I wasn’t quite sure how Mom would react if she saw the ring, especially since we hadn’t known Sylvia for very long, and though crystal rings were perfectly normal for earth witches to wear, I didn’t want her making a fuss. The last thing I wanted on my birthday was an atmosphere, so I slipped it off my finger before I got home and hid it in my pocket. I told myself it wasn’t lying exactly, but that didn’t stop me from feeling a little guilty. It seemed the older I got, the more I had to hide from her. I wondered if it would always be like that from now on.
It was so quiet, the balloons and banners were all I could hear, flapping in the wind. I knew they were all inside—Mom, Dad, the whole tribe, crouching low and pretending to have forgotten all about me. They did this every year, and I wasn’t so old yet that it didn’t give me pleasure. Playing my part, I let the smile slip from my face as I opened the front door. All was silent.
“Hello, is anyone home?” I heard a faint giggle followed by a shush! though I pretended not to hear it.
I wandered into the kitchen. That was empty too, so I opened the fridge door and helped myself to a seltzer. As I pulled the ring tab, I heard another chuckle but pretended not to hear that either and made for the living room. I knew they’d be in there. After all, it was the only room with objects for them to hide behind since they wouldn’t use concealment charms—that required ley line knowledge. I knew they were all crouched behind the sofa.
“Ah well, I guess everyone forgot about my birthday.” I put my soda down on the coffee table and was about to flop into the chair when everyone started shouting at once.
“Surprise!”
“Happy birthday!”
“Ha-ha, fooled you.”
“Neener, neener, neener!”
Instead of sitting, I put my hand to my chest and gasped, feigning shock as one by one my siblings revealed themselves. “Oh my, you gave me such a fright! Where did you all come from?”
“We were hiding!” Little Joe giggled with delight and ran at me, hugging my legs. “You didn’t know we were there!” He looked so happy, gazing up at me. I couldn’t remember being that small or that innocent.
Mom and Dad smiled gratefully. They knew I’d sussed them out but were happy I’d played along for the younger ones.
“No, Joe, you got me good.” I peeled him off my legs.
Dad started herding everyone over to the door. “Come on, get your coats. We have to be at the restaurant in twenty minutes. Chop, chop, look lively.”
With a wave of his hand, nine coats of different colors hovered in the air, from smallest to largest, waiting for nine sets of arms to claim them. Only Jimmy’s coat was missing from the lineup, since he had just started medical school and had left two days ago. While all the little arms and legs were flying about, Mom took me to one side.
“I was looking out for you from the kitchen. Where did you get to? I couldn’t see you from the window.”
I knew what she was thinking. “I popped in to see Matt and Sylvia. And no, I didn’t go there.”
My right hand was stuck in my pocket, and I toyed with the silver band hidden inside. Perhaps I should show Mom the ring, to reassure her I hadn’t visited the old grave. I was just thinking this when Dad began herding everyone through the front door. I broke away from her intelligent gaze under the pretext of grabbing my bag and joining the others. Without a backward glance, I followed everyone out into the street. The door pulsed purple as Mom closed up behind us with a silent spell. Two by two, with Dad leading at the front and Mom and me bringing up the rear, we marched along the four streets leading to Main Street, the home of our favorite eatery, the Goblin King Diner. The route led us around the side of the church, inevitably passing my ancestor’s grave.
I felt the familiar tug in my navel, only this time the impulse was stronger than ever before. I tried to ignore the feeling, ever conscious of my mom’s watchful gaze. Only there was something else this time, something new. Was that—voices? The cacophony grew louder, like many people shouting, and the noise only became more deafening the nearer I got to the grave. This had never happened before, and afraid, I tried to shut my mind to it, but the voices intensified, almost screaming, demanding I hear them. A million emotions crowded my mind, a wailing cocktail of joy, confusion, and despair.
I wanted the voices to stop. It was too much, and my own thoughts were being drowned out by the screams and laughter of so many dead. Something inside me snapped, and the world around me began to spin, and suddenly I was falling. A set of arms caught me, stopping me from sinking to the pavement, but I remembered nothing else, and the world turned black.
More voices, only gentler this time. The hushed tones of frightened children and the gentle hands of someone carrying me. I was moving. I didn’t know where I was going. I felt safe. Then I blacked out again.
When I woke, I could hear two men talking. The first I couldn’t quite place. The second was Dad. There were other voices still, only much fainter than before.
“She just fainted. I’m sure she’ll be fine now.”
“Jane isn’t so sure.” That was Dad. “I’ve asked her to mix up a tonic to help her sleep.”
“If you think that’s best, but I assure you, all she needs is a little time.”
“What do you know about it?” There was a note of suspicion I had never heard my father use before.
I opened my eyes. I was on the sofa in the living room. Dad and Henry Tilney were chatting over by the window. I groaned when I shifted, and they both stopped talking and turned to examine at me. “What happened? Why aren’t we at the diner? Why am I back home?”
