Page 49 of Lunar Desires
“Who’s she?” Isaac questioned.
“Dad said she.” He rubbed his temples. “Dammit. I’d forgotten that part.”
I rested my hand on his thigh for reassurance.
“So much has happened it slipped my mind,” he said. “On the train, he’d said my name and then mentioned a she.” He faced his brother. “She… She… Moon get me back. Give Moon…” he quoted.
Riley’s eyes flicked to mine. “She did something to him.” He paled. “Oh, God. She… She…” He sat back, sliding down in the seat a little. “Mum…”
I wrapped an arm around him. “Easy there.” He felt so rigid despite the slumping, as if made of stone.
“Riley…” Isaac spoke with a raspy tone. “I… Oh, fuck…” His voice cracked.
This was a lot for him, too. Their worlds had been turned upside down so many times over.
“But what could she do?” Riley wondered, sitting up.
“She’s a shimmer witch, right?” Isaac asked, reaching over to fold his elegant, tapered fingers around Riley’s hand.
It was lovely seeing them interact like this, even if the circumstances were shit.
“Yeah, she is,” Riley answered. “My stepdad is, too.”
We reached the junction for Coldharbour proper, the rain falling heavier, making the windscreen wipers work overtime.
“She doesn’t have the power to do anything,” Riley added.
“Unless he was talking about Juliet?” Isaac suggested.
“No. Dad left when I was ten.”
She’d taken her own life the same day her babies were taken away.
The brothers stayed joined by the hands, falling into silence.
Alright. Time to put my power to use.
“Your dad’s name is Daniel Croft, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Riley said.
“Born here?”
“All his life until he left for America.”
Additional pieces of information helped my magic. “Thank you.”
My fingertips lit up with blue light, my vision swimming with images, ears filled with voices. I switched to my inner self, connected to everything by a magical satellite.
Daniel Croft of Coldharbour, England,I said into the cornucopia of sounds and sights.Father of Riley Croft, also known as Riley Aurora.
Searching, searching, searching. Peeling back the layers, zooming in on a location.
America. The town of Wilmington, Windham County, Vermont. Living in a house with his other family.
Yellow house. Snow on its roof, a blanket of white across its lawn, glittering in the afternoon sun. Nothing out of the ordinary.
I shut my power down for a moment, returning to the silence of the car.
