Page 136 of The Seven Rings
She gave a quick cry, more grief than shock. His body jerked as if someone had bumped him. Eyes wide, he looked around.
Looked, for a moment she believed, looked at her.
“Dad.”
She reached out, but saw he stared through, not at her, then past her.
“Easy.” Owen went to her, put an arm around her shoulders. “It’s hard. Can’t imagine. But you’ve got a chance to see him again.”
“He felt me. I know it. He can’t see me, but he felt me. We’re ghosts here, but so is he. Why can I see him, but he can’t see me?”
“Hell if I know, Sonya, and it sucks. Look, he’s not afraid. He’s more—”
“In wonder.” A tear spilled out. “That’s what he’d call it when he saw something that struck him. In wonder. It’s the manor that strikes him.”
Even as she spoke, so did Drew.
“It’s a dream, just another dream. How can they be so damn real? How can I smell the salt air, feel the grass under my feet? Hear that music? What the hell song is that?”
Shaking his head, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, studied the manor.
“The most amazing house I’ve ever seen. And I keep seeing it. On the coast somewhere. Man, Winter and Sonya would love this place. One day, maybe.”
Then his head turned. “Who the hell is that?”
“Dobbs.” Owen gripped Sonya’s arm firmly to hold her in place.
“I see her. So does Dad. He sees her.”
“Not one of them,” she heard Drew say. “Something else.”
“She sees him, Owen. She’s walking his way. She could hurt him. I have to—”
“She didn’t. That didn’t happen then.” He kept his grip firm, and hoped he spoke truth. “It won’t happen now.”
Even as Dobbs glided toward him, Drew looked back at the mirror. “Sonya’s calling me. Time to wake up.”
Turning to the mirror, he stepped through.
“Stay away from what’s mine.” Dobbs slapped a hand toward the mirror only to fall back several steps. She cradled one hand in the other.
“Damn to you. Damn to all of you. I should’ve smothered the babe. Pick one, steal its breath. This one brings trouble. Brings trouble.”
Her madness swirling like a cloak, she paced around the mirror. A woman nearby suddenly shivered and hugged her arms.
“This brings trouble.”
With her face wild with fury, lips peeled back in a snarl, Dobbs balled her fist. She rammed it toward the glass but before she struck, pulled back, cried out in pain.
“Damn to you.”
She opened her fist, scowled at her blood-smeared knuckles. Then the face of her fury turned dreamy. Her eyes shined as she held out her hands, as she smiled down at the four rings on her fingers.
“Four now, and the fifth tucked away in bed. Safe and snug, they think. Oh yes, safe and snug this night. But soon enough, soon enough a bride she’ll be. And mine.
“Soon enough.”
She dropped her hands down by her sides, threw her face up to the sky. “Safe and snug and warm, but here I bring the storm.”