Dad came over and crouched in front of me. “You fainted. Are you feeling better now?”
“I guess.” Henry was staring at me. His habitual amused expression was gone for the moment. “What’s he doing here?”
“He carried you home.” There was no gratitude in Dad’s voice. In fact, he sounded unusually hostile. I wondered what he thought Henry was guilty of. Did he think this was somehow Henry’s fault? And this explanation, though perfectly rational, left me more confused than ever.
“Why?”
Henry crossed the room and sat on the end of the sofa. “I happened to be passing and saw you fall. Right place, right time I guess.”
“I’m going to see if that tonic is ready.” Dad straightened up and left. He smiled kindly at me but turned his back on Henry.
What on earth is going on?
I pushed up onto an elbow. Other than a faint whispering going on in my head, I was almost myself again. I wanted them to stop. Still, I lowered my own voice so no one but Henry could hear me. “There were voices. So many of them. And they were screaming. I don’t understand. I thought you said if I didn’t touch the headstone everything would be okay?”
I don’t know if he took his cue from my tone, but Henry lowered his voice to match mine. “Why aren’t you wearing the ring Sylvia gave you? The crystal is supposed to protect you. If you don’t wear it, this will get worse as the day goes on. A new door has opened in the spirit world. They can get a bit excited.”
I felt foolish. I didn’t want to explain about Mom. I wanted to put it on now to see if it quieted the demons in my head, but I still didn’t want Mom to see it. “For the love of Gaia, why didn’t anyone tell me? We could have avoided all this!”
“We thought you knew!” Henry furrowed his brow, perplexed. “I thought that that was why you’d avoided the cemetery on the way to her house. I’m sorry, we should have spelled it out clearly, no pun.”
“Well, I didn’t.”
“Come on, where is it? Put it on.”
Henry took my hand in his, and I felt yet another sensation that had nothing to do with what had happened. I suddenly noticed his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. Funny, I hadn’t thought him at all handsome at first, yet now…my heart went bumpity-bump. To cover my feelings, I let go and pushed myself up into a sitting position, then slipped the ring from my pocket and put it on. The voices ceased at once.
At that moment, Dad came back into the room, carrying a mug of something in his hand. “What’s that?”
For a second, I was confused. He sounded almost angry and was quite literally glaring at Henry. And then I realized he was probably thinking Henry had just proposed to me. I held the ring aloft so Dad could see it more clearly. “Oh, um, it’s a crystal ring. Sylvia gave it to me for my birthday. Nice, isn’t it? I was going to show you all in the diner, but then…” I let my head flop to one side and let my tongue out, imitating fainting.
Dad stared at me, as if making his mind up about something, and his expression softened.
“That was nice of her.”
I guessed Henry sensed he was out of the firing line for now, and like a shrewd tactician, he took his chance to escape. “Well, I should leave you to take your medicine. Take care of yourself.”
“Thank you.” There were things I should ask him, but my head ached, and I was in enough trouble as it was. I told myself I’d be seeing him again soon enough, and any questions would either keep till then or I could call him later.
“Thank you for bringing my Cat home.” Dad offered Henry his hand, and Henry accepted and shook it.
“No problem.” Henry nodded at me and walked out of the room.
Odd, I didn’t want him to go, but I could hardly ask him to stay. Dad bent down and handed me my tonic. It was some kind of herbal tea, and I circled my fingers around the mug, comforted by its warmth. I stared at the door Henry had just exited. There was so much I needed to know. I took a sip of my tea, and though I felt better almost at once, I knew Mom would join us soon and I’d be assaulted by more questions. There was only one thing I could do to avoid them.
“Do you mind if I take this up to my room? I’m much better, but I think I ought to lie down for a bit. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Very sensible.” Dad took the mug from me as I stood up. My timing was perfect, because Mom came in just at that moment.
“I’m going to my room.” I took back the mug and trotted over to the stairs. “I’m sorry about the party, but if you don’t mind, I just want to lie down. I’ll be fine on my own. Go to the diner. Don’t disappoint the kids. Tell them I’m fine and enjoy the meal.”
“Are you sure? I can stay here with you if you like.”
I smiled at Mom. She really was worried, but I wanted to be alone. “No, please, I’m fine. You all have a good time.”
Before she could think of a reason to stay back with me, I began to make my way upstairs. As I closed the door, I heard them whispering below. I knew they were concerned about me, but then so was I. This thing, this power, whatever it was, was inside me. I needed to get a handle on it, and I was never going to get any answers hiding at home.
I waited until I heard them all leave, and instead of going to bed, I pottered across to the window and snuggled in the recess with my tea. My room had a good view of the cemetery. I pulled a throw blanket over my legs and stared out at it for a while, then thoughtfully down at the ring on my finger. I was grateful for Sylvia’s gift, but I needed to do better than just mask the voices in my head. I had to understand them and to control them. I wanted to go to New York to learn what I could from Sylvia and Henry, and the sooner I got there the better.