Page 81 of Welcome to Blackbird Hollow
I have to chuckle, setting my mug down on the hood of Marion’s SUV. “Good neighbors,” I say softly. The nymphs turn. “Caden is not of a persuasion to engage in the kinds of activities you describe at this time.”
“Would later be better?” one asks me eagerly.
It takes everything I have not to laugh. “No, I think this is a state that will last for all his natural life.”
“Oh,” They all say in unison, disappointment blooming over the clearing like azaleas in spring.
Most of Them disappear, fading into the forest, but the one who spoke to Alice lingers. She wears a crown of willow on her brow, her hair the colors of autumn leaves and her eyes a deep well of concern. “Do not worry,” she says with a smile as she searches all our faces. “The tree-killers will never prosper here. This is now our home.”
Marion clears her throat, and the nymph’s eyebrows leap up. “We have made the necessary arrangements with…” The words the nymph speaks next are not understandable to me. She speaks in a Fey language that predates time itself, but Marion seems to comprehend her, nodding as the nymph explains herself.
Finally, Marion speaks. “That will be fine, then. None cut the trees here unless they’ve sickened or have already fallen.”
The nymph smiles. “We know you need fuel for your winters. We will gather wood in both your territories as tithe for our presence here.” She walks toward Fallon and takes her hands in her too-long fingers. “Dear little sister, we mean your charges no ill will. Only those that do harm will be eaten.”
Fallon nods. “See that it stays that way.”
The willow-crowned nymph smiles, her razor-sharp teeth showing, before her eyes turn my way. “And you, Wyatt Hayes. Would you like to keep your forest Sight? Or would you prefer I remove it?”
The way she says “remove it” sends prickles down my spine, to the spot where the nymph dug into me. Miraculously, there’s no evidence on me that someone shoved nymphy fingers into me, but I can’t be sure the removal would be so kind.
Alice steps forward, her eyes narrowed with a kind of fierce concentration that makes me proud. “No deals. Your sister gave him the forest Sight to meet her own ends. Those ends were met. The bargain is closed.”
The willow-crowned nymph nods. “What a clever girl,” she says as she fades from sight. “Remember to set a watch for the forsaken.”
Her words echo through the clearing. Fallon spins toward me. “What’s that mean?”
I shrug. “Don’t know. The alpha hound said it too, though.”
Marion shakes her head as Caden, Alice, and Fern all gather around the hood of the SUV with us. “There’s something happening on your end of things that spells trouble. Too much activity down the ley lines, all going to and fro someplace out West. You have a problem brewing.”
Fallon sighs. “When’s it ever been any different?”
Marion shrugs, looping her arm through Fallon’s. “Never ever, girly. What’re you wearing to the Hallows tonight?”
Fallon grins as Alice looks helplessly at me. “Are the Hallows the big party Lizzie was talking about the other day?”
“Yes, sweet girl.” I smile, thinking that feels like ages ago. “We gotta find you a costume.”
“Notwe,” Fallon insists, pushing between us. “You ruined girls’ night, and I haven’t had my essential debriefing yet.”
Marion smiles. “You two wanna ride back with me? I heard Widow Harkness has a chest of old dresses we might raid from her modeling days.”
And just like that, the three of them are piling into Marion’s SUV without so much as a fare-thee-well. Caden laughs as Marion maneuvers the vehicle around my truck and they speed off into the mist.
“Well,” he says. “What’re you wearing tonight?”
“Why?” I ask. “Are you actually gonna come?”
Cade smiles. “Yeah, big brother, I am. If we’ve got more trouble on the way, it’s time I get back to living life.”
I sling an arm around Caden and hug him. Despite the fact that closing this chapter of trouble has only meant opening another, I’m happy as can be. “Let’s go work out what to wear to the Hallows,” I say, whistling for Fern. “It’s gonna be a hell of a good night.”
Chapter 35
Alice
I’m returning Widow’s avocado-green phone to its receiver on the floral patterned walls of her kitchen when I hear Fallon screeching my name from the top of the stairs.
