With Julien’s information, the stalker found Anneline and killed her with multiple stab wounds: one for each red rose he’d ever sent.
Then I saw Delia. She’d gotten involved with the notorious gangster Eddie because she thought he’d make her a star. Then Sage—the new piano player at the speakeasy—showed up. I could feel his turmoil. He didn’t want to get involved with Delia. He didn’t want another tragedy.
But he couldn’t stay away.
He told himself that this time he’d find a way to change the story. This time he and Delia would live a long and happy life.
Though Delia and Sage’s relationship was a secret, Delia had told her closest friend Richie. Richie worked for Eddie, and he tried to help her by fixing Eddie up with lots of other women, but Eddie caught on. He started watching Delia like a hawk, and when he finally caught her with Sage, he expressed his discontent with a single bullet between the eyes for both of them.
Sage could heal from this. Delia could not.
Richie, once again, was Ben.
“They’re tied together, this man and your daughter, in a tragic circle that continues throughout eternity.”
The voice was Magda’s, but the image had shifted, and it was too dim to make out at first.
When it came into focus, I realized it was right here in this room, in Shibuya 109.
Magda was holding someone’s hands … a man’s hands …
Oh my God, they were my father’s hands. I saw him now, and he was so real that I thought I could reach out and hug him. It felt so good and hurt so much that my whole body ached.
Magda let go of him, and Dad opened his eyes. He looked pale and shaken, and I knew he’d seen the same visions we had. “He’ll find her in this life,” Magda said. “It will end the same.”
“How do I stop it?” Dad asked desperately.
Magda smiled. “I thought you came here to find the Elixir of Life.”
“That was before I knew. I don’t care about all that. I want to save my daughter. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“It will take Sage’s final, irrevocable destruction. He must come for it willingly. All you can do is try to convince him.”
“I’ll do it,” Dad said.
“Without telling him about me,” Magda said. “I’d like that part to be a lovely surprise.”
“Fine. Where do I find him?”
Magda’s smile spread wider, and the image in my head changed again, to another spot I knew: Sage’s house. Dad and Sage were talking, but Sage hadn’t told us about this part of their conversation. about this part of their conversation.
“Here are your options,” Dad said. “Cursed Vengeance thinks they need to destroy you, but they don’t know how. If they get you, your life will be nothing but torture as they try. The Saviors of Eternal Life see you only as a vessel for the Elixir. In their hands you’ll live as a museum piece, displayed under lock and key. One of these groups will find you. It’s only a matter of time.”
“So you’re offering death as an alternative,” Sage said wryly. “I’m not sure I see the upside for me.”
“I have one other thing that I very much hope will convince you,” Dad said. He pulled out a picture of me and handed it to Sage. It was just a snapshot, nothing special, and nothing that featured a mysterious presence. “She’s my daughter, Clea.”
Sage looked at the picture, a little confused, and nodded, then handed it back. “She’s lovely.”
“You don’t recognize her.” Dad said. “Interesting. I think you would in person. You’ve met her before. Olivia was her name the first time.”
The name hit Sage like a punch to the stomach. He was shaky and frightened … but also elated. His soulmate was alive and in the world again. It was only a matter of time before she would call to him, and he would find her. Could this time be different? Sage didn’t know. Part of him didn’t care. Just to be with her and be happy, even for a little while, even if it ended horribly …
No, that wasn’t fair to her. He would find her, but it wouldn’t end horribly. He wouldn’t let it. He’d be vigilant this time, more vigilant than all the other times …
Dad saw Sage’s thoughts in his eyes, and he shook his head sadly. “No, Sage. It won’t end well. You’ll be fine; you always are. But she won’t. She’ll die. Horribly and painfully.”
Agony warped Sage’s features. “You don’t know that, not for sure.…”
“How many times are you going to let this happen?” Dad asked. “How many times are you going to rip this woman away from her life and everyone in it who loves her? You might be able to wait and get her back in another hundred years, but we lose her forever.”
Sage pursed his lips and clenched his jaw. “So I’ll stay away from her.”
“You won’t be able to. Don’t you understand? There’s only one way for Clea to live, and that’s for you to break the circle. Let me take you to the Dark Lady. She can release you. The cycle will end. Please … if you truly love her, you’ll do this.”
Sage considered it. He wanted so badly to hope, to try once more to find happiness with the woman he loved more than anything … but to see her—to see me—destroyed again … nothing was worth that. Not even his own life.
“I’ll do it,” he told Dad. “I’ll go with you.”
Finally Magda’s hand slipped out of mine, snapping me back to reality so quickly I felt like I had the bends. I understood it all now, more than I wanted to understand. I knew why he ran when he first saw me, why he acted like he didn’t really care. I knew why he pulled away after our night at the hotel.
“You didn’t want to come here to find the Elixir at all,” I accused Sage. “You came to kill yourself.” I shook my head as the enormity of what I had seen continued to sink in. “He asked you to kill yourself.”
“He was right,” Sage said. “It’s the only way to save you.”
“It’s true,” Magda lilted. “The cycle will continue until the Elixir is properly returned to the universal powers that created it. That can only be done with a soul transfer.
Sage … be a dear and tear open the canvas on the wall.”
She looked toward an oil painting. Sage ripped the corner of the canvas and peeled it back to reveal a golden scabbard. The blade he pulled from it gleamed.
“Careful,” warned Magda. “It’s very sharp. It’s made to rend not only flesh and bone, but also the soul.”
“So that’s all it takes,” Sage said, eyeing the dagger. “Something so easy …”
“Not that easy,” Magda cautioned. “There are considerations for the universe before it grants release. You must build a fire, and by its light you must demonstrate an understanding of your time here, and all the earthly pleasures you willingly sacrifice to set things right. At exactly midnight—this is the challenging part—you have to shove that blade into your heart. You have to do it—no looking for other willing volunteers.”
“Enough,” I said. “That’s not going to happen.”
“That’s not your choice,” Magda snapped, then turned back to Sage. “Do what I say, and your soul will be released. Your body will die, and the Elixir in it will be neutralized.”
“I understand,” Sage said. He tucked the dagger into his jacket.
“You don’t, actually,” Magda said. “I saved a couple of little details.”
She sounded giddy. I wanted to smack her.