Page 26 of The Witch & the Hound
Now the town was full of us. Tourists, yes. Visitors come for the Halloween festival and the promise of "supernatural Seaview." But still. We were here. Taking up space. Being seen.
"It's different," Maggie said quietly, following my gaze. "Last year, the festival was all locals. This year..." She gestured at the mixed crowd. "Integration tourism, I guess."
"Do you mind?"
"No." She sounded surprised by her own answer. "I thought I would. Thought it would feel like... exploitation, maybe. But look." She nodded toward a young couple, a human man and an elven woman, sharing a caramel apple, laughing. "Some of it's real. Some people are trying."
I looked at her profile, the way the string lights caught in her hair, turned her curls to fire and shadow. "You're trying."
She met my eyes. "I'm not trying. I'm just... here. With you. Because I want to be."
The words settled in me like a stone dropping into still water, sending ripples through everything I thought I understood about belonging.
She wanted to be here. With me. Not because I was useful. Not because I'd earned it through careful behavior and keeping my head down.
Just because.
A group of kids ran past, nearly colliding with us. Maggie laughed, pulling me aside to let them pass. One of them had devil horns strapped to his head with elastic, the costume kind, plastic and crooked.
He looked up at me, at my real horns, and his mouth dropped open. "Whoa. How'd you get yours to look so real?"
"Practice," I said.
He studied me seriously. "Can I touch one?"
"Ethan!" His mother appeared, horrified. "You can't just—I'm so sorry—"
"It's fine," I said. Then, to the boy: "You can touch. Gently."
I knelt down and inclined my head.
He reached up, fingertips barely brushing the curve of my left horn. His eyes went wide. "It's real."
"Very."
"Cool," he breathed. Then, with the brutal honesty of children: "Are you a demon?"
"Ethan!" His mother looked ready to sink into the sidewalk.
But I crouched down to his level, my tail curling behind me for balance. "Barghest. We're related to hounds. Big, spectral hounds."
"Like dogs?"
"Something like that."
He considered this gravely. Then: "Dogs are cool."
"They are," I agreed.
His mother managed a smile, relieved I hadn't taken offense. "Thank you for being so patient. Come on, Ethan. Let's go find your sister."
The boy waved as they disappeared into the crowd. "Bye, dog-man!"
Maggie was watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Soft. Warm. Something that made my chest feel too full.
"What?" I asked, standing.
"Nothing." She took my arm again. "Just... you're good with kids."
