Page 19 of Shadow Running
“With enough new money to create a voting block of millionaires who don’t want to lose their control on local wealth.It’s not a matter of conservative versus liberal, it’s a matter of money versus no money.”I sighed.“All right, Dante, why don’t you keep watch on the camera for Carson while he starts digging into this.Penn, if you want to go, that’s fine.I doubt we’ll be heading over to Konstantine’s house again.Though, if I could talk to you first?”
As everyone scrambled to get to work, Penn followed me back to my office, shutting the door behind her.
“So,” she said, sitting on the sofa against the opposite wall.“Konstantine.”
“Yeah,” I said, tossing my backpack on my desk.“I don’t know what to think about all of this.I’m…”
“At a loss for words?”
I nodded.“I’d think it was all some elaborate joke except…that picture.”I opened my pack and brought out the framed photograph.
“You stole that?”
“Yeah, I did.I’ll give it back, but I want a copy of it.”I stared at the picture, searching my mother’s face.There was no trace of the shift that was coming into her life seven years later.She was laughing, the wind blowing her hair, her eyes free from pain and worry.
“I look at this, and I see a woman that I never knew.She never looked this carefree when I was young.The only time I remember her laughing like that was when she and I would go walking on the pier, or the few times when she was able to take me to a movie.”I closed my eyes, feeling an unexpected well of tears swelling up.
“You’re mourning her all over again,” Penn said, her voice soft.
I ran my fingers over the glass of the photograph.“She thought she had her entire life in front of her—look at the joy on her face.Konstantine…he’s spent over forty years wondering where his sister went.And I show up and break his heart.At least he had some glimmer of hope,” I added.“Until I killed it.”
“You’re giving himclosure,” Penn said.“That hope can be like a wound that never heals.Now, at least, he knows for sure and he can let go of that hope and face the present.Your grandmother never got that…She went to her death wondering about her daughter.”
She reached out and took the photo from me, staring at it.“Kyann, sometimes the pain never fully goes away.You can stuff it in a trunk, lock it shut, and throw away the key, but it’s still there.Closure helps, but you were so young when it happened?—”
“I was fourteen,” I said flatly.
“Right.You were still a child.Fourteen is still a child, hon,” she said, standing.“And that young girl will always bear the pain of losing her mother too soon.”She held out her arms and, not understanding why I couldn’t get a handle on my emotions, I leaned in as she hugged me.
“I miss her…and today—I feel that loss more than ever.I should be overjoyed.I found an uncle and so far, he seems like a good guy.But I’m angry…” I squeezed my eyes shut as Penn stroked my hair.
“Konstantine unlocked that chest and opened it wide.You’re also taking on his emotions.But at least he can properly mourn now, knowing the truth.”She gently led me to the sofa and sat me down.
“I can take him to her grave,” I said, worrying my lip.“I can give him that much.”
“Don’t blame yourself for his pain.The gift you are giving him is bittersweet, but muchly needed.This is all such a sudden shock.No wonder you feel conflicted.”She handed me a tissue and waited, holding my hand.
I dabbed at my eyes.I knew she was right—there was so much going on that I was in overload.After a moment, I took a long breath, held it, then let it out slowly.“I’m not sure what to think, to be honest.Part of me is scared to trust him.Part of me desperately wants to.I was going to ask if you’d do a reading for me.”
“Of course.I’ll do that as soon as I get home.”
“That works,” I said, wiping my eyes and sitting back.The act of talking about how confused this had left me helped.Sometimes, the answer wasn’t really an answer, but an exploration.
“So, do you have any idea of what we’re facing?I have the feeling it’s not just a ghost,” I said, returning to my desk.
“I have some ideas, but I don’t want to say for sure.Remember, the thirteenth victim was a young girl who was a witch?”
“She cursed him as she died,” I said, nodding.
“I think the curse…I’m not sure what happened but that had something to do with what’s going on now.I want to do some research, to find out what she was learning and what curses she knew.It’s been awhile, but if she went to Windchime Magical Academy, they might have some idea of what she was like.”
“You think the curse did more than ensure Longworld’s death?”I asked.
Penn shrugged.“It’s hard to say, but it could have.Or it could have just added to the chaos.”She slipped her sweater over her shoulders, then added, “Thank you, by the way.I know you were thinking about asking Konstantine to stay with us.”
“I don’t know him well enough, and I would have asked you first, anyway.”I gave her a hug.“I’ll probably be home on time tonight.I’ll call if I’m going to be late.”
“I’ll call a taxi to get home, so you don’t have to drop me off,” Penn said.
