To put it simply, Noah and I had become one being, our energy melding together, then re-forming. I felt closer to him than I had to anyone other than my sister, and even Lark and I had never blended so completely. I’d say it was impossible since she was alive, but my sister had died once, and she had been to the Shadow Lands, so I couldn’t apply the same rules to her.
We walked among the ancient headstones—some of which were smashed beyond repair. Such disrespect for the dead. This was where they’d reburied the oldest of Haven Crest’s dead. The rest lay beyond, with little plaques that contained nothing more than a number. It was so sad that they were left unnamed and unremembered.
At least my own grave was taken care of—by Lark, Nan, sometimes Kevin and even occasionally my parents. That stone was all they knew of me. My parents only ever saw Lark—their strange little girl with an unhealthy attachment to her dead sister, and an interest in the macabre.
“You know, our parents had Lark institutionalized after she tried to kill herself.” He had told me about his past after I picked up parts of it during our merging.
Noah glanced at me. “Really?”
I nodded. “They didn’t believe that she could really talk to me. They didn’t believe in me at all.”
“It seems your sister and I have something in common, after all.”
“That and the fact that I like you both,” I teased. I wasn’t going to say I loved him, even though that had been the word that wanted to tumble out of my mouth.
He looked somewhere out in the distance. He had the loveliest profile. “Forgive me for saying so, but I do wonder if your sister feels the same loyalty to you as you have for her.”
“What do you mean?”
Now he looked at the grass. Why wouldn’t he look at me? “Only that she seems to treat you as though you were some sort of exotic animal—something she can admire and show off at her discretion, but always holds at a distance because she doesn’t trust you not to attack.”
I frowned. “No, that’s not it at all.”
“No?” He shrugged. “When she talks to you about me, is it with distrust? Does she talk to you about anything personal, or is it always about information you’ve discovered? The one time she came here it wasn’t to get to know me, or your new friends, but because she wanted to hunt down Robert—something she never even discussed with you beforehand.”
He was right. But I hadn’t exactly been there for my sister over the past few days.
Still....a little needle of uncertainty dug at my mind. How much gushing about Ben had I sat through? I mention Noah, and Lark tells me to be careful. She didn’t want to hear about what I’ve done, or how happy I’ve been. It’s all about Emily and Alys, and the approach of Halloween.
“Lark’s always been very protective of me,” I informed him, truthfully.
Now he looked at me. “Wren, dearest, she treats you like a child. I mean neither of you disrespect, but if you want to be treated as your sister’s equal, you need to start demanding her respect. You don’t doubt her abilities as she doubts yours.”
That was true, as well. “She worries that I’ll be taken advantage of by other ghosts.”
Noah made a scoffing noise. “And some breather could take advantage of her, yet you do not seek to monitor her every movement. I’m sorry, but I believe the reason she didn’t ask you about Robert was so she could just show up here and see for herself what you’d gotten yourself up to.”
I had wondered the same thing myself at the time—but only for a moment. “My sister hasn’t had many good experiences with ghosts.”
“Knowing what it’s like to be thought mad, I can tell you that she hasn’t had many good experiences with the living either, but she’s not out there setting fire to the ones who are mean to her.”
I laughed at the very idea. Although, there would be some satisfaction in setting fire to that policeman Olgilvie. He wasn’t a nice man.
Noah smiled. “I love the way you laugh.” He squeezed my hand as I glanced away, shy for some reason. “I don’t mean to disparage your sister, I’m merely frustrated that a creature such as you has been basically kept in a box for her entire existence. You are a being of pure energy. You shine like a beacon in the dark, and yet you have been relegated to Lark’s shadow. I think perhaps Lark’s fear makes her keep a tight rein on you.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Part of me wanted to defend Lark and make him understand her, but...truthfully, he seemed to understand her very well already.
“I don’t want you to dislike my sister.”
Noah stopped walking and turned to face me. “Dislike her? No, sweet girl. I could never dislike someone who loves you so much. I might dislike some of her actions, but never her.”
I smiled. “That makes me very happy.”
He moved closer, lips curving in that way that made me feel both anxious and delighted. “Do I make you happy?”
I laughed. “I think you know the answer to that already.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, you make me happy. There. Are you happy now?”
His lips brushed mine. “I’ve never been as happy—living or dead—as I’ve been in the days since meeting you.”