“I don’t suppose you thought to take the car?” I shouted.
Henry raised his hands as if to say, as you see, his smile still fixed to his face. “I couldn’t. Eleanor has it. This was the best I could do at short notice.”
I ran out into the rain and over to the carriage. Henry jumped down and pulled out a bag from inside it. “Your things, I believe.” He handed the heavy bag to me—good, he remembered my book—then, with a swish of his hand, he said, “Tâwian ungesýne,” and the coach-and-four disappeared.
“Where have you been?” I said, raising my voice so he could hear me over the rain.
Henry reached down for my hand and then moved to kiss me, but I was in no mood for that and held him at arm’s length. “Hold your horses,” I said, and then chuckled. Henry grinned with me. When I recovered, I gritted my teeth to adopt a sterner expression. “You know your dad threw me out, right? Why didn’t you come to me at the apartment? I thought you’d abandoned me.”
The rain literally dripped off the end of Henry’s nose, and he pointlessly wiped it away. “I didn’t know. When Dad came in, he didn’t say a thing about you or what happened with Mom’s spirit. He only told me later. We had a fight about Eleanor, and since he wouldn’t listen to reason, I took the car and went out to find my sister.”
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“So-so. She’ll be all right soon enough. Anyway, I didn’t get back until later that night and thought you were in bed. This morning when I found out you were missing, I called Sylvia, who told me where you’d gone. The rest I learned from Dad.”
“What did he say?” I asked, bracing for battle.
“He told me he sent you off, and when I asked why, he said because he caught you summoning my mother’s spirit.”
“That’s not true!” I said, heating up inside. “I didn’t summon her at all. Scarlet ran off, and I found her on your mother’s grave. Your mother rose for a reason, to give me a message concerning Eleanor. I had nothing to do with it, nor would I have, even if I wanted to.”
“I know that,” Henry said. “I’m not an idiot. And I told him as much. He said I was a lovestruck fool and could run off like my sister. As far as he’s concerned, we could both go to Hades.”
I softened a little, sorry that he’d fallen out with his father over me. “I wanted to call you, to tell you, but I had no phone and no spell book. Then when you didn’t come for me at the apartment, well, I just assumed—”
Henry smiled and shook his head. “You didn’t think I would come for you? For a smart little witch, you can be thick as mud some days. You know I love you, don’t you?”
How many times had I yearned to hear these words? Now he’d said them, they had a magic all their own. My heart was bursting, and I forgave him everything. Not that I was going to make this easy for him.
“So you used your power as a necromancer to wake these horses from the dead and came rushing to see me in Misty Cedars?”
“Something like that.” Henry’s eyes widened in amusement.
“You didn’t think to take a bus like I did, or like any reasonable person would have done?”
He shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was in a hurry, and like I said, Eleanor wanted to hold on to the car. Plus, I didn’t think they would allow this little lady on the bus.”
Henry slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and pulled out something red, black, and furry.
“Scar!” I cried.
I scooped her in my arms, and then after squeezing her as tight as I dared, I flung my arms around Henry and kissed him for all I was worth. I knew how he hated disturbing the dead, but when I needed his help, he’d put his scruples to one side and had done it without hesitation to save me. That was love. That was all I needed to know. As for the rain and the cold, well, what did I care about that? Henry loved me. I loved Henry. Everything else was dressing. If I’d wanted to, I could have conjured a heat spell, but why kill the moment?
Poor little Scar was all forgotten, but a tiny yelp reminded me she was trapped between us. I laughed and pulled away. “Sorry, sweetie,” I apologized and then pet her small head. She looked up at me with affection, and I felt a warm buzz all over. She had bonded as a familiar, and I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I smiled at Henry, and this time it was his turn to wipe the rain from my face. Eddie’s head popped out of his shirt pocket. I guessed the hamster was wondering what on earth was going on.
“I suppose we’d better go in,” I said. “My parents must think we’re insane.”
Henry glanced warily over to the window, evidently less assured of his welcome than I was, even though I could see he was shivering. “You sure your dad won’t mind me coming in?”
“I’m sure. In any case, he’s off to work in a bit, and you’re in luck—Mom made cookies.”
“If you say so.”
Beaming, I took Henry by the hand and pulled him toward the house.
Once inside, I impressed him with a new spell I’d learned shortly before my stay at the Abbey had ended. “Drýgan wiðûtan.” A stream of yellow magic, rather like a sunbeam, caressed us, and a moment later we were both completely dry. Mom looked across at me, frowning, but if she objected to me using ley line magic at home, she didn’t say. I could almost imagine her thinking, maybe just this once.
“You remember Henry, don’t you, Mom?”
She nodded. “Of course. How are you?”
“Very well, thank you,” he answered, smiling.
Mom’s gaze fell on Scar. I didn’t think she’d mind. After all, we had more than a few pets of our own, but I wasn’t expecting her to gush as she did.
“Oh sweet Gaia, what a beauty! Where did you find her? I’ve never seen anything so cute in my life.”
