Page 31 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“I think so.” I tried to keep my voice calm even if I was anything but.

I wasn’t sure how much Charlie knew, but it wasn’t worth debating right now. The point was he did know, and I was going to have to get used to him hearing a lot of things with those ears that I’d prefer he didn’t.

“Do you like it here so far? The other kids seem nice,” I asked, trying to shift the focus to something other than the latest death associated with me.

“They’re really nice,” he said, wrinkling his nose as he walked.

“Then why are you making that face?” I asked.

“I can’t say.”

“Why not? You can tell me anything,” I said.

“Because I thought I wasn’t supposed to talk about how people smelled,” Charlie said, looking up at me as if he were truly confused now.

“Do you mean me? Do I smell bad?” I asked, glancing around to make sure no one else was trying to listen in. Waking up and feeling like a murderer was bad enough. Now I was a smelly killer?

He didn’t have to say anything else; his face crinkled up a little more.

I stank. The kid was telling me I stank!

“What do I smell like? Is it bad?” I said, not sure if I wanted to know but feeling like I had to.

“Not bad. Just different, like those white flowers.”

“What white flowers?” It was winter. What was he talking about? We hadn’t seen a flower in months.

“The ones my mom bought for the neighbor when her daddy died.”

I smelled like funeral flowers. No. It was just a coincidence. Zetti dying did not somehow make me smell different.

“Have I smelled like these flowers before?”

“No,” he said, with no hesitation.

Maybe it was the clothing I was wearing. It was from Evangeline. It would smell different. I could even smell the difference with my plain old human nose. That was all. I couldn’t let something so simple make me crazy.

We were at the school, which hadn’t yet started. The kids were all running wild outside.

“Charlie!” one of the little boys called from across the field. He had two others with him, and they were waving Charlie over.

“Can I go play?” he asked, sounding like a boy who was starving and begging for a crumb.

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll find you after.” It might be better to be alone anyway, in case words needed to be said.

I walked into the small single-room building. It reminded me of what schoolhouses might’ve been like a couple of centuries ago, and I wondered how one person managed all the kids. That one person was bent over her desk at the front of the room. She didn’t look familiar, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t been there at the party. Even if she hadn’t, she would’ve heard.

She glanced up to see who’d entered her domain. Although she didn’t look angry about my presence, there was a glimpse of surprise.

“Piper?” she asked.

“Yes. I’m Charlie’s older sister.”

“Yes, Kicks said Charlie would probably be starting school here soon. I’m Cecelia. Nice to meet you.” Her smile seemed friendly enough, but she didn’t make a move to shake my hand. I didn’t hold that against her.

“I wanted to stop by myself and make sure you were okay with Charlie coming here. I’m sure you’re already juggling a lot,” I said, giving her an easy out if she wanted to take it. “I’ve been toying with schooling him myself, so it really wouldn’t be an issue at all if it was too much.” Now the groundwork was laid, she could easily back out if she had any doubts about getting involved with us. Even the tiniest hint she didn’t want him here, and I’d tell Kicks I was going to school Charlie myself. It would be easier than his feeling like he had to fix a situation that couldn’t be fixed.

“I’ve seen him playing with the other kids. He seems like a lovely boy. I think he’d fit in here nicely, as long as you want him to come.”

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