out with a nod. He backs away, dissolving in the air as the air crackles around us, a frost settling over us, and Miracle draws in a deep breath, the cherry of the cigarette brightening.

She holds the pocket of air and passes the death stick back in my direction, and I wave my hand.

“Take another.” I tell her as she pushes the smoke out in a streamline.

She edges her hand closer insistently, and I cave, grinning and closing my thumb and index finger around the butt. She brushes her fingertips across the back of my hand, the telltale ice forming in my veins, and I meet her eyes, locked on me, an earnestness burning in them I’ve never seen.

“Thank you.”

My breath catches in my chest, my throat instantly closing up with the tears, shivers shooting down my spine, and I struggle to control my trembling lips. I don’t know what to say, so caught off guard at the unexpected voice, Miracle’s tongue harsh and imperfect around the perfect words, and my finger tips claw at my lips in humility. After everything, and she’s the one full of gratitude?

Miracle nods at me, prompting, and my voice utterly fails.

You’re welcome. I sign, my fingers shaking.

I rub the tears from my cheeks, shamefacedly ducking my head, and I shake my head.

I force myself to lift my eyes to hers. “You never cease to amaze me.”

She smiles softly at me.

I glance back at the hobbit hole. Through the window, I can make out Lucas rearing his head back in wild laughter, and Marilyn playfully punches him, jutting the glass in her fist in his direction. He dips his lips to hers, and Josh, rolling his eyes, passes them. How beautiful and peaceful, it all is.

Another tear rolling down my cheek, I turn to Miracle, taking in her wide eyes full of her innocence, and I follow though the turn, my head raising up to the heavens, the twinkling stars shining down on us, prized badges a hanging audience of the waxing moon. How majestic and calming.

For the first time since my arrival in Credence, the horizon harbors only the promise of a beautiful sunrise, no storm brewing on the edge.

For the first time, there is no creeping darkness. There is no more hell around the corner. With the dawning promises and the waking future dancing in the twilight, sleep will finally come peacefully.

******

Keep a weathered eye on the horizon. Look for that flash of Greene and listen for that sonic boom. The tides are turning.

Next Chapter: I. Prologue