Page 120 of The Seven Rings
“She moved the furniture, boxed me in with it. Shoved something at me—that’s the bruise. I couldn’t not be afraid.”
“I guess you couldn’t not be human.”
Grateful, she tipped her head toward Trey.
“I started to text Cleo for help, but she knocked the phone out of my hand—used one of the dustcovers. She whispered the usual ‘leave or die’ bullshit—but there was more. I’ll come back to it. I got down, trying to find my phone, then I’m nearly as pissed as scared and yelled at her. And this big display cabinet started to come down on me. I was boxed in, braced for some pain. Pushing, trying to push it upright. Not getting anywhere. And then…”
She touched the beads again. “Clover. Right beside me, pushing with me.”
“Wait.” Trey took her hand. “You saw her?”
“I saw her. I spoke to her, and she spoke to me. I don’t think I could’ve done it without her.”
As she told them the rest, a tear spilled out, and she pressed her face to Trey’s shoulder.
“It was horrible, then wonderful. She hugged me. I felt her arms around me, I could smell her hair. She said she had to go, couldn’t stay corporeal for long, that she loved me.
“Then she was gone, the terrace doors swung open, the lights came back on, and Cleo came into the room like a cannonball.”
“I couldn’t get in before. I pushed, I pulled, I banged on the door, shouted.”
“None of which I heard.”
“It was only a couple of minutes. I was getting my phone to call our cavalry, and the handle turned.”
“What was she wearing? Clover?”
Both amused and baffled, Cleo turned to Owen. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, and here’s why. They cleared out her things, dealt with her body, and cleared out her things. Like she never existed. If she was wearing anything when she gave birth, and died, well, it was going to be messy. So what she wears, it’s a choice, right? And part of the illusion or whatever it is—I can’t explain it.”
“All right,” Cleo allowed, “that’s actually interesting.”
“A dress. Summer dress,” Sonya remembered. “Colorful—pinks, oranges, some white. Swirls of color. Sandals.” Sonya closed her eyes to bring it all back. “Bright pink sandals. Orange earrings. Double dangling balls. A lot of beaded bracelets, and this.”
She touched the necklace. “She was wearing this, and after, I found it in the first drawer I opened.”
“A gift,” Trey said. “Something of hers she could give you.”
“Yes. They must have missed it when they cleared her things out of the manor.”
“I’ll buy that.” Owen nodded. “But that’s not what she was wearing when Trey saw her.”
“Because she dressed up for you,” Cleo concluded. “Wanted to look her best, and in her own way.”
To agree, Clover used Lady Gaga and “Born This Way.”
“A summer outfit, too,” Sonya murmured. “So she pays attention to the seasons.”
“With her own unique sense of fashion.” Cleo tapped Owen’s cheek. “Excellent question as it turns out.”
“Now that it’s answered, go back to what Dobbs said to you. You said more than the usual,” Trey remembered.
“I think it was. ‘Leave and live. Stay and die.’” Concentrating, she relayed the rest. “Spare me,” she said again. “She keeps warning me.She warned Patricia, and Patricia ran. She keeps expecting me to. But she warned Patricia because she related, even liked her.”
“She doesn’t relate to you,” Trey put in. “She doesn’t like you.”
“Exactly, so it’s warning for a different reason. She didn’t hold back and wait for Patricia to get married—at the manor—move into the manor, but scared her off because she liked her, as much, I’d say, as Dobbs likes anyone. But she wants me gone for a different reason. I don’t think she can kill me.”