“Her name is Scar,” I said. “Well, Scarlet. She’s my new familiar. Henry brought her back for me. Do you like her?”
“Like her? What’s not to like? She’s adorable.” Mom scooped her from my arms and spun her around like a small child. Thankfully Scar didn’t seem to mind. The little cub seemed perfectly happy being in my mom’s arms. Mom raised her up and sniffed her. “Is she house-trained?”
“She’s clever enough to ask to go outside if she needs to commune with nature,” I said.
I pulled a chair out at the table and sat down, ushering Henry into the chair next to me. He glanced at my mother, who was busy putting dog food into a bowl. When Mom saw Henry was waiting for her, she nodded her approval, and Henry sat down. Mom set the food down in the corner of the kitchen where Scar began chomping away. Content, Mom turned her attention back to us.
“What would you like to drink?” Mom asked. Her gaze went from me to Henry, and I could almost hear the gazillion questions she had for us but was too polite to ask. “I have coffee, tea, chocolate? Anything you like.”
“I would love a mug of chocolate.” I blushed, thinking of the last time we’d had chocolate together.
“Chocolate it is,” Mom said. While she fussed about making some, I offered Henry some of Mom’s cookies. I smiled inwardly when he reached for the shortbread, just as I had done.
“What happened with Eleanor?” I asked. “When you saw her? How did you find her?”
“After she ran away, I looked everywhere, all the usual places. I was beginning to give up, but then she sent me a text and told me she was staying at Victor’s place.”
“You said she was okay?” I asked.
Henry pursed his lips. “She’s fine. But she doesn’t want to see Dad again. Frankly after what he did to you and to her, I’m not sure I want to either.”
Mom, who couldn’t help but overhear us, turned around to read our expressions, but she didn’t interrupt. I suspected she was bursting to know what the General had done and what was going on, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
“So what are you gonna do?” I asked. “Where will you stay? Are you going back to New York? What about the shop?”
Henry shook his head and then raised his hands to take the steaming mug of hot chocolate Mom had just poured. It was too hot to drink yet, so he placed it carefully on a cork coaster and helped himself to another cookie. He winked at Mom, who looked very pleased with herself.
At that moment, Dad came downstairs. He had changed for work and headed straight for the sink without acknowledging Henry at all. He paused when he saw Scar, who right now was curled up in a doggy bed and was snoring softly. Mom shrugged when he looked at her for explanations. Then he turned around and faced us. I held my breath, wondering if he objected to Henry being here.
“If you need a place you stay, you can stay here,” Dad said. Mom stared at him in surprise. In fact, we all did. “On the couch, mind you.” His gaze shifted from Henry to me and then back again. “Until you figure out what you intend to do and sort yourself out.”
“Thank you,” Henry replied. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what I’m doing. I was going to talk to Sylvia to fix something short term until I found a place to camp down.”
“Well, you’re welcome to stay here ‘til you do. Just don’t eat all those shortbread cookies,” Dad said. “They’re my favorite too.”
I grinned, and jumping from my seat, I ran over to the kitchen to give Dad a big hug.
“Okay, okay. Don’t crease the shirt,” he protested. “I have to get to work.”
I kissed him anyway. “You’re the best dad ever, you know?” I said.
“Naturally,” Dad replied. Then he kissed Mom on the cheek and headed out of the house.
I don’t think Henry had ever been surrounded by so many children before. It had been a long day for us both, and we needed to relax, but there was no relaxing with the tiny terrors running rings around our feet and crashing into legs and chairs and pretty much anything that got in their way. The fact that we were there at all didn’t help, since it made them more than usually excited to see us. Henry took it with good grace, but before long, I could see he’d had enough and needed to escape.
“Come on,” I said, jumping up off the sofa where we’d been sitting hip to hip. “It’s not raining any more. Shouldn’t we see to your horses?”
Henry didn’t need to be asked twice. “Good idea,” he said, standing up with me. I knew they didn’t need a lot of seeing to. After all, they were already dead, but it seemed as good an excuse to get out as any.
“Take your shoes off when you come home,” Mom said. “It’s muddy out there. And don’t be late.” She said the latter with more emphasis. I didn’t respond. It was strange, being back under her scrutiny after having had so much personal freedom in New York. I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with it anymore. I liked that she cared, yet I felt constricted.
“We won’t,” Henry replied for both of us.
I slipped into my poncho and, as a precaution, pulled on a set of rubber boots.
“What size are you?” I asked.
“Eleven,” Henry said.
“Dad takes an eleven and a half, but these should fit you.” I picked Dad’s boots out of the lineup and handed them to Henry.
Henry squared them to the sole of his foot, then kicked off his own shoes, and tried them on.
“They’re a little on the big side, but I can walk in them. You sure your dad won’t mind?”
“Not a bit.”
Once we were both coated and booted, we went outside. The rain had certainly ceased, but the moon was bright, and I could see puddles everywhere; Mom had been right to warn us against the mud.
