“I almost forgot.” I selected a to-go cup and held it out to him. “I brought you something.”
Linus accepted the cup, and a laugh escaped him before he cracked the lid and checked the contents. “It’s empty.”
“You don’t eat or drink. I figured chocolate-scented air was as close to a treat as I could bring you.”
“I do eat and drink.” He cradled the cup between his hands as if the nonexistent contents warmed him, but it must have been the thought that counted. “Just not much or often.” He brought the cup to his nose and inhaled, smiling. “Thank you for thinking of me.”
“You’re welcome.” I poked him in the side. “How come you can skip meals and stay fit while I work five nights a week on the Cora Ann but I’m a scarecrow?”
“You’ve been through a lot, Grier. Recovery takes time.” His shoulders hitched, and I could tell he was suppressing laughter. “Besides, you love food. Would you really give up churros?”
“No.” I recoiled from the very idea. “Churros are my favorite food group. I couldn’t live without them.”
There had been too many years spent living on drips of water and scraps left over from the guards’ lunches. Treats, sweets, churros—those were things about as likely to appear on your food tray in prison as the goddess herself.
“Then leave it be.” He put it gently, but I sensed the firmness behind the command. Lifting his cup, he turned toward the carriage house. “Make sure you’re packed and ready to go. Our ride arrives at dusk.”
A sour tang splashed the back of my throat. Our ride. I hadn’t put any thought into how we would get to Atlanta. The urge to volunteer Jolene almost overwhelmed me, but we had luggage to consider. There was nothing for it. I had agreed to go, I had made the preparations, it was time to suck it up and endure.
I took the stairs and kicked off my shoes, wiggling my toes against the flaking planks. The symphony that was Woolly’s wards rose around me, blanketing me in her love, and I exhaled with relief that she was unharmed.
“That’s odd.” I twisted around until I faced the steps. “Another hit in the same spot?”
Last time, when vampires had been at fault, they had tested her wards methodically. This was a battering ram approach, blunt and obvious. No real harm was being done, so what was the purpose? Testing the strength of the new wards? How had they known about them to check them? Unless they assumed, rightfully so, that after Volkov, measures would be taken to protect me and my property.
The timing of the second attack cleared Eloise’s name. She had been across town at Mallow with me when it happened. Sigils could be activated after a countdown, but that felt like reaching. Time-delayed magic was complex, and therefore, rarely used. More than likely, this was the fumbling work of vampire goons the Master had set on my trail.
“Did you see anyone this time?”
A sigh moved through the decking as she flashed the same set of images at me: a fallen limb, a radiant starburst, two English peas.
“Thanks, girl.” I patted the nearest wall. “You did good. Those new wards have you snug as a bug in a rug.”
A swell of light was her answer, pride in her ability to defend us both.
Following the wraparound porch to the side, I found Amelie sitting with her back against the house, legs extended in front of her while she stared at the yard.
“How are you doing?” I mimicked her position. “Linus said you didn’t black out this time.”
“I wish I had some of those soft peppermints to crunch.” Her hands went to her middle. “I haven’t been this queasy in…” She inhaled then whipped her head toward me. “Mallow?”
“I thought you might—” I released her drink and bag before she ripped them from my hand, “—be hungry.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She gulped several times before smacking her lips. “That’s the good stuff.”
“What about your stomach?” I inched away to escape the splatter zone. “Can you hold it down?”
“I don’t care how sick I am.” She tipped her drink toward me. “I’m not wasting this.”
Laughing, I got to my feet. “I have to start packing. Want to keep me company?”
“Nah.” Her gaze slid past me to the yard that might as well have been on another planet for how far away it was for her. “I want to sit out here a while longer if it’s okay. Come get me before bed?”
“Sure.” I left her to enjoy the fresh night air and entered the living room. Dipping my fingers into my shirt, I fished out my necklace and rubbed my thumb across the raised emblem. “We’re home, kid.” I pulled the cord over my head and placed it on the mantle next to the silver box holding Maud’s heart. “Scat.”
Oscar materialized inches from my nose and yelled, “Boo.”
Clutching at my chest, I staggered backward until my knees hit the couch and pretended to faint dead away from sheer terror.
“Grier?” His small voice squeaked. “Grier?”
A prickle of energy along my arms told me he was within reach. I couldn’t stop my smile as I popped my eyes open, shot up, and grabbed an armful of wriggling, giggling ghost boy. “You scared me half to death.” I tickled him until he was gasping. “Is that any way to behave?”
“I’m a ghost,” he squealed. “I’m supposed to scare people.”
“Oh, sure.” I hugged him close then released him to float in the air. “That’s what they all say.”
The register beside us ticked as Woolly scolded us both, but her lights brightened, making it impossible to hide her pleasure. She was thrilled having guests in the house and on the grounds. Those early days hadn’t been full of fear only on my behalf. Without me, Woolworth House had no heir. I was the last. The best she could hope for was Linus moving in, but he was a Lawson. Maud’s blood or not, it wasn’t the same to her. Her whole existence was wrapped up in the family legacy, and that meant me.
“Float with me.” I gestured that he should follow me up to my room. “I’m going on a trip tomorrow. I’ll be in Atlanta for three days. Amelie will be here, and so will my friend, Odette. You’re welcome to stay here with Woolly, or you can come with me. Your choice.”
“I don’t sleep good in new places.” He trailed me so close I shivered. “I want to stay with Woolly.” He bumped into me when I stopped at the landing to open my door. “You promise to come back?”
Heart in my throat, I glanced over my shoulder at the desolate certainty he was being abandoned again.
“This is my home, and you’re part of the family.” I tweaked his nose. “You’ve got nothing to be scared of. I promise.” Still skeptical, Oscar hovered over the threshold. “All right, all right. I wasn’t going to do this, you’re too young to have a cellphone, but let me show you how mine works.”
Though his appearance had frozen as the six-year-old boy he had been when he died, that sad day had occurred more than a century ago.
And yes, I was rationalizing.
Ten minutes later, Oscar was wide-eyed and mesmerized by the phone. All those years of haunting the dining room on the Cora Ann had given him only a partial education. Most folks tried to behave during meals and kept their phones muted or in their pockets or purses. Thanks to the hardcore addicts, he had seen enough of them to know what they did, but he had never gotten to play with one.
I might have created a monster.
But at least he knew how to call me if he was ever in danger.
Thank Hecate, it required so much energy for him to go corporeal, he exhausted himself quickly.
Once Oscar scampered off to tell Woolly all about his adventures, I flopped on the bed and made a packing list. Thirty minutes later, I stood over my choices where they covered the bed in mismatched outfits. I wasn’t impressed with the selection.
Society training was kicking in, the urge to look my best, to look my part, when in the presence of peers.
Ugh.
Jeans and T-shirts were fine when I was at home, so they would have to be fine where I was going.
Money might not be an object these days, but I wasn’t going to buy a new wardrobe just to walk the grounds at Strophalos. Who would do that? That would be insane.