Page 32 of A Winding Wave of Magic
I wondered who had closed them.
“Who was that?”
Reina’s voice shook me out of my daze as she re-entered the house carrying a cardboard box.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Someone looking for Gran. Irish, sounded like. He hung up.”
I didn’t explain why it was so odd, knowing Reina would read it in my thoughts anyway.
“Thatisstrange,” she agreed with my memory. “Yetanotherstrange event.”
I didn’t answer, and she dropped the box, which contained some of her preferred saining materials, on the couch, then squeezed my shoulder in sympathy. Sympathy laced with fear flowed up my arm while I stared at the phone again.
“Did you feel anything on it when you picked it up?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s as clean as ever. You know she was really good about that.” I looked up at the ceiling, where the shadow I thought I’d Seen before had disappeared. “Let’s get started.”
Reina picked up a piece of copal and a lighter. “You sure about this?” The doubt in her voice was clear.
I understood why. There were questions, of course, and the house could reveal their answers in ways a coroner couldn’t. An autopsy would reveal the approximate cause of death, but on a good day, my touch in the right spot could tell me the truth of it.
As I looked around the familiar spaces, the murmurs rose again.
Give me the Secret I need it I will not wait where is itttttt?—
I shivered. My instinct was to clean it all immediately. Make this house the haven it once was.
But in that moment, I knew it never could be. Its warden was missing, and what used to be a haven was now it was just like any other house. A stack of wood. A collection of things.
I knew I had instructions to cleanse the place immediately. But Reina was right—too much was happening out of the ordinary. Before I put Gran and her home to rest, I first needed to learn its secrets.
I thought of the strange box hiding in my closet at home.
The stranger who seemed to show up at the most opportune times.
The shadow that loomed and the man on the other end of that phone call.
For the first time, I wondered if some of this house’s secrets might be Gran’s. And if I could bear them once they were discovered.
“Let’s do my bedroom at least,” I said, stripping off my gloves. “And then I can sleep tonight.”
Reina cocked her head. “You sure? I have until four. We could probably do more if you want.”
“I’m sure. But I think you’re right. I think there is more going on than I want to admit.”
Beyond the windows, the ocean called to me with its cleansing brine and salty air. I needed to replenish before I could deal with the heaviness of the house.
“Let’s get started,” I said. “Then we can walk into town and get some food before you leave.”
The clamsand chips at the Sand Dune Pub were exactly as I remembered: razors fried to a crisp, with thinly sliced French fries perfect for sprinkling with vinegar. Reina and I enjoyed them in silence while I ruminated on the sinister babbling that had chased us out of the house after we had sained my oldbedroom. I didn’t want to talk, knowing she would easily be able to read the contents of my thoughts as she liked.
Unfortunately, while mindreading makes for good empathy, it also makes for confusing conversation. Especially when only one of us could read the other’s mind without touching.
“So, who do you think he is?” Reina asked after a long drink of her iced tea.
I frowned. “Do I need to say it out loud?”
“Yes. You aren’t saying it in your head either.”
