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“We’ve lost,” Liliane wept, burying her face in her hands as Laurent’s arms wrapped around her in comfort.

He turned to Callie as he rocked his lover. “She’s a little upset.”

“A little?” Callie didn’t think so. “What happened? We’ve figured out the key. All Kevin and Gwen have to do is say they love each other, and the spell will be broken. Right?” When neither of the ghosts responded, she asked again, “That’s all there is to it, right? There’s no other catch to it?”

Laurent sighed. “Callie, that’s all there is to the spell. You certainly found the key, the answer. Following through on the key is more difficult than you think.”

“Why? Kevin loves Gwen, and I’m pretty sure she’s got to love him, too. I mean, yeah, they’ve only known each other a few days, but they look at each other like, like…like you and Liliane look at each other.” Callie gestured to them and had Liliane lifting her face to listen silently. “Kevin knows what the key is now, so all he has to do is tell her. How is that so difficult?”

“Pride is a terrible thing,” Liliane murmured. “Pride has always been the downfall of all great men and women. Our families would not have been in such a feud if it hadn’t been for pride, but there you are. It’s such an innate part of human nature, and it’s one of our biggest foes.” She placed her hand on Callie’s. “You are not the first we’ve enlisted to help us break the spell.”

“What?”

Laurent stood and paced. “Did you really think that in three hundred years, your friends would be the first that we tried to work with in order to help us? Because you’re not. Every generation, starting with the one after ours, we’ve found a man and woman that seem to be in love, and we start nudging them towards each other. Unfortunately, things have not worked out the way we’ve wanted, and our efforts have been fruitless.”

Callie was shocked. “No way. How could that be true? There’s no documentation of anyone having dreams or anything the way we are.”

“You’ve heard the stories of how people have seen us, no?” Liliane stood with her beloved.

“Well, yes, but…They were the ones that you were trying to help?”

“Time is running out, Callie. You and your friends are our last chance. Please, you’re our last hope. Please help.”

***

“Have you heard anything new?” Kevin asked, sliding into a chair next to Howie’s.

Howie poked at the plate of eggs in front of him and shook his head. “Nothing new. Her condition is still critical, and she’s still in the ICU. Brian hasn’t left her side all night, even though Christine tried to get him to move.” He sighed. “Honestly, Kev? I didn’t think she’d ever make it to morning.”

“It’s a miracle,” Kevin agreed, then looked up as Nick made his way through the diner to them. “Hey. How’s Dana doing?”

Nick shrugged as he snagged Kevin’s coffee and drank it down. “She stayed at the hospital all night with Christine. None of us slept. I just got away an hour ago and went home to take a shower.” He ran his fingers through his wet blond locks. “I’ve got an hour before my first appointment, and I need to refuel.”

Howie pushed his plate across the table. “Have mine. I’m not really hungry, anyway.”

As Nick happily began to plow through the food, Kevin watched Howie. “Did you sleep at all?”

“Callie had dreams all night and kept waking up talking about pride and Laurent and Liliane.” He closed his eyes briefly. “She said something about you, too. I’m wondering if you’ll elaborate.”

He didn’t want to elaborate, didn’t want to tell Howie that he didn’t plan on going through with fulfilling the path that would break the spell. He’d already decided that there was no way in hell that he’d let a pair of ghosts dictate his life. If that meant not seeing Gwen, well, he’d do it. Even if it killed him.

“Hey, did you go back to the vault yesterday?” Nick asked, interrupting Kevin’s thoughts and distracting Howie’s question.

Kevin nodded. “Yeah, Callie and I went. Which is probably why she was saying my name,” he explained to Howie. “If she’s dreaming about the legend, it probably stems from our search.”

“Oh.” Howie decided it was as good an excuse as he’d ever get from the look on Kevin’s face. “Well, gentlemen. I’d love to stay, but somebody’s got to run this town.”

“And it might as well be you,” Nick replied. “I’m thinking about taking Brian a change of clothes and some fresh food. I bet anything other than hospital food would be good, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to the hospital and back before my appointment.”

“I’ll take it by,” Kevin volunteered. The task would take his mind off of the fact that he was going to do whatever it took to avoid Gwen like the plague.

Howie smiled slightly. “Thanks for doing that. I was about to volunteer, but I can’t. I’ve got a media storm to deal with at the office over this whole mess. Plus, I’ve got to gear up for the state government’s phone calls that are bound to come through because of the accident. If we’re not careful, no one will be able to go up to Seven Falls because the place will be deemed too dangerous.”

“They can’t do that!” Kevin sat up. “This is the first time anyone in recorded history has fallen there. They can’t shut the place up.”

Howie ran his hands wearily through his hair. “I’m trying to stop that from happening, Kevin. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“I see it this way,” Nick began, once Howie had left. “If, God forbid, something does happen to Juliet, the media will crash through town, and the waterfalls will be famous. Or infamous. Either way, it’ll bring more business to this town and more people who are curious about the falls. People will finally start paying attention to this jewel of a place.”

Kevin sighed. “I don’t want people to know about it because someone died, Nick. It puts a bad spin on the whole thing. Hopefully, nothing is going to happen to poor Juliet. The last thing we need as we construct a monument to the legend is the place claiming an innocent life.”

***

“Howie!”

Howie turned in mid-stride to see who’d called him. “Hey. Good morning!”

Reena stepped around a janitor who was sweeping the corridor. “I’m glad I caught you. I wasn’t sure if you were going to be in to work or not.”

“I’m here. There’s been a lot of media interest in the accident, and I’ve been fielding calls since yesterday.” He took her hand and continued to move towards his office. “How are you feeling?”

She shrugged. “How do I look?”

He wanted to say “Awful,” but didn’t. “You look tired. Did you not sleep well?”

“How could I sleep at all?” she wondered. “I’m the reason Juliet Stevens is in the hospital right now. It’s a miracle she lived, and I’m praying with all I’ve got that she’ll make it through. I managed to sleep for a half hour here and there, but I keep seeing her fall over the edge.” She suppressed a shudder and followed Howie into his office.

“Have a seat.” He gestured her towards a chair as he picked up the stack of notes his secretary had left him. Stifling a sigh, he sat and watched Reena twist her fingers nervously. “Tell me what else is bothering you.”

She laughed nervously. “You can tell? Boy, you are good.” The smile disappeared. “I’m leaving town.”

“For how long?”

He didn’t seem upset by her declaration. “Uh, forever. I can’t stay here. Not now, not after this. Gwen’s staying, but I can’t.”

Howie shook his head. “Don’t go.”

“Howie, if something happens to Juliet, I couldn’t live with myself. I couldn’t live in this town and be a constant reminder to everyone of what happened to her.” She pressed a hand to her lips to hold back the sobs. “I can’t stay,” she whispered.

He didn’t want to press her, but he knew that running wouldn’t solve anything. “So you’re willing to leave Brian? You’re just going to leave him here to deal with a broken heart and a guilty conscience?”

“He’d be happier that I’m gone,” Reena replied. “He blames me for being the reason Juliet’s in the hospital. He’s too good to tell me to my face, but I couldn’t stay and make him feel guiltier.”

“So you’re set on going?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I just thought I’d drop by and tell you that I’m going to try to finish up the elementary school portraits today. The rest I’ll send to you when I get back to Boston. I hope that’s all right.”

“Of course. Reena, when are you leaving?”

She smiled thinly. “Tomorrow afternoon.”