CHAPTER SIXTEEN
~
Hope walked the length of the garden to where True was sitting on the bench seat at the picnic table. Her friend was lost in thought, and her heart went out to her. “Now what?” Hope asked, stepping over the wooden seat and sitting opposite her.
“Why are you asking me?” True asked, shrugging.
Faith could feel the chill in the air between them, but it had nothing to do with the weather. “I’m sorry,” Hope said, and she meant it. “If I hadn’t bought to bar…”
“Let’s not do this again, Hope,” True said, sighing. “I’m not mad at you.”
“So we kill Lex?”
Even though she didn’t feel like it much, she smiled. “Sounds good, but we really need him this time.”
“Yeah, but the thought was nice while it lasted,” Hope said, taking a deep breath and sighing as she stared back at the house where Jennifer and the others were still hold up. It was as if time had paused, and nobody was sure how to restart it. “If I could get my hands on those ghosts…”
“Sebastian and Verity?”
“No, the Others, whatever they are, wherever they are…”
“We need to take care of that for good,” True said.
Hope leaned in so she couldn’t be overheard. “I spoke to Nana…”
“Has Faith been there?”
“Yes, and Serendipity came home…”
“Oh, God, I’m a horrible person; I completely forgot about Serendipity.” True grimaced, the kick of guilt hitting her hard.
“Jennifer was in danger, and Faith was a vampire; I think Dippy will forgive us for thinking she was lost at sea,” Hope said.
“Still,” True said, shrugging one shoulder. “Harsh.”
“It’s Dippy. She’s Faith’s companion, and I’m sure she’s used to harsh,” Hope replied with a chuckle. “Nana wants to send Verity and her father across the veil to the other side.”
“Which side?” True said, sitting straight.
“The good place,” Hope said.
True eased. “Sure, I knew that,” she said, shrugging.
“I don’t think any of us are thinking straight right now,” Hope said, reaching for True’s hand on the table and covering it with her own. “We still need to deal with Faith and Jennifer being in danger, so we need to deal with the Others.”
“How the hell did they send that wave from behind the veil?” True asked, scowling. “It shouldn’t be possible for them to create something like that in the real world.”
“Maybe they aren’t behind the veil anymore?”
True scowled harder. “We let them out?”
“Maybe,” Hope replied, screwing up her face.
“Then we need to seal the veil,” True said. “If they can get through, anything can, right?”
“I have no clue,” Hope said, shaking her head.
“Nana!” They both said.
“She is the closest thing to an oracle we have,” True added, pushing to her feet.
“Wait!” Hope said, holding up her hand, palm facing True.
“I know you’re not going to magic me with that hand,” True said, dropping her backside back onto the bench.
“We have another problem,” Hope said.
“I don’t want another problem,” True grumbled.
“But the fact remains, we have a mating pair, and Amy is determined to be the spoke in that wheel,” Hope said, shrugging.
True took a long, deep breath in and held it until she came up with a thought through the mayhem in her mind. “How about we open the bar and put Amy in charge? The bar makes money while we take care of other business, and the pack is always willing to pull shifts, and it will give idle hands something to do.”
“Idle hands?” Hope raised her eyebrows, questioning her friend’s sanity.
“Idle hands and wagging tongues, never a good combination.”
“You’re acting a little…” Hope wobbled her head as she considered it. “Nana-ish.”
True cocked an eyebrow back at her friend. “Go ahead, insult me. My sister is a vampire; we have Others threatening our very survival with giant waves; we need to close the veil – maybe – the ghosts need to be sent on their way, and I’m turning into my grandmother.” She tossed her hands up and let them fall back to the table. “Why not?”
“Ooo, someone took that one to heart,” Hope said with a teasing grin.
“Yeah, well, it’s been one of those days, I guess,” True said, rolling her eyes for added effect.
“Look on the bright side…”
“Who are you, Monty Python?”
“Hear me out,” Hope replied, spreading her hands and grinning wildly.
“Go ahead,” True sighed.
“That’s the spirit,” Hope said, swiping the air with a fist. “You found the love of your life, an alpha no less…” True nodded with a half-shrug as she acknowledged that point. “You live in an area of outstanding natural beauty…”
“When did you start speaking like a tourist advert?”
“And even though your sister is now a vampire – we can rebuild her and make her better…”
“Stronger, faster … was that the Six Million Dollar Man you are quoting?” True asked, fidgeting in her seat.
“Maybe it just popped into my brain…”
“Well, tell it to sit down and shut up,” True countered. “First the tourist ad and now a TV show – what’s next, the Bible?”
Hope slapped her hand over her heart. “I would never…” she said, slowly shaking her head. “Although, I do like that one where they say something about Jesus walking beside you and you feeling him there – footsteps!” Hope said in a eureka moment.
True let her forehead drop onto her downturned hands on the table. “Oh Goddess, I think she’s finally cracked…”
“This too shall pass.”
True lifted her head and eyed her friend from beneath her long lashes. “Nope, I think you’ve gone Looney Toons.”
“That which does not break us only makes us stronger…”
“Yep, Faith is stronger…”
“And she can’t zap us anymore.”
True sat upright and stared at Hope for a long moment. “Just snap us like a twig or drain us dry of blood.”
“Every rose has its thorn.”
True cocked an eyebrow as she stared back at Hope. “I think I might kill you now.”
“Hold that thought,” Hope said, wagging her witching finger at her friend. “We were about to visit your grandmother.”
True sighed again, looking anywhere but at Hope. “Probably find she’s been eaten and replaced by a rogue wolf,” she muttered, annoyed and flustered.
