Chapter 8 Faye #2
“Very funny. I wouldn’t have turned the koi fish into piranha if it weren’t for one of your brother’s pranks,” Lucy said, shaking the food into the fountain.
“I won’t bring it up again.” Peter held up his hands defensively. “I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of our High Priestess.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “As if my position in the coven could stop you from getting into mischief.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Peter glared at his sister-in-law.
Again, Faye felt out of the loop.
“Faye, it’s great that I ran into you. I was going to pick up a pumpkin pie for Benedict’s birthday. He doesn’t like to celebrate, but he can never resist your pies,” Lucy said, breaking the tension.
“I wouldn’t want him to spend his birthday without his favourite treat,” Faye said, glancing at Peter. “I should get going anyway.”
“I can give you two a minute?” Lucy said, glancing between them.
Faye sensed that Peter wanted to say something, but she didn’t want to keep Lucy waiting, and she’d been vulnerable enough for one morning. “No, it’s fine. I was heading off. If there’s nothing else?”
“Nothing I can think of.” Peter shook his head, looking like he wanted to drown his sister-in-law in the fountain for interrupting.
“You might want to put on some dry clothes. Otherwise the guests will think you were swimming in the fountain,” Lucy chuckled.
Peter fanned his long coat, sending droplets in her direction.
“I’m not sure that would be safe with you around,” he teased, snapping his teeth.
Faye was definitely missing something, but she enjoyed how they were arguing like siblings.
Lucy stuck her tongue out at Peter. “I’m leaving and taking Faye with me before I turn you into a goat.”
Peter grinned. Before they could blink, he shapeshifted into a goat.
“I didn’t know Reapers could do that,” Faye said, staring at him wide-eyed.
“Hilarious,” Lucy mocked, petting his head as she looked at Faye. “They can take any form to help watch over souls they are sent to collect, but he isn’t supposed to abuse his power.”
“I would never,” Peter protested, returning to his regular self.
“I preferred you when you couldn’t speak,” Lucy said.
Peter zipped his lips, only for them to disappear completely. Faye gasped at the horrifying sight.
“Better,” Lucy chuckled.
“Please don’t do that! You look like something out of a bad horror movie.” Faye winced, unable to look at his mouthless face.
He unzipped his lips, and they reappeared.
“Sorry, that’s enough tricks for one day. I’ve a soul to collect, and you two will be late to work,” Peter said, though his gaze lingered on Faye. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”
“Okay,” Faye said, not wanting Lucy to discover what had happened at Clover’s last night. She didn’t think her best friend would react well to her being trapped in a vampire pub with thirsty patrons bidding on her blood.
Peter disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Sorry I interrupted. I didn’t think anyone would be out there at this hour,” Lucy said as they walked back to the Manor.
“It was nothing, really. I was a little overwhelmed, and Peter offered me a shoulder to cry on,” Faye said, feeling Lucy’s questioning gaze.
“I didn’t realise the two of you were so close.”
“We’ve run into each other a few times recently,” Faye said, unable to explain what was happening to them. We are friends, right?
“He has a habit of appearing when you least expect it. You’ll get used to it.
” Lucy nudged her as they passed through the lobby on their way out.
“It’s good to see that he has a friend. He tends to keep his distance from the living.
Benedict wishes he would stay for longer, but work keeps him away.
I feel he doesn’t like to stay too long because he doesn’t want us to get used to his presence. Sometimes it’s hard to remember—”
“That he’s dead,” Faye finished for her. “I know I’m just a magless, and we have laws for a reason, but a sixteen-year-old being sentenced to serve death never felt right. He was wrong for trying to bring his father back from the dead, but he was grieving.”
Lucy sighed. “Necromancy magic has a zero-tolerance policy.” She was the High Priestess; it was now her job to uphold the law. Faye knew that didn’t mean she was happy about it. “If the spell hadn’t killed Peter, he still would’ve faced severe consequences.”
“What does being sentenced to serve death even mean?” Faye asked.
“Benedict told me Peter has a certain number of souls to collect. He can rest after completing his sentence or continue to serve. I don’t know whether he has or is close to fulfilling his sentence, and Benedict doesn’t want to ask.”
“Probably because he knows that if his brother has finished his sentence, he could disappear from his life for good,” Faye reasoned, not wanting to know either. She didn’t want to think that he could disappear one day without a word.