Henry stepped carefully over to where he left the horses and once again, waved his hand through the air. “Sîe forðgesýne.” The horses reappeared. I could hardly see them, it was so dark, but I saw their glowing breath misting in the air. “Thank you for waiting,” he said, affectionately patting the neck of the horse closest to him.
“You can feel them?” I asked.
“And ride them. It is part of our gift. Would you like to try?”
Excited and curious, I nodded.
Henry slipped his hand through the horse’s bridle and slowly turned the set back in the direction they had come from. Once they were in position, he took me by the waist and hoisted me up in the passenger seat. I was a big girl and could have done it myself, but I liked him helping me. It was the weirdest thing. If I closed my eyes, I felt like I was sitting on a carriage, which I knew I was. But if I opened them, it was like I was floating midair in a seated position, and I could barely see the coach below me or the horses ahead.
“This is weird,” I said.
“Perks of the job.”
“My neighbors are going to flip out if they see us.” I said.
“I didn’t think you had any, other than the Allens. Anyway, no one will see you. Once you touch the dead, you disappear yourself.”
“My parents saw you.”
“Because I wanted them to.”
I still had a lot to learn.
Henry handed me the reins. A moment later, we were rolling on.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Just to the cemetery. It’s time these beauties were sent home to their rest.”
“But this isn’t their cemetery,” I reasoned.
“It doesn’t matter. They will find their way home. The dead can always connect with the ones they loved, both above and below ground. You’ll see, one day.”
I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, and I didn’t want to ask him.
It was pleasant, rolling along with Henry at my side. He was so close his body warmed me, and I leaned in closer, glad to have him back in my life and choosing not to cast a warming spell, since I liked snuggling up. Above us, the stars shone a little more brightly than I ever remembered before. I thought about the morning and how so much had changed in these last few hours. I didn’t care two hoots what the General thought of me, as long as I had his son and his love.
“Tell me more about my mother,” Henry said. His voice was wistful, and I felt sad I’d had the chance to see her when he had not.
I thought for a moment as the cart rolled on. “I thought she was very beautiful. She reminded me of Eleanor in some ways.”
Henry nodded. “Yes. They were very much alike, physically and in personality.”
“She wanted me to help reunite Eleanor with the General. She made me promise.”
Even in this pale moonlight, I could see Henry shake his head. “That’s never going to happen. She made it very clear to me she wanted nothing to do with him ever again. If you gave my mother your word, I’m afraid you’re going to have to break it. Nothing will reunite those two. My father has done his worst. I’ve never seen my sister so angry. Or him, as it goes.”
“Didn’t you have a clue about Victor?”
Henry took a deep breath. “She swore me to secrecy, but I suppose the cat’s out of the bag now, as they say. Yes, I knew. To be honest, I wasn’t that thrilled about it, either. You know how violent they can be when they turn. I was worried about her. But then I met him, and well, he’s not a bad sort.”
“How did you meet him?”
“At the shop, as it happens. He wanted a silver wristband to stop him from turning into a werewolf when the full moon rises. Plus, he also wanted to check me out. Eleanor had mentioned I worked there.” He snorted. “He just came right out with it. ‘I’m Victor, I’m a werewolf, and I’m dating your sister.’ I had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn’t April first. Judging by the Porsche parked out front, the guy’s friggin’ loaded.”
I nodded. I’d heard that silver bullets, or any kind of silver weapon, could kill a werewolf. But I didn’t know that deliberate contact with silver could inhibit lycanthrope transformation. I wondered what the effects were—and how painful it might be to the wearer.
“That must have been an interesting conversation.”
“Yeah, well, I know he cares about her deeply. I still think she’s mad, but I’ve met worse.” He squeezed my hand softly. “I’m sorry. It’s not fair that you got caught up in any of this business. None of this is your fault. I know that, don’t worry.”
I leaned my head onto his shoulder, thankful that he trusted me and took me at my word.
The cemetery wasn’t too far from the house, but I had moved forward slowly, wanting to prolong my time alone with Henry. Still, short of putting the animals in reverse, we were soon at our destination. After a stolen kiss and cuddle, I jumped down.
Once safely on the ground, Henry patted the horses one last time. “Well, my friends, it’s time for you to return to your slumber. Thank you for all your help.” Then he raised his hands in the air and cried, “Oncirran ætniman dôð lîflêas.”
I remembered that one from my spell book, although it was always a challenge to get all those dratted inflections right. Just one mispronunciation and the entire spell would collapse like a Jenga tower—but Henry made no such mistakes. I recalled the words meant, return to the dead. At once, the horses broke into a gallop, riding through the cemetery wall as if it wasn’t there. Then, the front horses took a great leap, and with a final cry, the coach-and-four dived headfirst into the ground.
The wheels rumbled as if on gravel, and then they were gone.
I thought I heard one last whinny, but it was probably my imagination.
“Wow, that was awesome,” I said.
Henry linked his fingers through mine, and together we turned to head back to the house.