“Come on, Red,” Hope said, pushing to her feet. “Time to go make things right with the world.”
True pushed up. “There’s that damn bright side again,” she grumbled, stepping over the bench seat and eyeing her friend with contempt.
“Always look on the bright side of life,” Hope sang with a mocking grin.
“De dum, de dum, de dum, de dum,” True sang on a mumble of annoyance. Now, that song was in her head; she knew she wouldn’t be able to push it out for a day or so.
~
“We’re here to help,” True announced when Nana pulled open the backdoor of the guesthouse and eyed them with a scowl.
“That’s what the government says, and look how that turns out,” Nana replied, cocking an eyebrow at them before stepping aside and ushering them in. She waited a moment more to eye the area for signs of Faith before she closed the door.
“I’ll make some tea,” Hope said, moving to the kettle as True flopped into one of the chairs at the table, and Nana followed her into another with a customary huff. Silence reigned, and Hope stepped in. “Ghosts,” she said, opening the betting on the conversation ahead.
“Preparing things to send them on their way,” Nana said.
True and Hope shared a look, and Hope could have sworn she saw the beginning of a smile on True’s lips. The witch never wanted them to stay around in the first place, and it would be one thing that True could cross off her to-do list. “How can we help?” she asked, filling the kettle at the tap before shoving the cord into the unit and setting it to boil.
“Just show up for the spell,” Nana said, tracing the wood grain on the table in front of her with her witching finger. “I will need at least three.”
“Just say when,” Hope said.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Nana said, pushing up. “Change that tea to coffee, and let’s give it a little bite.” She reached for the bottle of scotch on the side and gave it to Hope. “Don’t be stingy, this isn’t the bar.”
Hope’s eyebrows slowly clawed up to her hairline. “Got it,” she said, nodding slowly until the elder turned and headed for her chair. She smirked at True.
“Not for me, I’ll stick to tea,” True said. “Booze makes me fuzzy, and I want to keep clarity.”
“For what?” Nana asked, shrugging. “You see a vampire coming at you, you put it down – whether you keep it down permanently or not is a different call for every witch.”
“Nana,” True said with a sigh.
“She’s a vampire now; you must protect yourself,” Nana said. “I love Faith to the moon and back, but you only have one life…”
“I know!” True said, holding up her hands. “And I know what to do with Faith…”
“She’s already had some batting practice where Faith is concerned,” Hope said.
True cleared her throat. “So, let’s move on with the spell and close the veil behind the ghosts.”
“Ah, you think so too,” Nana said, nodding in agreement.
“That the veil has a leak?” Hope asked, busying herself making their drinks. Nana nodded. “Coincidence waves do nothing for me.”
“They tried to kill Faith and Jennifer,” True said, accepting her tea from Hope. She brought the cup to her nose and sniffed.
Hope’s eyebrows reached for her hairline. “You think I spiked your drink?”
True shrugged. “Just testing; it’s good to test,” she said defensively before sitting back in her chair with the best look of innocence she could muster.
“Wouldn’t hurt,” Nana said. “Might make you relax a little.”
“I have no time to relax; there is too much going on,” True said before she averted her gaze.
Hope scowled. “Might calm you down…”
“Who has time to be calm?” True replied.
Hope stood at the table for a long moment, just staring down at her friend as she fidgeted in her chair under the scrutiny. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed.
True hadn’t really relaxed but she snapped rigid in her chair and looked around them. “What?”
“You!” Hope said, pointing an accusing finger at True.
“Me what?” True asked, looking confused.
“You’re pregnant!” Hope said with wide eyes and a beaming grin, daring her friend to deny it.
“Pregnant?” Nana sat upright and craned her head forward as True looked like a cornered animal looking for an escape route out of there.
“Admit it, cos I have your number,” Hope said gleefully.
“Just add it to the damn lists of things to worry about!” True exclaimed, tossing up her hands in frustration. “I’m baking a tasty snack for my vampire sister in my belly!”
Nana and Hope both drew their heads back. “Faith is not going to snack on your offspring!” Hope said, shaking her head.
True’s eyebrows almost met in the middle as she scowled. “Nobody knows what Faith will do, and that’s the problem,” she snapped. “And nobody had better tell Heath about this…”
“You haven’t told your mate?” Hope asked, curling her top lip and looking confused.
“I was going to do it tonight,” True said. “But then the wave and Faith – and we all know that man is not going to leave my damn side until I have this child, and then he’s going to carry it around on his back until it’s a fully grown adult!”
Hope snorted a chuckle at the thought, but when True glared at her, she slapped her hand over her mouth and tried to bury the smile. “Nice try, but your eyes are smiling!” True hissed with annoyance.
“Well, I am part Irish,” Hope said. “And Irish eyes are smiling is in my blood,” she rushed out as her friend eyed her like she was the Devil.
“Like an evil little Leprechaun,” True grumbled.
“Speaking of which, has anyone seen Marvin?” Nana said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Someone call?” Marvin asked, appearing in the doorway to the room.
“Talk about Irish eyes smiling,” Hope said, chuckling.
“Nobody called,” Nana said, twisting in the chair until she could glare at him. “You were out there listening in the hallway!”
Marvin held his hands to his chest in mock surrender. “I cannot tell a lie…”
“That would be a first,” Nana replied.
“But it’s the only way to know what’s going on,” Marvin said in his defence.
“Spying on your own kin,” Nana replied. “The depths some men will sink.”
“I like to be informed,” Marvin said, walking into the room and over to True. “And as nobody has done it yet, may I be the first to congratulate you on the baby.”
“Thanks, Grandpa,” True said with the first honest smile Hope had seen on her all day.