Page 115 of Beyond the Cottage

That day couldn’t come soon enough. The stench reminded Ansel they had a mission, one they couldn’t delay further. Even if it meant the end of their time together.

They finished their lap around the yard and hiked back. Lil and the crane appeared around a bend.

Gretta stumbled to a stop. “My braid! I forgot to collect it.”

“Do you want to go back?”

Gnawing her lip, she checked her pocket watch. “…I guess not. I just can’t believe I forgot.”

A part of Ansel oddly took it as a good sign. Of what, he wasn’t sure.

They reached Lil and relayed the morning’s events. Lil insisted on being the one to tell the others about their friend’s fate, and neither Ansel nor Gretta argued.

A cluster of nereids waited on their bluff, shuffling about like family members outside a sickroom. Heron rushed forward, and Lil stopped him, pulling him aside.

“Did you get her?” Tadpole asked Gretta.

“I got her. And she suffered.”

He clapped her on the shoulder.

Gretta pulled the necklace from her pocket and approached Heron. The man’s anguished eyes made Ansel feel like a prick for his jealousy the night before.

“I’m so sorry about your sister,” she said.

Heron wrote something Ansel couldn’t see. It brought a grim smile to her lips.

“I found this, at least.” She held up the necklace. “I hope it makes you feel a little better.”

Gretta dropped the pendant on the stony ground and smashed it under her heel. Yellow vapor swirled from the broken glass, undulating like a ribbon in a current. It coiled around Heron’s neck, his face, searching. Heron’s lips parted. The vapor reared as though preparing to strike, then dove down his throat.

Heron’s body jerked. He breathed deep, then a quiet groan escaped him.

“My—” he coughed, hand to his throat. “Myvoice.”

The others let out gasps and cries. They swarmed Heron and Gretta, congratulating him and thanking her, bringing a bright flush to her cheeks.

As Lil hoisted her in a bear hug, Gretta rasped, “It’s my job.”

“You’re the best, munchkin.”

“You better come back and visit us!” Tadpole said. “Next time, we’ll have arealparty.”

River came forward. She kissed Gretta’s cheek, then Ansel’s.

They both smiled, though Ansel thought Gretta’s looked somewhat tepid.

After considering a moment, he produced a bottle from his case and offered it to Lil. “It’s spell repellent. Take it with my compliments.”

Lil gave him his own bear hug, though she didn’t manage to lift him off his feet.

“So, it’s been great,” Gretta said. “But we should probably get our stuff and head out. We have a train to catch.”

Chapter 40

Arm linked with Ansel’s, Gretta trotted between stone columns, down the train station’s front steps and toward the congested street. Vendors pushed carts outside the station, loudly hawking maps and cheap souvenirs. Hooves clattered on cobblestone, and carriage drivers shouted curses at each other. As tourists gaped, clogging the sidewalk, locals briskly wove around them.

Gretta stopped on the bottom step and inhaled the chaos. The familiar noise and bustle usually invigorated her. This homecoming jarred her.

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