“It’s cruel that he was sentenced to serve in Foxford, but given how young he was, I think it’s a blessing as much as it is a curse. I would hate for him to leave for good, and I couldn’t bear to see Benedict and Gwendoline hurting,” Lucy said as they crossed the town square.
Faye hadn’t even thought about how it would affect Peter’s mum.
Gwendoline was a strong and fierce member of their coven.
She was a single mum who had lost her husband and son only months apart and still managed to reshape her family’s future by turning the Matherson Manor estate into a hotel for magless and magical folk.
Faye was in awe of her strength. If Gwendoline could survive and thrive after such a loss, it gave Faye hope that she could rebuild her own life.
“Maybe Peter will continue to reap even when he finishes his sentence. I don’t think he’ll want to leave his family,” Faye said as they reached Stoker’s.
As she thought of all Peter and his family had been through, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was looking out for her because he knew what it was like to suffer alone and face an uncertain future.
“As much as I don’t want him to leave, I hate that he has to watch us moving on with our lives while he’s stuck, unable to find love or have his own family.
Maybe it’s selfish of us to want him to stay…
and if he decides to rest one day, I hope we can find it in ourselves to let him go.
He deserves peace as much as the rest of us,” Lucy said kindly.
Her empathy and compassion made her the perfect High Priestess for their village.
“I’m sure Peter would come to you if he wanted to leave,” Faye said, unlocking the door to the café. “He wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”
“I hope so. I’d want to hug him goodbye,” Lucy said sadly.
Faye’s heart tightened at the thought of Peter wanting to rest. Of course she wanted him to find peace, but he had just returned to her life, and she wasn’t ready for him to go so soon. She decided to change the subject, for both their sakes.
“I prepared a few pumpkin pies last night. I can wrap one up for you if you want to take a seat, or if you want one made fresh, I can drop it over to the library later,” Faye said, turning on the café’s lights and coffee machine.
“No, it’s fine! I’ll take one from the fridge,” Lucy said, looking sheepish. “But I have to admit I did have an alternative motive for finding you.”
“Really?” Faye asked, taking a pumpkin pie out of the fridge. Is she worried about me getting too close to Peter?
“Grams told me about the warding Peter did for you,” Lucy admitted.
“She did? I’m sorry to get you involved. I didn’t want her to tell you since you already have so much on your plate.” As High Priestess, would Lucy be against the anti-creature warding? She hadn’t wanted to ask her friend to pick between their friendship and her duty to the town.
“I can double-check his work if you like. It’s been ten years since Peter learned the skill, so it might be a good idea to get a second opinion.”
Faye’s shoulders dropped in relief. She didn’t doubt Peter’s ability, but she recalled his suggestion about protecting the door.
“I’d really appreciate it if you checked them, but I was wondering if you could glamour the door to the stairs? Peter said you might be able to hide it from sight. It would protect the apartment, but it would also protect anyone from getting harmed by the wardings.”
“I’m happy to help. Show me the way,” Lucy said, not even hesitating.
“Do you want it open or closed?” Faye asked, unsure of how it worked.
“Closed is best. The glamour is a simple cloaking enchantment. It should only take a minute,” Lucy said, touching the door.
Faye watched her friend chanting quietly as a cast of white shimmering light spread from her hands over the door.
She left Lucy to finish the cloaking enchantment while she wrapped up the pie for Benedict, adding some enchanted candles to the pie box.
When lit, they would write out Benedict’s age – a best-seller from the card shop in town.
Faye kept a few stocked for special orders.
“All done, and I checked Peter’s warding.
The precision of his symbols is impressive.
They should be strong enough to stop or at least repel any vampires,” Lucy said, joining her back out front.
She didn’t even mention the legality of what they had done.
Faye couldn’t thank her enough for looking the other way.
“Again, I’m sorry you had to get involved. But I really appreciate your help. Saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough.” She watched Lucy hide a yawn with her hand. The protective glamour must have taken a toll on her.
“Please don’t thank me, or apologise. Anything to help keep or make you feel safe is something I’m more than happy to help with,” Lucy said, sitting at the café’s counter.
“I made you a cup of tea with extra honey to perk you up,” Faye told her. “I wasn’t sure if you had time for tea, so I put it in a to-go cup.”