“You will?” Sky and I asked at the same time.
“Of course. I’m assuming you’re taking him to the manor.”
Sky looked over at me, and I nodded. “We are.”
Carli smiled. “Don’t do anything fun without us.”
We got Booker settled into the backseat, with Patchy curled in a ball on his lap, and were on the road for Gran’s before I glanced over at Sky and whispered, “Do you ever feel like everyone knows something we don’t know?”
He snorted. “Yeah. At least when it comes to all the women in our lives.” He shook his head, then chuckled. “This whole town is one giant mindfuck.”
I couldn’t disagree, but it wasn’t like this before he and Chance moved here. Obviously, there had always been things…ghosts and magic, but they’d been as hidden to me as they were to the rest of the world. Then, suddenly, psychic mediums, Dreamwalkers, and Lorewardens were real. And now sorcerers, too. What was next?
When we pulled up to my house, Gran was already standing outside, resembling the caricature of a witch from a movie. She had on a black skirt with a black blouse and carried her black carpet bag, the one that had always reminded me of Mary Poppins’ fathomless bag of stuff. All that was missing was a pointy hat.
Sky jumped out. “Here, Rosie. You can sit up front, and I’ll sit in the back with Booker.”
She waved him off. “No, no.” She opened the back door and leaned down. “Hello, dear. You and I are going to be great friends.”
Looking half-scared—which I didn’t blame him at all—he scooted over, and she got in. He kept going until he was pressed up against the door on the other side. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
In the rearview mirror, I watched her peer at him. “What are you sorry for?”
He cleared his throat. “It’s been a while since I was able to…” He waved a hand up his body.
She cackled. “You think you smell?”
Next to me, Sky’s eyes widened in mortification. Obviously, we’d both noticed a distinct odor, but we hadn’t even exchanged so much as a glance to hint at it. That would’ve been tactless and rude.
My grandmother could be a little eccentric, but I’d never heard her be outright cruel before. Where was my grandfather, and why wasn’t he reeling her in? She slid closer to Booker in the backseat and patted his knee. “See that boy?” She pointed at the back of my head, and Booker nodded slowly. “Well”—she leaned closer and stage-whispered—“believe me when I tell you, nothing smells riper than a teenage boy. I swear, when he was in middle school, I couldn’t get him to use deodorant no matter what I tried.
“Then, he got a little older and would go on these camping trips, sleep out all weekend ghost hunting, and then come home and tell me all about it.” She shook her head. “Honey, let me tell you, he didn’t take a shower before he got all in my space and went on and on for a couple hours.”
Next to me, Sky snickered, and a small, shy grin appeared on Booker’s face as his gaze met mine in the mirror. I felt my face heat, but I merely shrugged. She wasn’t wrong.
“It couldn’t have been as bad as?—”
“As what? Something you have no control over? No. You don’t worry about that, baby.” She moved all the way into his space and leaned into him. “Now tell me your name.”
Sounding choked up with emotion, he said, “Booker, ma’am. Booker Vale.”
“Well, Booker Vale, it’s nice to meet you. I’m the High Priestess of the Nightwell line, but you can call me Gran.”
“Oh, uh, okay.”
“And this is Duchess,” she continued as her golden cat appeared in her lap.
Patchy yipped excitedly at the appearance of another familiar, but Duchess eyed Sky’s pup disdainfully, then promptly ignored him. Really, this cat didn’t like anyone but her owner. The psychopomp pup settled back down into Booker’s lap, staring intently at Duchess.
Gran petted Patchy. “Aw. You must be Sky’s puppy.”
Sky turned in his seat with a big smile. “Meet Patchy, Gran.”
She leaned down, nuzzling his face while he licked hers. “Aren’t you a pretty thing? So many colors. The perfect companion for Sky. I’m so proud of him for using his magic and bringing you here so I could meet you.” My boyfriend beamed next to me. “Don’t you worry about Duchess; she’ll come around, and you two will be the best of friends.” Duchess disappeared, and Gran tutted her tongue. “Such a snob.”
My attention moved from the backseat as Sky kissed my cheek. “Are we going to the manor?”
“Yes. What are we waiting for?” Gran asked.
