Page 80 of A Skirl of Sorcery
As soon as we reached Slasher’s – or rather Suzanne’s – house, there was a cry of delight. Kate, her daughter, flew over the fence in a move that I heartily approved of then zipped towards Keres, pigtails bouncing behind her. ‘I made you a goodbye card!’
She thrust a folded sheet of paper into Keres’ hands. There was a scribbled drawing of a skull and crossbones on the front. Okay, then. ‘Are you going to sing now? Are we going to die?’
‘Not today.’ Keres smiled as she held up the card. ‘Thank you for this. It’s beautiful.’
‘My mum says she hopes you’ll come and visit some time,’ Kate burbled.
My eyes met Suzanne’s as she hovered by her front door.
‘And I hope you will, too,’ Kate said. ‘Mum says that next time you can come and have some cake with us.’
Suzanne smiled.
A few doors down, Arthur Dinsbury gazed at us for a long moment before lifting a hand towards Keres, either in greeting or farewell. Probably both. Not for the first time, I wondered if the three of us still possessed vestiges of Keres’ magic. I guessed we’d find out soon enough.
‘I’d like that a lot,’ Keres told her.
Harvey Johnson was waiting at the end of the road. He was pale faced and sweating but he broke into a beaming grin when he caught sight of Keres. She rolled her eyes but she was smiling. ‘I thought we agreed to meet at Crackendon Square,’ she said to her husband, sounding faintly exasperated.
‘That was the plan. But this is Danksville.’ He glanced around nervously. ‘I thought I should meet you here instead. There are all sorts of strange people in this neighbourhood – sorry, I don’t mean you, Ms McCafferty. I don’t mean any offence.’
‘None taken,’ I replied while Keres’ right eye twitched.
Harvey took her hand and squeezed it. ‘I’m so happy you’re coming home. I planned to get you flowers,’ he said, ‘but I can actually go one better.’ He reached into his pocket. ‘I found it wedged down the side of the kitchen cabinets. It must have fallen down there by accident.’ He unfurled his fingers and revealed a glinting gold ring. ‘It wasn’t stolen at all.’
Keres allowed Harvey to slide it onto her ring finger. ‘It still fits,’ she said and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. He crowed with delight and pulled her into his arms.
I left them to it: the last thing either of them needed was the likes of me hovering around them. Nipping across the road, I jumped on the first tram that appeared.
I didn’t know whether Keres and Harvey would last the distance, given that her instinct when the shit had hit the fan had been to run away from him, but the couple deserved the space and the freedom to find out without interruptions from a nosy cat lady. My work as far as Keres was concerned was finished.
Besides, I mused, as the tram trundled away, I had a far more serious errand to run before all this business could be wrapped up.
Unlike last time,I didn’t have to beg for admittance into the Barrow werewolf stronghold. I had an appointment and they were expecting me. Hell, theywantedto see me. Desperately.
Two smiling werewolves wearing full kilted regalia were at the front gate as I approached. Clearly the clan was making a point:We’re all fine here and we’re open for business.I enjoyed the sight of a man in a kilt as much as the next woman so I didn’t complain, and I had to admit that it was pleasing to have the red carpet rolled out for me; it was a rare occurrence.
Both werewolves bowed and greeted me. ‘Welcome, Ms McCafferty,’ intoned the one on the left. ‘We are pleased to have you here.’
Uh-huh.
The wolf on the right smoothly picked up the thread. ‘Alpha Ashina Barrow is waiting for you inside. I will show you the way.’
I inclined my head as if I hadn’t been unceremoniously thrown out of these very same doors only a few days earlier. ‘Thank you,’ I murmured. ‘That would be wonderful.’
‘May I offer you some iced water?’
‘No, thank you.’
‘Room-temperature water?’
‘No, thank you.’
‘English breakfast tea?’
This could go on for some while. ‘I don’t want anything to eat or drink,’ I said. ‘Just take me to your leader.’
If the wolf was amused by my clichéd words, he didn’t show it. ‘Of course. Right this way.’
