Kenneth nodded. ‘Very soon.’
‘Can’t it wait for … half an hour?’ she said, a smile playing her lips.
Kenneth couldn’t help but smile, too. ‘I suppose I can delay the journey for half an hour.’
Chapter Twenty
Casting a Shadow
AVALON REDDING
Shadow was surpassing the size of a Labrador in weight and height. I couldn’t remember Hawthorne growing at this speed, after all, Shadow was only a week old. It had taken Hawthorne almost two months to reach his full size.
At this rate, Shadow would surpass Hawthorne and Emilija within another week. Meanwhile, Willow and Rue still looked as small and young as ever. There growth had come to a standstill; I could pick them up with one hand and tuck them inside my overcoat. I didn’t know how to explain their varying growth pattern as I had nothing to compare it to. The only difference between Shadow and the other pups was gender.
Regardless of these unusual happenings, it occurred to me that I’d been living at the dirty, broken windmill for over a week. With Fae, it didn’t seem so bad, but the time for moving on was well overdue. I couldn’t stay in Belgium any longer, and since Finn was out of the picture I could travel back to England without looking over my shoulder everywhere I went.
I’d go home and find Jack. I could change my name, cut my hair … and vanish. Perhaps Jack and I could live on a farm together, like we’d discussed. Then we’d have lots of room for the Vulmessian pups.
I smiled at the thought of Jack’s face when he saw the pups for the first time. The scenario played out in my head as if it were really happening at that moment.
‘What – how – when?’ Jack spluttered in my mind's eye. He was absolutely flabbergasted. I watched as Jack played with the tiny Willow and Rue, an enormous Shadow watching close by.
‘Hawthorne and Emilija, Martinez’s Vulmessian,’ I explained to Jack.
Jack smiled at me. ‘That cheeky devil,’ he said, winking at Hawthorne. ‘Can’t take you anywhere, can we, buddy?’
I imagined myself embracing Jack tightly. I could almost feel his hand running through my hair, and the beat of his heart as I pressed my cheek to his chest.
‘I miss you,’ I told him.
‘I miss you too,’ he replied, hugging me tight.
‘Talking to yourself?’ A voice broke through my imagination, startling me. Fae had snuck up on me while I rested by the stream.
‘Oh … I guess so,’ I said, my cheeks reddening.
‘First sign of madness, you know?’ she said, sitting on the grass beside me.
‘Didn’t you hear? I live in a windmill with five monsters and a homicidal maniac. Can’t get any madder than that.’
Fae crossed her arms. ‘That’s not very fair. I saved you.’
‘And I am eternally grateful.’ I showed my sincerity with a smile. Fae smiled too, though reluctantly.
‘I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me,’ she said.
‘There’s a lot I haven’t told you, Fae.’
‘You can trust me,’ she said. ‘I won’t tell anyone, and I won’t judge you.’
I sighed. ‘I know.’
‘I told you my secret,’ she said. ‘I admitted to killing a man.’
‘Two men,’ I corrected.
‘Yeah, but you saw the last one with your own eyes.’
‘You really want to know?’ I asked.
Fae nodded. ‘We’re friends, right?’
‘Well, I am a little bit afraid of you.’ I was being completely honest, but Fae laughed anyway.
‘Tell me,’ she said softly.
I gulped. I guess it was time to tell Fae how, and why, I had come to this windmill. ‘All right … I’ll tell you everything.’
And so I did. I started at the beginning, from the day Helena was born.
I told Fae how I’d run away from home to the city of Frost Arch where I met Hawthorne, Jack, and R?ven. I explained the trouble I’d gotten myself into with Noah and Elvira Frost.
Fae’s expression became sympathetic as I told her the story of my return home, only to find a destroyed house with no occupants. She couldn’t believe that the Realm could do such a thing. The murderous glint in her eyes returned when I told her of the Realms procedure when dealing with humans.
Next, I explained how we’d broken into the Martinez manor to free the humans, and how R?ven had erased Martinez’s memory with her voice.
‘Then the flyers appeared two months later,’ I explained. ‘So I fled.’
I finished my story at the moment Fae had rescued me and Shadow, by which point she was staring open-mouthed at me.
‘And that’s everything,’ I said, exhaling loudly. ‘That’s why I’m here.’
‘I knew you were hiding,’ said Fae. ‘But I didn’t know the magnitude of it.’
I shrugged. ‘It’s no big deal. I’ve always attracted a lot of trouble.’
Fae shook her head. ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ she said. ‘You don’t belong in these woods.’
‘What do you mean?’