Page 101 of Starrily
“And? What’s the prognosis?”
“Hold your horses,” Iris said with a smile. “I still need to see the soul in Shanna’s locket. Then me and the girls will consult the books to see how to fix your little situation.”
Phoebe approached the table. “Take a moment to rest. You can stay for lunch if you want. Penny’s got jambalaya on the stove, and it’s to die for.”
“I think he’s got enough dying for the moment,” Iris remarked cheekily and studied him. “But you should still stay for the jambalaya.”
Raleigh saw no reason not to. His legs felt like jelly, and getting food into him might help him recover. Iris put out the candles and took away the incense, and they prepared the dining table. Penny brought a generous bowl of rice mixed with vegetables, chicken, and sausage. The smoky, spicy smell made Raleigh’s mouth water. Whether it was the exhaustion from Iris’s procedure or just the deliciousness of the meal itself, he dug into it as if he hadn’t eaten in at least three days.
“Now that’s what you like to see,” Penny said as she took a cleanly-licked plate away. “I’d give you the recipe, but it’s a family secret.”
“Horrible attempt at matchmaking,” Phoebe said.
“Ninety-six percent!” Penny yelled from the kitchen. “You know what Roy and Daisy had? Ninety-three. And they were together forfiftyyears,” she continued as she returned.
“Stop it, you two,” Iris said. “You’re gonna chase him away.”
“I’m pretty sure I couldn’t move at the moment,” Raleigh said.
“Good.” Penny patted his hand, then went to the hallway and rummaged through a box. She came back with a bunch of papers—clippings from a magazine, articles printed off websites, something that looked like a dissertation … “We’ve collected all this about Callie.” She sat down next to him. “The recent articles from the magazine. Her first published paper. Everything we could find. And it’s great seeing …” Penny rubbed her eyes. “How smart and successful she is. How much she’s achieving. But it doesn’t tell ushowshe is.”
Raleigh slid one of the clippings closer. The picture showed Callie in front of the city observatory, posing in her typical awkward manner as if she couldn’t wait to get it over with.
He would’ve loved to say she was doing well. If her talk yesterday had helped her face the past, then one day soon, perhaps, shewouldbe better. But Raleigh remembered the night of her nightmare, and he’d be lying if he said she’d been living a happy-go-lucky life.
And one certainly didn’t want to lie to Iris.
So instead, he told them what was true—the little things. What music she liked to listen to while working. How she was surprisingly good at art. That she loved the color yellow and couldn’t maintain order, not in her apartment nor in her office. How she could talk about her research the whole day long and not get tired of it, and how much she loved it when she inspiredkids to get into science. He told them how she didn’t like planes but loved ziplining.
“And you,” Iris said. “She cares about you, too.”
Raleigh lowered his eyes. “I deceived her. At the beginning. I only tried to be her friend so she’d give us her research.”
“But it ain’t like that any longer, is it?” Iris’s statement was more a confirmation than a question.
He shook his head.
“Don’t worry. She’ll understand,” Iris said. “She told you what people call us?”
“What?”
“The Guidry Witches.” Phoebe smiled mischievously. “Callie may leave Athame, but Athame can’t leave Callie. This place, it’s in our blood—her blood. She can go as far away as she wants to, but she can’t change who she is. She’ll feel it if she hasn’t yet. The instinct—we all have it.”
“What instinct?” he asked.
“She’ll recognize you’re her kindred spirit,” Iris said.
“And then you become part of the family.” Penny winked at him. “And you get my jambalaya recipe.”
Chapter 24
Callie had spent the day cooped up in her room at the inn, passing the time by studying new articles, although her thoughts kept drifting off to everywhere but the stars. So when she heard approaching steps on the porch outside, she wasted no time tossing the tablet on her bed and running to the door. She intercepted Raleigh’s knock, making his hand freeze in the air.
“And? What did they say?”
“I’ve been poked, prodded, and fed,” he said in a light voice. “I don’t mind your witchy ways.”
“The diagnosis. Can they help?”
