Page 5 of Feathered Web

“One of her daughters, Ellia, was the younger and she became a lament singer. She works with me, and she plays her violin for the dead to calm them. Ellia’s sister, who was much older, was named Penelope. From the beginning, Penelope refused to follow Magda’s path and turned her back on the Hounds and Baba Volkov. So Magda killed her. She… I can’t even begin to describe the horrendous spell she cast on her own daughter, but think of it as if a nail gun appeared inside you and shot hundreds of nails from the inside out. I tell you this so you won’t be surprised when you see her.”

“See her?” I snapped to attention. “How am I included in this?”

“I’ll explain, but you need to know the background first. Anyway, so Magda killed her older daughter. What she didn’t expect is that the Morrígan decided to make Penelope a Gatekeeper in the Whisper Hollow cemetery. She guards the Veil and watches over the dead, though the dead in Whisper Hollow don’t always heed her.”

I’d never even heard about the Gatekeepers, though I knew about the different forms of the dead. “All right, so I assume Magda was pissed about that.”

“That’s an understatement. Anyway, so the Hounds would love to take out the Gatekeeper, because that would help them spread their mayhem. I don’t know why they haven’t struck before, but something has changed.”

“What do you think changed?” Killian asked.

Kerris narrowed her eyes. “I heard through the grapevine that they’re working with the Covenant of Chaos here in Moonshadow Bay. Somehow, between the two groups, they’ve managed to kidnap Penelope and from what I understand, they’re holding her here. I have no idea why, but I need your help to rescue her. Also, if this means the two groups are merging, we all have a new problem to deal with. Between the Covenant and the Hounds, they wield a lot of power.”

I caught my breath. “What if there are other groups like them? What if they decide to all band together?”

“Then we’re all screwed,” Bryan said. He leaned forward. “We have a council—the Crescent Moon Society. They suggested we come to you.”

I nodded. “They’re similar to our Crystal Cauldron, though I think things work a little differently in Whisper Hollow. But the Crescent Moon Society is still part of the Order of the Moon, correct?”

Kerris nodded. “We don’t talk about it much, but yes. There are specific towns among the shadow towns that are run differently than most of the others. Whisper Hollow is one. Usually, shadow towns like Whisper Hollow have darker spirits in them. Some of the spirit beings are practically alien in nature. Whisper Hollow is far less inviting than Moonshadow Bay.”

I thought about it. There wasn’t even a question as to whether I’d help Kerris, but I didn’t know if I could do it by myself. As I was sitting there, a voice echoed in my ear and I looked up to see Esmara standing beside me.

You need Rowan’s help in this, she said.

I was thinking that, I projected back. Esmara was one of the Ladies, the women of my family line who watched over us, and who gave us advice. She’d first come to me when I returned to Moonshadow Bay, and she was always nearby. Can I trust Kerris? What do you think?

She and her guardian are safe, but be cautious, January. Spirit shamans are laden with a lot of baggage and they always walk in the shadow of death. Kerris can’t escape her destiny, any more than you can escape yours. Esmara glanced over at her and said, Hello. I know you can see me.

Wait, she can hear you? I didn’t want Kerris to think we’d been talking behind her back.

Only what I choose to let her hear, Esmara said. No worries.

But Kerris laughed. “I wondered who was hanging around,” she said aloud. “Introduce me?”

I sucked in a deep breath. Both Killian and Bryan were looking confused. “Esmara is my guardian. In my family, we call them the Ladies. They come to guide those of us who need their help. She was my mother’s aunt.”

“How do you do?” Kerris said, smiling. “It’s not often I have pleasant dealings with the dead.”

It’s not often I choose to allow the living to hear me, Esmara countered, winking. She turned to me. Call Rowan. You’ll need her help on this. And then, without even a goodbye, she vanished.

“Let me call my grandmother,” I said. “She’s the high priestess of the Crystal Cauldron, the local coven. She’s been around a lot longer and she’s much more knowledgeable about these things than I am. She’ll help us.” I knew, in my heart, that Rowan would come through.

“What’s her name? I may have heard of her,” Kerris asked.

“Rowan Firesong.”

Kerris nodded. “Right. I know that name. My grandmother, who was the spirit shaman before me, mentioned her once or twice.”

“Can they destroy Penelope?” Killian asked.

Kerris thought about it. “I don’t know. I doubt it—she’s already dead. But without her presence, the ghosts walk too easily. And I don’t have the time to be running after every spirit that decides to step out of the grave. We already have a host of the Unliving over in Whisper Hollow.”

“I always wondered,” Killian said. “What’s the difference between the Unliving and a vampire? We have a lot of vampires here, but I’ve almost never heard of the Unliving.”

Kerris smiled. “It all depends on where you live, which you’ll find the most. I don’t know if we have any vampires in Whisper Hollow. I never really thought about them.” She picked up her mug and took a sip. “So,” she said, wiping her lips with her napkin. “The main difference is that the Unliving are still dead, but they create form out of the spirit’s will to live.”

“Like a zombie?” I asked.

---