Sheriff Kyle pushed his hat back on his head, then stared at me quizzically. “Deadly nightshade? What’s that? Sounds like a horror movie or a kid’s book.”
We were walking up the steps and I could see the inside of the cabin through the screen door. There were three silhouettes inside—and Samwise, paws up on the windowsill; the dog stared out at me with a big grin. I temporarily lost interest in what the sheriff was saying when I realized that someone was talking to my son.
Someone I hadn’t invited inside.
Chapter 46
Trick or Treat
Thane:
The door swung open, a gust of autumn wind swirled into the foyer, and with it, a chorus of voices chanted, “Trick or treat!” My heartbeat slowed to a deliberate, calculated rhythm as I scanned the crowd of costumed children standing before me. Bedecked in plastic masks and fluorescent fabrics, faces painted in garish colors, skin glittering with sparkle dust, hair tucked beneath heavy wigs, they each held arms outstretched with open bags. I grinned, opened the door wider for them to enter, one word pressing against my tongue, though I dared not say it aloud.
Delicious.
Instead, I chatted in a cheery tone, one hand poised with palm up as the other gestured toward a table that rested against a near wall. Some of them may have noticed the glittering enchantment that hung in the air, almost as lovely as the light snow that swirled outside. But even if they did, it only added to the magic of the evening.
“Come in,” I said, speaking in my most soothing voice. “Help yourselves to the candy in the bowl. Take as much as you want. Only, please, wait until all of you are inside and I can close the door to the chill wind.”
“We can have as much as we want?” One little boy gazed at the bowl, eyes wide.
“Of course. Inside now, all of you.” I nodded to the two adults who chaperoned the bunch. “You too. You need a tiny reward for watching over these wild ghouls and goblins.”
A hearty laugh resounded through the group, all of them pleased that their efforts to appear macabre had been successful.
I guarded the door, counting as they shuffled inside.
Six, seven, eight—
Already the children were lining up in front of the bowl, staring down into untold treasures of chocolate and caramel and licorice.
Eleven, twelve, thirteen—
I closed the door behind the last adult, gave the signal for the trick-or-treaters to help themselves. Then amidst the clatter and the chatter, when no one was paying attention to me anymore, I locked the door.
Finally, with a theatrical flair, I raised both arms above my head, almost like the conductor of a great opera. I then lowered them with mercurial speed, casting a spell with a single word at the same time.
“Sleep.”
Chapter 47
Below the Surface
Maddie:
From the moment I walked onto the porch, a delicious heat beckoned from inside the cottage. And when I crossed the threshold, I almost thought that the room glittered, like there were sparkles floating through the air; I even imagined that I heard a song, but as quickly as it came, it vanished. I felt like I had been interrupted mid-thought, awkward and disoriented.
He spoke first and the silence broke like a bubble on the surface of a rushing stream.
“Are you all right?”
It was Ash. I was surprisingly glad to see him, especially since he had helped us find our way home last night. I remembered how comfortable I had felt with him at my side as we walked through the wood. Up until now, every time a new man wandered into my life I would get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Sooner or later, I was going to have to learn to trust men again. Right now, I was hoping it was sooner.
I could feel myself blushing as I stared at him. It felt like the temperature in the room had ratcheted up about ten degrees.
“I saw the patrol car and wanted to make sure everything was okay. I hope you didn’t get hurt in the woods.” His words came out all smooth and soothing, a sincere concern rippling below the surface. There was much below the surface here, I realized. He took a step closer and again, I noticed how incredibly handsome he was, that he had the slender, broad-shouldered build of a swimmer or a gymnast, as if every muscle was poised and ready for flight.
“I’m fine,” I answered, hoping that no one else in the room noticed how long it had taken me to answer. When he leaned even nearer I realized that he smelled like the forest—pine needles and cedar chips and crumbling leaves.
He glanced at my arm and I saw a sudden suspicion in his eyes. “What happened?”
Did he know about the creatures in the woods? “Something in the forest bit me,” I said.
“May I see it?” He gently took my arm in his hand.
I carefully pulled away the gauze bandage, just far enough to reveal part of the wound.
“Oh, that’s a nasty scrape,” Deputy Rodriguez said, beside me now in what might have been a protective stance, though I wasn’t sure. “You should have Doc Weatherby look at it.”